WWII Ad Promised That TV Was Just Around the Corner
I came across this fantastically modern ad in the April 1945 issue of Radio-Craft magazine and just had to share it with you as we all slowly slide into the Fourth of July weekend.
Doubts About the Airplane in 1909: 'Emotion Has Run Away With Reason'
When prominent pilots were dying in the 1900s some people started to wonder if aviation really had a future. French daredevil Leon Delagrange died in early January of 1910, leading magazines like the Literary Digest to have doubts about whether air travel could become a serious means of transportation.
Alvin Toffler, Legendary Author of Future Shock, Dies at 87
Alvin Toffler, arguably the most influential futurist of the 20th century, died on Monday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 87 years old.
Wait, Why Isn't She Looking at the Dude?
In the photo above we see a videophone (or picturephone as they were sometimes called at midcentury) being demonstrated at the International Radio Exhibition in Stuttgart, West Germany in 1965. The weird part? The woman in the photo is apparently not even bothering to look at the person she’s speaking with.
Century-Old Time Capsule Opened, Includes 10-Cent Bill
A time capsule sealed by a bank in 1916 was opened in Saratoga Springs, New York this week. And it has many of the things you’d expect—like some photos of the town, a letter from the president of the bank in 1916, and some old coins. But one artifact stuck out as peculiar to the onlookers of 2016: A 10-cent bill.
Electrocuting People Was Basically America's Favorite Pastime in the 1920s
Forget baseball. America’s favorite pastime in the 1920s was electrocuting people. I’m not even joking.
This 1938 Magazine Cover Showed Britain a Shinier, Happier Future
The late 1930s were dark times for Britain. War was on the horizon, and things were about to get very, very tough. But some periodicals tried keeping things light with utopian visions of tomorrow. Like this March 5, 1938 cover of Modern Wonder which featured the streamlined transportation of the future. The magazine…
These One-Liners From the 1960s Are a Corny Time Capsule
Do you like jokes? I like jokes. Jokes are silly. But jokes aren’t just all yuck-em-ups and goof-a-lots. They can be great tools for history-lookers. History studiers? Historians.
This Simple Door Alarm From 1906 Is Actually Pretty Genius
I was flipping through my deadtree archive of magazines recently when I came across an ad for an ingenious little door alarm in 1906. Granted, it’s not fancy. But it probably did the trick.
Iconic Architect Eero Saarinen Designed Weapons and ‘Devices’ For the CIA
Eero Saarinen designed some of the most iconic American buildings of the 20th century. The arch in St. Louis? That was him. The TWA terminal at JFK airport? That was him too. And it wasn’t just buildings. Saarinen also designed the furniture that would define futurism of the 1960s, like the tables in Stanley Kubrick’s…
Who Drew This Futuristic Space Picture From the 1960s?
I need your help. Yes, you. I can’t figure out who drew this futuristic picture of two astronauts sometime in the 1960s. And it’s driving me nuts.
Time Capsule Mystery From 1938 Solved With the Help of 93-Year-Old Man
Time capsules are usually pretty boring. And most people would probably call the latest time capsule that was unearthed in Ohio pretty dull. It contained just a single photo of a middle school class in 1938 and some lists of students. But for one 93-year-old man, that capsule is a reminder that life can be pretty ok…
Remote-Controlled Tanks of the 1930s Were Supposed to Save Lives on Both Sides
This Japanese-made, remote-controlled tank got tech nerds all excited in 1931. But it wasn’t just because they saw a new toy. Tech-minded folk of the early 1930s also saw a utopian solution to war. A solution where, ideally, fewer humans would have to die.
This Magazine Predicted the Electric Haircut of Tomorrow
Tech-enthusiasts of the 1920s were obsessed with turning everything electric. They wanted electric mixing bowls, electric dishwashers, and even electric haircuts. It may seem like an obvious idea today, but back in the 1920s, an electric haircut was straight out of science fiction.
Janet Waldo, Original Voice of Judy Jetson, Dies at 96
Janet Waldo, the voice actress who gave life to the original Judy Jetson in 1962, has died. Waldo was 96 years old.
People Used to Blame Earthquakes and Droughts on New Radio Technology
New technology is scary. Just ask the people who think that their illnesses are caused by wifi. But blaming unfortunate things on newfangled technology has been happening for decades, if not centuries. Like when farmers of the 1920s used to blame too much rain, earthquakes, and droughts on the new technology of radio.
We Can Learn a Lot from the Economics of Star Trek
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the hugely popular sci-fi franchise Star Trek—arguably one of the profoundly influential fictional series of the last century. It’s also the 500th anniversary of Sir Thomas More’s classic work, Utopia, offering his vision of an ideal society. For Manu Saadia, that’s a fitting…
Hedy Lamarr's FBI File Is Shockingly Slim
Hedy Lamarr lived an extraordinary life. She was an actress who pushed boundaries, an inventor who went unappreciated in her time, and a sex symbol who was very much appreciated in her time. And given the life she led in the 1940s you might expect her to have a rather thick FBI file. But you’d be wrong.
New Book Reveals Edward R. Murrow's Years As a Government Propagandist
“I don’t mind being called a propagandist,” Edward R. Murrow told a reporter at the Miami Herald in April of 1962. “So long as that propaganda is based on the truth.”
More Like Justin Trudeau-bot, Right?
Et tu, Trudeau?
