Doll Kind :: Dolls of the 20th Century - A Celebration in Pictures and Histories
posted by anastasiav on Nov 16, 2009 - 20 comments

Dan's Topical Stamps
posted by anastasiav on Jun 3, 2009 - 11 comments

Book of Short Stories :: Short stories written by New York State 5th graders in 1931. (Be sure to read the About page to get a sense of the setting of the times.) (via Thingamababy)
posted by anastasiav on Sep 22, 2008 - 20 comments

The Pram Museum
posted by anastasiav on Jul 18, 2008 - 13 comments

Bent Objects is the blog of an artist named Terry who makes sculpture featuring everyday items, such as aluminum cans, tea bags, playing cards and other such things.
posted by grapefruitmoon on May 14, 2007 - 11 comments

Librarians and book collectors have many tales about ephemera left in books. While the legend of the bacon bookmark may be among the more pervasive reports of strange finds, a smallpox sample is probably the most bizarre. There are blogs and discussion boards that record other makeshift markers. Some readers prefer designated over spontaneous markers. Mirage Bookmark has an extensive collection of bookmark ephemera, with Bookmark of the Week and Bookmark Collector also offering noteworthy collections.
posted by madamjujujive on May 9, 2007 - 68 comments

Rugs of War :: "The traditional knotted rugs made by the semi-nomadic Baluch people of northern Afghanistan are famous for their distinctive designs, their rich yet subdued palette and the quality of their construction and materials, which feature traditional patterns and motifs. The “war rug” is an evolution of these Baluch rugs through the inclusion of militaria and other references to the experience of war and conflict in the region. These significant changes became apparent almost immediately after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, when rug-makers began incorporating complex imagery of war planes, helicopters, machine guns, maps and texts into their designs."
posted by anastasiav on Jan 8, 2007 - 9 comments

Alaska Museum of Fancy Knots
posted by anastasiav on Nov 20, 2005 - 17 comments

Old Haunts :: A Halloween Bonanza!
posted by anastasiav on Oct 31, 2005 - 3 comments

Soviet Calculators
posted by anastasiav on Oct 8, 2005 - 16 comments

White plastic chairs - Jens Thiel blogs his research of the ubiquitous chair we all love to hate for an upcoming monobloc monograph and museum exhibition. The first chair emerged midcentury, devil spawn of a noble heritage. Today, some fear the monobloc population rivals or exceeds that of humans. Some view the chair as art, others see their place in history, but I agree with the wag who dubs them tupperware containers for lard butts.
posted by madamjujujive on Aug 2, 2005 - 20 comments

Self-defence with a Walking-stick : The Different Methods of Defending Oneself with a Walking-Stick or Umbrella when Attacked under Unequal Conditions (Part I) (with pictures!) :: via The Journal of Non-Lethal combatives ::
posted by anastasiav on Jan 28, 2005 - 20 comments

We Make Money Not Art :: art meets science and technology in the near near future and begets some cool and scary toys.
posted by anastasiav on Jan 27, 2005 - 4 comments

Meet Charles Brannock. In 1926, he invented a foot-measuring device that has become an industry standard and a landmark of American innovation, now preserved in the Smithsonian.
posted by anastasiav on Dec 16, 2004 - 18 comments

Fork-you! :: spend a rainy Saturday afternoon learning how to bend forks with your mind. Sort of.
posted by anastasiav on Jul 10, 2004 - 4 comments

How to Pick a Lock
posted by anastasiav on Jun 27, 2004 - 22 comments

The Ultimate Guide to Rubber Band Warfare
posted by anastasiav on Apr 12, 2004 - 9 comments

Peep Porn
Its possible that this is NSFW, but I doubt it
posted by anastasiav on Apr 7, 2004 - 3 comments

How to Lace and Tie Your Shoes
posted by anastasiav on Apr 2, 2004 - 30 comments

Creative Envelope and Letter Folding
"...hand folding letters and envelopes is one of those rare intersections of decoration and practicality, where paper folding produces the satisfaction of making something useful and novel...."
posted by anastasiav on Mar 29, 2004 - 11 comments

The Early Office Museum :: check out communications technologies used by our Grandparents, as well as Punched Card Tabulating Machines and much, much more!
posted by anastasiav on Mar 3, 2004 - 10 comments

The Pencil Pages :: An Introduction to Pencils and Pencil Collecting
with gallery, pencil geek humor, pencil trivia, and much more
posted by anastasiav on Feb 18, 2004 - 3 comments

leadholder.com :: the online drafting pencil museum
posted by anastasiav on Feb 17, 2004 - 11 comments

The History of Eating Utensils
posted by anastasiav on Dec 6, 2003 - 8 comments

The Virtual Corkscrew Museum - this extensive site in the "magnificent obsession" genre contains more than 3700 photos of corkscrews and related items. The variety is delightful. Some of my favorites are the Mannekin Pis, the helping hands and the Buster Brown Shoes. Oh, and the holiday greetings from readers. Be warned that some pages have sound and a corny quotient, and you'll have to e-mail the webmaster if you want to see the erotic collection.
posted by madamjujujive on Dec 17, 2002 - 6 comments