…eventually digitized. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing. In fact, it’s nice to know I’m not the only nutjob writing about manuals down through the ages. The Old Car Manual Project has gathered together a bunch of—you guessed it—old car manuals and breathed new life into the tired art of Web design. With its sparkly graphics, the site celebrates the glory days of humongous cars, when America seemed to have its shit together.

That “Father Knows Best”/“Bobbsey Twins” pablum had to make way for the truth sooner or later, but by getting rid of the clean lines and smooth curves of 1950s graphic design as well, I think we threw out the baby with the bathwater. I hope the bathwater has evaporated by now. I’m also hoping the baby hasn’t wandered away to be raised by wolves.

The folks at Toolmonger.com also look as if they share my fondness for documents that tell you how to do stuff.