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Geek Out

Are You A True Cyberpunk? Consult This ’90s Guide To Find Out

The ’90s! The dawn of a hybrid of pop/counter-cultural archetype: the cyberpunk. Many strived to include themselves in the ranks of these rebels. If only they’d had this graphical rubric guiding them.

May 24, 2012
Gadgets

The First Wireless TV Remote Looked And Worked Like A Sci-Fi Ray Gun

As we mourn the passing of Eugene J. Polley, it’s worth taking a look back at his seminal invention that changed how we all lounge about watching TV. But when the first commercial wireless remote control appeared way back in 1955, it bared little resemblance to the remotes we use today.

May 22, 2012
Geek Out

‘Just War’ Re-Edit Makes 1983 Soviet Anti-War Film Relevant Again

Filmmaker Torrey Meeks took a 30-year-old stop-motion animation and re-jiggerd it into a fresh statement by taking the film, editing it, and setting it to a folk track.

Geek Out

The Simple Bicycle Is Surprisingly Complicated To Manufacture

This 1945 documentary on the British Film Council’s Vimeo takes you step by step through the process of manufacturing a steel Raleigh bicycle. The old bikes you see hipsters riding down the street are much more likely to be 10 speeds from the 60s, 70s, or 80s. But it’s pretty remarkable how refined bikes were 70 years ago.

May 17, 2012
Geek Out

Sergey Brin And Larry Page Accept A Webby Before Google Was A Juggernaut

Back in the year 2000, Google was a humble search startup with a killer algorithm. For that the company was awarded a Webby for Technical Achievement. Larry Page and Sergey Brin are positively adorable in this interview with Sam Donaldson.

Cameras

The Only Film Camera I Would Kill To Own

I can’t put this Hasselblad 500EL in my pocket. And I can’t use it to snap shots on a daily basis — it will cost a gazillion dollars on film and development. But I would love to have one at home. Just to look at it. It’s a work of art. And it was used in the Apollo program. You know. On the moon.

Geek Out

US Navy Had A Hoverboard Way Before Marty McFly

If you think Back To the Future Part II was the first time the world was introduced to the concept of hoverboards, think again. As far back as 1955 the US Navy was demonstrating its own hoverboard concept, but unfortunately it wasn’t as slick as Hollywood had envisioned them to be.

May 15, 2012
Mobile

Do You Remember Your First Mobile Phone?

These were my dumb phones. In fact other than a short-lived Treo (returned!) this is every phone I owned prior to the first iPhone. I know, I know. I should have sent them to soldiers. But I didn’t.

May 11, 2012
Gadgets

Cocktail-Shaking Machine Is How Villains Would Grant James Bond His Last Martini Request

If something’s worth doing, it’s usually worth overdoing. Nowhere is that mantra more apropos than when it comes to mixing up drinks. A cocktail shaker might give you the opportunity to show off your bartending skills, but this hand-cranked shaking contraption just looks altogether more entertaining.

May 9, 2012
Science

Amazing Vintage Video About The World’s First Accurate Atomic Clock

This short video, made at the UK’s National Physical Laboratory, proudly explains the science behind the world’s first accurate atomic clock. It was designed by Louis Essen and built at the National Physical Laboratory in 1955, and the video is worth watching for the voiceover alone.

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