Monday, October 26, 2009

Craigslist Come Up!!

So, after years of watching Dillon find amazing things on Craigslist I finally lucked out.  Last weekend I picked up four boxes of old encyclopedias and yearbooks.  Yeah, that may not sound very exciting but I'm pumped.  I originally got them to use as ephemera for ATCs and other paper crafts.  However, upon seeing how great they are there is no way I can cut them up.  I'll just have to spend the rest of eternity scanning pages that I want to use.
They range in time from the 1950s through the 1970s.  The articles are amazing, especially the tone they are written in.  I love reading about the new concept of recycling and the newfangled label called a UPC bar code- which will probably be a huge flop...little did they know.  And how construction is set to get underway for a new complex in NYC called the World Trade Center.  And how at a whopping $400 Million dollars, it will be the world's most expensive building ever built.  Crazy how the world has changed.

The following pictures are from the 1971 World Book Yearbook.
This particular article explained the concept of Spaceship Earth based on the idea of international cooperation and education.  Turning the Earth from a battlefield that is guaranteed to eventually destroy itself, into one giant classroom.  Where all countries could work together to solve problems too big for just one country to tackle alone.  And all countries could prosper with the sharing of technology and scientific breakthroughs.   I think it's amazing food for thought.  I find it disappointing that nearly 40 years later that this hasn't been achieved, even on the smallest scale.

(Click on 'em to see 'em larger)


In war, mankind faces the ultimate unity of planetary death.  Earth's biosphere is our home... or our burial chamber

by watching and learning together, the earth can be a school-room rather than a battlefield.
 
(Referring to war) That could disrupt the life-giving energies of biosphere, the precious envelope pf air, soil, and water that sustains our very existence. 

2 comments:

Awestruck Angie said...

These are amazing! What a gem.

MafiosaGrrl said...

Yeah, I was beyond excited when I started looking through them. I can't wait to organize the house a bit to make room for a proper space for them. Right now they are still in their crummy boxes :(