The postman ate my bucky balls

July 12, 2004 1:04 PM

Today is the 50th anniversary of the geodesic dome, designed by Buckminster Fuller. The US Postal Service launched a new stamp today, to commemorate the date and honor the creator.
posted by mathowie (18 comments total)

BYOD.
posted by shoepal at 1:17 PM on July 12, 2004

Buckminster Fuller rocks. He wasn't just a great thinker but also a prolific inventor. Those brushes, it seems, were just the beginning. [/somebody had to]
posted by soyjoy at 1:26 PM on July 12, 2004

Actually, today is Buckminster Fuller's 109th birthday. Patent 2,682,235 for the geodesic dome was granted on June 29, 1954. Also, the USPS link didn't work for me, but this one did.
posted by yarmond at 1:33 PM on July 12, 2004

That is a truly awesome stamp.
posted by falconred at 1:36 PM on July 12, 2004

That *is* an awesome stamp. My favorite since the Cesar Chavez one came out.

FWIW, Buckminster influenced David South, who took the geodesic domes and used them to influence his building of Monolithic Domes. This Caterpillar, made of seven interconnected domes site right off of I-35 E in Italy, TX, about halfway between Dallas and Waco. I love Bruco...
posted by Ufez Jones at 2:06 PM on July 12, 2004

I agree. That's gotta be one of the coolest stamps I've ever seen.
posted by The God Complex at 2:22 PM on July 12, 2004

Someone tell me there really is a freaky sculpture of Fuller that looks just like that.
posted by kenko at 2:25 PM on July 12, 2004

Seems a shame to make so much fun of the poor guy being bald. "Hey! Love the DOME!"
posted by soyjoy at 2:34 PM on July 12, 2004

The image is from the Jan. 10, 1964 TIME magazine cover.
I have always loved that cover. Those postmen have good taste.
posted by sonofsamiam at 2:39 PM on July 12, 2004

My wife laughs everytime I tell her I want to live in a geodesic dome.
posted by trbrts at 3:11 PM on July 12, 2004

That Time magazine archive is great. Too bad most of the 80's had hideous designs.
posted by smackfu at 5:31 PM on July 12, 2004

Best stamp EVER!
posted by TungstenChef at 6:02 PM on July 12, 2004

That stamp is excellent! Thanks, Matt. Anyone know if we can get an uncut sheet or a poster of it? I'd love to have it on my wall.

New Yorkers might appreciate today's issue of Manhattan User's Guide, with news of the stamp's release party and two local geodesic domes. Hint: you see one every New Year's Eve, and the other one you can walk into.
posted by lia at 6:20 PM on July 12, 2004

While its a very cool illustration, I believe I had heard that the pictured dome is technically NOT a geodesic dome.

Can anyone confirm this and explain why/why not (it was a while back and the detailed reason escapes me).
posted by page404 at 7:42 PM on July 12, 2004

great post, viva Bucky!
posted by moonbird at 9:57 PM on July 12, 2004

My wife never really forgave me the year I bought a Bucky Fuller calendar for the home. She's going to have to deal with these stamps for quite some time, as well.
posted by malocchio at 6:51 AM on July 13, 2004

Great post. This is why I like Metafilter, cool stuff like this.

By the way, a childhood friend of mine lived in a geodesic home. Very cool effect on a living space. I remember it as being very unique, but done in such a way to seem very warm and livable as well.

Here's to brilliant thinkers.
posted by bullitt 5 at 1:18 PM on July 13, 2004

Marisa was kind enough to email me and point out that BFI is selling shirts and tote bags with the Bucky stamp image on them. But still no sheets or posters!
posted by lia at 10:14 PM on July 13, 2004