The first obvious change is the size. The magazine has become both larger and smaller. Once 6 1/2 by 9 1/2 inches, Popular Mechanics has grown to 7 by 10. Yet the magazine that had 336 pages in the 1949 edition now has just 76 pages. And this is a magazine that now publishes just six times a year, rather than 12.
The price has jumped from 35 cents to $5.99. Compared to other magazine prices, $5.99 still seems like a bargain.
The difference in pages clearly stems from the fact that the older magazine contains significantly more advertising. It also contains numerous short articles, rather than just a few longer ones.
The covers are strikingly different. The earlier issue shows a man pointing toward a new house and telling a woman, "We built this cabin for $300." The more recent issue shows a circle of moons from our solar system. In the middle are the words "Every. Single. Moon. Ranked." This is Popular Mechanics? It looks more like Popular Science.
Articles in the older issue cover such subjects as how to swing a golf club, fly casting, handmade paper, how debris is removed from New York harbor and, of course, building that $300 cabin.
Other than the main article about moons, which I found to be the most interesting article in either magazine, the contents of the 2024 version of Popular Mechanics are not that unexpected. There are articles about California freeways, a female participant in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb and the best way to fix foundation cracks.
Popular Mechanics magazine has always covered a lot of ground, something for everybody. And now it even covers the stars. Or at least the moons.
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