From 1971: An ultra-high-performance sports coupe that stands a little higher than the average man’s belt buckle, it seats two (and only two) and it’s priced in the neighborhood of $10,000.
Culture & lifestyle
Vintage entertainment, crafts & pop culture from the past – it’s the retro life!
Campy or vampire spoof, call it what you like – The Lost Boys, a movie starring Kiefer Sutherland – is decidedly offbeat entertainment… with a twist.
When these vintage Zenith ‘Space Command’ TV remote controls first came out, they were revolutionary tech – and everyone wanted one.
Live Aid in 1985: Feed the world The goal of the Live Aid concerts was to raise money to help relieve the ongoing famine in
’86 Ford Bronco II. You can wear it anywhere. Bronco II’s combination of design and toughness lets you take it anywhere. And for ’86, it
What’s the history of golf balls? The first ones were made of leather of untanned bull’s hide – but golf balls have changed a lot over the years. Here’s a look!
When The Bold and the Beautiful soap opera first hit the airwaves in the eighties, they probably didn’t imagine the show would be still going after even 8000 episodes. Here’s how it began!
The 5 big Ford station wagons from 1960 featured such unique wonders like sun visors and arm rests – plus comfort, convenience and styling elegance in the wagon field. Here’s a look back!
Between 1918 and 1955, there were 11 different Tarzan movie actors, in the character’s various incarnations and adventures. Here’s a look back at those wild men.
Question: Did any feminist ever burn a bra in protest? Find out more about the history of this often-mentioned protest move here!
On Pirates of the Caribbean in 1967, the costliest and most technologically-sophisticated amusement park ride ever built, Disneyland evoked the buccaneering past of the Spanish Main.
Classic Rambler cars from the ’50s were popular family cars, and were touted as offering big car room at small car prices. Here’s a look back!
Take a look at these classic Ford Fairlines from the sixties! Back then, standard equipment included bucket seats, sporty console, big 390 cubic-inch V-8, and more.
Here is a collection of tips from the past, for researching your past – namely, how to start a genealogical record for your family. Get ideas for tracking down your ancestry here!
Here’s Groucho singing the song he’s famously associated with from his time with the Marx Brothers: ‘Hello, I Must Be Going,’ as seen in the 1930 film Animal Crackers.
Converse for the U.S. Olympic Basketball team (1968) Just because the U.S. Olympic Basketball Team will wear Converse basketball shoes, should you? Lightning-fast breaks …
Step back in time with Leonard Bernstein with a vintage profile and snapshots of the maestro’s melodious legacy!
Take a 1950s home tour of a ‘junior five’ near San Francisco – a small house that had an entry stairway that starts at garage level and leads up to five rooms – bedrooms, kitchen, garage and more.
Compared to now, teenage girls in the 1950s had a lot of strict rules and etiquette considerations – and the consequences of falling short in certain areas could have a pretty considerable effect on her life. Here’s a look at the kind of messaging teens got back then.
When he was making Star Trek, actor William Shatner could skip blithely from Shakespeare to riding in the saddle in a psychological Western movie – and yet, in his view, all that wasn’t good enough.
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.
While today’s players make multi-million dollar salaries and play in front of upwards of 15,000 fans a night, Wilt Chamberlain’s record-setting performance took place in front of 4,124 fans at the arena in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
In 1975, Steven Spielberg’s movie Jaws single-handedly drove more Americans away from beaches and into theaters than any other force of nature ever could have.
Famous actor Gary Cooper spent most of his time in sunny California, but he loved snowy Aspen, Colorado so much, he decided to build a house there.
Here’s a peek into Judy Garland’s home – and life – during her first marriage to David Rose. Judy can be seen modeling some Valentine’s Day fashions, too!
Gene Wilder reached a level of stardom that no one would have predicted, least of all himself. Here are interviews with the actor himself from the ’70s.
Nothing stays the same for very long — not the world, not the blues, not love, not a petite young Texas girl named Janis Joplin, who had ‘such a pretty voice,’ according to her mother.
Antique Ladies’ Home Journal magazine cover: March 1890 Featuring “Mrs Harrison’s Daily Life in the White House”, “A Man’s Idea of Home Comfort”, “Hints on
How does an author become an author? For S E Hinton, the choice was easy — she wrote her first book, ‘The Outsiders,’ as a teenager, when she couldn’t find anything that she wanted to read.
Here’s a look at Cary Grant’s home – a 2-story, 12-room stucco house on the exclusive beach at Santa Monica, where the famous actor lived in the 1940s.
The man who moved on to play ‘McDreamy’ on Grey’s Anatomy was just 21 years old when this article was published. Find out more about young Patrick Dempsey here!
Check out these awesome Ford pickups from the ’70s that came in colors like green, orange, brown and red – plus two-tone.
Here are vintage autographs of eleven lost music legends, many gone far too soon. How many of these signatures do you wish you had?
This retro-style DIY bulletin board framed by satiny stars, clouds, and moon crescents promised to add a soft touch to any 80s teen’s bedroom.
See vintage car wreck photos of 35 of old auto accidents and crashes from the 1910s to the 1950s – before standardized seatbelts and airbags.
Through vintage interviews, meet Theodor Geisel – aka Dr Seuss – the man behind The Cat in the Hat, The Lorax, Green Eggs and Ham and many more classic books for children.
While books and articles on America’s slave trade can offer important historical insight, seeing ads for slave auctions casually placed in newspapers of the era really brings the brutality home.
Protests and riots in the ’60s led to increased tensions between police and the Black community, so Ebony magazine published this guide to help African-Americans protect themselves.
‘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.
Mork & Mindy was a sitcom that starred a hilarious young Robin Williams as alien visitor Mork, and Pam Dawber co-starred as his earthling girlfriend (later his wife) Mindy McConnell.
Originally played with people in place of the pieces, vintage Parcheesi had a long and unusual history before becoming the popular board game we know today.
Chrysler ’56: The year ahead car There’s more that’s new in Chrysler than in all other competitive cars combined! All new styling . . .
Bicycle daredevil Diavolo (Conn Baker) traveled the country performing gravity-defying stunts, like the still-famous loop-the-loop.
From the crank or self-starter pedal to the spark and magneto, here are some of the basics you would have needed to know to drive a car back in the 1920s.
Don’t toss your old metal cans – make them into something delightful, like these retro-style night lights with your own punched patterns!
In 1977, alhough Tom Sneva’s four-lap average was just under 199mph, his first two laps were over the ‘magic’ 200mph mark – and the first official laps of over 200mph recorded at the speedway.
The old-fashioned Lustre-Creme shampoo was famous for hiring famous actresses to promote their product. Here’s a look at some of the stars!
These beautiful antique silhouettes were cut by hand by artist Eveline Maydell, whose portrait clients included many of society’s wealthiest men and women.
Take a look back at these creative handmade vintage quilts from the ’70s. These are the 51 prize winners out of almost 10,000 entries.
Beatlemania, a generally harmless form of madness for The Beatles, which deluged the United States in 1964, was nothing short of a phenomenon.
A doctor smashed his way into a locked bedroom, and found Marilyn Monroe dead in bed. Here’s what else he found, and how the first news stories broke.
One little piece of felt, cut in a simple shape, a few quick stitches – and, presto! – a hat! Here are some simple vintage one-piece hats you can sew.
The handheld Atari Lynx was a one-pound, portable video game system that (for the time) featured detailed graphics, sharp color and sound effects.
Want to make some simple retro ’50s style jewelry? If you’ve got the gift for DIY crafts, we have the how-to guide for you, direct from the fifties.
SelectShift, introduced by Ford in the 1960s, let people choose to drive using either an automatic or manual transmission. Their pitch was that couples wouldn’t have to choose between buying a stick shift car or not, because they could get both in one.
On the evening of December 9, 1977, a single punch altered the way the NBA regarded fighting forever when Kermit Washington and Rudy Tomjanovich ended up in a fight on the court.
We’re taking a look back at the Beatles’ life & times. Revisit some vintage videos of Beatles songs and performances — and reminisce with us about the worldwide fan mania the Fab Four inspired.
The classic Nintendo Entertainment System came with a robot, a light-sensing video gun, ‘true-to-life’ graphics and a library of games. Here’s a look!
The year 1977 was quite the momentous one for the Indianapolis 500, as AJ Foyt would go on to become the first four-time winner in race history.
A Victorian garden party may extend from afternoon into evening, or it may be entirely an evening affair — and here were the best ways to set everything up.
Retro pool toys like these plastic inflatables made summer twice as fun when you could float and play and create pretend worlds right in the swimming pool!
Here’s how to stencil a tray – transforming an inexpensive metal accessory into a family heirloom, with paint and these included vintage stenciling patterns.
Called “the most extraordinary thing that ever happened in American sports,” the streak began on May 15, 1941 when Joe DiMaggio went 1-4 against Chicago White Sox hurler Eddie Smith.
Studio 54 was arguably the most famous – or at the very least, infamous – nightclub of the 1970s & 1980s. It was filled with stars, even when the owners were sent to prison.
Do you want to get organized? Have you longed for the uncluttered life? Actress Doris Day reveals her plan for becoming an ‘ex-Aimless’ and an ‘ex-Chaotic.’
Neil Diamond has had more than 38 hits on the Top 10 charts, and received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018. Here’s a look back to his life and career in the ’70s!
Unlike most rock groups, Creedence Clearwater Revival doesn’t have a booking agency or a manager, yet they were the most successful pop-rock group in the world – and the richest.
Located in Beverly Hills, the Beverly Hilton hotel was opened in the 1950s, and boasted 450 air-conditioned rooms, private balconies, sunken swimming pool cabanas, shops and parking for 1000 cars.
These sweet bandana baby clothes are wearing tops made from the kind of cotton scarves you can buy anywhere. Here’s how to make these outfits from 1977!
Few movie sequels overshadow their predecessors. Yet ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ – the chapter following ‘Star Wars’ – does just that.
These vintage Jeep Comanche pickup trucks were available as a 2-wheel drive or 4-wheel drive model, 2.5 liter electronic fuel-injected four and other options available.
See clips of past Civil Defense films from the ’50s & ’60s, plus how to make a bomb shelter, what to stock, and more details from the Cold War era.
From Liverpool lad to Beatle & enduring icon – revisit the life of John Lennon. His legacy is more than songs; it’s a committed pursuit of peace & love.
The popular Benson TV show, a sitcom offshoot of Soap, starred Robert Guillaume as Benson DuBois, director of household affairs for a widowed state governor.
Here’s a collection of beautiful classic vintage stencil designs from the ’30s and earlier, along with patterns inspired by Greek, Roman, Persian and other classical designs.
Take a jump back in time to hear from Hall & Oates in their prime – the ’70s & ’80s, when the duo had a string of #1 singles and sold millions of albums.
On April 1, 1996 – April Fool’s Day – the Taco Bell fast food chain announced they’d bought the iconic Liberty Bell, and renamed it the Taco Liberty Bell.
April Fools’ Day is an old, old holiday – and was even pretty ancient when this history was written back in the 1800s. Find out more about this day of fools here!
The original Patsy, made simply with painted eyes and a small mouth, was very popular around the Great Depression. See a vintage Patsy doll here!
Make bedtime wonderfully wild with these lion and elephant quilted comforters for kids, that can turn nights from hassle to heyday. See how to make them here.
The Oldsmobile Jetfire was a turbo-charged sports coupe that was popular back in the sixties. Here’s a look!
In that old expression, ‘You don’t know s*** from Shinola?’ — what the heck are they talking about? Find out here.
Humorist Art Buchwald: ‘As a public service, I am printing instant responses for loyal Nixonites when they are attacked at a party. Please cut it out and carry it in your pocket.’
In the 1970s, vintage nineteenth-century photographs were the delight and sensation of the art world. Here’s a look at some standout portraits from the 1800s!
Check out these Classic Chrysler Newport cars – American-made automobiles that were popular with drivers back in the sixties and seventies!
Walt Disney’s first full-length animated movie, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, debuted in 1938. A technicolor marvel, it’s considered a classic work of animation.
During the 1978 Saturn Awards ceremony, William Shatner, as Star Trek’s Captain Kirk, performed what can most accurately be described as a bizarre spoken-word rendition of ‘Rocket Man.’
What were vintage school and scout fundraisers like years ago? Here’s a look back at a few dozen of the things that kids used to sell – including candy & candles, popcorn & peanuts.
At age 25, John Stamos believed his teen idol days were behind him, as the ‘Full House’ star was trying to make an acting career with longevity.
Mel Brooks’ movie Spaceballs may not be quite in the league of Blazing Saddles, it is sharp enough to make it clear that Brooks is back in fine form.
Look back at more than 200 vintage license plates issued through the 20th century – including ones for every American state & territory – plus some special plates, too.
Find out why vintage Iver Johnson safety revolvers were said to be safe – including a little demonstration with a hammer.
In the early morning hours of July 23, 1967, police in Detroit raided an unlicensed, after-hours bar in what they assumed was just another routine
Technically superior, if overly sentimental, ‘Somewhere in Time’ stars Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour, and takes viewers back in time to 1912.
Vintage Jeep Cherokees took up where Jeep CJ-5 left off. Youthful and sporty, with the extra room that lets you pack along what you used to leave behind.
At the height of his fame, Elvis Presley was drafted into the US Army. Here, see 20 photos of the man in uniform.
A terrarium is not only easy and fun to put together, it’s a snap to care for. Here are several vintage ideas to help you make your own!
Do you remember the old metal hoop with a handle fastened to it? The small wooden hoops were usually rolled by the girls, using a small paddle to roll them along.
