DynaTAC 8000X, the first commercially sold portable cellular phone, by Motorola. They sold for US$3,995 in 1983 dollars, which is about $13,400 in 2026 dollars.
Who doesn’t want a gigantic banana to play their vinyls? Plays 33 and 45 rpm records in any position, and comes with a carrying strap as shown in the inset.
Wartime ad from the Canadian Red Cross. Also, cover illustration from the Toronto Star Weekly, 1941. It was 1941, so clearly the best way to recuperate from a war injury was to smoke some cigarettes!
It was a 250 foot fall tower, opened in 1939 for the World’s Fair, and operated through 1964. Riders would be raised to the top and then descend on parachutes in a canvas seat, which took about 10-20 seconds. Quite a ride for 1939! There were shock absorbers at the bottom to ease the landing.
The line art looks like the building of the oldest currently operating McDonald’s, which opened in 1953, although the ad copy gives a different location that opened in 1958, so this menu has got to be around 58 64 (see post from scmstr@lemmy.blahaj.zone in thread). There were some older McD’s but they are gone. The 1953 location was the first building that used the golden arches as a shtick.
In the early 1900’s, Kodak ran a whole series of these ads featuring Kodak Girl, who would take her Kodak into various situations. The image above was a typical example. I like the style. Although, it is hard for me to imagine high heels as a beach shoe.
Unclear if this is an ad for the rental of a funeral car, or the purchase of affordably priced coffins, or both. I’m not spotting a motor or a place one would be hidden, so I guess this must have been a horse drawn vehicle that R.F. Dorr would use when you hired their services.
The device itself hails from 1939. I do not know the date of the ad. 50s? 60s? Probably no earlier than 60’s per deduction from everett@lemmy.ml below.
I saw a Burger King ad on this community, and, patriotism being involved on this glorious 14th of July, I had to reply with a relatively unknown French fast-food chain of our own! I could not find any interesting pictures, but there are 2 ads about it:
This was a kit sold for children 12 and up, which let them create metal soldiers and other figures. The kit included a crucible, a heating unit, and lead ingots that you would melt in the crucible, to then pour the molten lead into molds.
The Sci-Fi channel debuted Farscape, an original sci-fi series about an astronaut who tries to find his way home after being catapulted to a galaxy far, far away.
This brand still existed into the 1970’s, advertising under the same name! I assume in the 1940’s, the modern slang was not in common use. Some word origin sites say “poo” arose in the 1950’s. By the 1970’s, this branding must have become problematic!
Another quack cure from the early / mid 1900’s. You can find them still in antique markets. It seems to be a UV light wand. UV light is harmful to eyes and can be carcinogenic, causing skin cancers. There are a few skin conditions that spot UV is used to treat today, but most of this ad is harmful quackery!
You can read about them here. They were made by Lincoln Car Works for Sears to sell from catalogs. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Motor_Car_Works
Nothing to do with any national holidays (though there probably is a Batman Day by this point). My friend Mark has one of these old Ideal Batman masks (more of a helmet, really) and he’s not even a comic book guy. More’s the pity.
PieFed.World
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