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Do you like Doctor Who, but you just don’t have time to catch up on the episodes you’ve missed over the years? Do you hate Doctor Who and want to know what all the fuss is about? Are you saying to yourself “I couldn’t care less, but I sure do enjoy Best Of… videos, especially when they’re set to a snazzy soundtrack”?
If any of these apply to you, or you’re just bored and need to kill ten minutes, then you should check out A Babelcolour Tribute to Doctor Who, which shows a snippet from every single episode of the series since 1963 and is the perfect length for break time.
After watching this video you may ask yourself “How did they fit so much in to such a short amount of time?” The answer, of course, is science…
–via Topless Robot
This adorable old picture would have made a great postcard. It is part of a collection of photographs of Dutch life published in the 1906 book De Aarde en haar volken (The Earth and Its People). See more at IllustratedPast.com. Link -via Everlasting Blort
In an issue of Ladies Home Journal published in 1900, an author made predictions of what the world would be like in the year 2000. Surprisingly, many of them were spot-on.
Open fires and chimneys will be replaced by home heating and air conditioning systems, with hot or cold air at the turn of a “spigot” (faucet or tap.)
Stores will buy food ingredients in bulk and prepare ready-cooked meals at cheap prices which people can reheat at home. Customers will also be able to get meals delivered by automobile. (That said, Watkins also suggested food could be delivered to homes via pneumatic tubes, and that customers would send back the crockery and cutlery when they finished eating.)
Color photos will be sent around the world, with images shot in China appearing in US newspapers within an hour.
Read more at Geeks Are Sexy, where the predictions are sorted by whether they came true or were way off the mark. Link
Back in the good old days of convention cosplay, before the overuse of silicone and foam latex made for fierce competition and bare skin became an acceptable substitute for creativity, people had simpler tastes in costuming, and anime had yet to become the darling of the convention floors.
Now, that’s not to say that these costumes aren’t cool (for the most part, anyway) and well made, but the incredible production quality of modern costumes would date the cosplayers in this gallery, even if the quality of the photographs hadn’t already made it obvious that they’re from long ago.
The photos in this gallery come to you courtesy of the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society from the Westercon convention of 1980, and they are full of warmth and charm, cosplay enthusiasts who aren’t used to posing for hundreds of pictures, and only one scantily clad supergal. *gasp*
If you thought only Steampunk enthusiasts used wood in their creations guess again, and if you’re a woodworker/DIYer like myself, here’s the inspiration for your next project!
This gorgeous wooden modded computer tower case by Jeffrey Stephenson looks like tech from the Mad Men era, something they probably would have mistaken for an intercom or radio in the 1960s.
This case mod makes my boring old metal case look like crap, and is guaranteed to make all other computers in your house jealous of it’s retro charm and sophisticated cool.
Link –via Geekosystem
If you love playing old school games via emulators, yet you have a stack of Sega Genesis and/or Super Nintendo cartridges just sitting around gathering dust, then you might want to look into purchasing a Retrode-a USB device that allows you to play your cartridge games through any emulator, and has ports for all your old controllers.
So, you get that old school “blow on the cartridge before you slot it in” feeling, without fretting over how jacked up your old console has become over the years. Retro gamer completists rejoice!
Here’s a moldy old slice of cheese for your entertainment, courtesy of the 1987 sci-fi kids TV show Captain Power. Watch as the Narrator explains humanity’s predicament via reggae-styled rap, all while the heroes battle to keep humans from being turned into machines.
This video is the perfect example of why rapping should be left to the professionals, unless of course you need to quickly come up with a theme song in order to rally the troops against an android invasion.
TV sure has come a long way since the 80s, but have rappers learned from Captain Power’s mistakes?
–via Comics Alliance
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Concluding our look back at retro Christmas wishes, we check out the groovy gear people were digging back in 1975. Unlike previous decades, which were mostly about the toys, this one’s all about stylin’ and profilin’. And they even included the grown folks in this gallery of fashion regret, so take a gander and see what people put on their lists over 35 years ago. Pant sets FTW!
(Image via mattonfire)
Continuing our series of what kids wanted back in the day, we explore the 1980s-a time of excess, badass toys and fashion regrets. While kids in previous decades may have had simpler tastes, by the 80s it was all about the latest toys based on cartoons and TV shows, electronics and video game systems, sometimes all rolled into one.
I couldn’t find one site with a comprehensive list of what we all wanted for Christmas in the 80s, so I chose 3 different sites that detail most of the amazing toys from that decade:
14 Photos of Kids Opening Presents in the 80s –this one’s cute because you get to see their reaction as they get the toy/present of their dreams.
Looking Back on the Hottest 80s Toys –a list, accompanied with pictures, that briefly describes each toy. This one’s mostly aimed at girls.
Top 20 Totally Awesome Toys from the 80s –this one’s fun because it features TV commercials for most of the toys on the list.
Enjoy this look back at the fabulous toys of the 1980s, and if you still have some of these treasures in a box somewhere, they may be more valuable than you think!
These charming paintings by Christopher Stott are full of nostalgia and the love of vintage design.
With muted hues and a soft light, they’re easily mistaken for photographs at a glance, and Christopher shows remarkable skill for imitating real-world reflections, from chrome to painted metal to the edge of a plastic book sleeve.
You can admire the rest of these masterfully crafted paintings at the link below.
Link –via Flavorwire
As the young’ns become slightly older’ns, and a new decade fad replaces the old, our popular interest sights are set upon the 1990s, a time of Bush/Clinton, Nicktoons and Cross Colours (which some kids felt the need to wear backwards, thanks to flash-in-the-pan kid rap act Kris Kross).
This massive desk doodle seems to sum it all up, in terms of animation anyways, with all the greats present and accounted for- Rugrats, Johnny Bravo, the Simpsons, Animaniacs, Sonic and Gumby? What’s he doing in there?
He’s known as Supaidaman in Japan, and his live action Japanese tv show from 1978 is way cooler than the cheesy American incarnation. Watch as Spider-Man performs stunts on his motorcycle, battles baddies with duck bills, and tries to stop the sinister plans of one Professor Monster.
–via ComicsAlliance
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When the Apple company was just beginning to take the home computing world by storm, they apparently thought it would be a good idea to try their hand at designing clothing as well.
These clothes are the ultimate in computing comfort, and nothing says 1986 like wrapping sweaters around yourself in strange places.
Mysterious beings that disable computers are called bugs. Before computers, mysterious beings that sabotaged vehicles and other machines were called gremlins. This use of the term originated in the 1920s to describe unexplained problems with military aircraft, according to Wikipedia. Gremlins were blamed for factory mishaps during World War II, as this safety poster reminds us. See more wartime industrial safety posters at vintage ads. Link -via Boing Boing
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Carolyn Eakins has a goal to lose 100 pounds. To accomplish this, she is copying the diet of wartime rations from the 1940s. For a year.
The 1940s Experiment is a personal journey and social experiment living for one year on a wartime ration book diet to conquer obesity. 100 wartime recipes will be recreated with photos as well as experiences of living on a 1940s WW2 ration diet… 1 authentic wartime recipe will be re-created for every 1 lb lost.
My highest ever weight was 345 lbs… I started the 1940s Experiment at 315 lbs and today I am 277 lbs. I’ve had a few stops and started along the way but now I’m committed to seeing this through…
My goal is to shift 100 lb in one year using a 1940s ration diet as my foundation….. at the moment I am also vegan.
Eakin is now two months into the experiment. You can follow her progress and learn more about the wartime diet at her blog. Link -via Nag on the Lake
Check out this collection of posters made for classrooms in the 1970s. The captions have been removed, and newer (and funnier) captions attached by Michael Roberts of Denver Westword. The caption for the above image is “I’ll bet I can make big bucks selling those chemicals on the side.”
This image has the new caption, “I’d do a helluva lot better in this job than he would — and be paid 60 percent of his salary.”
Link -via Boing Boing
Steampunk as a fashion trend might be fading away, but steampunk inspired inventions and designs will never die. Matt Armstrong brings his version of steampunk inspired design to these LEGO brick sculptures, and the resulting inventions/artworks are quite handsome looking indeed. With classic designs, simplistic retro flair, and the look of full functionality, this is how you put the bricks to good use!
Link –via DesignTAXI
Are you tired of your friends, family or co-workers ruining the plots of your favorite movies and tv shows? Then put these anti-spoiler campaign posters up all over the place and let the spoilers be forewarned-ruin the surprise and there’s going to be hell to pay! This is a hush campaign for the 21st century, to silence the spoilers and find out what the surprise twist is on our own schedule.
I once referred to the candy bar as Peter Paul’s Almond Joy and my kids thought I was crazy. But that’s what the candy was called when I learned to love it! You’ll see all kinds of sweets that were sold a half-century ago in the 1949 NWCA Candy Salesman Book. Link -via the Presurfer
This is what Elder Scrolls: Skyrim would have looked like if it had been released in the 1980s, complete with cheesy 8-bit soundtrack and glorious pixelated graphics.
This fun parody trailer pays homage to such classic video games as: Legend Of Zelda, Duck Hunt, SkiFree, and Final Fantasy. Maybe the team at Bethesda should take a break from making hi-resolution games and explore their pixelated roots.
–via Geekosystem
Beavis and Butthead are back, and their fans have come up with many creative ways to show their love. This quality gallery shows various fan art interpretations of the duo that don’t suck. Insert snarky comment here.
Thomas Beg animated the Lifecycle of a Mushroom for the Spectacular Science collaboration project in the style of the cartoons of the 1920s. Link -via Dangerous Minds
The Science Museum of Minnesota obtained the collection of the Museum of Quackery and Medical Frauds and set it up as the “Questionable Medical Device” collection.
This collection of dubious medical devices reminds us that sometimes, medicine is best left to the doctors. Exhibits on display include a phrenological machine that gauges personality by measuring the size of bumps on the head, a foot-powered breast enlarger, and glasses and soap products designed for weight-loss.
You can still have your phrenology read by the fully functional machine today, and as the machine outlines the bumps on your skull, the phrenology reader “maps” intelligence, morality, and much more. Machines such as these were all the rage at State Fairs of the early 1900s, as were other questionable medical devices. The infomercials of their time, these snake oils and pseudoscience gadgets could cure impotence, tell how smart you were, and make you live forever.
Read more about this strange museum within a museum at Atlas Obscura. Link
(Image credit: Flickr user A.M. Kuchling)
I remember seeing stacks of these awful things on the shelves when I was a youngster, and hearing parents say things like “look for the ones that say non-flammable” and “well, at least you can use the mask”, as their kids stifled tears over their terribly disappointing selection of flimsy plastic costumes.
Browse through this gallery of awfulness and see just how good kids have it these days when it comes to Halloween costumes.
Comments Off It would have been great if the game Prince of Persia had come out for the Commodore 64 in 1989 when I actually owned and used a C64, but sadly we had to endure the greatness of this classic game rubbed in our faces by our friends with Apple II computers.
However, hope is not lost, as the tireless efforts of retro gaming enthusiasts have finally paid off- Prince of Persia has been ported to the C64! So dust off your emulator and take this bad boy for a spin, or check out the video and pretend you played it through oh so many years ago.
In case you are too young to remember, macramé owls were all the rage about 40 years ago. Now rarely spotted and near the brink of extinction, there is an organization dedicated to saving this cultural landmark.
This organisation is dedicated to saving, rehabilitating and reviving the Macramé Owl.
The Macramé Owl is a rare species that is dreadfully declining in numbers worldwide. This heartbreaking situation is partly due to the difficulty in finding jute at local craft shops. It is further exacerbated by a lack of a sense of humour in humans for the sake of Seriousity.
Learn about owl watching, macrame owl hoots, the different variety of owls, and what you can do to save them. Link -via Laughing Squid
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These paintings by Laura Bifano depict animals as a bunch of squares, but this ain’t your grandma’s Cubism. This is 8-bit Cubist artworks for the video game generation, with cubic animals that look like they’ve leaped off the tv screen and into their “natural” habitats, and are having trouble fitting in with the classical art world.
There are plenty more cool paintings at the artist’s site below, take a gander and you’ll see a whole wide world of cubic critters trying to act natural.
Link -via ComicsAlliance
Ty Mattson constructed an alternate show intro for the Showtime series Dexter that is reminiscent of Saul Bass’ movie titles from the ’60s. Groovy! The video is based on a series of posters Mattson created, which you can see at his site. Link -Thanks, Ty!
Ooh, this one is fantastic: a set of retro Muppet concert posters by Michael De Pippo, who wrote:
I love the Muppets. And with the movie coming out in the next couple of months, there is no better time for a fun little side project involving the best band ever conceived: Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem.
My idea was simple; create a vintage concert poster for each band member (Dr. Teeth, Janice, Sgt. Floyd Pepper, Zoot and Animal). Using clean, crisp vectors, negative space and few colours, I wanted to keep them as simple and stylized as possible; reminiscent of retro posters from back in the day.
Link - via design work life
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Take a trip back with this fun PopSci archive gallery of ways to reuse household items and see if you can’t find a way to spruce up your boring old house, or an idea for a fun christmas gift made from your leftover stuff. The kid in the drawing sure looks happy with his abacus made from thread spools, so this article may bring happiness into your life!
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