Be smart. Be brave. Be vaccinated.
Leave a reply
Tag Archives: retro
Raquel Not Included
A history of the Concord grape.
A history of the Concorde.
Methodist History: Communion and Welch’s Grape Juice
The approach in the advertising copy is… interesting. “We spent a lot of money on advertising, so give us your money.”
Continue readingIt’s a pinky tinky!
Pink was a surprise, but then again, maybe not. An eBay/Etsy search shows that this device was available in Sea Mist Green, Amber Gray, Alpine Blue, or Capri Coral (pink to me). Yes, long before the iMac.
Hmm… It looks like division wasn’t quite invented yet. Well, it is an adding machine after all.
For the curious:
Today seems like a good day to read a brief history of the numeric keypad!
Can’t leave out the modern age!
Continue readingAmerica’s Hot New Success Car… There are success cars?
The Torino was an upscale variation of the Ford Fairlane, eventually replacing it. Sorry, Andrew Dice Clay.
The car was named after Turin, the home of a certain shroud.
You might notice some shared DNA with a certain ’73 Ford Falcon used in a dusty Australian movie.
And don’t forget about The Striped Tomato.
Continue readingFor all your fiberglass horses needs.
Just when you thought it couldn’t get any better than gen-u-ine fiberglass horses, it turns out Bob Prewitt of Prewitt Fiberglass Products is also the guy behind all those giant roadside mascots you might know better as Paul Bunyans or Muffler Men scattered across America. Stuckey’s will tell ya more!
These guys are living their best lives.
And of course, Roadside America is a deliciously deep and rich source of Muffler Men maps and mythology as well.
Continue readingThis cover kinda makes me want to become a lepidopterist.
The cover art is by J. C. Leyendecker, just some dude who inspired Norman Rockwell. Rockwell would later be one of the pallbearers at Leyendecker’s funeral.
Do you remember the butterfly life cycle? It’s completely metamorphosis-y.
Where did the word “Easter” come from? Get your etymology on.
Lepidopterist? There’s a society for that.
J. C.’s brother, F. X., created the butterfly lady that was on an old Life magazine cover and later seen on the wall of the “Three’s Company” apartment.
“Hurry up and paint the ad! This thing is effin’ heavy!”
The curious type in the Liquid Veneer is neither italic nor oblique. I’m not sure what you’d call it. Bizarro-oblique? Mirroritalic? Hmm.
Liquid Veneer was a product of the Buffalo Specialty Co.
They also made hacksaws and grinders.
I’m guessing it’s a bad idea to use Liquid Veneer for dental veneers.
Continue readingThe technology of yesterday, today.
The Fantastic and Troubled History of the Video Phone
Continue readingCome for the gimcracks. Stay for the SPUG.
What’s a gimcrack? Pretty much the same thing as a gewgaw, d-uh.
Mr. Smith must’ve been a real tightwad over clothing, as both he and Mrs. Smith wear the same outfits for several days. Hopefully, Colgate made a deodorant back then. (Nowadays, they do make Speed Stick.)
What’s the deal with fainting couches? In related news, a chaise longue is usually screwed up by Americans as a “chaise lounge”.
It looks like SPUG was made up for this ad, but there are other SPUGS that exist today.
Continue readingAll other perfumes pale in comparison.
I thought it read “perfume by Bryan” but I guess it’s Evyan, not Bryan. Sorry, Bryan. Now sold under the Elizabeth Arden brand.
White Shoulders was launched in 1945. It was Evyan’s first and only perfume. Evyan’s founder had a great name — by Baron Walter Langer von Langendorff.
Yes, you want to know about the history of opera glasses.
White shoulders may be a symptom of a serious medical condition.
Continue reading