Mr. Future

Ira Gobler sent this fantastic pic and link to the Space-Age playground of our dreams this morning.

Best of the lot is Giganta, the playground automaton that converts imprisoned children into sliding arm-launched projectiles. Which is presumably what the catalog manufacturer means by “A Robot That Automatically Produces Fun.”

Wow. I want to go play in the giant mechanical brain. I’ve seen a few of the rocket-slides back in the day, but never a Giganta. Has anyone seen one of these in the wild?

Link

“Greetings, my friend. We are all interested in the future, for that is where you and I are going to spend the rest of our lives.”
- Criswell, Plan 9 From Outer Space

As part of their excellent coverage of the 50th Anniversary of Sputnik, The New York Times is also running an article on the influence of the Space Age on pop culture.

The article runs the whole gamut, from Sci-Fi movies to Googie architecture, but my favorite part of the pop-culture sidebar is the inclusion of this goofy musical tribute to Sputnik clip.

Link - NYT: “When the Space Age Blasted Off, Pop Culture Followed”

Link - NYT: “With Fear and Wonder in Its Wake, Sputnik Lifted Us Into the Future”

Link - NASA: “Sputnik and the Dawn of the Space Age”

(via Paleo-Future)