Would you like to live in a UFO? Well in 1968 you could, thanks to Finnish architect Matti Suuronen. He created the Futuro House and for a while it was a worldwide sensation!

Let's take a look around...

Pierre Boulle was born today in 1912, so what better time to look back at his sociological science-fiction classic that paved the way for Star Wars and the MCU.

This is the story of Planet Of The Apes!

Pierre Boulle is probably best known for his 1952 novel Bridge On The River Kwai, based on his wartime experiences in Indochina. So it was possibly a surprise when 11 years later he authored a science fiction novel.

However Boulle had been a Free French secret agent during the war. He was captured in 1943 by Vichy forces in Vietnam and sentenced to hard labour. This experience of capture would shape his novel La Planète Des Singes.

Published in 1963 La Planète Des Singes recieved good reviews. An English translation - entitled Monkey Planet - was issued the following year. It was a story that seemed to strike a chord with readers.

In the novel two rich travellers find a manuscript written by journalist Ulysse Mérou. It tells a fantastical tale: how he travelled with two wealthy explorers to Betelgeuse. They land on the planet Soror, a world of primitive humans ruled by advanced civilised apes.

On 23 September 1984 the BBC broadcast the apocalypse: the story of nuclear war and its effects on the people of Sheffield. Filmed on a shoestring budget it still causes nightmares to this day.

This thread is not for the squeamish.

This the story of Threads...

In 1965 the BBC had filmed The War Game, a fictional docu-drama about a nuclear attack on Britain. However under pressure from the government the BBC withdrew it from screening. It was finally released in 1966 as a film in selected theatres.

For many years the withdrawal of The War Game had rankled many at the BBC. Surely it was a public broadcaster's duty to show the public what the reality of nuclear war would mean. Finally in 1982 they did so.

A Guide To Armageddon was a documentary for the BBC's peak-time science series Q.E.D. Produced by Mick Jackson it graphically depicted the effect of a one megaton explosion on London. It also explored how well people could survive such a blast if they were in a fallout shelter.

Jackson had carefully researched his subject and knew how under-prepared the UK was for nuclear war. The physical and psychological effects of atomic attack would catapult what was left of Britain back to a 14th century mode of living, a time when bubonic plague killed millions.

Time for a pulp countdown now, and today it's my top 10 digital watches of distinction!

After all, why wear a Rolex nowadays?

At #10: the 1973 Seiko 06LC. This was Seiko's first LCD wristwatch: a field-effect liquid crystal display showed six digits of time continuously - you didn't need to press a button to see it either!

At #9: the 1976 Bulova Computron. The side mounted LED display meant you could sneak a peek at how long your meeting was taking without anyone else noticing. Very chic.

At #8: the 1989 Nelsonic Nintendo. This is The Legend Of Zelda version and it's perfect for letting others know you are a master of corporate strategy!

At #7: the 1975 Uranus Calculator watch. This natty number has its keypad on the bezel, which does increase its size. "How big is Uranus?" is a frequent question you'll get if you wear this.

Today in pulp... I look back at Raleigh bikes: the most exciting bikes on the planet! #ThursdayMotivation #cycling

Raleigh was the all steel bike that defined a generation of cyclists: for many it was their first introduction to the joys - and perils - of cycling!

The brand was named after Sir Walter Raleigh - inventor of the cigarette. And it was built in Nottingham - home of the cigarette. So obviously everyone who rode one smoked...

Now of course British cycling has a long and noble history...

...but you didn't come here for that! You want a big fat hit of nostalgia, so let's get right to it.

Many readers have asked me "why do so many pulp covers feature women in ripped red blouses standing in swamps while a man fights off an unusual animal attack?"

The answer is artist Will Hulsey...

Will Hulsey was the undisputed king of the animal attack pulp cover. You name it, he'd paint it attacking you in a pool of stagnant water.

Very little is known about Will Hulsey, but he worked on a number of men's pulp magazines in the 1950s and early 1960s including Man's Life, True Men, Guilty, Trapped and Peril.

Their audience was ex-GIs: during WWII the US Council of Books in Wartime had given away over 122 million books to American servicemen to read; this led to a post-war surge in paperback and magazine sales amongst these newly enthusiastic readers.

As a result the 1950s saw a raft of men's pulp magazines being published to tap into this market - almost 200 different titles!

This is Camille du Gast (1868-1942). She was a balloonist, parachutist, fencer, tobogganist, skier, horse trainer, concert pianist & singer. She was the second woman to compete in an international motor race & was embroiled in the scandal of La Femme au Masque.

Thread!

Made by NickHintonn 2 apr. 2018

Here’s a thread about The Black Tom explosion: a terrorist attack on American soil and major event in US history. However, no one has heard of it and I believe it’s proof that our timeline may be changing.

On July 30th, 1916, in Jersey City, German agents destroyed American ammunition supplies by setting them on fire. The incident is famous for causing damage to the Statue of Liberty.

The fires caused the ammunition supplies to explode, lodging fragments in buildings miles away including the Statue of Liberty and the clock tower of The Jersey Journal, stopping the clock at 2:12 am.

The explosion caused windows to shatter as far as 25 miles away, including thousands in lower Manhattan. Some window panes in Times Square were shattered. Even stained glass windows in St. Patrick's Church were destroyed.

The explosion was so strong is registered as a 5.5 earthquake on the Richter scale. It could be felt as far away as Philadelphia. The explosion cracked the outer wall of Jersey City's City Hall and the Brooklyn Bridge was shaken. People as far away as Maryland were woken up.

Have you ever wondered why the sons and daughters of the colonial chiefs and guards who were collaborators live a good life while those of the MAU MAU fighters live in abject poverty?

***THREAD***

It should be known that the colonialists reached a point that they knew they had 2 leave Kenya since they couldn't handle the Mau Mau war & the world was moving toward accepting independent Africa.However,the colonialists devised an evil scheme that still eats Kenya upto this day

Under this scheme, the colonial state came up with a plan that saw the first crop of chiefly “big men” being empowered financially to take their children to schools and eventually have those children go to England for further studies...

...and eventually providing a ready-made socio-economic & political class whom state power could be entrusted in the post-colonial era.This explains why their children & grandchildren still hold majority of important positions in govt or in the private sector supported by state.

This also explains why children and grandchildren of these homeguards are always given preferential treatment when it comes to government appointments. Wewe na masomo yako you are always asking why you can never get a job in government...yet you're qualified..now you know.

Some thoughts on @UKLabour... Many consider Sir Winston Churchill as Britain's greatest PM, yet he succumbed to a huge election defeat in 1945, right after spearheading Britain and its allies to victory in WWII. But how and why did this come about? 1/9

Some say that Churchill was the perfect leader for the job at hand – winning a war. Once war was over having completed a seemingly impossible mission; he had little direction, he was redundant, and society sought new leadership for a new era. 2/9

Some say that Churchill’s unwillingness to adapt caused his defeat. The movement for social reform grew throughout the war and reached a climax with the publication of the Beveridge Report. Churchill missed an opportunity to take on those reforms, and another 5 yrs as PM 3/9

Instead of backing them, he attempted to scare people away from the reforms and socialism as a positive force for good. The party centred the election around Churchill the ‘war lord’. Whilst Labour and Atlee brought the reforms to the centre of their campaign. 4 /9

Following the end of the war, the national conversation centred around issues of housing, health, and employment. Atlee and the Labour Party tuned in and devised a comprehensive manifesto for social change and justice. 5/9

So. I loved #TheDig. Despite being set in the 30's it evoked a lot of my early fieldwork experience in the 80's and some of the things archaeologists were gushing about are still pay of the experience today. And it also evoked the fantasy that I became an archaeologist to chase>

If you just want to enjoy it, and bask in the glow of archaeologists being happy for once, stop reading here >

Because, being aware of that fantasy, I'm also aware of corrosive elements, things that structure how archaeology works, both practically & in the collective imagination which work against that other fantasy, that my work can 'make a difference' contribute to progressive change>

The primary driver of the story is class & it's connection to skill & to land. EP has the right to the land, the choice to dig, the ownership of the artefacts because she is the landowner. We are meant to cheer along when the coroner decides in her favour>

BB is a man of the land, he literally knows the soil of Suffolk by feel. His skill & sense are central to the story. And they are credited with the discovery, which is the most important part of the process, not the analysis, care or interpretation>