Description: About a decade before the 'Seattle sound' thrust the thriving Pacific Northwest music scene onto the national stage, HWY 99 Bass was already helping local bass players hit the right notes. Located about 16 miles north of Seattle in the city of Lynnwood right on Highway 99, the aptly named HWY 99 Bass was a music store that was all about bass guitar. From the more common four string solid body and hollow body electric basses to more exotic fretless and extended-range bass guitars, HWY 99 Bass was THE place for professional and aspiring bass players alike to get their gear. In addition to local musicians, HWY 99 was frequented by bass players from touring bands to get their rigs professionally tuned and repaired while they were in town.
Description: Future Retro Next Generation Outlaw Star (星方武侠アウトロースター) is a 1998 26-episode anime adaptation of the original Outlaw Star manga published in 1996. Outlaw Star tells the story of a would-be Outlaw, Gene Starwind and his partner Jim Hawking, and their pursuit to become rich and famous when they come into possession of a state of the art Grappler-ship, the XGP 15A-II. Outlaw Star is a true space opera - a science fiction adventure set in the far future, after humanity has spread out through the stars. It tells the tale of Gene Starwind and his friends as they get caught up in a fantastic odyssey of pirates, conspiracies, and the search for an ancient treasure of immense value and power.
Description: The phrase "Live to Ride, Ride to Live" pulses like a heartbeat through motorcycle culture, distilling an entire philosophy into four simple words. It means existence finds its truest purpose on two wheels: riding isn't merely a hobby or escape, but the very reason to get up each morning, the fuel that keeps the spirit sharp and alive against the grind of ordinary days. In reverse, every mile logged, every twist of throttle and rush of wind, sustains life itself—recharging the soul, sharpening senses, and reminding the rider that freedom isn't abstract but visceral, measured in chrome, leather, and open asphalt. For those who wear the words on vests, tattoos, or tank badges, it's less slogan than creed.
Description: While organized drag racing may have started in the 1950s, it stagnated, if not fell off a bit in the '60s. Things changed for the better in the '70s as all major car manufacturers began participating in drag races around the world, and different companies started investing in it. Teams were paid with sponsorships, trailers were turned into mobile workshops, and prize money got a whole lot bigger. This was a true renaissance of this exciting motorsport, and while it may not have been "America's #1 sport," fans would probably say otherwise.
Description: Spacetime is the unified, four-dimensional fabric of the universe, blending three dimensions of space with one dimension of time, as described by Einstein's relativity, and it's not static but a dynamic "fabric" that can bend, curve, and stretch due to mass and energy, explaining gravity as distortions in this geometry, affecting how objects move and how time flows. Massive objects create dips in spacetime, causing other objects to "roll" towards them, while extreme gravity, like near a black hole, severely warps it, affecting time and space dramatically. This '70s style design may reference spacetime, or just be some hippy dippy cosmic crap with stars and rainbows, but who knows?
Description: Founded in 1957 by William Norris and Seymour Cray in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Control Data Corporation (CDC) was a pioneering American mainframe and supercomputer company. CDC was one of the nine major U.S. computer companies in the 1960s, and famously produced the CDC 6600, widely considered the world's first successful supercomputer. CDC became known for high-performance scientific computing and massive data storage devices, many of which were purchased by the military, manufacturing companies, airlines, railroads, research laboratories, and many universities. During the '60s and '70s, CDC's series of supercomputers were considered to be the fastest computing machines in the world.
Description: “Born Again African” refers to the widespread movement of Africans embracing evangelical Christianity as a form of spiritual rebirth. It often reflects a shift away from colonial-era religious norms toward a more African-centered expression of faith. Seen in large church gatherings and new denominations such as Uganda’s Born Again Faith, the movement blends Christian belief with renewed pride in African identity, sometimes engaging with or challenging traditional spiritual practices. It represents a dynamic, indigenized Christianity focused on personal transformation, community, and new life in Christ. This early ’90s–style design recalls the peak of the movement, featuring a traditional family over a silhouette of the African continent.
Description: Litter plays a significant role in damaging our environment. Discarded plastics, metals and other types of trash not only degrade the aesthetic beauty of our world, but can leach harmful chemicals into the environment. Thoughtless people who believe the world is their personal trash can are dirty birds, so call them out and set them straight to help make the earth a better place for everyone!
Description: Nothingface is the fifth studio album by Canadian thrash metal band Voivod that was released in 1989. The album marked a major change for the band, with a new sound rooted in progressive rock that incorporates elements of thrash metal and space rock. Several riffs are heavily influenced by Igor Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring," specifically the center section of the track "Pre-Ignition." Nothingface is Voivod's most successful album to date, and their only record to enter the charts, where it peaked at number 114, most likely thanks to the music video for the album's third track was in regular rotation.
Description: Created by pharmacist Charles Elmer Hires in 1876, Hires Root Beer is considered the first commercially successful root beer. Introduced as a "root tea" at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition, it was marketed as a wholesome, natural, non-alcoholic beverage. Hires revolutionized the industry with powdered extract kits for home brewing and aggressive national advertising, quickly becoming a household name. Despite being widely popular, Hires eventually faded from mainstream shelves due to years of corporate consolidation, leaving behind a legacy as an American soda that was popular both in root beer floats and on its own. This design is based on the 1974 rebrand that gave the root beer labels a more modern look.
Description: Originally built in 1936 at 251 Union Avenue (at the corner of Union and Terrace Way) in Bakersfield, California, the El Adobe Motel started as a restaurant and evolved into a popular night spot with a lounge, dining, dancing, and live entertainment. In 1941, the restaurant and lounge were remodeled, and an extensive addition was mounted to add lodging and new amenities, including a swimming pool. The revamped property was reopened as the El Adobe Motel, and spent the next four decades as one of Bakersfield's better places to find accommodations.
Description: El Centro is a city in Imperial County, California that is located 113 miles from San Diego and less than 20 miles from the Mexican city of Mexicali. El Centro is the most populous city in the Imperial Valley, and also the most populous U.S. city to lie entirely below sea level at −42 feet. The city is a gateway to several major attractions, so whether you're heading out to the Imperial Sand Dunes, the Salton Sea, or even the Carrizo Gorge Wilderness, you're going to need some provisions. Located right off of California State Route 86 in the heart of El Centro, House of Spirits was one of the better places to gather necessary supplies for decades, and ensured that any outing had plenty of everything... and lots of ice.
Description: KMGM 98.7 was launched by a Hollywood film studio in 1948, though since this was an era when few people owned FM radios, KMGM suspended operations in 1953. The owners of Crawford's of Beverly Hills Record & Hi-Fi Store bought the operation from the studio and relaunched as KCBH in 1954, using their store's inventory as a record library for the station. In 1970, the station was sold again and became KJOI (K-Joy), and billed themselves as the "KJOI 99: the beautiful music station." Programming was largely downtempo instrumentals of popular songs and other soft music, including an occasional vocal track. By 1989, KJOI added more vocal tracks to the playlist, eschewing middle of the road songs in favor of soft adult contemporary.
Description: The Compact Cassette, also known as the cassette tape, has a rich history that dates back to 1963 when Philips developed a more user-friendly alternative to cumbersome reel-to-reel formats for general audio recording. Japan's TDK significantly advanced this technology and released their SD (Super Dynamic) cassettes designed specifically for music in 1968. Their innovative efforts marked a watershed moment for music, both as an art form and as an industry. Once available to only the most dedicated and passionate music fans, high fidelity recordings became accessible to all with the advent of TDK’s cassette tapes. This 'Music Lives on TDK' design is a recreation of a 1987 promo tee that was given away with a multipack of blank cassette.
Description: Paradise Records is a fictional record store located in the high-desert city of Bend, in Central Oregon, that is the primary location in the 2025 slacker film of the same name. The movie focuses on Cooper, a well-meaning record store owner who is trying to keep the doors of his beloved record store open. He’s facing foreclosure, the bank won’t give him a loan, someone keeps offering to buy the property — and then there's the robbery and hostage situation. All told, he’s really not having a great day. Thankfully, he’s got his employees and a lot of weed to help him work through things.
Description: Libertarianism is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values and as such, adherents advocate for minimal state intervention in the free market and the private lives of citizens. The Future of Freedom Conference series, which was held in Long Beach in May 1969, is considered the first true libertarian conference to be organized and held in the United States, and perhaps the world. The keynote speaker for the first conference was Ludwig von Mises, the well-known Austrian economist, sociologist, and classical libertarian. Following that first event, a series of subsequent conferences has brought diverse advocates of liberty to Southern California.
Description: Renowned tenor Luciano Pavarotti was a passionate tennis enthusiast who regularly spent time on the court, attended charity tennis events, befriended many pros and even expressed a desire to have been a professional player himself. He became known for his impeccable tennis style, a glimpse of which is replicated here at this design from an early '80s charity event named after the maestro himself.
Description: Space Knight Tekkaman Blade (宇宙の騎士テッカマンブレード) is a Japanese anime television series produced in 1992. The story follows an organization called the Space Knights and their war against aliens known as the Radam. The Space Knights are assisted by Takaya Aiba, who has the ability to transform into an armored warrior known as Tekkaman Blade. The series ran from February 18, 1992 until February 2, 1993 for a total of 50 episodes. This was followed by two specials and a sequel series called Tekkaman Blade II, which is set ten years after the first series and follows the events of the second Radam invasion, was a series of six Japanese original video animation (OVA) releases from July 21, 1994 to April 21, 1995.
Description: West Virginia's primary mined resource is coal, along with substantial quantities of limestone and dolomite, used for construction, agriculture, and industry. The state also mines natural gas, petroleum, and salt brines, along with non-metallic minerals like sand, gravel, clay, dimension stone, and even gemstones. With mining comes the need to repair and rebuild heavy equipment, and West Virginia's J & W Inc., more commonly known as J & W Machine, did just that. With a large scale machine shop that could manufacture or refurbish any part that a piece of mining equipment might need, coupled with comprehensive mobile welding and mechanical services, J & W was intrinsic to keeping many mining operations running.
Description: The 72nd Fighter Squadron began as the 72nd Pursuit Squadron in Hawaii in late 1941 and suffered heavy losses during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Redesignated in 1942, the 72nd FS deployed across the Central Pacific, flying combat, reconnaissance, and B-29 escort missions through the end of World War II in 1945. During the Cold War, the squadron served in France and the Philippines before moving to MacDill AFB in 1982 as a training unit. Flying everything from P-40 Warhawks to F-16 Fighting Falcons, the 72nd FS was deactivated in 1992. This design draws from the squadron’s original insignia and motto, Pax Per Auxilia Parata—“Peace Through Readiness.”
Description: Don’t dare make new year’s resolutions… unless you plan to live! That was the 'shocking' tagline used to market the 1980 horror film, New Year's Evil. The movie takes place during a live punk-rock New Year’s Eve TV program where the presenter gets a phone call from a psycho calling himself “Evil,” and saying that when New Year’s strikes in each US time zone, he will murder someone in Los Angeles until he makes his way to the televised party. Despite poor reviews for its acting and plot, New Year's Evil has gained a cult following for its '80s atmosphere and unique premise.
Description: James Herbert Tolfree opened the Saugus Café inside Santa Clarita's Saugus Train Depot in 1886 as the Saugus Eating House. The restaurant was renamed Saugus Café in 1899, and in 1916, moved out of the train station and across the tracks to where it operated for the next 109 years. The Saugus Café was a family-run restaurant that served breakfast all day, as well as lunch and dinner, before closing in early 2026 after 139 years.
Description: Devourment is a brutal death metal band formed in 1995 in Dallas following the breakup of Necrocide. Devourment released their demo, Impaled, and their full length album, MTD, before disbanding due to the incarceration of their lead singer. There was a brief reformation of the band during his incarceration, which saw the initial release of the compilation album 1.3.8., and a brief reformation upon his release in 2002. The band reformed for a third time in 2005, and has since released two reissues of 1.3.8., two DVDs, and four full-length albums: Butcher the Weak, Unleash the Carnivore, Conceived in Sewage, and Obscene Majesty.
Description: Wavefront Technologies was a computer graphics company that developed animation software used in motion pictures and television. It was founded in 1984, in Santa Barbara, California to produce computer graphics animation software, as there were no off-the-shelf tools available at the time. Aside from developing the Wavefront OBJ 3D file format, Wavefront Technologies released several products, many of which have features that live on to this day in Maya. Key products included Composer: A standard for 2D and 3D compositing, Kinemation: A 3D character animation system, Dynamation: A particle system tool for realistic motion, and GameWare: Graphics and animation development system for games.In 1995, Wavefront was acquired by Silicon Graphics.
Description: Butt-Ugly Martians (B.U.M.) is an animated television series produced in 2000 that aired the following year in both the UK and US. B.U.M. was an early example of CGI based television, as it was wholly created in Alias Wavefront. The plot follows three blue-faced Martian soldiers and their robotic dog as they are sent to earth by evil Emperor Bog in the year 2053 to conquer the planet, but they fall in love with the place, saying "we just found it was too cool to conquer." They devote themselves to saving earth from Bog, so the mischievous Martians beam up fake"progress reports" to convince Bog that the invasion is taking hold, while actually basking in a life of junk food, rock music and flying skate boards with their teenage friends.
Description: Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions (MMUJC) was a band that played traditional jug band folk music using traditional musical instruments such as guitar, mandolin, and banjo, combined with homemade instruments, including washtub bass, washboard, kazoo, and, eponymously, a jug, played by blowing into it as if it were a brass instrument. MMUJC recorded a single self-titled album live at the Top of the Tangent coffee house in Palo Alto, California in July 1964.
Description: Professor Sir Malcolm Green and his colleagues came together and founded the British Lung Foundation in 1985 because research into lungs was underfunded and underappreciated, and lung diseases were poorly understood. The British Lung Foundation was officially launched by Princess Margaret, aiming to fund research, raise the profile of lung conditions, and help patients. After decades of decimated service, the British Lung Foundation merged with Asthma UK in 2020 to form Asthma + Lung UK.
Description: During World War II, when new cars were scarce, Jasper, Indiana car dealership owner Alvin C. Ruxer started an engine rebuilding operation at his dealership to help keep customers on the road. What began out of necessity to combat wartime shortages became a well oiled machine by 1946, and Jasper was remanufacturing engines of all makes to manufacturer specifications using a standard set of new parts while recycling major castings. A dedicated building was constructed in 1951, and in 1957, the company began remanufacturing transmissions and other drivetrain components. This design includes Jasper's panther mascot that was often used in motorsports.
Description: Camp Central Park was an early eighties summer day camp for kids in New York City. Held in Central Park (obviously), it gave kids living in the city access to a variety of outdoor recreation, exposure to nature, and a traditional summer camp experience in Manhattan's iconic 843-acre urban park.
Description: The 1975 Oly SB of Motocross was hosted at the LA Coliseum on July 19, 1975, and was the third year the event had been held. Promoted by Mike Goodwin, presented by KEZY radio, sponsored by Olympia Beer, and sanctioned by the AMA, the race featured a $100,000 artificial track constructed with 4,000 cubic yards of dirt. The 3/4-mile course had 13 turns that zig-zagged across the coliseum floor and included a variety of jumps and whoop-de-doos, designed so all the action was visible to spectators in the bleachers. The most iconic feature was a steep hill that led riders up into the Coliseum's peristyle (the columns at the east end of the stadium). Riders made a sharp left turn out of view of spectators before launching back into the arena.
Description: Jazz Expo '68 was a major music festival featuring top American and British jazz musicians. Held over eight days across several venues in October 1968, it was marketed as "The Newport Jazz Festival in London," and served as a significant showcase for jazz talent with many high-profile performances.
Description: Venom were formed in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1978, with the original lineup coming from three different bands: Guillotine, Oberon and Dwarfstar. Coming to prominence towards the end of the new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM), Venom's first two albums, Welcome to Hell (1981) and Black Metal (1982), are considered major influences on black metal, thrash metal and extreme metal in general. Their second album proved influential enough that its title was used as the name of the black metal genre; as a result, Venom were part of the first wave of the genre. Black Legions is a track off of the 1992 release, The Waste Lands.
Description: Cool as Ice is a 1991 American musical teen drama film, directed by David Kellogg, written by David Stenn and starring rapper Vanilla Ice in his feature film debut. The plot focuses on Johnny Van Owen, a freewheeling, motorcycle-riding rapper who arrives in a small town and meets Kathy, an honor student who catches his eye. Meanwhile, Kathy's father, who is in witness protection, is found by the corrupt police officers he escaped from years ago. Developed as a vehicle for Vanilla Ice, the film was widely panned by critics, and was a box office bomb, grossing only $1.2 million from a $6 million budget. Director David Kellogg later disowned the film.
Description: Farmersburg Plowing Service was founded by Edwin Patterson in 1948 in Farmersburg, a town in Curry Township, Indiana. After returning from the war, Patterson purchased a new Farmall M heavy-duty tractor to replace his dad's old 1929 Model D to work his family farm. With his field work being completed in record time, he soon realized he had way more machine than he needed for his own crops, and began offering plowing services throughout Sullivan County. For the next 45 years, Patterson's red truck with 'Plowing Service' on the door along with an illustration of his dad on the old steel wheel Model D became a common sight as he lugged his tractors from farm to farm to get fields ready for the next crop.
Description: This bunny first hopped onto TV screens in 1960 to promote a chocolate milk drink mix and kept it up well into the '80s. This recreation of a 1983 mail away iron on infers that the drink is so good that it can't be enjoyed slowly. Why he is shedding a tear and holding a pink guitar is beyond me, but perhaps he was going through an emo phase? Whatever the case, this odd juxtaposition makes this one extra cool!
