Friday, 24 October 2014

Les Machines de l’île, The Grand Éléphant


from the episode of les Carnets de Julie in which she gets to do her food show on the Great Elephant










Above images from http://www.lesmachines-nantes.fr/en/machines-de-l-ile/the-grand-elephant/

Another awesome Hobbit inspired airline safety video

Hot Rod magazine just posted a gallery of a retired junkyard in the forest I featured this past February

This qualifies as a "WTH?" photo



This is the totally unbelievable, but yet truthful story of a Sultan who was tormented in every dream by the presence of a small time-travelling child. The Sultan could no longer sleep, increasingly strong anxiety attacks were keeping him away from the affairs of his kingdom.

In order to counter the Sultan’s illness and because he was convinced that one had to go looking for the child in the land of dreams, an obscure engineer embarked upon the phenomenal construction of a Time Travelling Elephant, as far back as the year one thousand nine hundred.

A few months later, the Sultan sailed with part of his court in search of the Little-Girl-Giant who, in the nightmares he had, turned into a 5 meter high puppet. The journey was painful. However, a clue guided the crew. The Little Girl-Giant loved sewing : for example, she loved sewing cars onto the tarmac, boats onto the docks or trains onto their tracks and, from time to time, envelopes onto mailboxes.

The Elephant was running on the crew’s sweat. A love story can be a strange thing, and he felt the need to meet her, and he was so happy at times that he could defecate hundreds of live birds that disappeared into the sky with a roar of happiness.

Found on http://www.royal-de-luxe.com/en/pictures-wall/



http://www.royal-de-luxe.com/uploads/documents/2012_04_05_fr_4f7d9d327fd34.pdf

kids buggy with a 1946 license plate! (about as simple as a kids go cart could be)

dog sled races? Sponsored by Indian Motorcycles and Peerless Puncture Proof Tire Protectors?


Found on the facebook page of the always amazing source of cool vintage photos, Marc https://www.facebook.com/marc.tudeau?fref=nf

1906 French Gran Prix, narrated in a scholarly analytic way, about racing, tires, rims, and speeds of replacing a flat tire with each variety of design... fantastic historical educational piece



Also, the method and situation of racing in 1906 is discussed, as they raced as a team of 3 cars, the A, the B, and the C of a numerical designator for a team.

Listening closely to the narrator informed me that Mr Lancia was driving, and that the Mercedes were 18.3 liter engines

The wealthy elite were exchanging their place in motor racing as a sport, with hiring the very best drivers so their team won. The difference is enjoying the race, or doing what it takes to see it as a business of winning or losing. Sad, they realized they were sacrificing their happy pastime of racing each other, for a score and trophy. Tsk. 

Rick Shelton took this great photo of the Blue Angels buzzing the Golden Gate

building a WW1 airplane





antique French car advertising posters

Thursday, 23 October 2014

kids and cars, some in pedal cars




the windmill in the background is Moulin de la Galette, in Montmartre France, the street is rue Lepic.



why the old man is carrying a scythe is a mystery, but he's riding on a velocipede



All from https://www.facebook.com/pages/Good-old-days/598187423627161

And sometimes the experts are only half right


So I called AAA because my car key battery died and they showed me this little trick. Why would you hide this, VW


or not.

Found on http://twentytwowords.com/

the rarely seen Hotchkiss, here at the 1906 Le Mans

Great photos from the Good Old Days Facebook page












Focus for a moment on the two busses' tires, and how drastically different they are. tall and narrow, shorter and wider, with rubber that is segmented.. one horse drawn (poor tired horse!)


airplanes and gliders








Airplane with engine running on a White truck in Preparedness parade in New York City or Chicago 1916

All from https://www.facebook.com/pages/Good-old-days/598187423627161