Tag: Space Age

Attractions & Other Oddities

In the early 1950s, just prior to the beginning of that great era we refer to as the Space Age, Skelly gas stations distributed a fantastically campy series of science-fiction trading cards titled the All American Space Fleet.

The cards, 24 in all, comprise various space-faring characters boasting such heroic names as "Specs" Regan, who appears to be sporting a little too much gray for his alleged 28 years, and "Curly" Carson, pictured with his diapered Martian friend "Grog." The only woman to appear in the series is Jane Joy, who is "still attending Stewardess School."

The majority of the set featured a variety of far-out spaceships like the Asteroid King, the Cosmic Needle and the Sky Shark, each of which had its imaginary function and specifications listed on the back of the card, along with helpful reminders to "Never, Never Play With Anything Electrical" and to never "Run or Play Hard with Things in Your Mouth."

What's your favorite?

Finnair, the flag airline of Finland, has announced its vision of flying for 85 years in the future. Titled Departure 2093, the project comprises designs for five futuristic flying machines that are posh, emission-free and 100% recyclable.

Thing is, the designs are eerily reminiscent of the types of craft the futurists of the '50s promised us for 1993, especially the A1700-2400 Cruiser, a jet-powered VTOL that looks more like a flying saucer, and the yet-unnamed dual-nosecone service ship for an orbiting "space hotel."

Features and amenities for Finnair's fleet of the future include nanoceramic bodies; electricity-generating skins; luminescent crash-landing bags and emergency parachutes; virtual windows with changeable exterior views; intelligent seats that adjust to passengers' bodies, measure their vital signs and offer massages; restaurants with live shows; gymnasiums; and hologram theaters. ... Continued