Imagine cruising down the highway with a turntable spinning your favorite tunes right in the car. While it sounds like a scene from a sci-fi movie or an eccentric retro fantasy, in-car record players were a very real innovation during the mid-20th century. …
For centuries, the term “computer” meant a person, often a woman, performing complex calculations by hand. By the late 19th century, these human computers became the unsung heroes of numerous scientific advancements. Alan Turing described the "human comp…
In the history of American education, one subject has played a pivotal role in equipping students with essential skills for the demands of the modern world: typing. The rise of typing classes in US high schools is a captivating chapter in the historical lan…
In this day and age, it's easy to take our modern-day refrigerators for granted. We expect them to keep our food fresh and cold without giving them a second thought. However, it wasn't always this way. Back in the early 1900s, refrigerators were a luxur…
It is said that the washing machine did more to liberate women in the 20th century than the pill or the right to work or vote. Before the advent of the washing machine, laundry was often done in a communal setting. Villages across Europe that could afford i…
Medical sciences in the early parts of the 20th century were far advanced from the medieval days of leeches, but still, most of the treatments and medical devices were misguided and often even barbaric by our modern standards. Seeming to mean well, biza…
From the early days of flight and the "golden age of travel", to modern-day airlines, air travel has changed a lot over the past century. Through this photo collection, we take a journey through time to show you what air travel looked like from the 1930s to…
By the early 1900s, household electricity and running water started to become a norm in the Western world. Industrialization brought the evolution of kitchen design to a new era. Factories mass-produced fixtures, ever-more modern appliances, cabinetry, li…
Nowadays you can easily listen to new songs on your smartphone using your earphones, but this wasn’t the case in the past. Many music stores in the 1950s introduced special sound-isolating booths where customers could sample new sounds without having to…
The bustling offices of the 1950s and 1960s reflected the spirit of the American dream — a world of opportunity, independence, and ambition neatly tucked behind desks, typewriters, and rotary phones. It was an era when the secretarial profession reigned sup…
The future once looked like a promise of endless possibilities, with flying cars humming above neon-lit cities and meals arriving in pill form at the push of a button. This vision, known as retrofuturism, captures how people of the past imagined the world w…
Long before Hedy Lamarr became a household name in Hollywood, she was already turning heads in Europe—not just for her beauty, but for her captivating screen presence and sharp intellect. Born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler in Vienna, Austria, in 1914, Lamarr’s j…
These vintage photos capture the sun-soaked beaches and towering waves of the 1960s and 1970s, a time when surf culture wasn’t just a pastime but a way of life. From California’s shimmering coastline to the shores of Australia and New Zealand, surfing wasn’…
The 1970s were a fascinating era for children's toys, driven by advancing technology and the influence of popular culture. Electronic toys like Simon, an addictive memory game, and the Atari gaming system brought new, interactive play experiences into home…
The evolution of swimwear underwent a dramatic transformation in the 20th century as fashion trends rapidly shifted and the restrictive conventions of the Victorian era gave way to new ideals of freedom and functionality. Early in the century, one-piece swi…
Television once held a special place in Soviet society, becoming a symbol of status and technological progress. Photographs from the post-World War II era through Perestroika capture people proudly posing with their first TV sets, reflecting the excitement …
As modern technology rapidly advances, jobs that once seemed like the stuff of science fiction are now becoming everyday realities. However, as new opportunities emerge, many roles that were once essential have faded into history. This list explores …
The RCA Whirlpool Miracle Kitchen of 1957 was a futuristic and innovative kitchen exhibit that was showcased at the American National Exhibition in Moscow, Soviet Union, during the height of the Cold War. This exhibit was a collaborative effort between the …
The 20th century marked a significant period of evolution in the field of robotics, ushering in a transformative era of technological advancement. Starting with the term itself, coined by Czech playwright Karel Čapek in his play "R.U.R." (Rossum's Unive…
DAF Trucks is a renowned Dutch truck manufacturer with its headquarters and manufacturing facility situated in Eindhoven, in the Netherlands. Among the noteworthy and renowned features of their trucks lies the concept of removable engines, which aimed to st…