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.
Syfy's Twilight Zone Marathon Schedule (With Links for Cordcutters)
It’s that time of year again. Syfy’s Independence Day Twilight Zone marathon is upon us. But if you got spoiled by Syfy’s epic marathon of all 156 episodes over New Year’s, I’ve got some bad news for you: They’re only airing 57 episodes this weekend. We’ve still got the entire schedule below.
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.
Ikea Recalls 29 Million Dressers After Third Child Dies
Rumors broke yesterday that Ikea was going to recall millions of dressers today. And they were right. But it’s not just the Malm, as we originally heard. Ikea is recalling 29 million dressers of all varieties in partnership with the US Product Safety Commission after the death of a 22-month-old child who was crushed…
No, Cormac McCarthy Didn't Die of a Stroke
Cormac McCarthy, author of such utopian sci-fi novels as The Road, didn’t die today at 82 from a stroke. But that didn’t stop the death hoax rumors from getting tweeted out by respected news outlets like USA Today.
Ikea Is Discontinuing Some Malm Dressers, Recalling 27 Million Units
Tomorrow Ikea will reportedly announce a recall of over 27 million Malm dressers. And shockingly, the Swedish furniture company is doing away with the piece of furniture altogether. Many versions of the Malm dresser were officially removed from the Ikea website today.
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.
The $6M Rebate This Infomercial Hack Doesn’t Want You to Know About
Kevin Trudeau spent the past decade publishing books that promise to tell you the health secrets that mainstream science won’t. But he peddles bullshit. And the courts have repeatedly said as much, ordering him to pay over $37 million for misrepresenting what’s in his books. Now some consumers who got ripped off by…
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.
The HBO Now App Is Down Everywhere and People Are Panicking [Update: It's Back]
It’s not just you. HBO Now, the app that lets people watch HBO shows as soon as they’re live on broadcast TV, isn’t working. HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO WATCH GAME OF THRONES?
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.