Why I Love the Internet; Reason 701

I wanted to check and make sure that flashlights were in common use in 1930, for a scene in a story. I thought they probably were because I think they are mentioned in some of Dashiell Hammett’s fiction, but you never know, do you? And flashlights were used in World War I. I needed to see what a flashlight from 1930 looked like, though, so I headed on over to Google.

And I found pictures. Lots of pictures. Yes, a couple of these shapes are… well, suggestive might be the polite word.


More than pictures, I found links. There is a flashlight museum. I’m torn between, “Who knew?” and, “Well, of course there is.” And I learned that there are people who collect flashlights.

I learned that flashlights have been around since 1896 (although they weren’t in common use back then).

I found a perfect late-1920’s camp flashlight that really does look like a thing someone might keep in the trunk of their car.

This is Reason 701 why, in spite of all the kvetching I do about the internet, I love the internet.

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