What looks like some horrific, early 20th century polygraph test cum torture chamber was, in fact, a gentle medical solution to a common, achey problem. More »
All these modern-day kids have iPad and iPod touch apps to learn the alphabet. My kindergarten class had a box of these Alphabet Robots for our grimey, snot-ridden hands to play with. With just one or two minor adjustments, a letter of the alphabet suddenly transformed into an adorable little robot creature. This was awesome. It made learning fun. More »
It seems utterly and incredibly sexist these days, but 60 years ago many companies required female employees to resign when they married. This internal memo marks the day that IBM decided that was a stupid idea. More »
Though your old dial-up modem (hopefully) now sits in a junk yard somewhere, its beeps and whistles surely remain etched into your brain. With this massive image, Oona Räisänen decided to explain every single note your modem used to make—and it’s fascinating. More »
With the trends of today’s disaffected youth being what they are, mustaches have gained an unfortunate affiliation with hipsterdom and its ironic ramifications. This gloriously dignified mustache spoon, however, is a reminder that there was actually a time when your mustache was a symbol of honor and of your manhood. More »
The godfather of news, Walter Cronkite, had a regular show on CBS called “The 21st Century” that showed off technology of the future. One episode that aired on March 12, 1967 showed off what a home would look like in 2001: 3D TV, videophones, some gigantic machine that sounds a lot like Twitter, robot servants and more. More »
Last weekend, Lotus 1-2-3 turned 30. It was widely regarded as the IBM PC’s first killer piece of software—a heady combination of spreadsheet, database, and graphics processor—and set the ball rolling for a whole world of productivity applications. But the best thing about it has to be this ad. More »
On January 28th 1958, Godtfred Kirk Christiansen patented the humble Lego brick. His company had existed, making other toys, since 1930—but it was 55 years ago today that the infamous studded plastic brick was officially born. More »
46 years ago today, veteran astronaut Gus Grissom, first American spacewalker Ed White, and rookie Roger Chaffee were killed in a cabin fire during an Apollo 1 launch pad test. The first majorly fatal accident in NASA’s history, the fire was caused in part by the cabin’s pure oxygen atmosphere and a number of other dangerous design flaws that were corrected over the 20 month delay that followed the incident. More »
Supertasters have long ruled the world of sommeliers and chefs, but our knowledge of their existence is still a relatively new phenomenon. More »
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