As Ceefax is trending today let's take a quick look back at the 1970s analogue internet on your telly!
Just waiting for the right page...
Teletext is a way of sending text and very blocky graphics alongside a traditional TV signal, to be decoded and displayed by a suitably equipped telly.
Rumbelows can sort you out with a Ferguson or ITT set if you need one...
And on 23 September 1974 the first teletext service started in the UK: Ceefax on BBC, and Oracle on ITV!*
(*assuming your parents let you watch ITV. Not all did.)
Soon Britain became obsessed by this slightly strange technology. Information on the telly? Whatever next!
And it wasn't long before Blue Peter came along to explain how the magic worked in 1975:
Over to you Lesley...
BBC News soon saw the advantages of Ceefax, and began using it for breaking news: bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-…
And no trip back from the pub was complete without plonking down on your favourite armchair to watch Pages From Ceefax accompanied by some soothing music!
From 1979 onwards the BBC began using Ceefax to provide subtitles, helping to make TV more accessible.
And by the early 1980s you could also get Ceefax on your computer, allowing you to download software for free!
Not quite a torrent, but near enough...
Teletext seemed to have it all and for many years it was a staple part of our news and entertainment diet.
But new technology aways usurps the old and Ceefax came to an end on 22 October 2012, when 625-line analogue TV broadcasts in the UK ended.
Its job was done...
If you were a fan of Ceefax you'll certainly want to check out the online Teletext Museum: teletext.mb21.co.uk
Anyway I hope this thread has helped answer your many questions about what we did before the internet arrived.
Basically we stared at a screen all day for fun...
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What do Batman, Spiderman, Bettie Page, Madonna and women wrestlers have in common? Well I'll tell you: they all feature in the life of today's featured pulp artist.
Today I look back at the career of "the father of fetish" Eric Stanton!
Eric Stanton was born in New York in 1926. His childhood was marred by many illnesses, and confined to bed he learnt to draw by tracing comic books. He was fascinated by strong Amazonian women like Sheena, Queen of the Jungle and soon began creating similar cartoons.
After high school Stanton joined the Navy in 1944, putting his skills to use in drawing aircraft recognition cartoons. Post-war he got a job with cartoonist Gordon 'Boody' Rogers, creator of Babe: Amazon Of The Ozarks.
Given the weather is getting warmer I feel obliged to ask the following question: is it time to bring back the leisure suit?
Let's find out...
Now we all know what a man's lounge suit is, but if we're honest it can be a bit... stuffy. Formal. Businesslike. Not what you'd wear 'in da club' as the young folks say.
So for many years tailors have been experimenting with less formal, but still upmarket gents attire. The sort of garb you could wear for both a high level business meeting AND for listening to the Moody Blues in an espresso bar. Something versatile.
Today in pulp... Blade Runner! Let's look back at the classic 1982 movie and see how it compares to original novel.
"It's not an easy thing to meet your maker..."
Blade Runner is based on Philip K. Dick's 1968 novel Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep? However 'inspired' may be a better word, as the film is very different to the book.
In the novel Deckard is a bounty hunter for the San Francisco police. The year is 1992; Earth has been ravaged by war and humans are moving to off-world colonies to protect their genetic integrity. They are given organic robots to help them, created by the Rosen Association.