The Retro Blog

Have you ever found yourself singing and dancing because you love your kitchen soooo much? Well you live in the future, so you should. Treehugger has a post featuring 1950’s films about kitchens of the future, and they are simply wonderful.
Here’s a sample:

Space Patrol is a prime example of what fun can be had with plastic rayguns and miniatures. The series aired nationwide from 1950-1955. The whole thing was performed live, which makes the “special effects” all the more thrilling. The show followed the adventures of Commander Buzz Corry through space in the 30th century. Strangely, a [...]

The other day my sister was telling me about how she got ripped off on some fabric she bought at a store in Seattle. My response is the internet is your friend. Reprodepot fabrics has been around for awhile, and although their selection of mid-century designs has declined in the last few years, it still [...]

When the average person thinks about the history of video games, Pong typically springs to mind. But what came before? All the way back in 1958, a select group of nerds were getting very excited about a game called Tennis for Two. The game was invented by physicist William Higinbotham to entertain visitors at the [...]

Making a “fluffer nutter” sounds a little dirty to me, but if you want to give it a try, here are some simple instructions given by an adorable bouncing head and a disembodied hand.

I am alternately intrigued and horrified by the concept of a peanut butter and marshmallow sandwich. I’d probably try it.

A good rule of thumb is to take any advice John Waters gives you. He has yet to let me down, and he has impeccable taste in things both new and old. So when I heard his favorite book store was San Francisco’s Kayo Books, I had to check it out. It didn’t disappoint. The [...]

With their bold colors, stern faces, and often unintelligible messages, I’ve always been fond of Soviet Russia propaganda posters. The Crestock Blog has a great writeup featuring some of the best retro Soviet art. This article provides commentary on the design elements of the posters, as well as a little information about why the posters [...]

1865 is probably a little too retro, so although it’s beyond the typical scope of this blog, I couldn’t bear (hardy har har) to pass up posting this grizzly bear chair. Bizarrely consisting of two grizzly bears sewn together, it makes me think of a bear sitting on a bear leg bench while wearing [...]

This clip features some of the most awesome retro songs of 1960’s Indian film. This is when Bollywood got obsessed with American culture. Think of them as Frankie and Annette movies in Hindi. All the fun with the added bonus of incomprehensibility. Also, Indian actors in blackface for some reason. This is merely the first [...]

Who wouldn’t want to ride a bike named the “Spacelander“? Luckily the design is equally impressive. Crafted in fiberglass, it has curves you just don’t see these days. Reminds me of the electric bicycle prototype previously featured here at The Retro Blog, except this is even more exciting because they were actually produced for a [...]

What do Hitler and The Beatles have in common? A love for this distinctive looking microphone. Not only is it gorgeous to look at, but the sound is divine. Readers of this blog probably already know that retro mics reign supreme over their modern counterparts, so take a moment to appreciate the interesting history of [...]

Speaking of typewriters, did you know that today in 1952 marked the first ever National Secretary’s Day? To celebrate, let’s watch “Office Courtesy: Meeting the Public,” a 1952 film in which a secretary who hates everybody decides to quit her job. She then has a horrific nightmare in which she sees the worst secretary in [...]

About two years ago my boyfriend bought a very beautiful blue Smith Corona typewriter at an estate sale for ten bucks. I don’t think he’s touched it since. It’s so purdy, though. Here’s a flickr group for people who appreciate the gorgeous designs of various writing devices.
And if you really enjoy the look of [...]

If you were one of those people who were offended by Speedy Gonzalez, you might want to think again before indulging in everybody’s favorite deep-fried corn chip. From 1967 to 1971, the official cartoon mascot for Fritos was The Frito Bandito. Picture Speedy Gonzalez but subtract the running fast part and add a penchant for [...]

There’s a new site called Vintagraph that has an excellent collection of retro PSA’s, military posters, illustrations, travel posters, and more. The site gives you information about how and why the poster was produced (a rarity these days) and makes them available to purchase as fine art prints on museum quality paper for quite reasonable [...]

Well, as you can probably tell, I’m back from my little adventure. Still incredibly jetlagged though. Making my way through my back log of google reader feeds, and have found lots of fun retro related items. Here are some favorites:
Star Warsian Retro Vehicles
Organ maker’s basement “beast” (1960’s musical instrument DIY project)
Restored Ghostbusters Ecto-1 ambulance [...]

Tired of being unable to afford revamping your house with stylish designer furniture? Well at least you can enact your dreams in miniature. I found large collections of dollhouse sized mid-century modern furniture at Tokyu Hands, a chain department store in Japan specializing in a DIY lifestyle. I guess the DIY part here is how [...]