Civil Defense: Technological Failures (1973)

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  • čas přidán 24. 05. 2022
  • Another 16mm film in the strange series made by American Civil Defense in the early 1970's for various preparations for disasters of all kinds. Interestingly, the last bit of the reel is a different kind of film stock spiced in which has completely turned pink. I transferred this reel with my Eiki Telecine, so enjoy!
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    #Disaster #Film #NASA
    - Intro Music by Fran Blanche -
    Fran's Science Blog - www.frantone.com/designwriting...
    FranArt Website - www.contourcorsets.com
  • Věda a technologie

Komentáře • 92

  • @fxm5715
    @fxm5715 Před 2 lety +15

    I've never seen Peter Thomas's face, although I grew up with his great voice on Nova and many other wonderful productions. The relevance of this film's message has done nothing but grow over the fifty years since it was made, as technological changes to society and culture come at us faster and faster. This film was made only three years after Alvin Toffler's famous book, "Future Shock."

    • @ermyvids
      @ermyvids Před 2 lety +2

      I don’t ever remember seeing Peter Thomas‘ face either this is really cool

  • @JasonOlshefsky
    @JasonOlshefsky Před 2 lety +21

    I remember the days of carburated cars ... wet, cold, or hot weather would make them more unreliable than they already were. And you had to watch out for vapor lock if you stopped for 4-10 minutes (or else you'd have to wait another 10 minutes for the car to start again.) I'm kind of amazed by today's gasoline cars which basically start all the time, every time, and are unaffected by extreme cold, extreme heat, and even heavy rain-until some dumdum drives through deep water and ruins the engine altogether. It's one of those unappreciated, unnoticed things in the modern world.

    • @jC-kc4si
      @jC-kc4si Před 2 lety +4

      Remember vinyl seats.? you'd have to air out the car for 10 minutes in the Summer to sit on those super hot vinyl seats.

    • @scottthomas6202
      @scottthomas6202 Před 2 lety +1

      Early to mid '70s Chryslers were bad about vapor lock..the cure was to reroute the fuel line away from hot parts...

    • @trainliker100
      @trainliker100 Před 2 lety +1

      @@scottthomas6202 I have some problems in my 1964 Studebaker, but it tends to be the gasoline boiling out of the carburetor itself. This seems to be a combination that it is pretty hot in the engine compartment of an Avanti and the "gasoline" today is so different than when the car was made, especially in California.

    • @matthewhopson964
      @matthewhopson964 Před 2 lety +1

      Seeing that Capri! I think they must have been pretty common in the USA.

    • @CT-vm4gf
      @CT-vm4gf Před 2 lety

      We’ve had 100 odd years to perfect the internal combustion car.

  • @ScottGrammer
    @ScottGrammer Před 2 lety +18

    Hey, Fran. You keep posting all these cool videos, and I'll keep watching them. I don't know who the commentator was but I've heard his voice in many a TV commercial. Too bad you had to duck so much audio. I'm surprised someone hasn't copyrighted the sound of the car not starting!

    • @seanbatiz6620
      @seanbatiz6620 Před 2 lety +1

      I was surprised that YT’s insanely picky algorithms couldn’t decode that last song, intentionally played backwards! I’m assuming that was done intentionally by the film creator as another example of a minor inconvenience; I’ll wager more of an audio problem occurrence with those 16 &/or 35 mm films with audio tracks actually on the film? I have a couple of these 16mm projectors, never had much problems with them. Oldest “filmstrip” machine I have, was made by DuKane w/built-in tube amp from the mid 50’s with built-in record player for the audio of whatever slide film stock that luckily accepts up too those old-school MASSIVE 16” diameter “transcription” records, which I have around 10 of, aside from about 30 other filmstrip kits with record sizes of 10” to 12”…. All play at 33 1/3rd RPM; all of which either directly or indirectly pertain too my 1955 Buick, including original literature to go with each kit. Some where made to be directed at mechanics/techs, some for salesmen/dealers &, some intended for “prospects” or, potential buyers/customers. I’d really love to eventually digitize them all, before those acetate films gas-out (some already give off very potent vinegar odor) completely & be useless, with the added goal of uploading those to YT for others to enjoy ‘but’, after learning of the many uphill battles that Fran & other YT’ers have had to deal with, with all of these seemingly nonstop copy-write BS issues, not sure it’d be worth the headache

    • @grantcivyt
      @grantcivyt Před 2 lety

      @@sideburn Nice

    • @rapman5791
      @rapman5791 Před 6 měsíci

      The narrator is Peter Thomas, his voice has been heard on public service and docu-series for decades.

  • @AlanCanon2222
    @AlanCanon2222 Před 2 lety +5

    The presenter's trenchcoat and fedora in what looks to be late summer or early autumn. Love it. Gotta wear that if you're Defensing the Civil. And the anti-skid butterflies in the bathroom sink, so your hamster doesn't slip when it takes a bath.

    • @anotheruser9876
      @anotheruser9876 Před 2 lety +4

      Or he's a former class mate trying to sell you insurance on a special day in February in Pennsylvania.

  • @LMacNeill
    @LMacNeill Před 2 lety +2

    Peter Thomas. One of the best narrators of that era. Absolutely love his voice.

  • @spacecase0
    @spacecase0 Před 2 lety +4

    I think it's funny that I now have a website I can check the level of that hydroelectric dam shown. And we know for sure they're about to shut it off. In the 1980s I would have never thought our civilization would lose the ability to keep the lights on. But apparently this guy knew

  • @Legend813a
    @Legend813a Před 2 lety +1

    4:02 those anti slip butterfly stickers. Brought back fuzzy memories.

  • @keithvernonlewis9403
    @keithvernonlewis9403 Před rokem

    My wife and I raised our two boys to understand and be prepared for technological failure. The mantra around our house was "technology can and will fail". It's what you do before that failure, will make the difference between living and dying and suffering. Not necessarily in a survivalist mode, but good strong common sense preparations for a disaster.... Having three months of canned food in the home that you don't have to heat, various ways of purifying water, learning to use a compass and practicing that on fairly regular basis, having a well-stocked first aid kit and the training knowing how to use it... Making sure that you have at least a three month supply of medications that are necessary for your family... Just good old-fashioned common sense preparations whether it's an earthquake or a nuclear power plant decides to blow itself up or somebody accidentally launches a single missile with a single warhead into an area near you.... Don't have to go hog-wild, preparation is the best defense against having to use it....

  • @pibyte
    @pibyte Před 2 lety

    Thank you for uploading these Fran!

  • @RonaldJS
    @RonaldJS Před 2 lety +2

    Nice hat inspector gadget.

  • @seandaugherty7504
    @seandaugherty7504 Před 2 lety

    Wow, that was pretty great. Love the electronic tonality score at the start of the film! Thanks Fran!!

  • @ieatspacemonkeys
    @ieatspacemonkeys Před 2 lety +2

    I find it very frustrating not knowing how to deal with objects failing. That is why I've spent a long time learning about them and subsequently studying engineering to make it part of my career. There are few things I wouldn't be able to deal with in everyday life, but that has its own curse, everyone knows who to call on when something goes wrong!

  • @ChildovGhad
    @ChildovGhad Před 2 lety +1

    I miss the weird synth sequences in absolutely everything back then. The PBS logo, the CBS In The News Segments on Saturday mornings, even Civil Defense films. They were ubiquitous.

  • @puffapuffarice
    @puffapuffarice Před 2 lety +1

    Great! Interesting that even in 1973 Toronto was being used as a stand in for NYC. (approx 7.35 Toronto City Hall at night & then cut to what I believe to be a Toronto Subway)

  • @jonathankleinow2073
    @jonathankleinow2073 Před 2 lety +3

    This is a tiny thing, but my grandmother had those little butterfly stick-on things seen at 4:00 in her bathtub. They provided a textured surface to stand on to prevent slips and falls. Not sure why you'd put them in the bathroom sink, though.

    • @MWGrossmann
      @MWGrossmann Před 2 lety +2

      We had those '60s/'70s mod-look balloon-y daisies in our tub. The only reasons I can think of for putting them in a sink would be if it was also used for bathing an infant &/or just bad home design ideas in an era without 40 cable channels offering (sometimes) better decorating advice.

  • @-jeff-
    @-jeff- Před 2 lety +1

    Safety first Fran. Don't slice yourself on the splice! 😆

  • @LanceHall
    @LanceHall Před 2 lety

    Very cool seeing the voice over guy from my youth.

  • @MrChief101
    @MrChief101 Před 2 lety

    Awww... I liked the little yellow sink stickers in Pere's bathroom!
    This is the subtlest sort of WW3 preparedness... it seems all that's needed is the right form of fire suppression!

  • @ColinTimmins
    @ColinTimmins Před 2 lety +3

    5:28 Kitty! You may have passed on but you still put a smile on my face, thank you. =]

    • @KeritechElectronics
      @KeritechElectronics Před 2 lety

      You're a far better cat spotter than me - gotta step up my game, I see :D

  • @whuzzzup
    @whuzzzup Před 2 lety +1

    The 1965 blackout went well, but the blackout just four years after this film was completely different with looters and even arson.

  • @jimmooter
    @jimmooter Před 2 lety

    Thanks Fran , I love all your videos I probably have seen them since I'm from that era. But that's okay I'm nostalgic. You can never forget where you came from.

  • @MarvelX42
    @MarvelX42 Před 2 lety

    lol, that end actually caught me by surprise, but I guess that was the point.

  • @luckysevens.AltRock8
    @luckysevens.AltRock8 Před 2 lety

    Fran you did it again

  • @m3snusteve
    @m3snusteve Před 2 lety

    Thanks very much Fran. All the best ❤️. Stephen.

    • @FranLab
      @FranLab  Před 2 lety +1

      Hey! Thanks for the donation 😍

    • @m3snusteve
      @m3snusteve Před 2 lety

      @@FranLab you’re very welcome Fran.

  • @vrzn
    @vrzn Před 2 lety

    Sad people are so nitpicky about copyright (music). But this way with not blocking the voices is a really nice way to solve this necessary evil.
    I like watching these ild videos

  • @m3snusteve
    @m3snusteve Před 2 lety +1

    Thanks very much Fran, that was most interesting I really enjoyed watching the video. Just do me a favour keep your films coming and I’ll keep watching. Can’t wait to see your next video and You’ve got me hooked, you’re wonderful Fran keep up great work. Thanks very much bye bye. 😀

  • @goodun2974
    @goodun2974 Před 2 lety +8

    At 6:00, those "early homesteads that failed due to a lack of technology" didn't actually fail due to a lack of technology; they failed due to a lack of understanding of what developing agricultural technology coupled with greed and financial speculation would do to the ecosystem. When drought and windstorms came to carry away millions of acres of exposed topsoil,, the fabled "plow that broke the plains" ended up breaking the farmers themselves. Today's modern agricultural practices use 80% of the West's water for agriculture, wasting much of it,, and are sucking the Oglala and other aquifers down faster than nature can replenish them. When California, Arizona and New Mexico run out of water of water for its residents, and those who are able flee to less arid climates, will we then claim that it was "a lack of modern technology" that forced them to move?

    • @jC-kc4si
      @jC-kc4si Před 2 lety

      Sounds like there should be a correction in that region's real estate to price in water running out.

    • @goodun2974
      @goodun2974 Před 2 lety

      @@jC-kc4si , "market corrections" invariably hurt the poor and working class the hardest. The rich don't care because not only can they afford the cost increase in water and real estate, they'll invest in it and profit as the price goes up.

    • @DMahalko
      @DMahalko Před 2 lety

      The main cause of the dust bowl and much of the environmental destruction worldwide is the lack of understanding that trees help to regulate and stabilize the environment around them. Tree roots pull up water from deep underground, while the leaves slowly release moisture into the air, providing ground humidity, shade, and temperature stability for other plants during dry spells. Trees reduce ground wind speed to prevent soil erosion, and their roots hold loose soil in place around them.
      Clear cutting trees on slopes for fuel or lumber causes the soil to wash away, leaving behind bare rock on which nothing will grow. It is likely that the Sahara was a grassy savannah for thousands of years, but humans cut down every tree and their animals ate every blade of grass, and it completely collapsed and has never recovered.

    • @goodun2974
      @goodun2974 Před 2 lety

      @@DMahalko the Plains of the Midwest had relatively few trees but instead a variety of hardy, drought resistant grasses that formed a thick, tangled web of roots which held moisture and prevented erosion. Tilling the soil deeply and leaving fields bare in winter, without planting cover crops or rotating crops to replenish the soil, left fields vulnerable to wind erosion.

  • @brucewachta4102
    @brucewachta4102 Před 2 lety +4

    We are so dependent on technology and the supply chain. A chain ⛓️ is only as strong as it's weakest link.

    • @jC-kc4si
      @jC-kc4si Před 2 lety +3

      The executives have been rewarded for the lean supply chain. Now what happens to them when there is catastrophic failures of availability and of course no 'rainy day' inventory to get us through a hiccup in the system?

    • @KeritechElectronics
      @KeritechElectronics Před 2 lety +1

      @@jC-kc4si seeing it all over with the chip shortages.

  • @alexpowers3697
    @alexpowers3697 Před 2 lety

    The ol plymouth gear reducer starter sound...o the memories.

  • @LowtechLLC
    @LowtechLLC Před 2 lety

    This is a good one. It reminds me of connections with james Burke

  • @OldSkoolF
    @OldSkoolF Před 2 lety

    As a kid of the 70's who was enamored with technology.. Peter Thomas was my Super Hero... He seemed to be everywhere something cool and interesting was going on...

  • @marmaly
    @marmaly Před 2 lety

    Wow, so cool to see the legend Peter on screen. He was really good. Very enjoyable film. And I learned to always turn off the record player during a brownout.

  • @WDCallahan
    @WDCallahan Před 2 lety +2

    Wow… the past was the worst. I'm glad nothing breaks in today's world.

    • @KeritechElectronics
      @KeritechElectronics Před 2 lety

      Irony taken! :)
      At least the right to repair was taken for granted.

    • @21xenomorph
      @21xenomorph Před 2 lety

      Things break all the time,we just simply throw it away and buy a new one rather than repair item partly due to planned obsolescence.

    • @KeritechElectronics
      @KeritechElectronics Před 2 lety

      @@21xenomorph true, though it doesn't really have to break down - becoming unattractive is enough, even though the thing is in full working order.

  • @matthewhopson964
    @matthewhopson964 Před 2 lety

    I was terrified by the first minute!

  • @andyhill242
    @andyhill242 Před 2 lety +2

    No doubt some bright spark who knows everything will tell you it's not a different filmstock and the pink can be fixed by twiddling the toggle flinger and standing on your head and farting Mars Bars!

  • @batterymakermarkii2654

    That’s Peter Thomas! One of my favorite announcers.

  • @RandomDudeOne
    @RandomDudeOne Před 10 měsíci

    I remember Carl Sagan talking about "technology traps".

  • @djeffarndt
    @djeffarndt Před 2 lety

    What a weird movie. I bet it created more anxiety than calmness as applied to advanced technology as the film makes it seem it is out of control or not in the hands of a few very capable people.

  • @jsl151850b
    @jsl151850b Před 2 lety

    7:23 The North East Blackout of 1965! I remember that!

  • @stefan_brix
    @stefan_brix Před 2 lety +1

    At 2:25, a Ford Capri (made in Great Britain, Germany or Belgium)) in an American Civil Defense movie ... nice!

  • @8BitNaptime
    @8BitNaptime Před 2 lety

    Whoah, this is like Connections episode 1, The Trigger Effect.

  • @jimrubin3335
    @jimrubin3335 Před 2 lety

    A mere four years after this film was made, the blackout of 1977, which was in New York City, resulted in bedlam in many neighborhoods: looting, rioting, arson, etc. The attitudes had changed by then from 1965, I guess.

  • @christopherrasmussen8718
    @christopherrasmussen8718 Před 2 lety +1

    Most folks don’t know Civil Defense is alive and well today. It’s FEMA. I’ve volunteered for them most of my life. Retired in Florida years ago. Now I work radio communications during hurricanes etc. We had a few doozies over the years where the police were so saturated, I became the main line between the shelter and the rest of the world.

    • @trainliker100
      @trainliker100 Před 2 lety +1

      You are absolutely right. And one EXCELLENT initiative they have is CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) which was something created by the LA fire department (I think) and adopted nationally. Regular citizens get a smattering of a range of emergency training. The purpose is to better take care of yourself and family and neighbors during a large emergency. And to hopefully avoid becoming more workload for first responders. And, if requested, assist first responders. It's something everybody should take. Typically, just one evening a week for four weeks and a half Saturday for some practice exercises.

  • @goodun2974
    @goodun2974 Před 2 lety +3

    Fran, how do you determine *prior to posting these fims* what music needs to be removed due to potential copyright strikes?

    • @FranLab
      @FranLab  Před 2 lety +5

      When the video is uploaded it gets processed, and CZcams tells you where all the violations are. Sometimes it takes 3 or 4 re-edits and re-uploads to get all the violations removed.

    • @goodun2974
      @goodun2974 Před 2 lety +1

      @@FranLab , yikes! I had a sinking feeling that this was what you go through each and every time you upload a film. You need to call your congress-critters and complain about ridiculous IP and copyright laws. I would think there would be somebody running for office in Pennsylvania who is willing to make a campaign issue out of this, although whether they would be willing to, or are able to follow through on it once in office is a whole 'nother discussion (big money forces want to protect their copyrights and the resulting revenue stream). Anyway, if you or someone else starts such a petition, I'll sign it. Or, tell us who to phone/email/ write. ( Unfortunately, many Congress- critters do not accept phone calls from, or their email contact form won't accept emails from people who are not direct constituents in that state or district, so I often find myself sending letters and postcards cards to representatives and senators from other States. The Mr Beat channel recently called all 100 senators and only heard back from 6 of them, all from the same party !!, and most of them merely sent him a copy-paste form letter)..

  • @rarefilmsandmore6863
    @rarefilmsandmore6863 Před 2 lety

    The music during the closing credits sounds like it was played backwards.

  • @mikebarushok5361
    @mikebarushok5361 Před 2 lety +4

    Individual responsibility seems to have gone out of fashion during my 64 years on this Earth. It's so inconvenient to think about the actual results of one's own choices and how they cumulatively and collectively lead to bad outcomes.

    • @galfisk
      @galfisk Před 2 lety +1

      Efficient division of labor seems to have come with an equally efficient dilution of responsibility.

  • @adamrichards3174
    @adamrichards3174 Před 2 lety

    There's a channel on youtube called Mysterious WV, the man who runs it (Sean McCracken), has a voice, style, and demeanor VERY similar to this announcer.

  • @PicaDelphon
    @PicaDelphon Před 2 lety +3

    I'll stay Safe in my Hole in the Ground.....

  • @ferdonandebull
    @ferdonandebull Před rokem

    If you think life was simpler before technology you are insane..
    Everything was on the edge..

  • @ChrisdeHaan
    @ChrisdeHaan Před 2 lety +1

    1965 blackout in NYC lmao how about 2003 blackout of just about the whole northeast

  • @KeritechElectronics
    @KeritechElectronics Před 2 lety +1

    If they said that most of us knew next to nothing about how technology worked almost 49 years ago, then what can we say about now?
    "Life was much simpler then" the luddites would say with nostalgia, "but that was a long time ago" which is true, and I definitely don't miss these times. Lots of human potential went to waste for menial work that has become the thing of the machines. On the other hand, consider the apocalypse (which is already happening); will people addicted to technology they don't understand be able to survive?
    Oh, and my flatmate once tried to extinguish a frying pan with water. Who would even think that a science nerd as her, someone who was interested in quantum physics and advanced mathematics, didn't know that you just don't put out grease with water? Still got the smoke trace on the kitchen wall.

    • @FranLab
      @FranLab  Před 2 lety +4

      If young people today were to be transported back to 1973 they would absolutely not think that life was simpler.

    • @KeritechElectronics
      @KeritechElectronics Před 2 lety

      ​@@FranLab depending how young... I consider myself young at 36, though this mid-life (or half-life?) crisis thing seems to start getting to me :D
      I don't think I would find anything relatable other than electronic and scientific stuff, household appliances, some vehicles and lots of books, music, movies etc. back then. Well, maybe I could make a career in high tech with my knowledge of electronics, if not for my abysmal social skills! All this while building my own stock of dirt cheap tubes, transformers and whatever superior parts from the now bygone age only to go down the way of EveAnna Manley in my later years, but sitting in the lab with a soldering iron rather than doing the management thing, haha. Using time travel to your advantage! :D
      Only thing is that transitioning now is incomparably better than it used to be. I probably wouldn't do it if I lived back then...

  • @andie_pants
    @andie_pants Před 2 lety +1

    Is that Dick Cavett?

  • @Danny_Boel
    @Danny_Boel Před 2 lety

    2:26 European Ford Capri in the US?

  • @MountainMan7.62x39
    @MountainMan7.62x39 Před rokem

    Civil Defense had a dud with this one.

  • @fredblonder7850
    @fredblonder7850 Před 2 lety

    That was just rambling and weird.

  • @sassulusmagnus
    @sassulusmagnus Před 2 lety

    Hilarious.