Thursday, September 16, 2010

Joie de vivre: The Thermos and the Water Tower














Two nifty things helping to make life a little groovier: the thermos (vaccum flask) and the water tower. I never take them for granted. Why? Because I like hot coffee and I like strong water pressure. How about you?

What's cool is how old school these basic things are. I mean, look at this scan of a Detroit photo nearly 100 years old above -- the streetcars are long gone (hopefully to make a comeback) and car models and styles have changed over quite a few times, but the water towers remain. Pretty much as is. This one's circled for emphasis.

Water towers remind me of the Martian spaceships in H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds (1898). And town names in big letters. And crazy kids climbing them to see the world all around. All part of that joie de vivre -- that's what I'm talking about!













Stanley vaccum flasks have been around since 1913! The Thermos brand, circa 1904! Dewar flasks? 1892!  Do these images evoke some kind of memories for you?

Today's Rune: The Mystery Rune.

3 comments:

pattinase (abbott) said...

Not a coffee drinker but once upon a time, I took hot chocolate in one when I went ice skating.

Charles Gramlich said...

I've had that exact same feeling about those towers. They make me think delightedly of the Martian tripods. I never really thought about them otherwise as an invention but you make a very good point

Anonymous said...

Your Dad still has his Dad's thermos. Coffee is great in them especially when traveling for a long distance.
The water tower holds the liquid of life for the village, and it is a sign post, a marker with the name of the place. We just tell folks who are looking for our house, we are right near the water tower.