Tag: 1968

The 1968 Dustbuster Manta

“Built from Bizzarrini parts, the Manta was one of Giorgetto Giugiaro’s first independent designs as an independent consultant. He used it to promote and launch Ital Design in Turin. The Manta is remarkable as it was built up from an ex-Le Mans racer and it is one of the first cars the world to use a triple seat arrangement.

Inside the cockpit is an odd layout that seats the driver in the middle of the interior with a passenger on either side. The idea was copied from a Ferrari 365 prototype built in 1965 and it was later, more popularly revived with the mighty McLaren F1. With three people seated side-by-side it must be a particularly tight squeeze as much of the available passenger foot space is occupied by intrusive wheel wells.”

[Images found here. More about the 1968 Bizzarrini Manta here.]

A Prediction from 1968

By the turn of the century, chances are you won’t recognize the familiar telephone. Based on services already in use or on the drawing boards, you can expect some pretty far-out developments.

For example, Picturephone see-while-you-talk service, already in limited use, might well be offered in full color and three dimensions. With it, you could do the family grocery shopping, look at the new cars, or buy a new hat without leaving the house.

Electronic switching equipment now in trial use, will call you back when a busy line you have called is free, or transfer your calls to another phone while you’re away from home.

[Image and caption found here. Bonus below.]

BTW, that’s Jane Jetson, not Judy…

North Korea celebrates 50th Anniversary of the capture of the USS Pueblo


Captured crewmembers of the USS PUEBLO giving the “Hawaiian Good Luck Sign,” 1968.

[USNI News 24 January 2018.]

North Korea celebrated the 50th anniversary of the USS Pueblo (AGER-2) incident on Tuesday via broadcasts on state television and in an international press statement.

In 1968, the North Korean Navy captured the signals intelligence ship USS Pueblo (AGER-2) and its crew of 82 sailors. The sailors suffered starvation and torture and were used for propaganda purposes for almost a year before a release was negotiated in December of 1968.
[…]
Pueblo’s crew resisted when possible, most notably by frequently raising their middle fingers to ruin propaganda photo ops staged by the North Koreans, telling their captors the gesture was considered a “Hawaiian Good Luck Sign,” according to the Navy investigation. The crew was severely beaten near the end of their confinement when the North Koreans learned the gesture’s true meaning.

[More at the link above.]

 

1968 was the year to get Dodge fever.

Crenshaw Dodge was open daily AND Sunday. If you squint, you can still see the ghost of the dealership.

Adjusted for inflation, $3,014 is about $21,500 in 2017 dollars for one of the classic muscle cars. Overpriced? 50 years later they’re selling for twice as much, and more.

[Ad found here. 2018 listings found here.]

 

PEZ’s Contribution To The World

These are reproductions of one of the rarest PEZ candy dispensers. I should know… I had one of the 1968 “Luv” originals, and it’s somewhere in the basement of a house in Ohio. It looks like this:

I don’t remember ever refilling it with the little brick-shaped candies, but I disassembled and reassembled it at least once when I was bored.

[Images found here and here.]

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