Popcorn? Check....Drink? Check.....Let's watch some movies!

Who doesn't like a movie?

Who doesn't like old movies?

Well, if you DO like old movies, then today I have a great link for you to check out! It includes shows like this:

Who needs CSI when you have Sgt. Friday?

Can't forget the cartoon short! Superman anyone????

Now for the main feature:

Want to watch movies like these for free? Forget iTunes for now. Just click over to the Internet Archive and explore for a while. With newsreels, cartoons, full-length movies and more, you can have a DIY movie night with your friends for no cost!

On a serious note, however, for historians and researchers, this site is invaluable for the documentation that it does hold. Trends, fads, costume, culture, these can all be viewed and incorporated into your research.

Plus, you'll have some fun as well.

Have a great day, see you tomorrow!


Links:

Internet Archive
Wikipedia entry-Internet Archive

Sources:

All pictures today courtesy the Internet Archive!

Easy On The Throttle Jake....A Look Back at the Mobil Gas (Mobil Economy) Run

Mileage per gallon is all the rage now. Economy is back! Reading about this tonight, I thought it would be a great idea to dig up some information on the Mobil (MobilGas) Economy Run. Held from the 1930's to the late 1960's, this annual event helped to determine gas mileage on current automobiles available to the consumer.

(1)

Sponsored by Mobil, the United States Auto Club was the operator for the events. The vehicles were purchased from auto dealers and then the hoods, etc. were shut and special gas tanks to measure fuel used were installed.

(2)

There were different classes in the competition and this event proved to be very popular....probably the most among the automobile manufacturers. Mileage actually wasn't too bad, considering the weight of the cars and the strictly mechanical setup of the drivetrains. Said Time:

"6-Cylindef: Chevrolet Biscayne, 22.3788 m.p.g.;
Chevrolet Biscayne, 21.9439 m.p.g.;
Ford Custom 300, 20.3288 m.p.g....:

(3)

(4)

Try the links below, especially the Times article for more information. The screenshots above were also from a great film off of archive.org that was part of the Prelinger Collection. I've put the link in below.

Have a great day, see you tomorrow!


Links:


Mickey Thompson Economy Run Information

Time Magazine Archive-1959 contest

Prelinger Archive Film-On The Run

Wikipedia entry-Mobile Economy Run

New York Times Story: Coast to Coast....


Sources:

(1)(2)(4) Screen-grab from On The Run

(3) Time Magazine Archive: Rambler.....

Little Joe, Ham, and the Liberty Bell

After the successes of Sputnik and the American satellite, Explorer I, the race for space was on! Well chronicled in titles such as We Seven, The Right Stuff, and others, the American space program and astronauts became the new heroes in the Cold War with the Soviets.

The next big question was getting a man in space. Could it be done? Would they die? It was all unknown at this point.

So we started Project Mercury.....

(Source: Nasa)

Started in 1958 and culminating with a series of manned flights in the early 1960's, Project Mercury, without a doubt, proved man in space was feasible. Said Nasa:

"...Largely because of Project Mercury, which fostered Project Apollo and fathered Project Gemini, the United States had become committed to send men to explore the Moon only 350 years after Galileo first turned a telescope toward Earth's natural satellite...."

(Source: Nasa-This New Ocean: A History of Project Mercury)

(Project Mercury Astronauts, Survival Training-Source: Nasa)

The program, however, did not always have 100% success. There was wrangling over costs as well as the new, unproven technology. In fact, one of the launches only went four or five inches after liftoff:

"...The expected blast momentarily churned the air around launch complex No. 56. But then the roar stopped as suddenly as it had started. Watching by periscope from the blockhouse, the startled engineers saw the booster wobble slightly on its pedestal and settle back on its fins after, at the very most, a four- or five-inch liftoff. The Rocketdyne A-7 engine shut down, and the escape pylon zipped up 4,000 feet and landed about 400 yards away from the launch site. Three seconds after the escape rocket blew, the drogue package shot upward, and then the main chute spurted out of the top of the capsule followed by the reserve parachute, and both fluttered down alongside the Redstone...."

(Source: The Four Inch Flight-Nasa)

While today's space travel doesn't seem to make the front page news anymore, it wasn't always this way. Perhaps because of the pioneers such as this first project, this is why. In all, Project Mercury provided leadership, technology, and exploration of space.

Have a great day, see you tomorrow!

Don't forget the links below for much more information in detail.


Links:

Nasa Project Mercury

This New Ocean (online book)

Project Mercury (Wikipedia)

Bibliography (Background on Project Mercury)

Nara (search for Project Mercury)

Don't Forget the Speaker!

I've always loved drive-in movies. Even though they are very few and far between here in Ohio, it's still neat every time I see one. I was on archive.org tonight doing some more investigating on the nuclear weapons tests mentioned in yesterday's post, when I came across a series of ads from the drive-in. All work and no play makes for a bored librarian, so I took a few minutes to watch some of them. Neat stuff! So I had to go grab some popcorn as well!

I thought this would make a great post and share some information to you as well. Here's a few previews just to give you an idea:

Please return the speaker if you drive off with it!

(Source: http://www.archive.org/details/DriveInMovieAds)

Hard to refuse hot coffee!
(Source: http://www.archive.org/details/DriveInMovieAds)

I've posted some links below to the Wikipedia entries and the direct link to the archive.org information as well. Take a few minutes and check them out. Maybe I can find some classic cartoons next???? I know there's some Superman cartoons somewhere!

See you tomorrow, have a great day!

Links:

Wikipedia entry on Drive-ins.
(some controversy over article, see external links for more stuff)

Internet Archive main link

"...What’s good for the country is good for General Motors..."

That quote, now a classic, has come to symbolize American manufacturing and mindset in the Fifties and Sixties. GM (General Motors) was a behemoth, fresh from the expansion of defense contract work during the war. A unique time, Americans were consuming and looking to the future, to try to get what had been denied in the prewar and war years. In comparison to today's gloomy, gotta-be-real, mindset, this is a pretty cool film.

With this in mind, let's take a look...

(Link from Youtube)


Higher resolution versions as well as differing formats are available at archive.org.

Have a great day!

Archive.org link

Wikipedia Motorama Link

Wikipedia Charles Wilson Link

Wham-O responsible for the Super Bowl?

Well, the Super Bowl for this year was quite a show! After the event, I started doing some research on the history, trivia, and other aspects of this gridiron battleground.

In particular, how did it get named?

Well, the amazing fact I found out is that Wham-O indirectly was responsible for the "Super Bowl" naming!

Hmm??? Conspiracy or just luck? See below the movie for the answer!





As it turns out, the whole naming convention was by Lamar Hunt, who according to Wikipedia, saw his kids playing with a Wham-O super ball, thereby giving him the inspiration for the name. Check the links below for more details.

Have a great day!

Wikipedia Super Bowl entry

Wikipedia Super Ball entry

Wikipedia Wham-O entry

Wham-O site

It's the Kraft Music Hall....

The history of the Kraft Music Hall goes back to the middle 1930's. While the above video is for a later edition of the show (televised version) the format is similar with popular singers of the day and their musical guests. In this instance we have Perry Como and the "Old-Groaner" Bing Crosby. In fact, he was one of the "longest-running" announcers for the show.

A small sampling of notable guests and stars included:

• Ken Carpenter
• Spike Jones,
  
• Lucille Ball,
• The Andrews Sisters,
  
• Nat “King” Cole
  
• Peggy Lee.

In fact, it was this show that helped to name the anti-tank weapon used by the U. S. Army during World War II. That is-->The Bazooka!

Hit the links below for some facinating facts and articles. by the way, care for some macaroni and cheese?

Have a good day!

Bing Crosby and Cheese
Wikipedia: Kraft Music Hall