Mar 8, 2009 11:00 AM
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I never really thought I'd ever type out the phrase "fossilized Walkman" or "fossilized PlayStation controller" in my lifetime, and yet, here I am Sunday morning, doing just that. Hooray?
Of course, these specimens aren't really fossils. They're concrete mostly, with cool Latin names, made from molds and with a technique that mimics true fossils. Artist Christopher Locke has also created neat little backstories for each fossil, like this one for the once proud and powerful Ambulephebus sonysymphonia (that's Walkman to we laypeople):
Ambulephebus sonysymphonia is first found in the late 1970s, and is often found in close proximity to Asportatio acroamatis, suggesting a possible symbiotic relationship. This species rapidly evolved into many other forms, including a large round version (Ambulephebus discus) and the rare Ambulephebus minidiscus.
It is theorized that the entire genus of Ambulephebus was virtually wiped out by the sudden appearance of Egosiliqua Malusymphonicus near the turn of the century. Some Ambulephebus remain, but not in the numbers once seen.
As you can probably guess, that dastardly Egosiliqua Malusymphonicus, the bane of the Walkman's existence, is better known as the iPod.
Other "modern fossils" include the aforementioned controller, a Game Boy, NES controllers (they died side-by-side, *sigh*), a rotary telephone, and a hard drive. [Christopher Locke via Neatorama]
Send an email to Jack Loftus, the author of this post, at jloftus@gizmodo.com.
Original material is licensed under a Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution.
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