Antique Postcard Images Reveal Projected Visions of the US a Century Later
Massachusetts. Copley Square, Boston
A captivating assortment of odd yet fascinating postcards from Steven R. Shook offers visions conceived in the 1900s, hypothesizing how the cities, towns, and hamlets across the US might evolve over the next 100 years. Continue reading »
Riding on Steel Springs: Germany’s Innovative Response to a Rubber Shortage
Let’s delve into the fascinating history of the tire, which began to gather significant momentum with the invention and subsequent popularization of tires in 1895, thanks largely to Michelin L’Éclaire – the first vehicle to be outfitted with them. Continue reading »
The Pioneering Ford Aurora II: A Living Room on Wheels Unveiled in 1969
The Ford Aurora II didn’t make it to the marketplace, presumably due to non-compliance with safety regulations. However, its features, like the wrap-around sofa and the passenger seat with a full 180° rotation capacity, continue to stand as some of the most daring design innovations of the 1960s. Continue reading »
The Never Contented: The Pioneering Speed of La Jamais Contente
In the late 19th century, a remarkable vehicle named La Jamais Contente, meaning “The Never Contented” in English, made history as the first road vehicle to exceed 100 kilometers per hour (62 mph). This groundbreaking achievement marked a significant milestone in automotive progress. Continue reading »
The Voisin C14: A Masterpiece of Art Deco Design and Innovative Engineering
During its production from late 1927 to 1932, the Voisin C14 chassis emerged as one of the brand’s most prolific models, with a total of 1,795 units manufactured. Renowned for their stunning aesthetics, many C14s boasted custom bodies inspired by the Art Deco movement, including the iconic Chartre Demi-Berline designed by Andre Lefèbvre for Voisin. Continue reading »
Robotic Renaissance: Polish Artist Agnieszka Pilat’s Innovative Canvas
Agnieszka Pilat, a modern artist, honed her skills at the Academy of Art University and initially focused on portraiture in San Francisco. Despite her technical skill, her work was overlooked in the abstraction-preferred local art scene. However, an encounter with Paul Stein, an art collector and the developer behind Airbnb’s headquarters, opened a new path. Stein requested a painting of a vintage fire alarm bell, which was the start of Pilat’s artistic breakthrough. Continue reading »
From Vintage Treasures to Cultural Artifacts: The Enchanting World of Petrol Station Pumps at Fisogni Museum
Bergomi Petrol Pump 1960
The Fisogni Museum, located near Milan, Italy, is dedicated to showcasing petrol station pumps and ephemera. Guido Fisogni, the museum’s founder, began collecting these pumps over thirty years ago. Continue reading »
From Boat-Tail to Muscle Flanks: The Revolutionary Design of the 1971 Riviera Muscle Car
The year 1971 marked a significant milestone in the history of the Buick Riviera, an iconic luxury car produced by General Motors (GM) since 1963. Under the direction of GM’s chief styling director, Bill Mitchell, the Riviera underwent a radical redesign that introduced flowing and dramatic “boat-tail” styling, which was penned by Jerry Hirshberg, the future head of design for Nissan. Continue reading »
The Timeless Beauty of the Talbot-Lago T150 CSS Series by Figoni
In 1935, Talbot-Lago emerged as a company following the dissolution of Sunbeam-Talbot-Darracq. Its founder, Anthony Lago, aimed to manufacture a collection of high-end and extravagant sports cars. Initially, these cars used six-cylinder engines, but later models incorporated eight-cylinder engines and occasionally more affordable options to boost sales. Continue reading »
The Dark Knight Rises in Vietnam: Architecture Student Creates Impressive Batpod Replica
Meet Nguyen Dac Chung, a Vietnamese architecture student who spent six months building his very own Batpod, with the help of a team of friends. Inspired by Christopher Nolan’s iconic film, The Dark Knight, Chung spent over a year planning and researching the design, before embarking on his epic project. Continue reading »
Bella Hadid, DALL-E 2, and the Strange Beauty of Vogue Italia’s May 2023 Cover Story
Carlijn Jacobs/Vogue
AI art has been making waves in the art world for some time, but it’s not until it graces the cover of a major fashion magazine that it truly reaches the mainstream. That’s what happened with Vogue Italia’s May 2023 edition, which featured a cover story that blended real models, photographers, and stylists with AI-generated imagery from DALL-E 2. Continue reading »
Matra Sports Jet: The French Sports Car Gifted to Yuri Gagarin
The Matra Djet is a renowned French sports car that was originally designed and sold by René Bonnet. The car was first introduced in June 1962 under the name René Bonnet Djet, and it was the world’s first rear mid-engined production road car. Over the years, different versions of the car were produced and sold under various names that included Matra-Bonnet Djet, Matra Sports Djet, and finally, Matra Sports Jet. Continue reading »
Beautiful Photos and The Story of Edsel Ford’s Model 40 Special Speedster
In the early 1930s, Edsel B. Ford, the President of Ford Motor Company, commissioned his styling chief, Eugene T. “Bob” Gregorie, to create a unique roadster with limited production potential. Gregorie sketched various alternatives before building a 1/25th scale model, which he tested in a small wind tunnel. The resulting car, based on the 1934 Ford (also known as Model 40), became known as the Model 40 Special Speedster. Continue reading »
The Fend Flitzer: The Invalid Carriage that Paved the Way for Messerschmitt Kabinenroller Microcars
The Fend Flitzer was a three-wheeled vehicle designed and built by Fritz Fend in Rosenheim, Germany in 1948. Fend, a former aeronautical engineer and technical officer in the Luftwaffe, initially produced a tricycle invalid carriage with a front wheel that was steered by handlebars and powered by a mechanism actuated by pushing back and forth on the handlebars. Soon after, the tricycle was offered with a 38 cc Victoria two-stroke proprietary engine normally used for motorizing bicycles. Continue reading »
The Rhino: An Inventor’s Visionary Solution for Off-Road and Highway Transportation From The 1950s
Rhino’s tilting hemispheroidal wheels adjust to variable heights on uneven terrain.
Back in 1954, inventor Elie Aghnides was struck by an idea that would revolutionize the way we think about off-road vehicles. As he watched a caterpillar tractor muscling dirt around in New York City’s Central Park, he couldn’t help but wonder why such a powerful machine was limited to a maximum speed of 25 mph and plagued by frequent tread breaks. Continue reading »
Customizing the 1940 Mercury: A Classic Car with Endless Possibilities
The 1940 Mercury is a classic car that has been widely appreciated for its unique design and customization potential. Introduced by Ford Motor Co. in 1939, the Mercury was positioned between the low-priced Ford V-8 and the luxurious Lincoln Zephyr V-12, filling the gap in the market for a mid-range vehicle. Continue reading »
The Futuristic Hispano-Suiza H6B Dubonnet Xenia: A Unique Luxury Car from a Bygone Era
Imagine cruising down the road in a car that is unlike any other. That is precisely what French pilot and racing car driver André Dubonnet did in 1938 when he commissioned the Hispano-Suiza H6B Dubonnet Xenia. The Spanish automobile manufacturer Hispano-Suiza built this one-of-a-kind luxury car on the chassis of the H6B and gave it a distinctive new look. Continue reading »
The Visionary Austrian Engineer Who Gave Birth to a Housekeeping Robot in the 1950s
In a world where women have fought tirelessly for their freedom and autonomy, it seems the answer to their dreams may come in the form of a robot. A robot that can do everything from answering phones to pouring a cup of tea without spilling a single drop. And who is the mastermind behind this technological breakthrough? None other than Viennese engineer Claus Scholz. Continue reading »
Weird Advertising for a Weird Car: Balloon-Wheeled Citroen DS, 1959
Back in 1959, Citroen’s communication department was on a mission to prove to the world that their ID and DS models were in a league of their own. And what better way to do that than to take a car, perch it on four balloons, and float it in the middle of a lake? It’s like they always say: “When you want to showcase comfort, just combine air and water and hope for the best!” Continue reading »
This Is a 3D Printed Wednesday’s Hand as An Apple Watch Holder. You Can Print One for Yourself.
Hey there folks, gather round and let me tell you about the star of Netflix’s latest hit series “Wednesday.” No, it’s not the creepy, kooky Addams family, it’s the one and only hand model ‘thing’! Continue reading »
The Tatra 97: A Futuristic Mid-Size Car That Met an Untimely End
The Tatra 97, or T97, was a mid-size car built by Tatra in Kopřivnice, Moravia from 1936 to 1939. Despite its futuristic design and unique features, only around 500 units were produced. Unfortunately, the car’s production came to an abrupt end due to the outbreak of the Second World War, specifically the invasion of Czechoslovakia by Nazi Germany. Continue reading »
Vintage Wicker Baby Walkers: Capturing How Babies Learned to Walk in the Early 1900s-1920s
Since the 15th century, baby walkers have helped toddlers learn to walk and encouraged upright posture. They prevented dangerous tumbles into hot stoves and fireplaces, but with regular usage, wooden and wicker baby walkers had considerable wear and tear. Over time, baby walkers have gone by many names and designs, with the most popular design in the 18th century being a wooden frame with four slanting posts and some cross pieces. Continue reading »
A Look Back at the Workplaces and Offices of the 1970s and 1980s
The office has undergone a dramatic transformation over the past several decades, evolving in layout, style, colors, work culture, and technology. The modern office is geared towards individuality, with ergonomic design and cutting-edge technology playing a crucial role in this transition. Continue reading »
Uncovering the Tech Hype Graveyard: Examining the Causes of Failed Next-Big-Things
Technology, as we know it, is changing at a rapid pace. We upgrade our phones and laptops so often that it’s increasingly difficult to keep up. The most recent innovation is Chat GPT, which has wowed people with its natural speech and vast knowledge. But are these advances truly revolutionary and will they stick around? Continue reading »
1941 Chrysler Thunderbolt Concept Car Pictures
The Chrysler Thunderbolt concept automobile was a revolutionary design when it debuted in the 1950s. It was made of aluminum and featured a retractable, electrically powered hardtop roof, as well as concealed headlights and enclosed wheel wells with no A-pillars. Continue reading »
