America Online is still alive — but in a very different form — America Online, also known as AOL, was at one time an internet powerhouse and later, a media gargantuan. But in the fast-moving tech world, yesterday’s winner is today’s loser. While AOL eventually lost its luster, it still exists, even if it is a much different company. Here’s the story of…

How a 1918 cartoon led to a global entertainment empire — Robert Ripley specialized in curating some of the world’s strangest, most unbelievable but true stories. It turns out that the true story of Ripley’s rise to fame from sports cartoonist to entertainment mogul is just as unbelievable. How it all began Born in 1890, LeRoy Robert Ripley had an insatiable hunger for the curiously…

An early form of mass transit is making a surprising comeback — Streetcars — also known as trams or trolleys — were the most common form of urban mass transit in North America before the advent of the automobile. The rail-based streetcar was popular well into the 1920s, but its use began to dwindle over the next few decades. Streetcars in North…

No longer making phones, the beleaguered brand soldiers on — When the first BlackBerry smartphone was introduced in 1999, it was destined to become a global sensation. In fact, BlackBerry became one of the world’s best known smartphone brands. By late 2013, BlackBerry boasted 85 million subscribers. But in 2017, that number plummeted to around 11 million and, in January…

The uneasy coexistence of “American Bandstand” and “Soul Train” — Startling, often disturbing coverage of the American civil rights movement of the 1960s was broadcast on television. During that same era, TV brought to the airwaves two musical variety shows for teenagers that were symbolic of the racial divide in the United States — first American Bandstand and then Soul…

In 1894, the Sears catalog offered merchandise by mail order — More than one hundred years before Amazon and eBay existed, Sears pioneered mail order merchandising in the United States. The Sears, Roebuck and Co. catalog, which began with watches and jewelry in 1893, expanded to include an unending variety of merchandise in 1894. …

For 15 years, Internet Explorer dominated the market — Microsoft announced on June 15, 2022 that it would end support for Internet Explorer (IE). This action may elicit yawns from users of Chrome, Firefox, Safari or other web browsers — but from a historical perspective, its significance cannot be overlooked. …

The 55-year-old banking machine faces new challenges — Banking has never been known as the most innovative industry, but fifty-five years ago, the unveiling of the first ATM (Automated Teller Machine) revolutionized banking. On June 27, 1967 at the London Enfield branch of Barclays Bank, the world’s “first cashpoint” was used to withdraw the maximum allowable amount of…

The circus is coming back to town! — Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus has thrilled “children of all ages” since the days of the original Barnum Circus in 1872. After a contemporary controversy over the treatment of circus animals, however, Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus closed in 2017. …