When Santa Traded His Sleigh for an Automobile
The American Santa of the end of the 19th century was a lot fatter and in a car—much like the average American a century later.
Browsing Tag
Time Machine
40 posts
Life Hacks from 1946
Popular Mechanics' 1950s DIY "home kinks" for picnic tables, paint cans, medicine bottles and more.
Dazzle Shoppe: Animated Window Advertising In The Pre-TV Age
Before viewing the retail experience became the province of TVs and tablets, if you wanted to see possible presents dancing around you had to head to the windows of downtown department stores.
The Sound Effects of Silence: SFX Before There Were Talkies
Before silent movies evolved into talkies, various efforts to create the aural ambiance depicted onscreen included this roomful of noise-making contraptions.
The Dawn of Home Audio Recording
Illustration from the cover of the December 1930 issue of Radio Craft magazine When Thomas Edison invented the…
A New Source of Oil (for the 1920s)
The Bowie-Gavin process of extracting oil (June 1927 issue of Science and Invention magazine) As a non-renewable resource,…
Build Your Own Electric Ghost
An “electric ghost” from the cover of the April 1923 issue of Practical Electrics magazine Have you ever…
Bobbing Machine for Amusement Parks
Today's amusement park rides thrill with the frisson of danger, but for the rides of the last century the risk was more real than imagined.
The Great Depression and the Rise of the Refrigerator
How the gleaming white fridge changed our relationship to food.