Feeling Nostalgic For the Encyclopedia Britannica? [Video]

I’ve been feeling a little nostalgic these past few days, especially in light of the Encyclopaedia Britannica’s recent decision to stop printing hard copies of their reference set. For yea...
Feeling Nostalgic For the Encyclopedia Britannica? [Video]
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  • I’ve been feeling a little nostalgic these past few days, especially in light of the Encyclopaedia Britannica’s recent decision to stop printing hard copies of their reference set. For years the Britannica was our “key to the information age,” whatever that means, and now that they’re gone, I don’t know how kids are going to get their reports done when it’s raining out.

    So in honor of Britannica’s flagship product and her decomissioning, here’s a set of videos that’ll take you back in time to a more analogue age. The latter three star Donavan Freberg, son of satirist Stan Freberg. He voiced the Peanuts characters Linus and Charlie Brown in a series of commercials in the late 70s, and Tom Little, of The Littles, among other things. But enough with the introduction. Enjoy.

    tl;dr Watch these Encyclopedia Britannica commercials. They’re comically outdated.

    “How far do your kids have to go when they need information in a hurry?” I love it.

    “They bought me a computer, a video camera, a compact disc player, but … hardly any of this stuff can really help me with me schoolwork.” Keep ’em coming, Donavan. Here’s a follow-up:

    “This is like having your own research library at home!” Indeed it is. Indeed it is. And one more:

    “I think I’m too young to use it.” That’s Yeardley Smith, by the way, voice of Bart Simpson doing the kid’s part. Go figure. Meanwhile, in 2012, my two-year-old niece uses an iPhone better than I do.

    What about you? Are you going to miss the print editions of the Encyclopedia Britannica? Plan on buying a set? Don’t care at all. Let us know how you feel in the comments.

    And Happy Thursday. The weekend’s almost here.

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