March 24, 2006

“BASH AN APACHE”?!?! (Jun, 1959)

Filed under: Crime and Police, Just Weird, Scary — @ 9:31 am
Source: Mechanix Illustrated ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Jun, 1959
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I’m really not sure what this has to do with Apaches, but damn! Spikes and acid?

“BASH AN APACHE” says this Paris cab driver, showing teeth, nail-studded bully, acid squirter he uses on tough customers

Update:
In the comments Stannous explains the term Apache. It’s actually much more interesting than the picture:

Not the Indians- French thugs:
By 1874 Paris was swarming with vagabonds. Consisting mostly of juvenile delinquents, these ten thousand or so ruffians would evolve into a new generation of street-fighter, banding into a gang which came to be known as the Apache.
The word “Apache” (pronounced “ah – PAHASH”) is a Parisian term used to describe the French street gangs of the early 1900s. The era’s local newspapers often described the violence perpetrated by these gangs as synonymous with the ferocity of Apache Indians in battle.

The typical French Apache was a young, lower-class, pimp-type vagabond with connections to the underworld. An interesting by-product of this underground culture was “Apache dancing” — a type of “street swing” which simulated actions and movements of urban violence, and actually contained combat techniques particular to the typical Apache’s repertoire. This dance was reportedly so violent that participants sometimes died of injuries sustained from being thrown across bars, onto tables, or after being struck with mistimed blows.

Understandably, this form of dancing was confined to the Apache culture, although for a short time it did attract the attention of the upper class, who came to appreciate a toned-down version which was said to be somewhat similar to the tango.

The Apaches most prominently focused on their own form of street combat however. Crude and unscrupulous, yet highly effective, “French Apache street fighting” emphasised the use of elementary street kicks, hand strikes, head-butts, throws, and an assortment of weapons both standard and improvised which included knuckle dusters, knives, razors, scarves, bodkins,,jackets, hats, the Apache gun and even sheep bones!

March 23, 2006

I’M VERY DEAF BUT I HEAR Everything (Mar, 1950)

Filed under: Advertisements, General — @ 3:55 pm
Source: Popular Mechanics ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Mar, 1950
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Yes, and I’m very blind, but I can see everything.


I’M VERY DEAF BUT I HEAR

Everything with My New
Zenith “MINIATURE” HEARING AID
Don’t let deafness kill the joys of living. Let a Zenith home trial prove you, too, can even hear a whisper. Here’s Zenith’s amazing guarantee—if any $200.00 hearing aid outperforms Zenith’s newest, tiny, 6.75 oz. single-unit “Miniature” Ra-dionic Hearing Aid in efficiency or economy, your money back—under our 10-Day Return Privilege. Only $75.00 complete, ready to wear. For authorized Zenith Hearing Aid Dealer in your locality, consult your classified telephone book; or write us for complete coast-to-coast dealer list. Free descriptive literature on request. Address—
Zenith Radio Corporation, Hearing Aid Division Dept. 391, 5801 W. Dickens Ave., Chicago 39, III.
Makers of World Famous Zenith Radio, FM and Television Sets

Harried Secretary (Apr, 1945)

Filed under: Just Weird, Kitchen — @ 3:53 pm
Source: Mechanix Illustrated ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Apr, 1945
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Can you imagine cooking ham, eggs, toast and coffee at your desk? I once worked with a woman who had a habit of microwaving bacon in our office, that was bad enough for me.

Eggs, Toast, Coffee
can all be made on this one compact utensil, among the first of the promised innovations awaiting the end of the war. After making ham and eggs, you can toast bread by raising the movable grill three inches above the heating unit. It’s a boon for harried secretaries.

Shower and Beach Hood (Nov, 1934)

Filed under: Origins — @ 11:33 am
Source: Science And Mechanics ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Nov, 1934
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Truly a miracle of modern science.

Shower and Beach Hood
MADE of oiled silk, this waterproof hood permits milady to enjoy the thrills of the shower without damaging her permanent wave.

Giant Cleaner Sucks Out Bus (Sep, 1953)

Filed under: Automotive, Cool, History — @ 11:12 am
Source: Popular Science ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Sep, 1953
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I wish I could clean my house this way…

Giant Cleaner Sucks Out Bus
A Chicago company cleans out 110 buses every 24 hours with a king-size vacuum cleaner that attaches to the front door’ and inhales all the debris in each vehicle. Two 28-inch vacuum fans “create air pressure behind a huge bellows that does the job. A man helps remove stubborn particles with an air hose.

Inside IBM’s World’s Fair ‘Egg’ (Jul, 1964)

Filed under: Computers, Cool, Sign of the Times — @ 10:49 am
Source: Popular Science ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Jul, 1964
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For a lot more info check out this page on the amazing New York Worlds Fair ‘64 site.

Inside IBM’s World’s Fair ‘Egg’

FROM a distance, it looks like the storage tank for the Festival of Gas. But as New York World’s Fair visitors draw nearer, they find themselves in a people trap—IBM’s wonderfully zany exhibit pavilion, featuring the Information Machine.

It’s really a theater that sits atop a forest of 45 stylized, 32-foot-high sheet-metal trees. Their cleverly dovetailed branches support 14,000 gray and green Plexiglas leaves, forming a continuous, one-acre canopy.

You join a couple of thousand others who are queueing up on a complex of catwalks suspended above a shallow pool. The ramps lead to a 45-degree tilted grandstand, holding 500 spectators. Eventually, you take your place on what IBM calls the “people wall.” Its 12 tiers of seats are no sooner filled than an M.C. in white tie and tails comes gliding down above you in a “bucket.” He promises that in the next 12 minutes you’ll learn that computers make use of everyday methods we all use in our daily lives to solve complicated problems.
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Bye-bye bookie (Jun, 1970)

Filed under: General — @ 10:10 am
Source: Popular Science ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Jun, 1970
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Bye-bye bookie
It’s self-service at a Paris track. Put a 10-franc note in a machine, push a win, place, or show button, and another numbered to match your horse. Out pops your ticket. Or, as with any vending machine, it could keep your money and give you nothing—but that’s gambling.

Scotch Tape (Jun, 1960)

Filed under: Origins — @ 10:07 am
Source: Popular Science ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Jun, 1960
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Origins of the matte Scotch Tape we all know and love.

NON REFLECTIVE TAPE for permanent mending of torn blueprints, maps, books, and other papers is colorless and almost invisible. The Scotch brand tape is made of acetate film with a matte finish that you can write on with a pen or pencil. Unlike other tapes, it doesn’t discolor with age. A 180-inch roll sells for 39 cents. Minnesota Mining & Mfg. Co., St. Paul, Minn.

METALLIZED BABY SHOES (Jun, 1949)

Filed under: Advertisements, Sign of the Times, Useless Tech — @ 9:54 am
Source: Popular Science ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Jun, 1949
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LET ME PUT YOU IN A BIG PAY BUSINESS OF YOUR OWN!
AT HOME – FULL OR SPARE TIME
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Metallized baby shoes offer you the chance of a lifetime to be independent. The chance to be your own boss. Make up to $5.00 per hour FOR YOUR SPARE TIME. Yes — you can easily average $5.00 an hour and more working only spare time — think what this can amount to working full time or with the whole family helping! Think of all the comforts and happiness this EXTRA INCOME will give you and your loved ones.

19,000,000 CUSTOMERS WAITING!
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March 22, 2006

Breaking the Language Barrier (Apr, 1958)

Filed under: Communications, Computers, Origins — @ 2:56 pm
Source: Popular Science ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Apr, 1958
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Very cool, if a somewhat optimistic article from 1958 about machine translation.

Breaking the Language Barrier

Each year, millions of reports on scientific research are published—a big fraction of them in foreign languages. In this mass of Russian, Dutch, Chinese, Hindustani data are clues to H-power, interplanetary flight, more powerful batteries, longer-wearing tires. The trouble is: Too few scientists and engineers read foreign languages. What we need is a machine to read one language and type in another: an automatic translator. We’re trying to build—not one, but several. Engineering problems? Fantastic. Here’s where we stand now.
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“Orange-Peel House” for Campers Fits on Small Trailer (Jul, 1955)

Filed under: Architecture — @ 2:37 pm
Source: Popular Mechanics ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Jul, 1955
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“Orange-Peel House” for Campers Fits on Small Trailer
Developed in Germany, a portable shelter for camping or trailer travel looks like a gigantic orange —and peels apart almost like one. The parts of the shelter are shaped much like the segments of an orange peel. One person can fasten the segments together to complete the shelter in 15 minutes. The parts of the shelter including the floor are made of plywood. When the shelter is disassembled, the parts can be stacked on a small trailer for the trip to the next camping site. The collapsible house has two windows and a door. In Germany the “orange house” sells for about $150.

Mechanical Chess Opponent (Jul, 1951)

Filed under: Computers, Toys and Games — @ 9:56 am
Source: Popular Mechanics ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Jul, 1951
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I love how they speak in absolutes “never makes a mistake”, “perfect chess techniques”. I’m worndering how it could possibly play chess at all. My guess is that what they mean is it always makes a legal move, i.e. pawns don’t go sideways.

Also, does that board look a little small to you?

Mechanical Chess Opponent
Chess fans can play solitaire against a machine that never makes a mistake. Invented by a Spaniard, the machine teaches perfect chess techniques. Whenever an error is made in play, a light flashes on automatically.

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