Comments on: Back to the Future

Back to the Future

Skeptic — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 14:07:04 -0800

, it was the era of Sputnik, nuclear power, decolonisation, European vows of ever closer union, transistor radios, cars for the masses, and Hula Hoops. What better time to hold a damn big party? The Brussels World Fair of 1958 was inaugurated 50 years ago to the day. It left behind a quirky landmark, a changed city (not always for the best), and memories of more optimistic times.

By: Dizzy

Dizzy — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 14:29:45 -0800

Love this, Skep! You're the mayo on my frites! Thank You!

By: TedW

TedW — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 14:47:16 -0800

Don't forget I G Y !

By: athenian

athenian — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 15:53:12 -0800

Just back from a long weekend in Ghent and Le Soir was running day-by-day 'fifty years ago' pieces. I'm fond of Brussels - my wife's family are Swiss/Belgian - but given the political resources stacked up in it (Belgian national government, Flemish and Brussels regional governments, most bits of the EU, NATO) it feels a lot less political than somewhere like Paris or DC. Bureaucratic, yes, but not political. I guess if your great edifice is the Berlaymont, you have work to do on impressive political monuments.

By: Tube

Tube — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 16:17:34 -0800

I have a bunch of old Popular Science, Popular Mechanix, and Mechanix Illustrated magazines. I love the ads as much as the articles. Here is a scan of an ad for a transistor radio from 1956. The radio was claimed to run without batteries, so I can only assume it was powered by the energy of the radio waves themselves. Sadly, the radio was promoted as "Tubeless"...

By: localroger

localroger — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 16:28:00 -0800

Tube, that isn't a transistor radio, it's a crystal set, being very disingenuously advertised to fool schmucks into thinking it was similar to transistor radios that were selling for $40-up in those days.

By: mr_crash_davis

mr_crash_davis — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 16:41:35 -0800

"Don't forget I G Y !" I'm still waiting for my spandex jacket.

By: jfuller

jfuller — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 16:47:20 -0800

> it's a crystal set, being very disingenuously advertised Well. it did do everything they claim. Of course, with neither any tubes nor any transistors it didn't have any amplification at all--you listen with headphones, in a quiet room. But then, having spent some decades sharing busses and sidewalks with bloody great loud boobm boxes, I can't see that as a drawback. > What better time to hold a damn big party? They did. It was called the sixties.

By: Tube

Tube — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 16:55:36 -0800

OK, thanks for the heads-up. Obviously I assumed it was transistorized... I went ahead and changed the photo description. I think they still sold kits for this sort of thing back in the early 1970's, as I have a vague memory of building one as a child.

By: TedW

TedW — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 18:38:33 -0800

I'm still waiting for my spandex jacket. If you look around you will notice that all the guys from the 50s and 60s are wearing Members Only jackets.