Our love affair with things of the past has spurred the resurgence of several products in recent years — Crystal Pepsi, Zima, Clearly Canadian to name a few. Volkswagen is hoping to parlay this affection for the throwback into big sales by redesigning one of its most emblematic models, the microbus, with a modern twist. [More]
blast from the past
MTV Bringing Back “Beavis And Butt-head,” “Daria,” & More With New Classics Channel
By 7.29.16
Has your TV-viewing life been missing a pair of friends sitting on the couch exclaiming “This sucks!” or an angsty teen dealing with her bubbly sister and other perils of high school? They’ll soon be making a reappearance, as MTV bets that folks are feeling nostalgic enough for the ’90s and early aughts to justify its new MTV Classic channel. [More]
10 Years After Verdict, Walmart Must Pay $151 Million To Employees Who Worked Off The Clock
By 4.4.16
A case that has been trickling through the state and federal court system for nearly 15 years came to an abrupt ending this morning, with the U.S. Supreme Court refusing to hear Walmart’s appeal of a 2006 verdict ordering the company to pay $151 million to Pennsylvania employees who worked off the clock. [More]
Appeals Court Reinstates Fraud Case Against Trump University
By 3.1.16
Back in Aug. 2013, the New York state attorney general’s office sued Donald Trump and Trump University, alleging that the for-profit investment school had tricked students out of $40 million by misleading them into thinking they were paying for a licensed education program with instructors handpicked by Trump. Today, a state appeals court panel breathed new life into the lawsuit, meaning the fraud case can move forward. [More]
Host Of ’90s Oddity “Supermarket Sweep” Reveals Game Show’s Secrets
By 11.20.15
Confession: I was once a little bit obsessed with Supermarket Sweep, the game show that involved little more than running around a store picking up the priciest groceries. When I was a youngster, shopping with my family, I’d practice the route I’d take when I eventually got my chance at the Sweep, imagining my cart first overflowing with hams and turkeys. Little did I know that not everything I’d seen on the show was as it appeared.
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Washington Woman Is First U.S. Measles Death In More Than A Decade
By 7.2.15
Last year’s measles outbreak was dubbed the worst in the U.S. in 14 years, with 288 cases of the potentially deadly infection popping up in 18 states, but no one died. Similarly, the more recent measles cases at Disneyland and in Las Vegas raised awareness of the disease’s return but left everyone involved alive. Now health officials in Washington state are saying the pneumonia death of a woman there is believed the be the first measles-related fatality in the U.S. in a dozen years. [More]
Coca-Cola Pulls Fanta Ad Suggesting Nazi Germany Was “Good Old Times”
By 3.3.15
In a recent video recounting the birth of Fanta soft drinks, Coca-Cola explains that its German operation had trouble getting cola-making ingredients to the country’s bottling plants 75 years ago, leading the bottlers to dream up a beverage they could make without Coca-Cola syrup. Perhaps Coke was hoping people wouldn’t do the math and realize that the reason for the syrup scarcity had a little something to do with the Nazis. [More]
Exec Formerly Known As “Comcast Frank” Has Some Tough-Love Advice For Company
By 1.30.15
Once upon a time, Frank Eliason was better known Comcast Frank, heading up the cable company’s Digital Care team during a time when people began to realize that complaining on the Internet could get results. He left Comcast in 2010 to take his social media and customer service skills to Citigroup, but his legacy of giving a damn about customers remains. So after months of seeing Comcast make one huge goof after another, Frank apparently felt compelled to pen an open letter to his former employer with some good advice. [More]
Someone Just Paid $25K For A Pair Of First Generation 8GB iPhones
By 12.11.14
Can you remember a time when you couldn’t whip out your phone during an argument over who played that one guy in that one movie, or find out how many miles it was between you and a cheese store? Seems like the Dark Ages now, but for those who thrive on nostalgia and have deep pockets, you just missed out on spending a boatload of cash on a blast from the past — a pair of original, first generation iPhones that recently went for more than $25,000 on eBay. [More]
British Library Putting Hundreds Of Important Literary Resources Online
By 5.16.14
If you’ve read every word in print by Jane Austen, or pored over Oscar Wilde’s plays until your eyeballs felt like they’d been open since the 16th century, you’ll probably be pretty excited over the British Library’s new site featuring hundreds of manuscripts, papers and other documents from England’s brightest literary minds. [More]
Judge Cites Steve Jobs' Own Words In Refusing Dismissal Of E-Book Suit
By 5.16.12
Apple co-founder Steve Jobs’ words came back to haunt the electronics company today. Its attempt to have a judge dismiss charges of e-book price-fixing were refused, in part because of things Jobs said during his time with Apple. [More]
New Jersey Goes After Woman For $73 Debt From 1977
By 4.30.12
Thirty-five years ago, the state of New Jersey accidentally overpaid on a teenager’s unemployment claim to the tune of $73. Now the Garden State wants that money back. [More]
3 Wacky Tales From Our Crypt
By 5.18.11
A selection of stories from our past archives with evergreen appeal, and aftertaste. We bring you horrific tales of The Hellraiser Sneaker, The Cellphone Call That Destroyed My Speakers, and I Bought A New Punching Bag That Turned Out To Be Stuffed With Dirty Underwear. [More]
