Socks
Description: The Army Air Corps were looking for a perfect location for a training base since the ’30s and ultimately found it in Las Vegas, Nevada. The initial base was nothing but a dirt runaway, but after a complete buildup, the base was officially opened in 1941 when the first unit – the 79th Air Base Group – arrived there. The base population doubled within a month, representing a fulminating start. By the time of the attacks over Pearl Harbor, the base hosted not more than 27 planes. Almost 1000 troops – both co-pilots and gunnery experts – graduated from the base at every 5 weeks.
Description: William J. Lemp of St. Louis created Falstaff in 1903. When Prohibition forced the closure of the Lemp brewery, local brewer Joseph Griesedieck purchased the Falstaff name in 1920 and changed his company’s name to Falstaff Corp., eventually to be renamed Falstaff Brewing. Post prohibition, Falstaff would become the country’s third-largest brewer from 1957 to 1960, with its production peaking at 7 million barrels in 1966. The ’70s introduced a set of mascots – Fannie and Fearless. Existing in cartoon form, the duo were pictured having assorted adventures from skydiving and motorcycling to waterskiing and bear hunting, all of which included their favorite beer, Falstaff.
Description: Based in North Hollywood, California, the Sandmaster Company was formed in 1966, initially focusing on fiberglass dune buggy conversion kits. By the early '70s, Sandmaster was fabricating their own single seat competition off-road buggies, many of which went on to take class titles in the most grueling of desert racing circuits.
Description: Monark Silver King was founded in Chicago in 1934 and specialized in the design and manufacturing of bicycles, eventually adding motorized bicycles to their line-up. This made for a natural segue into other small engine powered devices which included lawn mowers and chain saws, both of which were in demand in post-war America, so in 1945, the firm constructed a brand-new state-of-the-art factory on Grand Avenue to facilitate the manufacture of these items. Much like their bicycles, Silver King chainsaws were highly regarded for their original design and quality workmanship and today, they remain highly valued among chainsaw collectors.
Description: Most commonly known by a generation of Marines who got into the Corps in the mid-90's, "Big Dick Daddy From Cincinnati" is said to have originated from a recon gunnery sergeant who went on to become an officer. He said to have told his subordinates that he was the BDDFC and to act accordingly, but who knows how much of this is true? So whether you have a big dick, are from Cincinnati, or just wish one of those things apply to you, this novelty style throwback may be the perfect fit!
Description: Seattle's Fisher Flouring Mills was formed in 1910, and by the spring of 1911, their $400,000 mill was completed, a truly modern facility equipped to grind 10,000 bushels of wheat per day for a production capacity of 2,000 barrels of flour every 24 hours. The first wheat was ground on April 11 of that year, with the sale of flour to the public beginning in June. Once up and running, the flour mill operated 24 hours a day, six days a week, grinding wheat into flour for retail sale. The mill's primary product was Fisher's Blend Flour, which was exceedingly popular with amateur and professional bakers alike, who claimed Fisher's proprietary blend made the flour easier to work with and gave their baked goods a lighter, flakier texture.
Description: The 1988 United States presidential election was the 51st quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 1988. In addition to the traditional candidates, an outside who also happened to be a cat ran as well. Morris' candidacy was announced by way of a press conference which even included an introduction by Eleanor Mondale: "May I introduce a candidate with the quiet demeanor of a Coolidge, the animal magnetism of a Kennedy, and with the honesty of a Lincoln, a candidate who may shed but will never shred, a candidate who stands four square behind the values of life, liberty and the pursuit of din-din." While Morris didn't make the ballot, he ran a tight campaign that he can surely be proud of.
Description: Palm Computing, Inc. was founded in 1992 in Sunnyvale, California. The company was originally started to write software for the Zoomer, a consumer PDA sold under the Tandy name. While Palm provided the PIM software, the PEN/GEOS operating system was provided by Geoworks. The Zoomer failed commercially, but Palm continued generating revenue by selling synchronization software for other devices, and the Graffiti handwriting recognition software for the Newton MessagePad. Moving beyond software, the firm would go on to be responsible for numerous handheld devices including the Pre and Pixi, as well as the Treo and Centro smartphones. Other products include the Pilot 1000, Palm Pilot Pro, Palm III, Palm V, Palm VII, Zire and, Tungsten.
Description: The Z28 was reintroduced, as a model and not an RPO, to the buying public in the spring of 1977 as a 1977½ in response to increasing sales of Pontiac's Trans Am, which sold over 46,000 units in 1976 and accounted for half of all Firebird sales that year. The revived Z28 was powered by a 350 cu in V8 with four-barrel carburetor producing 185 hp, with most cars sold equipped with air conditioning and an automatic transmission. The engine no longer came with the 4-bolt main bearing engine block, forged crank, forged pistons, big valve heads, and performance camshaft that had been part of the RPO Z28 Special Performance Package, the engine that had been shared with the LT-1 and L82 top-performance 350 engines from 1970 to 1974.
Description: The company was founded in June 1998 by the original inventors of the PalmPilot and founders of Palm, Inc., after they became unhappy with the direction of the company after its acquisition by 3Com. Their Visor line of PDAs synced by USB, which was significantly faster than Palm’s RS232 serial sync. The Springboard expansion slot provided GPS navigation, cameras, music players, cell phone service, and most of the functions of a modern smartphone, albeit some time before smartphones were a thing. In June 2000, during the dot-com bubble, the company became a public company via an initial public offering when shares rose 35% on the first day of trading. Handspring developed Palm OS–based Visor- and Treo-branded personal digital assistants.
Description: The mid-'70s was a great time to be a vanner as van customizing shops were literally everywhere, offering everything from complete conversions to aftermarket parts and installations. NirVANa Customs of Chula Vista was no exception, and was probably best known for having the largest selection of custom porthole windows in America. Manufactured on site, NirVANa's portholes were first class and were available in nearly 100 different shapes. In addition to their SoCal shop, they did extensive mail order through vanner and hot rod mags.
Description: The Thompson submachine gun (also known as the "Tommy Gun", "Chicago Typewriter", "Chicago Piano", or "Trench Broom") is a blowback-operated, air-cooled, magazine-fed selective-fire submachine gun, invented by the United States Army Brigadier general John T. Thompson in 1918. It was originally designed to break the stalemate of trench warfare of World War I, but was not finished until after the war ended. It is the first weapon to be labeled and marketed as a "submachine gun" and became notorious during the Prohibition era, used as a signature weapon of various organized crime syndicates in the United States in the 1920s. It was a common sight in the media at the time as it was used by both law enforcement officers and criminals.
Description: Quaalude is a trade name for methaqualone, which was first synthesized in 1951 in India. Germany and Japan were the first big markets, where the drug racked up an extensive record of addiction and abuse. By the time it reached the US in the 1960s, it was being used to treat insomnia and anxiety. However, it didn't take long for the drug's potent features to be misused. At its height during the 1970s, Quaaludes could be found across the US and earned the nickname "disco biscuits" for their popularity among the disco club scene. Doctors were handing them out like candy, but you didn't even have to see a doctor to get them as semi-legal 'stress clinics' which were pseudo-medical centers, would hand out the maximum legal prescription.
Description: Founded in 1979 in Fremont, California, GRiD Systems Corp. was an early portable computer manufacturer known for producing rugged and semi-rugged machines. GRiD is credited with several pioneering ideas, including the first portable computer, the first clamshell laptop computer, the first commercially available tablet-type portable computer, and the concept of a "bus" for connecting peripherals (using GPIB). The 1982 GRiD Compass 1101 is considered the granddaddy of all present-day laptop computers. It had 256k RAM, an 8086, 320x240 screen, and 384k of internal 'bubble memory' that held data with power off.
Description: Gilera was an Italian motorcycle manufacturer founded in Arcore, Italy in 1909 by Giuseppe Gilera. In 1935, Gilera acquired rights to the Rondine four-cylinder engine which was, at that time, the world's most powerful engine with 60 hp. After World War II, Gilera dominated Grand Prix motorcycle racing, winning the 500 cc road racing world championship six times in eight years. Facing a downturn in motorcycle sales due to the increase in the popularity of automobiles after the war, Gilera made a gentleman's agreement with the other Italian motorcycle makers to quit Grand Prix racing after the 1957 season as a cost-cutting measure. After withdrawing from competition, Gilera changed direction and began to focus on motocross and off-road.
Description: Zündapp (a.k.a. Zuendapp) was a major German motorcycle manufacturer founded in 1917 in Nuremberg by Fritz Neumeyer, together with the Friedrich Krupp AG and the machine tool manufacturer Thiel under the name "Zünder- und Apparatebau G.m.b.H." as a producer of detonators (Zünder- und Apparatebau is German for Igniter and Apparatus). In 1919, as the demand for weapons parts declined after World War I, Neumeyer became the sole proprietor of the company, and two years later he diversified into the construction of motorcycles. Advertisements of the day proclaimed that their motorcycles were "Motorrades fur jedermann," motorcycles for everyone, and they were right on the money as by 1938, Zündapp had produced more than 200,000 motorcycles.
Description: SCREW was a weekly pornographic tabloid newspaper published in the United States aimed at straight men; according to a statement on some of the early covers, it offered “Jerk-Off Entertainment for Men.” It can probably be best described as a raunchy version of Mad with nudie pics. SCREW’s most successful issue was published in 1973 and famously contained unauthorized nude photos of Jacqueline Kennedy. It was first published in November 1968 by Al Goldstein and Jim Buckley, and was printed weekly in tabloid form until the final issue in October of 2003.
Description: Randy's Restaurant was a kitschy 24-hour restaurant in Tukwila, Washington with an aeronautical theme that served up classic American diner food for 40 years before closing their doors for good. Whether you were a pilot, engineer, or just visiting the museum of flight, Randy's was the go-to spot for breakfast any time of the day, any time of the year. With countless aircraft models hanging from the ceiling and artifacts donated by commercial and military pilots who frequented the establishment, the place was filled with eye candy that was almost as good as the food.
Description: "We will not pray for anything. Nor will we seek help from anyone. Never again will we fight under another's flag." - Captain Harlock. As an archetypical romantic hero, a space pirate with an individualist philosophy of life, Captain Harlock (キャプテン・ハーロック Kyaputen Hārokku) is a self-made man, having seen the corruption of Earth's government politicians and their self-indulgence as well as the growing threats that many people refuse to acknowledge. He is as noble as he is taciturn, rebellious, stoically fighting against totalitarian regimes, whether they be earth-born or alien.
Description: KDF was first licensed in 1962 as NFO and was the second commercial Nashville station to be assigned to 103.3 MHz, preceded by the original WSM, which occupied this frequency from 1947 until its deletion in 1951. Despite several FM stations already operating in Nashville at the time, receivers were not yet in widespread use, and the relatively few listeners were not enough to attract advertisers, so NFO left the air sometime around 1965. KDF returned in '67 as an album oriented rock station and after nearly 30 years of programming various forms of rock music, KDF reformatted to country music on April 1, 1999. Listeners thought it was an April Fools' joke, but sadly, it was not.
Description: Consolidated Freightways (CF), was an American multinational LTL (Less Than Truckload) freight service and logistics company founded on April 1, 1929, in Portland, Oregon, and later relocated to Vancouver, Washington. At its height, the company possessed over 350 terminals, employing more than 15,000 truck drivers, dockworkers, dispatchers and management. Consolidated Freightways was once the nation's number one long-haul trucking company and the 3rd largest-ever U.S. bankruptcy filing, ceasing business in 2002.
Description: From the highest sand dunes in North America at Great Sand Dunes National Park to 54 Rocky Mountain peaks that rise over 14,000 feet, Colorado has the most unique and varied natural landscape in the world. You're never more than a few minutes’ drive from a quintessentially beautiful Colorado scene and the dozens of ways to experience them. Take in the view from a scenic overlook on one of the state’s 25 historic byways, wildlife watching in one of 10 Colorado national parks and monuments, mountain biking or hiking thousands of acres of national forest, or a snowshoe trek through one of 42 Colorado State Parks. Colorado may be nicknamed 'The Centennial State,' but they could just as easily be known as the 'Outdoors State.'
Description: KMET was a Los Angeles FM station that broadcast at 94.7 MHz beginning in June 1968. As with many stations at the time, KMET featured an automated format with female voices and middle-of-the-road music, but eventually added live DJ's and a free form rock music format. Major changes came about in 1974 to create something new for the struggling station by way of a new rock format that retained some of the station's progressive freedom, but added much needed energy and consistency along with high production values. KMET's new format quickly rose to number one, earning them the nickname "The Mighty Met." The station continued to rock the valley through the '70s and most of the '80 before signing off on February 14, 1987.
Description: For almost 50 years, Los Angeles played host to two McHenry's Tail o’ the Cock restaurants - one on "Restaurant Row" on La Cienega, and a second in the valley on Ventura. While their American fare was certainly above average, it wasn't anything to rave about, but as the name might allude to, cocktails were the star of the show here. Tail o’ the Cock said they were the first in Los Angeles to serve Margaritas, but as you might imagine, there was no shortage of disputes of the claim The deep red leather booths were a popular place for Hollywood movers and shakers to meet for late afternoon drinks and as a result, a lot of TV and movie deals were made there over martinis.
Description: Established in 1937 during the height of The Depression, Carolina Freight Carriers Corporation quickly grew and by 1939, the company was operating 53 trucks and showing signs of steady growth. By the time the 80s rolled around, the company was fully operating as a national carrier rather than a regional one and, in the coming years, began servicing Canada and Mexico. Carolina Freight started from nothing and grew into a top national carrier and was one of the largest trucking companies in the Americas by the time of their demise in 1995.
Description: Harold and Virgil Crouch were brothers from rural Irwin, Iowa who began driving trucks, eventually buying their own trucks, working as owner/operators, primarily hauling grain in the Irwin area. Harold and Virgil eventually teamed up to form Crouch Brothers Trucking in 1939 and, together, purchased the grain elevator in Kirkman, Iowa, and moved it to Irwin as a central part of their business. Crouch Brothers Trucking was expanding and increasingly getting into freight transport at Virgil's direction, though Harold really wanted to stick to the grain business. In 1943, the brother's partnership ended, and Virgil, along with their other brother, Cleo, continued to build Crouch Brothers into one of the Midwest's largest carriers.
Description: As early motorsport races became popular, kids began holding their own downhill races to emulate the action. With hobbled together homemade karts built from orange crates, sheet tin, wagon and baby-buggy wheels, and pretty much anything else they could get heir hands on, it was clear that these kids wanted to race. As these neighborhood races grew in popularity, the need to formalize them into became clear, as did setting up a proper track that was safer than racing down the same hilly streets cars were driving on. This was back in 1933, and they've been running ever since.
Description: Founded in 1925 with a single Model T truck, Central Freight Lines was a less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier based in Waco, Texas. Its founder, W.W. “Woody” Callan, Sr., launched the company as Central Forwarding and Warehouse Company. He started out transporting goods between Dallas and Waco with that single vehicle, and 96 years later, Central had over 5,000 tractors, trailers, and delivery trucks, with 80 terminals from Miami to Los Angeles.
Description: Rain City Video opened its doors in Seattle's eclectic Ballard neighborhood in 1988, serving the city for nearly 30 years before calling it quits. With a collection that approached 40,000 titles, Rain City had more to offer than the Blockbuster stores of years gone by and certainly more than any streaming service, making them a true gem for lovers of movies and TV. Stocking everything from big name flicks to obscure indy productions, Rain City Video had something for everyone across their three Seattle locations, truly living up to their 'never a cloudy day' mantra.
Description: Founded in Houston, Texas in 1947, Hill and Hill Truck Lines was a specialty carrier serving oil fields throughout the Lone Star State, hauling everything from pipeline materials to drill rigging and cargo needed in the field. They went beyond Texas in the early '70s, leveraging their operating authority to go to work on the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System run from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez, Alaska. Before they could actually get to work on the pipeline itself, they worked on the North Slope Haul Road, later known as the Dalton Highway, which was the main supply and service route along the bulk of the pipeline run.
