Okay, the ’60s wasn’t all high ideals
Radio Bob’s lava lamp, at rest.
Though getting high certainly played a part in the spirit of the times. And where people were getting high, there was often a lava lamp. Happy birthday, lava lamp–I learned this morning on NPR that the lava lamp made its debut on this day 50 years ago.
I never owned a lava lamp. But guess what? There’s one here in the station.
Guess whose office it lives in?
Yup. Radio Bob’s.
So, I turned on Radio Bob’s lava lamp this morning. Nothing much happened. Like I said, I never owned one but soon learned that it takes time for these things to “warm up.” (Note other detritus from the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s and maybe unexplored planets providing cozy surroundings for Bob’s lamp.)
I kept going back to Bob’s office to see if the lamp had fired up.
Checked email.
Radio Bob’s lava lamp awakens.
Talked to Dale and Bill in the digital office. (Dale, of course, knew that lava lamps take time to get going.)
(Checked the lava lamp.)
Talked to our new apprentice, Zach Hirsch, assigned to the digital/news operation.
Welcomed Sarah Harris. She’s now a full-time general assignment reporter based here in Canton.
Went for a cup of coffee.
(Checked the lava lamp.)
Went back to my desk to reply to a message from NPR.
Took a phone call.
(Checked the lava lamp.)
Chatted with David and Martha about a news issue that had come up.
Success! The lava lamp is lit!
Lava lamps are about movement, random movement. I thought we ought to have a video to share on the occasion of the lamp’s 50th anniversary. So, check out the video below. It provides instructions on how to make your own lava lamp. (You’ve got to admit this would be a great little rainy day science project with the kids.)
Want to know more about lava lamps, here’s another piece on “how lava lamps work” from Discovery.
Now, tell the truth. Did you ever own a lava lamp back in the ’60s or ’70s? Do you STILL own a lava lamp? Or, if you weren’t alive way back then, have you bought one (at your local thrift store) by way of bringing totally retro cool into your life?
