It's all Trew: Old magazine shows of changing times

Recently I added an October 1918 Popular Mechanics magazine to my old magazine collection. At this age I am no longer legally bound to give any reasons why I collect this stuff. I think it is because it shows our continually changing times. For example, in 1918, a year's subscription of 12 issues cost only $2. That's 4½ regular postage stamps today. Each issue included 165 pages chock-full of information, advice, illustrations and meaningful ads with no side effects promised. Hundreds of ads, designed to catch the eyes of returning World War I veterans, tout the advantages of learning a trade or acquiring more education in many fields. The locations of the schools and prices of this timely knowledge were plainly exhibited promising $250 per month and up to $10,000 per year income. Many articles pertained to the new-fangled gadget called the automobile. One page showed and told of a device to help you align your tires so they would not wear. My first thought was that it's hard to imagine a tire wearing down at 25 mph on a dirt road. Another ad showed a foot warmer you heated on your wood stove before entering the unheated car. Pure wood alcohol was used as radiator fluid. Simple improvements are drawn in detail, like how to make a glue pot out of tin cans and a candle, how to build a jack handle with more leverage and how to keep belts from slipping when driving a machine...AmarilloGlobeNews