Modern Mechanix Round-Up
I've asked Charlie from Modern Mechanix to put together this round-up of the latest and greatest from one of the web's best retro tech blogs. He's kindly obliged! Expect to see this daily, or nearly. (It's much easier than just linking all his stuff every day!)
Today at Modern Mechanix we looked at RCA's 5-screen television of the future, and learned that in 1936 glass manufacturers used clown suited midgetsto test vinyl coated automotive safety glass. Long before the History Channel got the bug, Mechanix Illustrated had regular segments where they declared everything a "Modern Marvel". In an 1939 articlewe see that engineers were able to make an amazing, quasi fiber optic light pipe that could almost fit in a person's mouth. What kind of child buys a record full of locomotive sound effects? The demonically possessed, apparently. Nowadays everyone is trying to cram web browsers into the family refrigerator, a trend that seems to originate with this 1937 fridge with a built-in radio. Lastly we looked at device for making a jury-rigged tandem out of two bicycles. I'm not exactly sure how the riders handled curbs, but they had to have an easier time then the pair on this micro-tandem we posted yesterday.
the latest
latest episodes
The multi screen tv is not such a bad idea. I thought I remembered seeing a photo somewhere of President Ford using something similar in the whitehouse.
Back when I was a bachelor I had 3 TV's in my living room. One was the main tv, the other was used for the tv guide channel and the 3rd was often left on the weather radar channel or used for surfing during commercials.
My girlfriend has imposed a strict one tv rule on our living room. So I make due with one 50" Plasma.