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.

Tesla's Wardenclyffe Laboratory

An unrealized dream to wirelessly electrify the entire Earth

Wardenclyffe Laboratory is the last remaining research facility of Nikola Tesla, the famed Serb/Croat (he is claimed by both) physicist whose bold ideas about electricity led to the development of... »

Instruments of Science, Electrical Oddities, Retro-Tech, Incredible Ruins, Subterranean Sites | Edited by Trevor and Dylan

The Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force Submarine Museum

"Excuse me sir, your submarine is blocking my building."

The JMSDF Submarine Museum's three-story brick building, opened in 2006, is dwarfed by the submarine Akishio, mounted on steel cradles between the museum and Kure's busy downtown street. The... »

Museums and Collections, Unique Collections, Unusual Monuments, Retro-Tech | Edited by spinkk, Dylan and others

Wiltshire's Secret Underground City: The Burlington Nuclear Bunker

Below a historic English market town lies a secret underground city complete with kitchens, laundries, storerooms, a pub, and an underground lake

In disaster movies, when the asteroid is hurtling towards earth, or the super volcano is about to blow, there is always a top-secret location where the president, government officials and... »

Retro-Tech, Disaster Areas, Incredible Ruins, Repositories of Knowledge, Subterranean Sites | Edited by and Dylan

Gaithersburg Latitude Observatory

Tiny observatory made big contributions to the study of the Earth's motion

The Earth wobbles slightly in its orbit, like a spinning top that draws ever-larger circles with its handle before it topples over. However, for our planet this process is extremely slow: the... »

Instruments of Science, Retro-Tech | Edited by Trevor and Dylan

Plantin-Moretus Museum of Printing

Most prolific publishing house in the 1600s open to the public

As print is slowly killed (or at least deeply altered) by the advent of the Internet, relics of the early era of print become even more novel. In the early 1500s, the printing press was less than... »

Unique Collections, Retro-Tech | Edited by M Rebekah Otto and Dylan

Herschel Museum of Astronomy

Eighteenth-century home, where Herschel discovered the planet Uranus

Few amateur astronomers have enjoyed the success and fame of the brother and sister observing pair of William and Caroline Herschel. Together they were responsible for the discovery of one... »

Unique Collections, Inspired Inventions, Musical Wonders, Instruments of Science, Retro-Tech, Repositories of Knowledge | Edited by Trevor

National Center for the History of Electronic Games

Comprehensive gaming collection of over 20,000 electronic games and consoles

The National Center for the History of Electronic Games (NCHEG) is located at the Strong National Museum of Play, the only museum in the world solely dedicated to exploring the history of play and... »

Unique Collections, Retro-Tech | Edited by anhie

Kristiansand Kanonmuseum

The last fully functional fortress of Germany's World War II Atlantikwall

The Kristiansand Kanonmuseum is home to the world's largest fully functional land-mounted naval gun. Once a part of the Atlantikwall (Atlantic Wall), the Nazi's huge defensive line that ran... »

Museums and Collections, Unique Collections, Retro-Tech, Incredible Ruins, Subterranean Sites | Edited by vicphillipson and wythe

Computer History Museum

From the Difference Engine to the Cray-1, all under one roof

The collection of computers and related history at the Computer History Museum is the largest of its kind in the world, covering the history, evolution, and pre-history of computing devices. It... »

Unique Collections, Instruments of Science, Retro-Tech | Edited by Annetta and zardoz

Leviathan of Parsonstown

Behemoth, cannon-like telescope operated by generations of Irish earls

The real measure of a telescope's power is not how greatly it can magnify a distant object, but what portion of that object's light the instrument actually collects. It's easy if you think of... »

Inspired Inventions, Instruments of Science, Retro-Tech | Edited by Trevor and wythe

Obscura Day is coming!

Join us March 20th, 2010 in celebrating wondrous and curious places all over the world. RSVP for expeditions and tours at obscuraday.com.

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