Flying Cars, Zombie Dogs, and Robot Overlords: How World's Fairs and Trade Expos Changed the World

by Charles Pappas

Every time you plug your phone into a wall socket, flick on a TV, withdraw money from an ATM, lick an ice-cream cone, switch on a computer, ride an escalator, play a DVR, watch a movie about dinosaurs, get fingerprinted, or pop a tranquilizer, you're doing something that originated at a world's fair or trade expo. 

And yet it's a world invisible to most.

In fact, each new technology and every novel product that rocked America and rolled the world, from the Colt revolver and the Corvette to fax machines and flush toilets, started at trade fairs, a $100 billion industry that includes world expos, trade shows, and state fairs. 
More than just promoting material things, trade fairs popularized and evangelized every social movement and cultural concept, too, including Manifest Destiny, the closing of the frontier, Nudism, Nazism, Fascism, eugenics, female suffrage, temperance, and technocracy. 

In Flying Cars, Zombie Dogs, and Robot Overlords , you'll uncover this hidden world, with the bizarre-but-true stories such Flying Cars, Zombie Dogs, and Robot Overlords just might change the way you see history - and look at the future.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

264 pages, Hardcover

Published November 1, 2017

Reviews

[Jenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ever since I first learned about The World’s Fair, I have been fascinated with the concept, the pageantry, and the overwhelming number of “everyday” items that made their debut there. I was delighted to discover that there was a book chronicling this historic phenomenon, and even more delighted to win a copy in a GoodReads giveaway! I have not finished the book as I am savoring the chapters a few at a time. The book is a pleasure to read and the accompanying photographs enrich the stories. If I could have one trip in a time machine, I’d choose to go to a World’s Fair and experience these magical events my self.

[Cynthya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastically fun read - this book feels like Vanity Fair collided with Mental Floss: the prose is velvety smooth and the chapters are interesting, bite-sized nuggets about all kinds of things - from pancake batter to Ferris wheels to bombs. The author has dug deep to find funny, bizarre, horrifying, and fascinating stories of products, causes, and movements that used a world's fair exhibit as a launch pad in some unusual way. Who knew? Nice quality book too and the historic pictures are great. I've given a couple as gifts to hard-to-buy-for people - it's perfect.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some books strive to educate, while others to merely entertain. This fascinating publication manages to do both, breathing life into the arcane world of trade shows, international expositions, and world’s fairs. Although most of the book fails to meet the expectations that the enticingly bizarre title suggests, it still manages to firmly grip the reader’s attention due to the author’s keen social perception and droll wit. Well written and edited, this work recounts largely forgotten moments in history while viewing them through the prism of current sensibilities. In this way the author creates a thought provoking atmosphere, rather than a dustbin dry litany of historical events.
Huzzah to Mr. Pappas, who clearly spent an enormous amount of time researching this unusual subject in order to regal us with tales of both cupidity and stupidity from our not so distant past.

[Sean Kottke · Rating 4 out of 5]

From “Bart on the Road”: How about a fair? Not just a county fair, not just a Europe fair... but a world's fair! The World's Fair in Knoxville, Tennessee. Keep reading. The Hungarians have built a giant, motorized Rubik's Cube... and the fair's symbol is the sun sphere... which sits atop a 266-foot-tall steel shaft. What's inside? An information desk! Cool! So, it's a choice between Disney World and Knoxville. Knoxville, Knoxville, Knoxville!

So many great stories in this book about inventions, fads, and follies debuting at various world’s fairs, trade shows, and sundry expos. I wish there were twice the photos and half the text.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The good: the book serves bite-sized pieces of interesting information about a variety of topics related to the World’s Fairs. I found more than my share of fun tidbits about all kinds of subjects.
The not-so-good: the writing in this book drove me mad. The author uses obscure references and overly long sentences often enough that it makes some areas hard to follow. His metaphors are really awful. Many times I had to reread a paragraph because I got lost in what he was trying to say. Just didn’t vibe with his writing style.
The photos could have also used captions versus just citing where they came from, too.

[Bill Leach · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author touches on some of the prominent exhibits of the world fairs and expositions over the years. Most were of the form of new inventions although social trends appear as well. While Pappas provides a little history on each, there is certainly no depth.

The book is difficult to read because of the author's cluttered style of writing. He seems to have an fascination with similes which add nothing to the content.

[Shanaz Sukhdeo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative book. A lot of info. Ideal for that friend who's favourite words are 'Do you know that...” and prattles off some random fact, which is better than any friend you have that thinks like __________[fill in the blank]. Best line - the Motoramas were GM’s bling dynasty of exhibitions, a golden past the company yearns for when they see consumers today walking past their offerings like they were ignoring a panhandler.

[William Wirths · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant, readable and full of irreverant history

This is a well researched volume on a completely overlooked area of world history. Excellent insight and yet hysterically funny In some places. Pappas is never boring and I really enjoyed this.