Call it one small step for man, one giant leap for the marketing department. By the time the Eagle had landed, space-age was all the rage. Everything from candy (Zoom, the rocket-shaped frozen lollipop) and breakfast cereals (Puffed Wheat for "big and little spacemen") to clothing lines (Courr�ge's couture for the new world!) and homes (Matti Suuronen's flying saucer-like Futuro house) was produced to feed the public's appetite for all things intergalactic. So what ever happened to our personal hovercraft (or at least the pool furniture inspired by the dream)? Sean Topham has the answer in Where's My Space Age? The Rise and Fall of Futuristic Design (Prestel Publishing, $35). The British author blames the 1973 oil crisis and worldwide recession for bringing the mood down to earth. Cultural priorities, he says, shifted from optimism about the new frontier to protection from the unknown effects of satellite transmissions. Talk about the dark side of the moon.
PLAY
Exploring *Myst'*s Brave New World
Tru 2 Da Game
Better Than MP3
What's On Your iPod?
It's Not Easy Being Green
Thrash Photography
Honey, Where Are the Keys to the Hovercraft?
Read Me: Regulating Railroad Innovation
Merry Institute of Tricksters
Top 10 MIT Hacks
Wet & Wild
Top of the Pop Shop
reviews
Fetish
Music to Your Ears
GMRS Talks the Talk
Total Remote Control
Shopping Cart
