Our Own Devices
Ever wonder how a rotary telephone works, how sailors and pilots navigated by the stars, or how mechanical calculators perform complex math using only gears? Then you've come to the right place! Our Own Devices is a channel dedicated to the fascinating world of vintage technology, and the many elegant and ingenious ways our ancestors solved even the most complex technical problems.
Want more fascinating history? I am a regular staff writer for Today I Found Out and many of its sister channels: https://www.youtube.com/@TodayIFoundOut
I also have a historical adventure novel titled 'Our Own Devices' set in 1920s Morocco. Check it out at my personal website: www.gillesmessier.ca
And finally, I make 1920s/30s-style Art Deco posters, which you can purchase on my Etsy store: https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/DecoEchoes
SHORT: Thorens Excelda Portable Gramophone
"Blacklegoids" Veterinary Injectors - Fighting the 'Quarter Evil'
SHORT: U.S. Army Target Light
SHORT: WWII Hawaii Overprint Bill
NV 5151 Drivers' Goggles: a Night Vision Missing Link
IF DAY (2025)
Armalite AR-7: the Survival Rifle Evolves
SHORT: MSCO First Aid Kit
SHORT: Gescha Junior Model 3 Toy Typewriter
Blasting Machines: Not Just for Wile E. Coyote
Ford Model T Ignition Coil: a Spark of Genius
Portable VASI: Come Crash at My (Heli)Pad
PVS-502: Gen 2 Night Vision for Canada
SHORT: VSh-1 'Vetrochet' Course Corrector
Simplex: the Plankton of Typewriters
Mystery Object #9 ANSWER
SHORT: Bruguière No.1 Stereoscope
Tefifon: West Germany's Weird 1950s Audio Format
Fiestaware: Uranium in the Cupboard
Jeppesen CR-3 Flight Computer: the E6B's Cool Cousin
Lecture: Canada and Nuclear Weapons 1963-1984
Trinitite: Dawn of the Atomic Age
SHORT: Handheld Refractometer
Tritium "Beta" Lights: the Cool Glow of Radioactivity
Carbon Monoxide Detectors: Clear and Present Danger
Nixie tubes: the OG Digital Display
SHORT: Vis-o-Glow Lightning Arrester
Vanguard Smokesonic: in the Line of Fire
Disc Cameras: Kodak's Successful Failure