Retronaut - a website for people who love history.

It would be great if there was a go to website for old magazines, photographs, posters, postcards, and other material from the past. I would love it if there was a website that shared memories and pictures by decade and by topic. This website does exist and it is called Retronaut! Retronaut is a website for people who love history. Not only that, it is a website for nostalgic people to relive fond childhood memories. Retronaut is one part history site and one part social media site. Much of the content is uploaded by the sites members and membership is free. At Retronaut, you can browse pictures from past decades and even past centuries. The site is searchable by decade, by topic and by search bar. Whether you love history or just like reminiscing about the past, Retronaut is a site you should check out. Be careful, you may end up spending hours of your day browsing all there is to see. Don't say you weren't warned.

Pinterest Battle of the Decades - the 1970's

This is the decade of my childhood. My memories of the 1970's are the good kind that you are supposed to have when thinking about growing up. I was completely oblivious to any of the negativity that people often associate with the decade. I wasn't worried about gas shortages, Watergate, Vietnam, or that disco sucked. I was too busy being a kid and having fun.

The first 1970's Pinterest board I'd like to share is my own. I have put a great deal of time into accumulating over 300 pins that offer a fairly thorough representation of the decade.

There is this board by Mary Howells that has over 160 pins but what makes it stand out is the frequent detailed descriptions below the pictures. Plus, she has a video the legendary "I'd like to buy the world a Coke" commercial.

Check out this 1970's board by Deby Doerhoff. It contains over 300 pinned items and features many fashion and home interior pictures.

Finally, there is this very extensive 1970's board from Evreux France. It contains over 800 pins and covers all aspects of life in the 1970's. The highlight of this board is the extensive collection of videos featuring the best music from the decade.

From this point on I become a biased observer due to the fact that I was alive and kicking from this decade on. As stated earlier, my recollection of the 1970's was through the rose colored glasses of a child so I am far from a fair judge of this time period. Were the 70's your favorite? Comment below or at least participate in the poll at the top of the page.

Cool Web Finds

As the teachers in my building can attest, I have been regularly sharing many of the websites that I have recently discovered. In order to simplify matters for anyone who has enjoyed the sites I have shared, I have decided to start using this blog as the new and permanent way to share my discoveries. So without further delay, here is my latest edition of "cool web finds."

We have all had moments where we feel down on humanity or even worse, down on ourselves. Reading the stories at Helpingothers.org will help restore your faith in humanity and perhaps inspire you to "pay it forward."

If you are looking for a website to make you smile go to Waveatthebus and see a real life dad wave goodbye to his son's bus while wearing a different costume each day. 

At Retronaut you can view  memories, pictures, advertisements, and videos from your life or even your grandparents childhood. This site is a great place to reminisce and social studies teachers could  certainly use this site in their instruction at some point.

Speaking of memories, Moment.Me is a place where people can share their pictures and videos from weddings, parties, concerts, or other special days. 

At a site called tackk, users can make amazing online posters using pictures, text and video. Check out their samples page to see some of the possibilities. This site could be used for invitations, advertisements, or school projects.

Finally, I am a sucker for strange and unusual gifts. With the holidays just around the corner why not check out Greenhead. This is a site that offers the latest in unusual gift possibilities with items for just about any taste.