Retro-Tech

Arcane transport systems, pneumatic tubes, steam engines, zeppelins, wooden submarines, antikythera mechanisms, phantasmagorias, and any other amazing and now outmoded peice of technology belongs here.

Image of Cheomseongdae located in Kyo-ri, South Korea
Kyo-ri, South Korea

Cheomseongdae

Numerical symbolism abound at East Asia's oldest observatory

Numbers are important at Cheomseongdae, the oldest astronomical observatory in East Asia. Though the observatory's age (it dates back to the 7th century Silla Kingdom of modern-day South Korea)... »

Instruments of Science, Retro-Tech, Architectural Oddities | Edited by Trevor and Nicholas Jackson

Image of Tempio Voltiano located in Como, Italy
Como, Italy

Tempio Voltiano

Old batteries and frog skeletons reside in this lakeside monument to Allesandro Volta

Tempio Voltiano, or the Voltian Temple, is a neoclassical monument and museum dedicated to the life and work of the Italian physicist and inventor of the modern battery, Allesandro Volta. In the... »

Strange Science, Instruments of Science, Electrical Oddities, Retro-Tech | Edited by Trevor and wythe

Image of Long Now Orrery located in San Francisco, California, US | The Long Now Orrery
San Francisco, California, US

Long Now Orrery

A modern mechanical planetary system, part of a 10,000 year clock

Inside the offices of the Long Now Foundation in San Francisco is a small museum dedicated to the art of long-term thinking. Surrounded by diagrams, molds, and assorted mechanical contraptions is... »

Unique Collections, Astounding Timepieces, Instruments of Science, Retro-Tech, Long Now Locations | Edited by Annetta and Dylan

Image of The Avrocar located in Dayton, Ohio, US
Dayton, Ohio, US

The Avrocar

A real flying saucer, contracted by the U.S. Air Force

The year was 1952 and the Cold War was in full chill. The House Un-American Activities Committee was looking for "reds under beds," while teenage boys read science fiction comics and watched... »

Inspired Inventions, Retro-Tech | Edited by canuck, Dylan and others

Image of Kaatskill Kaleidoscope located in Mount Tremper, New York, US
Mount Tremper, New York, US

Kaatskill Kaleidoscope

The world's largest kaleidoscope, designed by a 1960s psychedelic artist

Built from a converted grain silo is the Kaatskill (spelled in the original Dutch way) Kaleidoscope, the world's largest at 60 feet. Designed by '60s psychedelic artist Isaac Abrams - whose... »

Retro-Tech, Architectural Oddities, Outsider Architecture | Edited by A Facebook user, Dylan and others

Image of Marconi National Historic Site located in Cape Breton Island, Canada | A model of the Marconi's original Table Head station at Glace Bay.
Cape Breton Island, Canada

Marconi National Historic Site

Site of the first official transatlantic wireless communications

The beginnings of the wireless age can be traced back to Canada's eastern seaboard. There, at the turn of twentieth century, the Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi carried out the first... »

Strange Science, Instruments of Science, Electrical Oddities, Retro-Tech, Incredible Ruins | Edited by Trevor

Image of Steam Clock Gastown Vancouver located in Vancouver, Canada
Vancouver, Canada

Steam Clock Gastown Vancouver

A working steam clock, one of only a few in the world, located in Vancouver's Victorian Gastown

Underneath Vancouver, Canada, there runs a series of steam tunnels, some apparently large enough to walk in. You can look down onto the tunnels—which run under major streets, including Cordova,... »

Astounding Timepieces, Retro-Tech, Amazing Automata | Edited by canuck, Annetta and others

Image of Nerobergbahn located in Wiesbaden, Germany | Nerobergbahn, source: http://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Datei:Wiesbaden_Nerobergbahn_ESWE_Verkehrsbetriebe_auf_Viadukt_von_1907_von_Talstation_zum_Hausberg_Foto_2008_Wolfgang_Pehlemann_Wiesbaden_0ICT0061.jpg&filetimestamp=20090411171412
Wiesbaden, Germany

Nerobergbahn

A rare water-powered funicular, it uses a huge tank of water and gravity to do its work

A 440 metres long funicular railway in the city of Wiesbaden linking Neroberg hill to its north, Nerobergbahn opened in 1888, and is one of the few remaining funiculars to use water propulsion.... »

Retro-Tech | Edited by Alpha and Dylan

Image of Replica of the Golden Hinde located in London, United Kingdom | Golden Hinde in London
London, United Kingdom

Replica of the Golden Hinde

This one has sailed five times as far as Sir Francis Drake's famous ship

When Sir Francis Drake returned from his epic circumnavigation of the globe in 1580, the Queen declared that his ship should be preserved so the public could revel in his success for years to... »

Museums and Collections, Retro-Tech | Edited by Annetta and wythe

Image of Ulugh Beg Observatory located in Urta Osiyo Temir Yuli, Uzbekistan
Urta Osiyo Temir Yuli, Uzbekistan

Ulugh Beg Observatory

Light still pours into the ruins of this ancient Islamic observatory

For nearly half a millennium, the remains of one of the greatest observatories ever built lay hidden in Central Asia. A product of one Muslim prince's devotion to science, the observatory was the... »

Astounding Timepieces, Instruments of Science, Retro-Tech, Incredible Ruins, Subterranean Sites | Edited by Trevor and wythe

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