The old-fashioned Dymo label maker was easy to use and affordable – which meant that these colorful plastic sticky labels used to be seen almost everywhere and on everything.
Nancy J Price
Known as the speaking clock or POPCORN, calling the phone company for the time was a handy service helped people reset clocks years ago.
100 years ago, public swimming pools were vital for summer survival The charm of vintage public swimming pools from the early 1900s transports us back
Pepperidge Farm remembers… but do you recall all of these classic cakes, cookies, breads, turnovers & other treats they made years ago? (And did you know they once made canned soup?)
With space-age design elements like starbursts and swooshes, and the large backplates, some of the most popular mid-century modern door knobs were absolutely iconic, and easy to recognize.
During WWII, countless products were limited in order to help meet the demands both of the military and the citizens back home. Here’s a look at what those war ration books and rationing stamps looked like.
Back in the seventies, you weren’t considered ‘in’ in some circles if you didn’t have a Pet Rock – the perfect pet. Here, look back at a few of the most popular ‘breeds,’ and find out the history of this silliness.
Back in the 1960s & 1970s, if you asked someone on the mainland about Hawaiian music, chances are the first (and probably only) songs they’d know would be by Don Ho. The singer’s smooth, laid-back style delighted millions. Find out how it all began here.
Tiddlywinks (originally Tiddle-dy Winks) seems like a simple kids’ game… but there’s a lot more to it! Find out about it – including how to play – here.
Unbelievably enchanting and ever-changing, the Wham-O Magic Window toy created countless designs, landscapes, seascapes, birds and butterflies as the crystals fly, slide and erupt into one pattern after another.
The book “Little Folks of Animal Land” by Harry Whittier Frees was released in 1915, and featured mostly kittens and puppies in various human scenarios. Take a look!
After using AI photography tools, these vintage clown pictures looked so much more lifelike than before (those eyes!), and details that were easily overlooked before became obvious. See some before and afters here!
See some groovy designs of vintage DuPont Flair Squares – stick-on pieces of vinyl wallpaper that were an easy way to DIY some home decor in the 70s and 80s.
Dynamite magazine was published from 1974-1992, and delivered a little bit of pop culture to kids’ mailboxes all across the US. Here’s a look back!
Check out these silent movie title cards were created as movie theater etiquette notes, reminders and announcements that preceded a film that really are snapshots in time.
Listen up: You might think our Victorian forebears did everything with grace and elegance, but have you considered that may be fake news? In reality, the dames of high society were basically just influencers.
Vintage 40s diners were descendants of the railroad dining car, and often sported shiny metal on the outside and a long counter with stools on the inside. Take a ride back in time to see 40 examples of roadside diners!
The 50s and 60s were the glory days for old drive-in movie theaters, when there were about 4000 such venues spread across the country. Take a look back!
Safety Last! was one of the best-known movies of the silent film era, and gave us the iconic image of Harold Lloyd, dangling off a huge clock.
Despite a few years of controversy, Brooke Shields stayed a successful actress and fashion model – even adding author to her resume – and has continued to work in the entertainment industry as a remarkably well-grounded and former child star.
On TV, the I Dream of Jeannie bottle was magical – from the pretty painted outside to the plush, jeweled interior. Find out about the wizardry that made it work!
Marshall Pinckney Wilder was a hugely successful comedian during the late 1800s and early 1900s.
If retro and vintage fashion are your thing, check out these seven fantastic styles of footwear styles from the past! Featuring laces, T-straps and buttons,
Hot on the heels of the flower child era, back in 1974, Mattel introduced a set of toys that were sort of the anti-Barbie: The Sunshine Family dolls.
While it’s not unusual today for a child’s growing up to be well-documented, a chronological series of vintage baby pictures like these were a rare advantage in the early 20th century!
Capitalizing on the success of The Six Million Dollar Man, The Bionic Woman was a spin-off that ran for three seasons from 1976 to 1978. The show starred Lindsay Wagner as the physically augmented Jaime Sommers.
Of his famous movie “The Birds,” director Alfred Hitchcock said, ‘It could be the most terrifying motion picture I have ever made!’ And for many thousands of people, it was. Find out more about the 60s film here.
The Kodak Disc camera was was lightweight, foolproof (with auto-exposure and built-in flash), affordable, and used a brand new kind of film cartridge… but it was only sold for six years.
See Jimi Hendrix play ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ live at Woodstock on August 18, 1969 – and what he thought of his own performance.
These WW2 escape & evasion maps were made of strong but lightweight silk cloth, and were issued to troops going into war zones so they could find their way around in hostile territory.
Here’s some eye-opening insight into the invention of contact lenses! The contacts were made of glass, and although they worked much like they do today, they were thick, uncomfortable, and even a little dangerous.
Do you remember how homes looked in the 1970s? Not the model homes but the real, houses everyday people lived in? Here, take a 1970s home tour, featuring photos not published before!
Charlotte Collyer lived through the tragic disaster the world remembers more than 100 years later. Here, read about what happened in this dramatic and compelling first-person account from a Titanic survivor.
Chocolate milk has been loved by kids – and, yes, adults! – since at least the 1920s. Here’s a look back at some vintage chocolate milk brands that have hit supermarkets over the years – some of which you know, but many more than have been lost to time.
Below are a few photos of actor/assassin John Wilkes Booth, along with some theater advertisements that appeared in newspapers during the years leading up to President’s Lincoln’s murder.
The M1 helmet was a WW2 helmet used by the United States military in the 1940s, and the M1C helmet was designed especially for paratroopers. Take a look up-close, inside and out!
Check out some original ‘Wizard of Oz’ cast photos from 1903, and see if you don’t think the characters seem creepy — maybe even a little bit ghoulish.
Although penicillin was discovered in 1928 by Alexander Fleming, real research and production started in earnest in mid-1941, thanks to World War II.
Olc cash register history goes back to the Victorian era, and were used to both streamline accounting, and to keep cashiers from stealing money. Find out more here!
To this day, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York on March 25, 1911, remains the deadliest industrial disaster in the city’s history,
The Banana Splits Adventure Hour lasted only 31 episodes, but its funky psychedelia had a lasting impact. Take a look – and a listen!
Did Coca-Cola once have cocaine in it? Amazingly, yes. Originally marketed as a health drink when it debuted in the 1880s, Coca-Cola was said to cure everything from a migraine (aka “sick headache”) to physical exhaustion to depression.
By the early 20th century, materials were more readily available to make picture jigsaw puzzles – and the novelties were soon found in households across the country.
Look back at these cute vintage Tinkerbell manicure kits, BO-PO (Brush-on, peel-off) nail polish and other beauty treats marketed to little girls back in the ’70s and ’80s. Lots of memories here!
This is a detailed account of what would come to be known as The Battle of the Wilderness, which was the first battle of Grant’s
The woman on the iconic ‘We can do it!’ posters from the 1940s encouraged women to join the WWII workforce – and they did. Here, see 46 real-life Rosie the Riveters who built bombers and transport planes.
This little airplane safety card pamphlet was given to passengers on board Pan Am’s double-decker Strato clipper propeller plane (Boeing 377, aka Stratocruiser) in case of an emergency.
While not exclusively the domain of the fifties, the popularity of vintage pink bathrooms – including pink toilets, sinks and bathtubs, and other home decor – reached its peak during the middle of the 20th century. Take a look!
Gus Wagner, one of the first tattoo professionals, and with him on the circus sideshow marquee was his wife Maud Wagner, the famous Tattooed Woman.
This article bids adieu to the man whose name countless millions of people have worn: the one and only Levi Strauss, creator of Levi’s riveted denim blue jeans. Find out more about the man here.
Many of today’s Halloween costumes and the tales of pirate treasure we all know can be traced back to the life and times of the very real person, Captain Kidd. But where is his treasure?
Before vintage Disneyland opened in 1955, Walt Disney said the huge amusement park would be ‘the most fabulous playground on earth.’ See what it looked like!
See what it looked like during President Lincoln’s historic Gettysburg Address speech, plus eyewitness accounts, analysis, full text & and a handwritten copy of the speech.
When this article was published, touting the wonders of c-section deliveries, they stated that the cesarean rate was one out of 20 births. And that
Long before automatic washing machines, people had to wash their clothes the old-fashioned way – using vintage washboards, tubs, hand scrubbing, and things called manglers. Here’s how they did it.
Take a fun look back at the stereotypical ’50s housewife, as she vacuums in heels, washes dishes wearing pearls, and makes everything practically perfect.
When Princess Diana was pregnant with baby Prince William, a geneticist weighed in on what he thought the young prince or princess might look like.
These old ‘insert dime’ holiday greeting cards filled with coins were very popular – and a super fun way for friends and family to give a kid a dollar!
When color TV was first invented, people wondered if you could convert a black & white TV to color, and which shows would appear in color – and when. Here are some of the answers they were given.
Even today, there are ships buried under downtown San Francisco that you might walk over, on land reclaimed from the Bay thanks to the Gold Rush.
‘The Jeffersons’ was an offshoot of ‘All in the Family’ that took on a life of its own, and made a star out of Sherman Hemsley, who played George Jefferson.
What were vintage Magic Slate Paper Savers about? Think of them like a really low-tech tablet – you could draw and then erase… and do it over and over.
It’s not just today’s kids – the metric system has actually been ignored by people for more than two hundred years. But why isn’t it catching on, and what has been done to promote it? Here’s a look back.
In the ’70s & ’80s, vintage vinyl floors like these were the must-have design touch in kitchens, family rooms, and beyond Take a look back – or look down – here!
The founder of Kodak built the George Eastman House, a 50-room Colonial Revival mansion in upstate New York. Now a museum, here’s what it looks like.
Academy Award-winning actress Jennifer Connelly started out as a child model. Here’s a look back to those days in the early ’80s when she was just getting her career off the ground!
How much does The Sound of Music movie differ from the true story of the von Trapp family? Take a look back at the hugely-successful musical based on their lives, and find out both fact and fiction.
Find out about the double murder Lizzie Borden may have committed – starting with the first news reports, through the court case, then summaries of the dramatic tale that riveted the nation.
Through observation, experimentation and genius, scientist Louis Pasteur was able to create the first rabies vaccine – even though he didn’t exactly know what caused the disease.
In a case study of terrible timing, the huge Habana Hilton hotel in Havana, Cuba, wasn’t even open for a year when it was taken over. Find out more here!
For the ’50s housewife, laundry was huge: the love you had for your kitchen paled only in comparison to the adoration you felt for your washer and dryer.
Once part of everyday life, now only people of a certain age will remember this stuff. Here are 25 obsolete products most people under 25 have never seen in real life!
Although the story below was the topic of the 1994 made-for-TV movies Death of a Cheerleader/A Friend to Die For, this story has personal meaning, because I was another teen girl at the same school.
See inside an old general store in Oregon that sold everything pioneers needed — from food to tools, shoes to stoves.
Take a look back at ten old roller coasters from the early 1900s, and admire the courage of the riders who sat down in those rickety little cars and sped off into the wild blue yonder.
Avoid contradicting your husband, do not give your advice till he asks it, and other marriage tips from the 1830s. Because a wife may have more sense than her husband, but she should never seem to know it.
A lighthearted look back at the 50s housewife during the sunny days of yesteryear, when a woman’s home was her castle — and her kitchen was the heart of that home.
39 years before the classic movie ‘The Wizard of Oz’ was released, see what people had to say about ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’ book back in 1900!
This widely-beloved cartoon music video for ‘I’m Just A Bill’ came out in 1975 as part of Schoolhouse Rock, a memorable series of animated shorts that ran with the Saturday morning cartoons.
Vintage Los Angeles in the 1950s Take a retro peek back at the Los Angeles area of yesteryear! In addition to the huge cars (plus
‘Vampire’ in this case refers less to the literal blood-suckers and more to the women – aka vamps or femmes fatale – who suck the life force from men.
Thousands of lives would be lost before it was discovered that simple asbestos – something natural, helpful and seemingly innocuous – would actually lead to many major health problems.[
Here’s some insight into the auto industry from the very early days, where cars didn’t come with too many “extras” — like flower vases and
On D-Day June 6, 1944, after the jump, my group of approximately 80 men met with Colonel Shanley’s group of about 120 men on the outskirts of the town of Picauville.
Her mother had the byline on all the books in the hugely-popular Little House on the Prairie series, but many thought that Rose Wilder Lane
The Victorian-era Cliff House This early version of San Francisco’s Cliff House was destroyed by fire in 1894 A later version of the first Cliff
