Checker at 10:12, 29 January 2008

2008-01-29T10:12:01Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 10:12, 29 January 2008
Line 29:		Line 29:
	</blockquote>		</blockquote>

	Yes, this catalog for a commercial product just told you '''''not''''' to buy more of its product, it told you how to conserve, improvise, and work around a problem with a ''shoe box''. Those were the good old days.		Yes, this catalog for a commercial product just told you '''''not''''' to buy more of its product, it told you how to conserve, improvise, Do It Yourself, and work around a problem with a ''shoe box''. Those were the good old days.

Checker at 09:24, 29 January 2008

2008-01-29T09:24:26Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:24, 29 January 2008
Line 33:		Line 33:

	<references/>		<references/>

			[[Category:Opinions]]

Checker: Old school advertising.

2008-01-29T09:22:00Z

Old school advertising.

New page

So, I've been sitting on this beauty for a few months, ever since my friend [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathis_Wackernagel Mathis] showed it to me. I figured, hey, it's 36 years old, what's a few more months before it hits the web? Of course, today [http://gizmodo.com/349509/lego-brick-timeline-50-years-of-building-frenzy-and-curiosities the] [http://www.crunchgear.com/2008/01/28/life-begins-at-fifty-happy-birthday-to-lego/ net] [http://mashable.com/2008/01/27/in-case-you-wondered-why-google-logo-looks-like-lego-today/ is] [http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/01/28/1312215 ablaze] with tributes to Lego, it being their 50th anniversary. Oops. Oh well, I'm always late to birthday parties anyway.

Herewith, I present to you, '''irrefutable proof that ''The Good Old Days'' actually ''were''.'''

<center>
{|width=200px style="margin: 10px; margin-top: 20px;"
|style="border: 1px solid #000;"|[[Image:lego-cover.jpg|200px]]
|--
|<div style="text-align: center; font-size: 75%; line-height: 1.5em;">''Wir spielen mit Lego, 1971''</div><div style="text-align: center; font-size: 70%;">''(click image to enlarge)''</div>
|}
</center>

This is the 1971-72 Lego catalog from Germany<ref>Actually, I think this is the Swiss German version, since Mathis is Swiss German and my translator friend says in German you'd use ''Pappschachtel'' instead of ''Kartonschachtel''.</ref>. It's filled with Lego-y goodness, kids making crazy stuff, step-by-step drawings for various buildings and vehicles—basically what you'd expect. Then, right there on page 43, is this:

<center>
[[Image:lego-p43-600.jpg]]
</center>

Here is the transcription of the German:

<blockquote><i>
Auch einen Tunnel kannst Du aus Lego-Steinen bauen. Aber Du benötigst dafür ziemlich viele. Vielleicht verwendest Du sie besser für einen Bahnhof oder für andere Gebäude, die zu einer richtigen Eisenbahn gehören. Nimm Dir einen Schuhkarton oder eine ähnliche Kartonschachtel und schneide 2 Löcher aus, und schon hast Du Deinen Tunnel!
</i></blockquote>

This translates roughly to:

<blockquote>
You can also build a tunnel from Lego bricks. But you'll need quite a few of them. Maybe you better use them for a train station or other buildings that are part of a real railroad. Take a shoe box or a similar card board box and cut out two holes, and there you've got your tunnel already!
</blockquote>

Yes, this catalog for a commercial product just told you '''''not''''' to buy more of its product, it told you how to conserve, improvise, and work around a problem with a ''shoe box''. Those were the good old days.

<references/>

The Good Old Days - Revision history

Checker at 10:12, 29 January 2008

Checker at 09:24, 29 January 2008

Checker: Old school advertising.