Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Old Newspapers @oldnewspapers.bsky.social · 1d

*world's loudest groan*

(The Saint Paul Globe, August 8, 1880)

"An old lady in Yorkville, with several unmarried daughters, feeds them on fish diet because it is rich in phosphorus and phosphorus is the essential thing for making matches."

1

Old Newspapers @oldnewspapers.bsky.social · 1d

Is one often unsure of one's mayonnaise?

(Spokane Chronicle, June 21, 1926)

to be sure of
your Mayonnaise
use PLATO
made by the makers of PANCRUST

3

Old Newspapers @oldnewspapers.bsky.social · 1d

I'll pick up this series about 1926's opinions about the future again later, since I just found a 24(!)-part series on predictions about what marriage will be like in 2026.

1

Old Newspapers @oldnewspapers.bsky.social · 1d

Welp.

(News and Observer, Raleigh, NC, December 4, 1926)

1 1 4

Old Newspapers @oldnewspapers.bsky.social · 1d

This one did not come to pass, sadly, I write from my rented apartment:

(Journal, Meriden, Conn., July 1, 1926)

"Real estate booms going on in many states, and the population that the United States will have about the year 2026 is going to be amply provided for."

1 1

Old Newspapers @oldnewspapers.bsky.social · 1d

An interesting 1926 take on archiving movies and film for the year 2026:

(Press-Telegram, December 5, 1926)

(4/?)

a newspaper article titled "OUR MOVIE RECORDS"

1 1

Old Newspapers @oldnewspapers.bsky.social · 1d

Some other spot on guesses (nuclear energy) and big misses (no more cities).

(Greensboro Record, June 27, 1926)

(3/?)

"IN 2026 - 5,200,000,000 PEOPLE" with a drawing of a crowded globe

"The energy contained in the electricity of the atmosphere will be used. Similarly the energy locked up in the atoms of matter will be set free. Big cities today are dictated by proximity to farm region, mining regions and by the structure of land and water routes."

2 1

Old Newspapers @oldnewspapers.bsky.social · 1d

"An Exclusive Picture of This Old World in the More or Less Good Year 2026," featuring:

-Nationalized solar energy
-Steak pills taken in the sky
-Electric cars
-Eggs assembled in factories

(Paragould Daily Press, June 26, 1926)

A cartoon depicting a man not understanding what oil stock is in 2026

A cartoon showing a couple eating steak pills in a flying machine

A cartoon showing people in a flying machine headed to to the North Pole, two men discussing assembling eggs, and a man in an odd car saying "my battery's low - gotta pick up some energy"

1 1

Old Newspapers @oldnewspapers.bsky.social · 1d

A thread of predictions for 2026 from 1926:

"Machines will care for [man's] personal needs...flashing him radio-movies of the day's news as it happens"

(Montana Record-Herald, July 28, 1926)

(1/?)

1 2

Old Newspapers @oldnewspapers.bsky.social · 1d

I'm at the make-quince-jam-for-the-first-time-on-a-whim stage of furlough.

Old Newspapers @oldnewspapers.bsky.social · 5d

Doesn't agree with Merriam-Webster, but interesting nevertheless.

A paragraph linking the origin of the English word abyss to the Sumerian abzu

1 2

Old Newspapers @oldnewspapers.bsky.social · 5d

Currently on page 53. Will I finish this 918-page book before the shutdown ends?

1 4

Old Newspapers @oldnewspapers.bsky.social · 27d

(Lobster effigy vessel, Moche, Phase II-IV, 200-600 AD, earthenware with slip paint, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)

2

Old Newspapers @oldnewspapers.bsky.social · 27d

In other great technological news, I have a discovered how to easily make transparent images.

Behold, transparent 1950s goose planter!

A transparent image of a ceramic goose planter

1 2

Old Newspapers @oldnewspapers.bsky.social · 27d

Part of the reason I haven't been able to post much: I have been sans personal computer for many months.

Behold, my new baby!!

A bubble gum pink Framework 12 laptop with light blue accents

1 5

Reposted by Old Newspapers

Molly Muldoon (is a ghost) @passingfair.bsky.social · Sep 9

Sometimes the big boss walks into your office randomly and you have to pretend you're working and not reading the wikipedia page list of people who disappeared mysteriously: 1910–1990

1 11

Reposted by Old Newspapers

New Old News @megsquito.bsky.social · Sep 11

When's the last time you had a Chum Chip, a Wisecrack or a Party Poop? (1950)

2 2 6

Old Newspapers @oldnewspapers.bsky.social · Sep 8

Weird! House! History!!!

history.house.gov/Blog/2025/Se...

The Many Lives of Representative Barzillai Gannett of Massachusetts | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives

Since it was first published in 1859, the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress has provided readers with information about the lives and careers of federal lawmakers. The long-running ...

history.house.gov

1 2

Old Newspapers @oldnewspapers.bsky.social · Sep 8

Continuing to New England (as a verb)

Boats in a harbor at a cloudy pink sunset

A beach on a cloudy day with a few houses along the shore

1

Old Newspapers @oldnewspapers.bsky.social · Sep 7

More a New England Things I Saw Today

-"On the Border" (liquor store in NH right before you go to MA)

-"THE NEW HAMPSHIRE PARTY BUS" on the street in Pourtsmouth

1

Old Newspapers @oldnewspapers.bsky.social · Sep 7

New England Things I Saw Today

A sign outside a diner that said:

BUFFALO
CHICKEN
OMELET
HELP
WANTED

And now I'm going to think about that forever.

1 1

Old Newspapers @oldnewspapers.bsky.social · Sep 7

Saw this neon sign lit up at night in NH and it cured what ails me.

(Photo and story from
indepthnh.org/2016/01/09/t...)

2 2

Old Newspapers @oldnewspapers.bsky.social · Aug 31

Stickers are from:

@foxfeather.bsky.social (vulture, from our hive share); @acorviart.bsky.social (boot fish); @choodraws.bsky.social (bao + burning house); @koyamori.bsky.social (orange cat); bedrock sandals; fishwife (star)

Rest are modern Japanese or vintage American!

1

Old Newspapers @oldnewspapers.bsky.social · Aug 31

The joy of collecting stickers is only second to the joy of finally having a perfect use for said stickers.

The cover of a light green journal with stickers on the front. Stickers include a fish with books, vintage stamps, a vulture, and a Japanese train ticket.

1

Old Newspapers @oldnewspapers.bsky.social · Aug 31

(ad from the 1945 Colorado Springs Telephone Directory, Mountain States Telephone & Telegraph Company)

Ad for Radio Service and Supply Co. Featuring an 1940s style car with radio speakers on it

1