Imagine today visiting the airport bookstore killing time until your schedule flight departure and seeing racks of the likes of these paperback novels. Stories of bad girls, bad guys, romance, sci-fi, detective mysteries, just to name a few pulp fiction genres that were the rage at one time. Now these works of art are highly sought after collectibles.
Before Apple Computer gave us the iMac, mechanical desktop typewriters known as “writing machines” were standard issue in offices and newsrooms throughout America. The electric typewriter first built by Thomas Edison in 1872 and later proliferated in the 1950s by companies like Remington soon took over the office landscape. Later models such as IBM’s Selectrics introduced in 1961 featured typeballs instead of pivoting typebars. It became a workhorse and as a result captured the majority share of the market.
The portable typewriter first introduced by the Blickensderfer Manufacturing Company, of Stamford, Connecticut, was unveiled in 1893. But success wasn’t in the cards as larger companies like Remington and Corolla eventually produced their own driving Blickensderfer out of business. Today most people use a keyboard that is associated with a personal computer.
What was once common in restaurants and diners across America, the classic coin-operated jukebox has been replaced in the hearts of America’s teens by the IPod. The IPod is a technological breakthrough. It’s the personal jukebox of choice of our youth. It delivers incredible design and functionality all packed into a palm sized player. But it’s the jukebox that holds dear to my heart and the memories that it has given me. Jukeboxes like the IPod had style and function too. It just came in a bigger package…with lots of chrome and colored lights.
1956 Seeburg Jukebox
Back in 1958 Americans were crazy about a large plastic hoop ring that made shaking one’s hips in public all the rage. The hula hoop as it was known sold millions to children and adults. In the ensuing years the fad was so popular that hula hoops competitions were popping up in major cities. Today the hula hoop is once again generating attention, but now it’s called hooping.
So what exactly is hooping? Hooping lovers use a heavier hoop. The extra weight makes the hoop go slower as it rotates around the body thus you have more control. And it makes it easier to do tricks. Hoopers can get a good cardio workout. Some find it relaxing and some find that it gives them a massage. Hooping clubs and even a hooping magazine along with thousands of hooping YouTube videos are out there in the mainstream. It’s safe to say hooping is now a part of pop culture.
A simple pie tin created in the late 1800’s by a baker named William Russel Frisbie became a favorite play toy for Yale students more than a half century later. These Yalies tossed these reusable saucer shaped tins for fun through the air and catching them. Later Walter Frederick Morrison, a UFO aficionado, developed the toy flying saucer and sold it to the Wham-O company. The Frisbee as American as apple pie, was born in 1957. Today children and adults can be seen tossing these discs to each other in parks, beaches, and still on college campuses.
One of America’s most mainstream product is the metal can opener. The can opener has been a staple in and around kitchens in America for over a century. First invented by Ezra Warner of Waterbury, CT and later patented by William Lyman, the can opener became the preferred choice from previous openers such as knives when thinner metal came on the scene. A simple butterfly can opener is still a favorite, although modern designers have redesigned it by making it easier to use with less strain on the wrist and hand joints.
Growing up in the 50’s I remember how the magnet held the lid from falling away from our avocado green electric model. My parents proudly displayed the opener on their Formica counter top. Even the colors that were available matched the kitchen decor perfectly. Some of these models were wall mounted units. Kitchen gadgets weren’t as prevalent as they are today, yet these can openers are still sold and displayed next to canned food items in grocery stores throughout the country. Can openers are multi-taskers too. Besides cutting open cans these tools feature other useful functions like a bottle opener. And some are manufactured cordless, and can openers are still listed on many brides wish list.
Today my personal choice is an ergonomic model that operates by squeezing the two handles together. This engages the mechanism. It cuts through the metal smoothly and without hand strain. Perfect for arthritis sufferers. Can openers travel well and are often packed in picnic baskets. It’s nice to know the can opener is a big part of everyone’s lives and a part of Americana.
Do members of the Swiss Armed Forces actually get issued their own Soldiers Knife? Apparently they do. Soldiers first coined the knife, originated in 1897 after World War 2. This handy utility tool is multi-functional. The basic knife features a silver body shell, a can opener, a screwdriver and a reamer. Recognized for its design, the Swiss Army knife has been awarded the prestigious honor to be inducted into the Museum of Modern Art collection.
Like many young boys growing up, the first encounter with one of these beauties was a birthday or Christmas gift. Somehow parents thought it was safe to trust their sons with such a convenient and useful tool. It easily fits in the pocket and a young boy learned that the knife wasn’t meant to be a weapon, but more of a rite of passage to adulthood.
The knife made pop culture exposure when it became the trusted problem solving tool of the choice hit TV show MacGyver. MacGyver always seemed to pull himself out of trouble by constructing some gadget with help from the knife.
These days most knifes have a body that is red. And there are many models to choose from with many configurations for just anyone. From the casual user to the sophisticated Swiss Army knife aficionado. These knives come with more bells and whistles like USB flash drives to an MP3 player making this cool gadget fit quite nicely with our current technology.
They still are favorite gifts around Christmas and birthdays, but now a generation brought up with these handy tools are keeping the brand and the memories alive for themselves and their sons.
