Vintage payphones once lined streets, stations and stores — see how phone booths, walk-up, and drive-up telephones kept America connected.
inventions
Explore antique cash registers, how they were invented, and why these mechanical marvels helped reshape American retail.
The basic concept hasn’t changed much in 100 years, but vintage Erector Sets like these are still popular, still inspiring creativity, and still being used to build everything from mini roller coasters to motorized robots.
Professor Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, has witnessed the trial flights of the machine devised by Professor Samuel P Langley, formerly of Pittsburg. Mr Bell makes the following statement…
Do you remember Shrinky Dinks? They were DIY crafts that could be made by coloring on a plastic sheet, cutting out the various shapes, and then shrinking them down using heat.
Explore antique car accessories from 1913, when clocks, vases and “Speed Imps” were all part of the motoring experience.
Did you know that Silly Putty was originally marketed to adults? Read on for more interesting tidbits about this fun and magical stuff!
1950s TV sets brought bold design and big features into American homes, reshaping how families watched, gathered and spent time together.
Whether plain or fancy, antique kerosene lamps like these were more than home decor – they made it possible for people to work and play late into the night. Find out more here!
Who would’ve thought humble roots, herbs, and bark could spin such an effervescent tale? The history of root beer is both intriguing and surprising – take a look!
Have you ever wondered where products like Formula 409, 7-Up, WD-40 and Preparation H got those famous vintage brand names? Find out here.
Take a look back at futuristic inventions imagined in the 1950s and ’60s–some came true, others didn’t, and a few are still on the drawing board.
Want to know how to make an old rotary phone work? Here’s your handy guide, straight from the 50s!
Television history goes back farther than most people think. Here’s how early inventors built the first TV sets–and why it took a team to pull it off.
The history of Levi’s jeans shows that the power of a really good idea – like super-durable clothing that people like to wear – can make for a business that stays strong for more than 160 years.
Who remembers Peter Coddle, Shoot the Hat, and Snap? They were antique board games that provided hours of entertainment before radio and TV. Find out more here!
Dishwasher history starts with Josephine Cochrane, who invented the first automatic model in the 1880s. Her creation changed kitchens forever.
The original vintage Slinky toy was an all-metal spring that thrilled kids by ‘walking’ down stairs. Invented by accident back in the forties, it’s one of the classic toys that has stood the test of time.
When you look back at how people talked about and used computers in the 1960s, it’s easy to get a feel for how exciting the technological advances were at the time. It was a whole new wild frontier.
Mme Demorest’s 1862 sewing patterns gave women a better way to make clothes at home, and helped launch a new kind of fashion business.
These vintage touch-tone phones – featuring push buttons, speed and musical tones – represented a totally new signaling system, and opened the way to increased versatility in communications.
Vintage View-Master reels offered a trip into another dimension – ‘with stereo color pictures so real, you’ll feel you are actually part of the scene!’ Take a look!
After hitting the market in the early 1980s, it didn’t take long for the Rubik’s Cube to become one of the most popular toys ever. Here’s a look back!
This new, revolutionary wall-mounted refrigerator and freezer that hangs from the wall is a completely new and advanced concept of modern living. Truly, it is the most convenient and magnificent refrigerator-freezer ever produced!
100 million erasable pens (82 percent of them disposables) were sold in 1982 alone. The two top movers were from Eraser Mate and Scripto – here’s a look back!
The invention of the Ferris Wheel was a jaw-dropping innovation of its time! Find out the history of the Ferris Wheel ride we now know so well, plus see pictures of the HUGE first one.
Flash back a few decades to see the Kodak Instamatic camera – which defined amateur photography for a generation & inspired the digital photography of another!
Take a tour through our vast collection of vintage Ray-Ban sunglasses, and see how this brand has been shading our eyes with style for nearly a century.
Reel-to-reel tape recorders hit the commercial market in the 1940s — and their evolution was boosted by the financial support of none other than Bing Crosby, who saw great potential in the technology.
What were really old cars like around 1900? Here, take a look back at some of the earliest automobiles that were on the market at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th.
These retro refrigerators were a dream come true for homemakers. Take a look back at these old-fashioned kitchens and their cool appliances!
The invention of vintage ballpoint pens revolutionized the way people wrote — and largely marked the end of the era of fountain pens.
Looking back over the history of vintage camcorders showcases the incredible advancements in technology we have experienced over the years.
For generations, kids have been playing with Mr Potato Head – but how many remember how they used to look? See vintage original Mr Potato Head toys here, along with many other versions over the years!
From suffragettes to scientists, activists, artists & leaders who paved the way for future generations, these women in history have played a key role in shaping our world.
Looking back at 7-Up history, you can see that it’s a testament to the lemon-lime soft drink’s popularity that the brand could weather so many stumbling blocks – not the least of which included being introduced right before the Great Depression.
In the world of modern technology, it’s easy to take the humble typewriter completely for granted. But have you ever wondered who invented the typewriter – and how it introduced a new role for women in the workforce?
Find out how some of the earliest color photography was created using potato starch!
They’re known by many names: 45 rpm record inserts, single record adapters, 45 rpm spindle adapters, spider inserts… all terms for the thingie that goes in the middle of an oldie! See a bunch of them here, and find out mroe!
‘Just add water and you’ve got instant life!’ they said. ‘Over 150 amazing Sea-Monkeys born ALIVE before YOUR eyes!’ But, oh, the disappointment when the critters didn’t look anything like the pictures on the package.
People were used to big records, but then the music industry wanted everyone to adopt a new format and a new size, and came out with 45 RPM record players and 7″ vinyl records with a big hole in the middle.
A bouncy new baby is wonderful – but quite a burden, too! In the early 20th century, baby window cages like these were promoted as making babies more fun since they were easier to care for.
The history of fitted sheets: A revolution in bed-making A lot of people may be surprised to know that fitted sheets — ones that weren’t
It was on that memorable day in telephone history – June 2, 1875 – when Bell and Watson were testing a number of transmitters, connected by a single wire to a corresponding set of vibrating reed receivers, that the first sounds were transmitted electrically.
Today’s toddlers ride in style in the sleek and racy, brightly-colored, low-slung plastic numbers like the vintage Big Wheel from Marx – that whiz, spin, skid, slide, race and even roar.
Remember getting drinks in vintage Dixie Cups? While many of us recall them from childhood because of their cute designs, they weren’t invented simply for convenience.
Here’s the original press release that a small company called Apple released back in 1984, announcing the launch of their new Macintosh personal computer – the first mass-market PC with both a graphical user interface and a mouse.
When the old Victrola record players were first introduced, those turntables were some cutting-edge tech. Here’s a look at the history of the famous Victor Talking Machines!
Edward Jenner, the discoverer of vaccination – including the smallpox vaccine – and one of the greatest benefactors of the human race, performed his first test experiment in 1796.
The dance music of the Edison Phonograph is irresistible. It offers the most fascinating waltzes and spirited two-steps of the world’s, great composers as well as the popular dance music of the hour.
When these vintage Zenith ‘Space Command’ TV remote controls first came out, they were revolutionary tech – and everyone wanted one.
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 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.
Nikola Tesla helped shape the electrical age with AC power and bold wireless experiments. Explore the inventor behind the headlines.
Predictions of the future from the early 1900s included the idea that a subway shuttle across New York City would be replaced with a moving sidewalk built in three sections, one of which would offer seating.
George Eastman: The man behind Kodak (1854-1932) George Eastman, founder of Eastman Kodak, and often called “the father of photography” was many things — a
Nikola Tesla filed a US Patent for his improvements on Ben Franklin’s almost 200-year-old lightning rod design.
What’s the history of Q-Tips – the little cotton swabs found all around the world? This big brand had a little baby-sized beginning. (Also find out their terrible former brand name.)
The Wright Brothers made history with a 12-second flight in 1903. See how their breakthrough launched the modern age of aviation.
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.
Walkmans and other portable cassette tape players – ‘personal stereos’ – were hugely popular in the ’70s and ’80s, and packed more sociological punch than a load of hula hoops.
While his name might not be as well-known as others, Hudson Maxim was an important American inventor, chemist and author.
Never having to come up from underground? Cars routinely going 130 MPH? Completely automated cleaning? Solar power dominant? See these and many more predictions from 1906!
Among the remarkable discoveries is that of photography, one of the most absolutely new revelations of all that have come upon many generations past and passing.
Back when radium was first discovered, people loved that it was new and cool and it glowed… so companies decided to put it into a variety of products, like this radioactive X-radium cookware. Yeah, that was a bad idea.
Once electrical power became widely-available in homes, vintage vacuum cleaners debuted, including ones from the famous Hoover brand.
Free electricity for everyone? Here’s a look at some predictions from Nikola Tesla from a century ago – some we have seen, others… well, not yet.
Who invented the sewing machine? That really depends on how much progress has to be made for something to be considered ‘invented.’ Find out more!
Here’s a look back from 1964 at the career of “American folk hero” Thomas Edison.
