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oldnewspapers.bsky.social
Old Newspapers
@oldnewspapers.bsky.social
230 followers 57 following 220 posts
newspapers, photos, weird manuscripts, vintage recipes, trivia, puns
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oldnewspapers.bsky.social
Subterranean beavers are an unlikely, but not impossible, mining hazard.

(from Ghost Towns of the Colorado Rockies, R. Brown, 1973)
Eventually, the rising costs of producing low-grade ores depleted the town. In 1900 there were only 100 people still there. To further complicate matters, large numbers of beavers had invaded the idle mines crawling down the shafts. In some cases they penetrated as far as two miles underground, gnawing the timbering and endangering anyone who ventured down that far. Three decades later their number had swelled to the point where trappers were brought in to rid the shafts of the unwelcome visitors.
October 20, 2025 at 1:02 AM
oldnewspapers.bsky.social
*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."
October 12, 2025 at 12:21 PM
oldnewspapers.bsky.social
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
October 12, 2025 at 12:57 AM
oldnewspapers.bsky.social
Welp.

(News and Observer, Raleigh, NC, December 4, 1926)
October 12, 2025 at 12:31 AM
oldnewspapers.bsky.social
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."
October 12, 2025 at 12:28 AM
oldnewspapers.bsky.social
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"
October 12, 2025 at 12:25 AM
oldnewspapers.bsky.social
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."
October 12, 2025 at 12:10 AM
oldnewspapers.bsky.social
"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"
October 11, 2025 at 11:58 PM
oldnewspapers.bsky.social
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/?)
October 11, 2025 at 11:47 PM
oldnewspapers.bsky.social
Doesn't agree with Merriam-Webster, but interesting nevertheless.
A paragraph linking the origin of the English word abyss to the Sumerian abzu
October 7, 2025 at 10:25 PM
oldnewspapers.bsky.social
Currently on page 53. Will I finish this 918-page book before the shutdown ends?
A thick book titled "The Boundless Sea"
October 7, 2025 at 10:11 PM
oldnewspapers.bsky.social
(Lobster effigy vessel, Moche, Phase II-IV, 200-600 AD, earthenware with slip paint, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)
An earthenware stylized lobster
September 16, 2025 at 3:41 AM
oldnewspapers.bsky.social
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
September 16, 2025 at 3:05 AM
oldnewspapers.bsky.social
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
September 16, 2025 at 3:03 AM
oldnewspapers.bsky.social
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
September 8, 2025 at 2:38 AM
oldnewspapers.bsky.social
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...)
A neon sign of a whale at night
September 7, 2025 at 4:05 AM
oldnewspapers.bsky.social
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.
August 31, 2025 at 5:59 PM
oldnewspapers.bsky.social
(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
August 31, 2025 at 3:32 PM
oldnewspapers.bsky.social
DC isn't ready for the 1970s bowling shirt flair that I'm about to bring.
A black and yellow vintage bowling shirt reading "PEAK BOWL BOWLER OF THE MONTH"
August 31, 2025 at 3:25 PM
oldnewspapers.bsky.social
Did you know you can get REGULAR HOME DELIVERY SERVICE from S&M Egg Ranch?

(1940s city directory ad)
An ad for S&M Ranch Inc picturing an egg in a cowboy outfit
August 31, 2025 at 2:32 AM
oldnewspapers.bsky.social
Mother's Day, 1968

(Laurel Cards Inc.)
A kitten with a bow on a card
August 27, 2025 at 4:40 AM
oldnewspapers.bsky.social
Vintage birthday card with two boll weevils on it Interior of birthday card "I chose the lesser of two weevils"
August 27, 2025 at 2:54 AM
oldnewspapers.bsky.social
Presenting: Moon or Strawberry?
A bright red moon rising over a cityscape. The photo is blurry.
August 13, 2025 at 2:13 AM
oldnewspapers.bsky.social
Folks she's* done it again

*the moon
An orange moon in a black sky
August 11, 2025 at 1:23 AM
oldnewspapers.bsky.social
Good moon alert!!
A photo of an orange moon
August 10, 2025 at 1:03 AM