Adding a Horse to the Horseless Carriage of Yore
Nostalgic for the nostalgia of yesterday? Popular Science had a thriving enterprise in the 1930s that looked back at wacky inventions from earlier years.
Your Granddaddy’s TiVo
Inventors have been trying to find a way to silence ads since way before Spotify, Pandora and Grooveshark
Visions of Futuristic Air Travel (And Plenty of Leg Room!) in 1946
The vision of post-war air travel isn't all that different from what well-heeled fliers can get today, but what a long, strange trip it's been.
An X-Ray a Day Keeps Diamond Smuggling at Bay
One mine in 1919 South Africa had a foolproof way to see whether its miners were smuggling out raw diamonds: it gave them a radiation-laden scan at the end of every shift.
Distracted Drivers Are Nothing New
Forget cellphones. The real danger from distracted driving is the car radio—according to observers in the days before Sirius, in-car DVD players, and even web browsers.
Steam-Powered Cars: California’s 1970s Smog Solution
Steam-powered cars may sound like a shout-out to the early 1900s, but in 1970s California the idea was building up a real head of, umm, steam.
Driving a Dead Horse: Making Cars Less Frightening in 1904
The traffic safety department is trying to get the nation used to today's silent cars. Something similar happened at the beginning of the 20th century.
Nerd Rage: Gendered Tech During the Rise of Radio
Girls in Chicago show off radio sets they’ve built (July 1924 Radio News magazine) Radio is for boys…
Push-Button Promises
Big thinkers have been selling the push-button as the key to the future since way before the Jetsons. Try the 19th century.