Museum of Extinct Americana (1968)
Sunday, January 31, 2010 at 1:20PM ;)
The January 3, 1968 Arizona Republic (Phoenix, AZ) ran this cartoon depicting the "Museum of Extinct Americana." Rural Americans and private dwellings were thought to be on their way out.
While more Americans of the year 2000 were living in urban areas, American farmers haven't yet gone the way of the quagga. (This is probably a stupid city-boy question, but how common are pitchforks on farms today?)
The recent housing bubble burst put the hurt on a lot of Americans who own their own home, but this cartoon was likely commenting on population growth and the belief that the United States was at capacity; with Americans of the year 2000 living in increasingly cramped conditions.
I wish the cartoonist had included more artifacts in his museum. Do you suppose he could have guessed that the printed newspaper would be struggling as much as it has the past few years?
MARCH OF TECHNOLOGY -- Many miracles are just around the corner as today's basic research becomes tomorrow's gadgets. But many familiar facets of present-day life will vanish as the year 2000 approaches, as this cartoon illustrates.
Previously on Paleo-Future:
- Farmer Jones and the Year 2000 (1956)
- Farm to Market (1958)
- Are We Heading Toward the Day Everything Stops? (1968)
- Family Life to be Greatly Altered by 21st Century (1968)
arizona republic, farming, food, home of the future, house of the future in 1960s 
View Printer Friendly Version
Email Article to Friend
Reader Comments (7)
Pitchforks of that sort are artifacts (if useful at times) on farms these days. I grew up with horses, hay and a barn, and rarely if ever used a pitchfork like that. I'm sure some farmers still use them, but probably not many.
It should be noted, though, that farmers are a dwindling population–less than 1% of the public.
Huge corps like Conagra own most of the farmland anyway.
Corporate collectivism
Speaking as part of that dwindling 1%, I'd have to agree with Brenton. Pitchforks are durable, simple tools that even now find occasional use, but those uses are undeniably far fewer than even a generation ago.
Pitchforks are used... but not much.
Hey, Will:
"Fascism should actually be called Corporatism. Because that is what it really is."
- Benito Mussolini
Straight from the horses mouth
Hallo,
das archäologische Freilichtmuseum Gross Raden hat eine neue Webseite bekommen: http://www.gross-raden.de - schauen Sie doch einfach mal rein - danke.