Wednesday 27 June 2012

The future will be televised

Paleofuture looks at a 1951 version of the future surveillance society. 

Tuesday 26 June 2012

Vintage atomics


The Unwanted Blog features this cutaway of a nuclear rocket engine from 1962

Tuesday 19 June 2012

Dough boys on the Moon


An now, the US Army's 1959 design for a lunar lander.

It may not have gone to the Moon, but it did look more rockety than the LEM.

Monday 18 June 2012

The Future of Food


Popular Science trolls its archives to look at the future of food.  Some of the items are interesting, such a the one illustrated here that talks about converting gases directly into food, others are embarassing, as in howlers like this:
Fruits and vegetables were bleached (sic) in boiling water to help retain their color.
I think he meant "blanched".

Then there's the opening bit about urban farming that both in the modern and archived bit forgets that it wasn't that long ago that livestock was raised in the city, which is why the only ones who do so today are hobbyists.

Friday 15 June 2012

Groovy computers


Retrospace has a stunning retrospective on mainframe computers in the days when computers were practically architecture instead of things you tuck in your pocket.

Thursday 14 June 2012

The jobs of 2012


Paleofuture looks at the jobs of 2012 as seen from 1982.

Please don't mention the "peace analysts:, though.  The same people who thought "diversity managers" were a good idea might be listening.

Tuesday 12 June 2012

Nikola Tesla wasn't God


Forbes has some neck.  I posed the same thesis and have suffered years of stick from True believers because of it.

Keep your heads down, lads.

Monday 11 June 2012

Electronic Bed


Look at this electronic bed of 1945 courtesy of Hugo Gernsback and rescued from obscurity by JF Ptak Science Books LLC.

Among it's technological gadgets is a book rest that pulls out!

There's no end to this age of scientific wonders?

Friday 8 June 2012

Elektro revisited

Retronaut looks at one of our favourite residents over at Tales of Future Past: Elektro.

Tremble as the "mightiest of all robots" pops a balloon.

Tuesday 5 June 2012

Friday 1 June 2012