Contemporary Age
(1945 to nowadays)
What happened?
The Contemporary Age includes historical events starting after the Second World War. These events are the most relevant to the present (2021). It is the viewers own time, and possible one or two generations before. A time where historians of that time wrote about it themselves. In the future, the period will get an end an probably a new name. But because we live in the now, this is our contemporary period. Some historians place this age as the last time period of the Modern Period.
The definition 'own time' shifts over time. In addition, it depends on the view of the historian. Contemporary Age is often used as a synonym of the Newest or Modern Era, taking various starting points such as 1770, 1789 (French Revolution) 1795 (Batavian Revolution), 1815, 1870, 1890 (Second Industrial Revolution) or 1914-1918. Sometimes a much recent starting point is chosen, like 1989-1990 (end of the Cold War) or even 2000-2001 Another definition is that contemporary history concerns historical events that are still relevant today and their effects have not yet been worked out. Historians often take Word War II as the starting point of this period. We will follow that point.
Politically is the Contemporary period dominated by the Cold War between the United States of America and the Soviet Union. It ended with the dissolution of the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact in 1991, but was mainly fought between them and through the interventions in internal politics of smaller nations. The aftermath of the Cold War enabled democratization of much of Europe, Africa and Latin America.
In the Middle East, after 1945, was dominated by the conflict involving the new state of Israel and the rise of the petroleum politics. After the 1980s, Islamism grew. Also the United Nation and European Union emerged after WWII, while the European colonial empires collapsed in Africa and Asia. Countercultures rose and the sexual revolution transformed social relations in western countries between the 1960s and 1980s. The American culture spread widely. Many western countries had begun deindustrializing. Globalization led to emergence of new industrial centers, such as Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and China.
Since 1945, science made new advances, e.g. nuclear technology, laser and spaceflight. Also in the domain of molecular biology, genetics, physics and quantum field were big leaps forward made. The first computers and internet were created. This was the beginning of the Information Age.
In the late 2019, the COVID-19 disease was documented in Wuhan, China. During 2020 this disease spread worldwide to other countries. So it became a global pandemic, which caused a major socio-economic disruption everywhere. Many countries ordered mandatory lockdowns on movement and closures of non-essential businesses. Until now (2021) the pandemic is the most important global event for humankind as well as the greatest crisis of modern times.
Replica Pillar of Volta. Found: Nice, France (JN0587)
Battery
± 1940 to ± 1950
The story begins in Leiden, the Netherlands, where the physicist Pieter van Musschenbroeck experimented with the electrifying machine, a device where electricity could be generated with friction. In 1765, he was the first to store this electricity in 'Leidse Flessen' (=Leyden Jar), specially prepared glass jars to which the machine was coupled. The Leiden Jar could hold a lot of tension, which he experienced personally. Around the same time, the American Benjamin Franklin investigated the nature of the electricity. Famous is his experiment in which he managed to extract current from a lightning bolt with the help of a kite, which he recorded with special glass plates. He called a linked series an 'electric battery'. Referring to battery guns of lined up cannons. His use of the word "battery" would generalize.
The Italian Volta took the next step around 1800. It is to him that we owe the name volt for electrical voltage. He discovered that by stacking slices of zinc and copper, separated from each other by pieces of felt soaked in a salt solution, electricity could be generated. This 'Pillar of Volta' is seen as the first battery. We have a replica that was used in 1950's education to explain the principle. Unlike the Leiden Jar or Benjamin's glass plates, Volta's battery could hold the voltage for a longer period and deliver it evenly. Its stability was not great, so it was not suitable for practical applications.
John Frederic Daniell developed a battery with a longer life in England in the year 1836. The battery could now be practically applied and was also based on electrochemical processes. It consisted of a glass jar containing solid copper and zinc suspended in the liquids zinc and copper sulfate. His invention was displayed to the public at the 1851 World's Fair in London. It became the standard power supply for the telegraph, transmitting messages using Morse code. It was also used in the electroplating of iron objects (applying a thin layer of metal with the help of electricity). There was no power from the socket yet. The first power stations appeared around 1885.
The big breakthrough of the battery as a mass product came then. The German Carl Gassner patented the first easy-to-manufacture dry battery in 1886. It became a commercial success. The dry battery was used as standard and in addition to telegraphy in e.g., doorbells, telephones, and lighting.
It seemed as if the electric car would break through in 1898. Expectations about the use of the electric motor in the car were high. The means of transport of the future will be moved by electric power, wrote the Dutch magazine 'De Kampioen' (= ‘The Champion’). The Amsterdam taxi company ATAX operated many electric taxis around 1910. The Belgian Auto-Mixte company in Liège produced hybrid cars between 1906 and 1912 with a rechargeable battery, which was charged by the braking movements to support the petrol engine on slopes.
The battery has improved over the years. The service life has become longer. Towards the end of the 20th century, people became aware of substances that were harmful to the environment and health, especially heavy metals such as cadmium and mercury used in batteries. These harmful substances have since been replaced by more environmentally friendly alternatives. The rechargeable battery came on the market. The collection and reuse of discarded copies started.
More and more devices are equipped with batteries. There are more than 6000 different types of batteries in the 21st century. The growth of mobile devices will further increase demand. The latest promise appears to be a battery that can be fully charged in less than a minute. It could be an important breakthrough for the 'old' electric car (2022), currently popular again.
Rockwell with Nickels. Found: Navarre, Florida, US (JN0231)
Parking Meter
± 1950
From the moment the cheap Model T went on sale in 1908, car ownership exploded. The cities were not prepared for that. Parking became a serious problem. People took their car to work and parked their vehicle there, making shops, for example, difficult to reach. Motorists looking for space created chaos. Parking space became rare.
As a member of the traffic committee in Oklahoma, US, journalist Carl Magee organized in 1933 a competition among university students to design a well-functioning, inexpensive, weather and vandal-resistant meter. All entries were rejected. Holger George Thuessen, a technical professor, and Gerald A. Hale, an engineer, were commissioned. Their meter design was patented and put into production by Magee. He called it the "Park-O-Meter No. 1" and as a nickname the "Black Maria" for unknown reason. The first meter was a mechanical device that had to be wound. After inserting a five-cent coin, the parker was given an hour. A pointer ran to zero. Those who did not risk a parking ticket.
It is not without reason that "free parking" was present from the very first version of the monopoly game in 1935. The first meters were placed in central Oklahoma in 1935, some say during the night, suggesting that the device could not actually tolerate daylight. Few motorists could appreciate the parking meter. Soon a meter was called "One Armed Bandit", after the slots in casinos. Because not much was legally regulated, the legality of charging parking fees was questioned. It led to lawsuits in the beginning. In the meantime, the parking meter did what it was intended to do: regulate and reduce parking chaos in the cities. Larger American towns adopted the meter.
Car ownership increased in Europe after WWII. Parking became a problem. The City of London introduced the parking meter in 1954.
In 1956, at the Central Station in Brussels, Belgium, meters were first installed as a trial whereby users received a free coin. That same year there was a lengthy discussion about the parking meter in the Netherlands. ANWB, motorist’s association, turned out to be a fanatical opponent of what it called "ugly clocks on poles". As a result, the motorist would be unnecessarily costly.
The city council of Paris, France, came up with the alternative parking disc in 1958. The arrival time had to be set on the disk. The parking time could be checked. Parking remained free and that is why it appealed to road users. That turned out to be more expensive. To check the 6,000 Parisian streets, 400 inspectors were needed, when using the parking meter, only ± 40 were needed.
The ANWB in the Netherlands saw more in the French parking disc in 1964. Municipalities that wanted to try could get the discs from them for free. Still, the parking meter would win. 260 parking meters were installed in the center of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. A quarter was for an hour. On the first day, six tickets were handed out and the Amsterdam meter knew enemies and the throw-in slots were sabotaged. One meter was even knocked over. The parking meter was once completely stolen. Breaking open the meter for money became a new form of crime.
Paul McCartney wrote a cheerful love song in 1968 about a female parking attendant in the United Kingdom, "Lovely Rita meter maid".
The appearance of the parking meter has not changed much in the 21st century. Central meter boxes have replaced many old poles. Parking with your mobile phone seems like the future. The developments will not stop there. The attitude to paid parking has remained. Parking fees and fines are often discussed.
Fordite (Motor Agate)
± 1951 to ± 1957
The clear, jewel-like layers of Fordite consist of thousands of layers of automobile paint. Drop by drop, each layer represents a different vehicle as it drove through the factory spray booth. Heated to hundreds of degrees, the layers fused into one of the most beautiful and completely accidental man-made composites. Since 1957, the 4.700.000 m2 facility has been home to ten F-Series pickup trucks and many other vehicles.
The earliest cars were painted by hand with brushes or by dipping parts into slow-drying varnish. According to some data, it took days to dry bodies. Manufacturers such as Henry Ford started making thousands of bodies in advance and storing them on floors. By the 1920s, paint technology in the industry allowed the transition to spray guns and faster drying nitrocellulose lacquers. During this time, all cars began to undergo a heat treatment to help the paint on the metal and paint dry even faster.
Fordite first appeared in the 1940s. As thousands of cars speed through the factories, dripping paint from overspray built up on the rails. Eventually this had to be cut down. The colors back then were darker. Fordite's patterns were all there. In the 1950s and 1960s acrylic paints had taken over. Fordite appeared in bright metallic colors. In the 1970s, car manufacturers began to move to reduce electrostatic adhesion of paint. Waste reduced and therefore also the impact on the environment due to volatile organic compounds. The introduction of industrial painting robots also reduces the amount of Fordite produced by the automobile industry. Despite this, Fordite can still be found. Today (2021) there are more than 90 million cars, trucks and lorries produced around the world every year. This comes to about 170 vehicles per minute. Wherever in the world these are assembled, every vehicle must be painted.
Original Bill Sanders Photo Speed Camera. Found: Dixon, Illinois, US (JN0638)
Speed Camera
± 1958
The car made a lot of noise in early 1908, drove fast and startled the horse. To curb this in the Netherlands, the maximum speed limit for motor vehicles in built-up areas was set at 10 km/h and 15 outside it. Everyone passed the driver. The speed limit was called the "donkey trot". The traffic rule was massively ignored and died a quiet death. From 1925, the "car trap" was the way speed checks were carried out for a long time. An officer signals an officer, at the next pole, if a car is going too fast. After passing the car, he looks at the clock. The agent alerts a third agent further down the road. This one holds the vehicle upright.
The Gatsometer of rally driver Maurice Gatsonides was a workable solution in the Netherlands in the 1950s. It consisted of a counter connected to two rubber hoses that were placed on the road surface at 10 meters from each other. The counting mechanism was activated via air pressure when a car drove over the first hose and stopped as soon as the car touched the second hose. The speed could be read in a table. In 1958, the police of Velsen, the Netherlands, was the first to use the meter. To establish the evidential value of his invention, Maurice Gatsonides allowed himself to get a ticket with the help of his meter. It resulted in the desired conviction for the former driver. He paid the fine of eleven guilders with a smile. His company prospered and is still a leader today (2022). Anyone in England who is being flashed “has been gatsoed”.
Circa 1962, new techniques such as speed measurement using radar were applied. Radar and camera were coupled in 1969. Speeding drivers are automatically photographed. A powerful flash was used, hence the expression “to be flashed”. The first strobes were large, mounted in special search vehicles. Eventually they could be built into inconspicuous objects.
The first fixed-location speed cameras appear on the streets at the end of the 20th century. These were large cabinets containing the camera and measuring equipment, which were placed on high masts. Drivers start resisting. Speed traps would serve no purpose, and above all fill the state treasury. Journalist Frank Jakobs bundled this resistance between 2000 and 2004 on the website “Tuf-Tuf Club”. Driving is an acquired pleasure that should not be taken away by government officials and their officials. Speed camera locations were shared online, with means to outwit them, e.g., the radar detector. If you are being flashed, an objection generator offers help. Destroying speed cameras is at the very least not condemned. A traffic officer, was called a highwayman, compared to Hitler, and accused of leading a criminal organization. They tried five times to get Jacobs convicted of defamation.
The Flemish section of the “Tuf-Tuf Club” was founded in 2004 in Mechelen by spokesman Willem Laurens. Tracking, filming, and disclosing law enforcement officers. Politicians and the royal family were not spared either. Suspicions arose those members were organizing the destruction of speed cameras. Flemish media spoke of “highway terrorism”. Vandalism was not proven, but Laurens was convicted of forming a gang.
Initially, almost all poles were in Flanders. Wallonia had a few. According to the Flemish, this is the result of political horse trading. Walloons had more road deaths.
The Mesta Fusion is a super intelligent speed camera and can keep an eye on everyone on the road. It can fine up to 32 drivers at the same time. In combination with a camera shield, Belgium wants to use speed cameras against terrorism in 2016. The Belgian Privacy Commission is less enthusiastic and speaks of “total surveillance”.
Craft Finch Cage. Found: Harelbeke, Belgium (JN0118)
Vinkensport - Finch Sport
± 1960
Augustijn van Hernighem, author, made the first description of a Vinkensport in 1595. Creation of vinkeniers (= finchers) guilds around vinkenzetting, meaning finch settings. It has a simple principle: the bird that sings the most tunes within a certain period wins and the owner becomes "king". It was mainly an urban affair because the nobility had the privilege of hunting outside the city, catching finches was prohibited there. The custom of blinding finches so that they would sing better, or so it was thought. In fact, the finch was not blind, but they could no longer open their eyes, for they were cauterized by a red-hot iron wire.
The finch runway during the 18th century was a special trap for small songbirds. Nobility and wealthy bourgeoisie regarded the finch as a delicacy. Some were kept in cages for sweet song and singing competitions were organized.
At the end of the 18th century, the French Revolution affected the vinkenzettingen. Noble privileges were abolished. The finch hunt is open to everyone, with a rapid emergence of vinken (= finches) associations in the Flemish countryside.
In the 19th century, competitions with finches are growing into national sport = vinkenzetting or vinkenslagen (= finch battles) in Flanders. Two kinds of competitions emerged. The plots (the most popular) are four finches formed in teams and the chants were added. The libertine settings are in 2021 the only ones still practiced purely individual. Vinkeniers with their birds in a long queue along the public road became a common view. The finches hear each other chirping and loudly want to demarcate their territory. The finch sings a valid tune (called strokes or tunes). "Suskewiet" is the sound that matters. "An eavesdropper" is a bird so intimidated by the singing of others that it keeps quiet.
In Torhout, Belgium, in the year 1869 an angry reaction came to the finch catch and its excesses.
Blinding finches is prohibited by law in Belgium by the year 1921.
The foundation of the Belgian overarching organization General Vinkenbond (Avibo) was founded in 1934. The problem was the regional "dialects": "Suskewiet" is most common, but in Central Belgium, "Wie-dju en Preekheer" was used. There was a real language battle.
Vinkensport was completely banned in the Netherlands in 1936. Illegal settlements and competitions became commonplace. Legally joining Belgian competitions was the result and solution. Stijn Streuvels, a poet, enthusiastically practices vinkenzetten in 1938.
In the early 1970s, only "Suskewiet" as vocals became valid by Avibo in the competitions. The result of this was the secession of associations in Central Belgium and the establishment of the Vinkeniersverbond Central Belgium (Vimibel).
Finch trapping was banned in Belgium in 1972 but has only been enforced since 2002.Vinkeniers became dependent on their own breeding. Vinkenzettingen were allowed again in the Netherlands in 2002.
With Keys. Found: England (JN0647-1)
English Hiatts Handcuffs
± 1960
These curiously curved Hiatts 1960 safety handcuffs are an early model. They were clear and chromed. By the year 1960, Hiatt, one of the world's oldest handcuff makers, realized that they needed to modernize their products. They came up with a revolutionary design. British police used to mainly use the old "iron" type of handcuffs from long ago. Hiatts 1960 was thus the successor to the famous Hiatts Darby handcuffs, which were used for about 200 years.
These 1960 handcuffs used a round key that is completely different from today's handcuffs (2022). Although they have never been popular, the model served to familiarize the British police community with the swing through handcuff. This means that the Model 1960 cuffs, like almost all newer handcuffs, can be swung through. They have 2 ratchet rods that make picking more difficult. The double locking mechanism ensures safety. The double lock is very simple. Unlocking is more of a challenge. Nevertheless, this model is of a very exceptional shape.
They were also the first ratchet handcuffs used by British police. The handcuffs were stamped “British Made, Hiatts 1960”. One of the cuffs had the serial number stamped with the Force's name on it. The 1960 model was one of the few handcuffs produced with a round keyhole. A special round key without a key bit must be operated to open the cuffs. This key is used for the double locking of the safety belt. They are very good handcuffs for their age. They acquainted British police with swing through handcuffs before getting the more modern design that is now better known.
Tumbled Stone - Sodalite
± 1961
Sodalite was discovered and described in the early 19th century. But it was already known before. The lapis lazuli of antiquity, used in abundance by the ancient Egyptians and other Mediterranean civilizations, comes from the Badakshan mines in Afghanistan. Sodalite is still extracted there today (2021).
In 2000 BC, the civilization of Caral, in the North of Peru usus sodalite in its rituals. On the archeological site, offerings were found composed of fragments of sodalite.
Because ancient texts do not speak about sodalite, on may think that it is not sought after. Pliny the Elder describes only two blue stones. The sapphirus with small golden spots relates certainly to lapis lazuli, with its inclusion of pyrite. Cyanus mimicking the blue sky would be sapphire.
A variety of sodalite was know by the Romans, but it was not of a remarkable blue color. Often greyish or greenish shows sometimes great clarity. This is the sodalite of Vesuvius. 15.000 BC, the volcano Somma collapsed and gave birth to Vesuvius. The sodalite present in the lava rejected by Vesuvius is the result of this event.
The eruption of 79 AD, Mount Vesuvius buried Pompeii and Herculaneum and was fatal to Pliny the Elder. The naturalist writer perished for approaching the volcano too closely and shared the fate of thousands of victims, but as a victim of his curiosity.
The Mochica civilization, between 1 AD to 800 AD, left amazing gold jewelry with sodalite, turquoise and chrysocolla make up tiny mosaics.
From the 14th century, lazurite was first extracted from lapis lazuli and transformed into ultramarine blue pigment. The translucent blue color of sodalite is unusable and is therefor useless for this use. Sodalite remains very discreet at this time.
Karl Ludwig Giesecke, a Danish mineralogist, reports various minerals from a trip to Greenland in 1806. Among those minerals was the future Sodalite. Thomas Thomson also gets samples of this mineral a few years later. He analyzed it and gave it its name. Polish Count Stanislaw Dunin Borkowski studied at the same time the Sodalite of Vesuvius. After comparing the analyzes and the experiments, the Greenland stone and the Vesuvius stone are declared to be the same species.
In the 19th century, grained sodalites, identical to those of Vesuvius, were discovered near Rome on the shores of Lake Albano. The mountain that encloses the lake is certainly an old volcano.
In 1901, the Princess of Wales Mary, visited Buffalo World’s Fair and particularly admired the sodalite of Bancroft, Canada’s mineral capital. She used tons of rock to England to decorate the princely home at Marlborough. Since then, Bancroft’s sodalite careers have been called ‘The Princess’s Mines’. As a tribute, the nickname "Blue Princess" was given to Princess Patricia, Queen Victoria’s granddaughter. From this time, blue sodalite becomes fashionable and often used for the dial of luxury watches. Since 1961, the Bancroft’s quarries have been open to the public. It allows everyone to harvest sodalite for an affordable price by weight. You choose and extract your treasures yourself. Since then, sodalite is used a healing stone too, reviving ancient Egyptian tradition.
Press Photo Change of Traffic Direction. Found: Stockholm, Sweden (JN0326)
Left-Right In Traffic
± 1967
Little is known about which side of the street people used to continue in Classical Antiquity. The Greeks presumably drove on the left. Indications for this are relief fragments showing that the horse driver is sitting on the right side of the wagon.
There are indications that the Romans drove on the left. The remains of an old Roman quarry have been found in Oxford, England. The road over which the boulders were removed shows two clear cart tracks, one of which, on the left half, is deeper than the other. This must have been the trail of the loaded ox carts that removed the stones. The other was from the lighter wagons returning.
In the past, there was a preference to drive on the left in the Middle Ages. It could have to do with the predominant right-handedness of people and the influence on driving horse carts. Laying down rules for the place on the road was not a necessity. Traffic was calm.
A road was often no more than a cart track. In some cities it could already be busy. The Pope Boniface VIII in Rome, Italy, ordered pilgrims in 1300 in Rome to keep right on the bridges. In the crowd, people were sometimes pushed over the edge and drowned in the water of the Tiber.
With the Industrial Revolution in Modern History, road transport in England increased significantly. Regulations became more urgent. In the General Highway Act of 1773, it was recommended in England to pass each other on the left.
Napoleon stipulated by law that driving in France had to be on the right, which was already customary there. When large parts of Europe came under the French Empire, right-hand driving was introduced there too.
There was no uniformity in Europe during the 19th century. When crossing the country or city borders, it was important to pay attention to which road section you drove on.
The advice to pass each other on the left was converted into an obligation in the year 1835. Since then, left-hand driving in the UK has been the rule. Traffic rules changed from city to city in Belgium in that same year. Remarkably enough, the Belgian railways were then equipped for left-hand driving, which is still the case until today (2021). The reason is the use of English engineers who drove on the left.
In the Netherlands, regulations also differed per location. With the arrival and increase of the car, national regulations became inevitable. The first road law in 1906 obliged all traffic outside the city to keep to the right from now on. Within city borders, the local government had to arrange this itself. In the years that followed, all municipalities gradually introduced right-hand driving.
The German occupier forced the Belgian population to drive to the right during WWI by threatening to seize a cart or horse.
The newspaper "De Tijd" (= "The Times") reported in 1917 that Rotterdam was the last major city in the Netherlands to go overboard. In Europe, one country after another switched to right-hand traffic. Imports of American cars contributed to this. Those cars were designed to be driven on the right with the steering wheel on the left.
As the last country on the European continent, Sweden coped. In a radio talk in 1967, traffic minister Olaf Palme gave the starting signal for "Höger Day", which means "Day of the right-hand drive". The Swedes turned it into a street party. Palme was murdered in 1986.
In Samoa, the switch was reversed in 2009. The reason for this was to be able to import cars cheaper. The Samoans were less enthusiastic. There was even a village that threatened to ban left-hand driving cars. Others foresaw chaos and accidents.
Currently (2021) about three quarters of the countries drive on the right. In London, one street to the Savoy is required to drive on the right. This was done to guarantee the passage in the narrow alley.
Invitation to the Official Presentation of the First ATM in Belgium. Found: Nieuwpoort, Belgium (JN0449)
ATM (Automatic Teller Machine)
± 1968
In 1959, the Armenian inventor Luther George Simjian patented his 'counter machine', which could be used to withdraw money. A New York bank took the test. It turned out to be a disappointment. It was precisely at that time that the bank lost its elitist character. Having an account quickly became commonplace. Wages were no longer paid in cash (the famous pay packet) but discreetly credited to a bank account. Due to the massive influx of new customers, banks became busier. A machine with which money could be withdrawn without the intervention of personnel would help.
The quiet Enfield in North London got the scoop in 1967. The world's first electronically controlled ATM was inaugurated in the wall of Barclays. After entering some sort of paper check, a bill popped out of the slot. To do this, a four-digit code had to be entered. Originally there were six, but after his wife assured John Sheperd-Baron that she couldn't possibly remember more than four digits, he simplified the code. To be completely safe, the check for extra checking was also impregnated with a small amount of radioactive carbon-14. He claimed it was only dangerous if you ate 136.000 of them. The machine dispensed one ten-pound bill at a time. An amount that was considered more than sufficient for a weekend of wild outings.
The ATM was also tested elsewhere. The bank Post Giro, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, started a trial in 1968 at the main post office. The machine worked with a punch card and code. Several “Bankomat” terminals (= ATMs) were installed in Brussels, Belgium, in 1968. Although the machine was 'state of the art', it still refused service at the press conference. Legend has it that a bank clerk would hide behind the machine and push the notes out through the slot.
Meanwhile, customer pressure increased. In 1976, the Amsterdam Municipal Giro had 13 online ATMs installed throughout the city. With these machines, the user's balance could be determined. You needed a “money card” with a magnetic stripe, the predecessor of the debit card. J.H. Stofkoper, Giro director, predicted that the arrival of the vending machine was just the beginning of a revolution in money traffic that would lead to an entirely electronic payment system.
In Belgium, in 1979, in blessed hope, the cautious introduction of the new Mister Cash and Bankcontact systems was started. The new machines were a great success. Of course, there were also skepticism. In the Netherlands it took until 1982 before other banks started using ATMs. A machine of the own bank had to be looked up, later that expired. Not everyone received a debit card. e.g., you had to have a monthly income of at least two thousand guilders and have a "sound financial morale".
An older gentleman preferred to stand at the counter to get money from that sweet lady behind the counter. There was a fear that older people would not be able to remember the PIN. In 1987, this group was overloaded with well-intentioned tips, tricks, mnemonics, handy devices, even code-memorizing courses.
Security was an issue in the 1980s. Withdrawing money on the street was asking for robbery? Cash machines became a target: the word ATM raid became common.
In the 1990s, a nationwide network of payment terminals was established in Belgium and the Netherlands. Everyone got their pass, whether they wanted to or not. Especially when payment terminals were installed in the shops to be able to pay. Cash is now fast becoming history in the 21st century. The number of ATMs is already declining.
Tumbled Stone - Epidote
± 1970
The history of gemstones goes back a long way. And you can assume that the moment the Epidote was ever found by someone, and this person recognized its beauty, that this was the moment the Epidote started making history.
It is of course impossible to find out which king, emperor or ecclesiastical highness first wore the Epidote in public. But its special properties were immediately recognized and the Epidote was slowly but surely used more and more as an addition in jewelry and for decoration of ornaments through the ages.
The medicinal properties of the Epidote was discovered by accident. And nobody knows exactly when this happened. Most importantly, the forces were noticed and valued. As a result, we can still reap the benefits today (2021).
The origin of the word Epidote is from the time of the ancient languages, Ancient Greek, Latin or an even older language. Generation after generation the name was passed on and as time passed and the Epidote was also called in other countries, the name changed. The name is derived from the Greek word 'epidosis', which means ‘addition’ and refers to its numerous crystal planes. Although rarely of gem quality and very rare as a faceted gemstone, it is a very common mineral. It is a lesser known gem and lacks much of the knowledge other oaths have. It is supposed to be an ‘attraction stone’, of whatever the wearer radiates, he gets. Meaning positive or negative radiation will be more attracted.
As we already mentioned, historically speaking is almost nothing known for sure. Well for certain that in the 1970s with the New Age Movement spreading, during the 1970s and 1980s, epidote found its place among other healing stones.
Occult and metaphysical religious communities looked forward to a "New Age" of love and light offered through personal transformation and healing.
The New Age movement united believers with two simple ideas. First, it predicted that a New Age of heightened spiritual consciousness and international peace would arrive and bring an end to racism, poverty, sickness, hunger and war.
Secondly, individuals could obtain a foretaste of the New Age through their own spiritual transformation. It would put the believer on a new path of continual growth and transformation.
Olympic Relay Torch
± 1972
Our example is a fragment of a stainless-steel Olympic Relay Torch used prior to the 1972 games in Munich. It is one of 6.700. In 1936, Germany introduced the modern concept of the Olympic Torch relay at the games in Berlin. Since then, the relay has been a part of every Summer Games. The 1972 relay started in Olympia, Greece and ended, after 5.532 km, with the lighting of the flame by 18-year-old Günter Zahn at the Munich Stadium.
The modern Olympics are the manifestation of the ideals of Pierre de Coubertin, who revived the Greek Olympiad in 1894. He saw the 3000-year-old concept as a practical extension of the peace education movement of the time. His goal was nothing less than peace among all nations, which he hoped to bring about through a sports program that emphasizes the unique value of each human body. Since the revival of the Games, the sheer size of the modern version has become a reflection of the complexity inherent in global human relations. Still, Coubertin's Olympic motto, “Citius, Altius, Fortius” (= Faster, Higher, Stronger), has served well as a reminder of the indomitable human spirit at the heart of the Games. As with any Olympics, the people would see victories and controversy. Records would be set, and medals won. This 20th Olympiad would also be the scene of a tragedy.
During the early morning hours of September 5, 1972, members of the Palestinian terrorist organization Black September infiltrated the Olympic village. They took members of the Israeli team hostage. All 11 hostages would perish. The hostage situation ended in a chaotic scene at Fürstenfeldbruck airbase. The 1972 incident had many political motivations unrelated to the Olympics. The torch serves as an inspiration for reflection on the challenge facing the entire world to realize the Olympic Games ideals of peace through sport.
Star Wars IV - Krayt Dragon
± 1977
The movie “Star Wars IV – A New Hope” premiered on May 25, 1977. Director George Lucas had immediate success. It became a worldwide phenomenon and is still (2022) one of the highest-grossing films of all time. This is after adjusting for inflation.
We have a fragment of the fiberglass of the “Krayt Dragon” from this movie. That is a long snake-like skeleton that C-3PO encounters in the desert on Tatooine, shortly after he turned away from R2-D2 at the beginning of the movie. It rests on a sand dune and shows that this desert is strange and dangerous. It was originally used in the 1975 film “One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing”. Coincidentally, the skeleton was flown to Tunisia with the rest of the material. It was not until years later that it got its final name. The production team left several sets and that film relic, after the original shooting, in the desert of Tunisia. Afterwards, the location became something of an attraction. The locals sell excavated material to the tourists.
George Lucas chose to film in Tunisia because of the architecture of the area. It influenced the houses and streets featured in the film. Dunes, ravines, and salt flats were all within a half hour's drive. That made shooting easier. Tunisia also influenced the name of the city Tatooine.
NASA uses the position of the former sets to track the progress of large, crescent-shaped sand dunes sweeping through the area at a rate of 15 m/year. Such dunes are called “barchans.” The largest known barchans are on Mars. These are more than 500 m high and 6-7 km long.
Found: Menen, Belgium (JN0276)
Apple Shape Briar Pipe
± 1980
Most pipes sold today (2021), whether handmade or machine, are made from briar (French: bruyère). Pipes made of wood include the well-known classical briar pipe on the one hand, but also folk-art expressions of other types of wood.
Briar is particularly suitable for pipe making for several reasons. The first and most important feature is its natural fire resistance. The second is its inherent ability to absorb moisture. The root absorbs water from nature to provide the tree in dry times and absorbs the moisture that is a by-product of combustion.
Briar is cut from the root tuber of the tree heather (Erica arborea), which is native to the rocky and sandy soils of the Mediterranean. Briar studs are cut into two types of blocks: ebauchon and plateaus. Ebauchon is taken from the heart of the burl, while plateaus are taken from the outer part of the burl. While both types of blocks can produce the highest quality pipes, most artisan pipe makers prefer plateaus for their superior graininess.
The hand-carved pipes in relatively soft wood are characteristic of the nineteenth century and, to a very limited extent, the eighteenth century. In the German town of Ulm there has been an important industry with a uniform product that has become known all over Europe. In addition, countless unexpected traditional products have been created.
After 1850, the pipe made of briar wood dominates. Due to the mechanized and even machine production method, these briar pipes are made in large numbers in standardized models. This is reflected in classic models such as the bulldog and the billiard. Modern creations such as the Porsche pipe and the Cybele date from later. The so-called free hands, pipes shaped according to the structure and drawing of the wood, form a separate group. Their specific design is now so old that we now see the freehand as a traditional article.
The factory-produced wooden pipe is supplied all over the world as a standard product. That is why museums rarely, if ever, pay attention to this consumer item.
Prince Charles & Princess Diana
± 1981
The marriage of Prince Charles Windsor and Lady Diana Spencer was an international sensation in 1981. It was a fairy tale in which an assistant kindergarten teacher suddenly became a princess. Lady Diana was a symbol of selflessness. All over the world she was a representative for the rights of the oppressed.
The beautiful story would get more complicated over the years. Infidelity and media pressure drove the couple apart. In 1996, Charles and Diana divorced. Just a year later, Lady Diana was killed in a car accident while fleeing the paparazzi in Paris. Diana was 36 years old. Since her death, many books have been written about their relationship and private life. Reality and fiction is very difficult to separate. Both really tried to start a family under all the pressure and had two sons.
We present a piece of the royal wedding cake. It is a traditional fruitcake with cream cheese frosting. It took 14 weeks to prepare the layers of the official cake, including an identical twin kept as emergency reserve. After over 40 years the cake tends to be a bit sticky. The cake was sliced and placed in individual monogrammed gift boxes. Then the slices were placed in boxes and finished with icing to form the decorating layers. This tradition goes back generations. Since Queen Victoria's cake, slices of cake have been sold and collected. Each slice contains a monogram (= symbol).
Canis Familiaris
± 2020
The dog is a domesticated descendant of the wolf and is characterized by an upward tail. The dog is a derivative of an extinct wolf. The modern-day wolf (2022) is a close relative of the domestic dog. It was the first animal found domesticated by hunter-gatherers over 12.000 BC. Because of their long association with humans, dogs are among a large number of pets. Over the millennia, the dog has been bred for various behaviors, sensory abilities, and physical characteristics. The dog breeds vary widely in shape, size, and color. Dogs hunt, herd, pull loads, protect, assist police and military, provide companionship, and assist the disabled. They were uniquely adapted to human behavior. The bond between dogs and humans remains a hot topic. This relationship has earned them the nickname "man's best friend".
The timing indicates that the dog was the first species to be domesticated by humans. After the extinction of the dinosaurs about 65 million years BC, the first carnivores appeared. The dental line-up of the carnivores has changed over the past 60 million years for, consisting of, and flesh, such as depictions of the carnassial function, in seals, sea lions and walruses. Carnassials are teeth that can be compared with scissors for cutting meat. The carnivorous ancestors of the canine caniforms and the feline feliforms began their separate evolutionary paths just after the end of the dinosaurs.
The first members of the canine family Canidae appeared 40 million years BC. Only the subfamily Caninae survives in the form of wolf-like and foxlike canines. Within the Caninae appeared 6 million years BC, the first members of the genus Canis. These are the ancestors of modern domestic dogs, wolves, coyotes, and golden jackals. The earliest fossils of a domestic dog date from about 12.223 BC. The dog was buried with a man and a woman, all three sprayed with red hemation powder and buried under large, thick basalt blocks. Older remains dating to approximately 30.000 BC. have been described as Paleolithic dogs. The status of those dogs is still under discussion (2022). During the Pleistocene, a diversity of wolves arose.
DNA shows that all modern and ancient dogs share a common ancestor and descend from an extinct wolf population. More than 30.000 years BC contained the most recent ancestor of the wolf and dog. A remnant from that period can therefore be a dog or a wolf. The modern wolf is the dog's closest living relative. Genetic studies suggest that the domestication process began more than 25.000 years ago in wolf populations in Europe, East Asia, or the Arctic. In 2021, it was decided that according to current evidence, the dog was domesticated in Siberia for about 21.000 years and then spread eastward into the Americas and westward across Eurasia.