13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. CXVII)

1. The Croft Mobile Pub

“In December 1984 Bedford OB HWW 642 was resident on a housing estate in Brixton with the majority of the bodywork removed and replaced with The Croft Inn, a mobile pub…”

From the last person to apparently see the Croft Inn:

“This creation was quite bizarre. The effect this must have had on somebody who was lurching home from some hostelry other than the Croft Inn, as a pub trundled past them at 30 mph, must have been quite dramatic … Yes – I am afraid that I bought the chassis (for that was all that was left) when I had an order from Ascension Island for a Bedford 28hp engine and gearbox. We went up to Yorkshire (or was it Lincolnshire?) with the gas bottles, paid the man for the chassis and then cut it up before his eyes………
To be fair it was only a chassis and I sold the back axle (to Green Bus Services I think) and other useful OB parts went to other worthy causes.”

Unfortunately, that’s the only image/ info I found.

2. Making Traffic Lights

Traffic lights are made in Shreveport, Louisiana, and sent around the U.S. and abroad, December 1947. Found on National Geographic FOUND.

3. “These little cars were everywhere when I was a kid, and generally thought to be a bit naff …and probably picked up for peanuts.”

“But, how cute does it look with today’s eyes?”– The English Group.

The Saab 92, manufactured from 1949-1957.

The Saab 96, manufactured from 1960-1980.

The under-appreciated evolution of Saab, more photos found on the Spiegel via The English Group blog.

4. Airstream Ranch, Florida

A photo posted by @creativerehabnyc on Mar 6, 2015 at 11:12am PST

Airstream Ranch, located roadside about 15 miles East of Tampa, next to the Bates RV Exchange. “Airstream had recently celebrated its 75th birthday, so Bates conceived Airstream Ranch, where he buried seven-and-a-half 1957-1994 vintage Airstream trailers in a vacant lot next door to the dealership. He buried seven-and-a-half trailers because that’s 7.5, as in 75, the Airstream anniversary. Bates admits he was inspired by Cadillac Ranch, 10 old Cadillacs buried nose-down in the ground, next to a stretch of Interstate 40 near Amarillo, Texas, in 1974.”

Found on Terrier Torrent via This isn’t Happiness.

5. Beer Can Chicken

“Next time you crave a roasted chicken, try shoving a beer can up its you know what and enjoy probably some of the juiciest and most delicious chicken you’ll ever have.”

Recipe found on Jo Cooks

6. Santa Elena Canyon and the Rio Grande at Big Bend, Texas

Found on Reddit

7. This New York City Theatre

This “Spanish Baroque” style venue lasted fifty years after its completion in 1928. Though its lobby and grand foyer was designated a landmark interior in 1984, parts of it were destroyed when a developer tried to convert the space into a shopping center. The building has been abandoned for the last 30 years, but according to the NYSID, a new owner has started restoring the interior as part of a new luxury residential building.

– Curbed/ photo by Alexander Severin/RAZUMMEDIA via NYSID

Photos by After the Final Curtain via Curbed’s Most Spectacular Landmarked Interiors.

8. A 3,400-year-old tomb unearthed by Egyptologists at Luxor

Found on Archaeology Magazine

9. The Original Version of Monopoly (invented by a woman to condemn Monopolies

From an article on on Open Culture: “The great capitalist game of Monopoly was first marketed by Parker Brothers back in February 1935, right in the middle of the Great Depression … (however) Monopoly didn’t really begin in 1935. Elizabeth (Lizzie) J. Magie Phillips, a disciple of the progressive era economist Henry George, created the prototype for Monopoly in 1903.” Pictured below is the patent Philips filed in 1904 (above is the image of the marketed version of the game).

480px-Landlords_Game_board_based_on_1924_patent

“The original game — The Landlord’s Game — came with two sets of rules: ‘an anti-monopolist set in which all were rewarded when wealth was created, and a monopolist set in which the goal was to create monopolies and crush opponents.’ The Landlord’s Game — came with two sets of rules: ‘an anti-monopolist set in which all were rewarded when wealth was created, and a monopolist set in which the goal was to create monopolies and crush opponents’ – a teaching tool meant to demonstrate that the first set of rules was morally superior.” In other words, the original game of Monopoly was created as a critique of monopolies.”

“The Landlord’s Game (a version from 1920 above) also had the look & feel of the game the Parker Brothers would eventually bastardize and make famous.”

“Magie Philips never got credit or residuals from the Parker Brothers’ game. Instead, a fellow named Charles Darrow came along and drafted his own version of the game, tweaked the design, called it Monopoly (see the earliest version above), slapped a copyright on the packaging with his name, and then sold the game to Parker Brothers for a reported $7,000, plus residuals. He eventually made millions.”

Read the full article on Open Culture discussing the new book by Mary Pilon, The Monopolists: Obsession, Fury, and the Scandal Behind the World’s Favorite Board Game.