The Retro Blog

Poor, poor Laika.
On this day, November 3rd, in 1957, Laika, a stray dog specially trained for the job, was launched into space. The Russians put her aboard Sputnik 2 just one month after the launch of the original satellite. It was to be a one way trip.

Laika’s training doesn’t sound especially fun either. She was [...]

Today we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. After seeing this GI Joe ad I can’t help but think that despite all the fun they had Buzz and Neil probably saw this ad and were a bit jealous of the zip line.

This collection of 45 Incredible Retro Robot Inventions Built with Everyday Trash is a lot of fun to scroll through.

On May 5, 1961, astronaut Alan Shepard piloted the Freedom 7 mission and became the first American in space. The flight lasted only 16 minutes, during which Shepard basically went straight up and then down. Later Shepard commanded Apollo 14, the third successful moon landing. He used his time on the moon to work on [...]

This is a clip where the characters boogie down in Germany’s 1960s space opera TV show, Raumpatrouille. It was a very expensive show and lasted only seven episodes. [via boingboing]

Dark Roasted Blend has compiled a pictorial tribute to women and robots.

 
Weird Universe recently posted this lovely collection of retro Soviet space stamps.

Here’s a lovely gallery of retro future illustrations from old science magazines. [via boing boing].

Land of the Giants was an hour long 1960’s Sci Fi series that attempted to prove that using mattes to make everyday objects tower above your main characters makes for quality television. The series was devised by Irwin Allen, who structured it along the same lines as his hit, Lost in Space. It takes place in [...]

It seems like you need movies to sell books these days, and this is an effective one. It’s an ad for Jetpack Dreams, a book about the mode of transportation all the post-war folks thought we’d have by now. [via boing boing]

This 1953 article gives you in depth, step by step instructions on how to capture flying saucers on film. Now just go outside and wait to see one. The government is depending on YOU.
[via neatorama]

You’ve probably seen this shot in a few movies: you start with a normal scene, but suddenly the camera pulls back further and further until you’re out of the Milky Way. Or maybe you’ve seen a movie that starts in space and ends up close on somebody’s skin. Well they’re all ripping of the Eameses. [...]

Since it’s illegal to drive a car at top speed anyway, there’s no real point in buying a super fast car. You’re better off just buying a car that looks super fast. The General Motors Firebird series of concept cars, however, both look and go fast. Designer Harley Earl was well known for his creative designs, [...]

On this day in 1966, the original Star Trek made its television debut. I haven’t seen much of the show, but I appreciate its campier elements. Take the fight scenes for example. You can tell the actors weren’t exactly hired for their abilities in the stunt department. In this clip Spock has to fight Kirk. [...]

“Mars and Beyond” is a 1957 episode of “Disneyland” the tv series in which the folks at Disneyland contemplate life on other planets and man’s quest for understanding of the world around him. I like to think of it as Mickey Mouse’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. The episode is introduced by Walt himself with his personal [...]

If the winner of The Cold War was going to be determined by who had the most awesome looking new technology, I think the Ruskies would have been miles ahead of us. You know Sputnik looked sweet, but what about this lesser known project, EPIK. This flying saucer like aircraft was being designed in secret [...]

Ren and Stimpy creator John Kricfalusi has posted a series of retro science fiction book covers to his blog. The art is all by Richard Powers, an illustrator whose work looks like Paul Klee in space.

Artist Chris Reccardi has contributed to such wonderful animated shows as Ren & Stimpy and Samurai Jack. These shows regularly exceeded my expectations and showed how fantastic televised animation could be. (Seriously, you might think Ren & Stimpy is all booger jokes, but I think more effort went into the animation of that show than [...]

“Steampunk”
 is a phrase the internet rapidly embraced and then turned on. It refers to a retro-future aesthetic in which Victorian looking things perform very futuristic tasks. A lot of people like the look of these objects, but now everybody’s getting pretty sick of all the people slapping some brass plates on an iPod and spreading [...]

When I picture vintage pet carriers, horrible wooden pet prison boxes come to mind. People of the past were not especially kind to their dogs and cats, and when I see old cages they look more like traps than carriers. Thankfully, you can now get a retro styled pet carrier that doesn’t look a thing [...]

Here’s a whole series of old black and white retro illustrations from Russian science fiction novels. Quite gorgeous! [via boingboing]

Osamu Tezuka is best known for Astro Boy, but you might not have heard of his other show, “Galaxy Boy Troop.” Apparently Tezuka turned down a gig as art director on Stanley Kubrick’s 2001 to work on this show. “Galaxy Boy Troop” combines marionettes and animation. And you know you love puppets. The show only [...]

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 [...]

Ambassador Magma was one of the first “righteous guy that turns into a big spaceship to fight evil” Japanese tv shows. Airing from 1966 through 1967, 52 episodes were made.

I remember as a child finding “Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers” to be an odd show. The stuff with the teenagers in high school always seemed [...]

At some point in your life you thought it’d be awesome to live in a spaceship. Some people are living the dream.

This is a spaceship home located in Pensacola Beach, Fl. You might be able to rent it, although the link to do so is broken.

If you’ve seen Woody Allen’s Sleeper, you’ll recognize this Denver [...]

The other night I was watching 60 Minutes when this lovely little segment appeared:

Two thoughts came to my mind:
1. When did 60 Minutes become Jackass with a budget?
2. Why isn’t that ray-gun more awesome looking?
I’ll address only issue two here. This thing looks like a giant black tray with a hole in it stuck on [...]

When you think space age, Mexico City probably isn’t the first place that comes to mind, but Mexico City produced Juan Garcia Esquivel, inventor of quintessential bachelor pad music. Have a listen and hear what I mean.
It’s best to listen to Esquivel in stereo while sipping a cocktail, snapping your fingers, and impressing a lady-friend. [...]

I can think of no city symbol more awesome than the Seattle Space Needle. It’s not the tallest structure. It doesn’t even really do anything. Except be awesome. You can just picture a bunch of grown men in a meeting gleefully shouting,
“Yeah, yeah, it’s gonna look like a huge flying saucer!”
“And it’ll spin around!”
“Can we [...]

Quack has a designer table concept inspired by our favorite era. There’s so much to love about it: atomic legs, flying saucer top, snacks! [via mocoloco]