It’s a knife rest! Knife rests have graced dining room tables as far back as the 17th century and were commonplace through the early 20th century. Like the name suggests, diners would place their knives onto the knife rest to prevent soiling the tablecloth. At a time when table etiquette was paramount, placing a knife on a plate – or worse yet, the table itself – would have been a major faux pas. And so, the fashionable dinner tables of the middle and upper classes included knife rests to their table settings.

While earlier styles of the 1600s were fashioned from wood or even fragile porcelain, the Victorians preferred rests made from metals, glass, crystal, and horn. Both European and American models could have elaborate figures of people or animals, sometimes molded from metal or painted onto ceramic. Style, of course, depended on the taste and wealth of the host/hostess.

As the focus shifted from formal dining etiquette to a more casual style during the 2nd quarter of the 20th century, knife rests began to fade from fashion. One would be hard pressed to find a knife rest next to their plate at a dinner party today. The need for maintaining clean tablecloths has diminished thanks to advancements in washing efficiency and a more relaxed view on messes.

In the film, Schwarzenegger starred as Colonel John Matrix, a retired Special Forces operative living a quiet life in the mountains with his daughter Jenny, played by a then 12-year-old Milano. The film’s emotional core hinges on their relationship: Jenny is kidnapped by mercenaries trying to force Matrix into carrying out an assassination. Instead, Matrix launches a one-man war to rescue her, unleashing the kind of explosive, over-the-top action that made Commando a cult classic.

Milano had just started her career when she took the role. She was simultaneously starring on the hit sitcom Who’s the Boss? (1984–1992), which helped make her one of the decade’s most recognizable child actors. In Commando, she balanced vulnerability and spirit—her character outsmarts her captors a few times, which added suspense and gave her more agency than many child roles in action films of the era.

For Schwarzenegger, Commando was part of his rapid rise after The Terminator (1984). The film cemented his reputation as the quintessential 1980s action hero: muscular, witty, and unstoppable.

Behind the scenes, he reportedly had a warm and protective rapport with Milano, treating her like a real daughter on set. Milano later reflected fondly on the experience, saying she felt safe working with him even in such an intense and violent movie.

Jatech claimed that its design had several advantages. It eliminated the need for swing-out space, making it ideal for cramped urban environments and tight parking spots. The company insisted the system improved a car’s structural integrity and crashworthiness. Jatech argued the doors would allow for easier escape in emergencies, as they wouldn’t be blocked by other vehicles or objects.

The company received some early interest from major automakers like Ford and General Motors. The most famous prototype was a modified Lincoln Mark VIII, but the system was also demonstrated on a Ford Explorer and a Chevrolet Corvette. The Lincoln Mark VIII prototype, in particular, gained attention and became the subject of a viral video years later.

Despite its intriguing design and apparent advantages, the Jatech disappearing door never made it to mass production. The system required a complete redesign of the car’s understructure to create the compartment for the door, which would have driven up production costs significantly. The motorized system, exposed to road grime, debris, and weather, raised concerns about long-term reliability and maintenance.

While Jatech claimed enhanced safety, critics were skeptical, particularly about what would happen in a minor fender-bender or if the mechanism failed, potentially trapping occupants inside. A manual override was reportedly part of the design, but the heavy doors would have been difficult to move without the motor’s assistance.

The doors were completely featureless on the inside, as the space was needed for the mechanism. This meant no storage pockets, speakers, or other standard door panel features.

By the 2010s, Jatech had ceased operations, leaving behind only a handful of prototypes and a legendary viral video that continues to fascinate car enthusiasts. The company’s name has, in a way, lived up to its invention’s fate, having largely disappeared from the public eye.

When Concorde entered passenger service in 1976, New York was the most important transatlantic market—but U.S. approval was complicated. Noise regulations and protests against sonic booms delayed scheduled service to John F. Kennedy International Airport until November 22, 1977, when British Airways and Air France were finally allowed to operate regular Concorde flights into New York.

During publicity runs, the aircraft was often photographed against the Manhattan skyline, with the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center serving as a dramatic backdrop. These images became iconic—sleek supersonic technology soaring above the symbol of global finance.

One particularly famous moment occurred on October 19, 1977, when a Concorde (Air France) made a ceremonial flight over New York City after test landings at JFK. It passed low enough over lower Manhattan for photographers to capture the jet crossing above the World Trade Center towers—images that were later used in promotional materials.

For the next two decades, Concorde was a frequent sight on the New York–London and New York–Paris routes, with the Twin Towers often visible during arrivals and departures from JFK. The pairing of Concorde and the World Trade Center became a symbol of late 20th-century ambition: engineering marvels of speed and height sharing the same skyline.

Their most well-documented meeting took place at the Monaco Grand Prix on May 24, 1998. Photos from the event show Stallone in the Ferrari garage, speaking with Schumacher and even sitting in Schumacher’s Ferrari F300 car. Another meeting between the two was documented at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza on September 11, 1998.

During their encounters, Stallone and Schumacher were photographed laughing and engaging in a playful “boxing” pose. The meetings generated significant media attention due to Stallone’s star power and Schumacher’s status as a top F1 driver.

Richard Gere’s fashion in the 1980 film American Gigolo was groundbreaking, largely because it introduced Giorgio Armani’s signature “deconstructed” menswear to a global audience and helped launch his career. His character, Julian Kaye, a high-priced male escort, used clothing as both a profession and an identity, treating his wardrobe with an almost fetishistic reverence.

The fashion in the film broke from the boxy, structured suits and flamboyant disco styles of the 1970s. Armani’s designs were a radical departure, defined by their relaxed silhouette and use of soft, luxurious fabrics.

John Travolta was originally attached to the lead role, with his casting announced by the Los Angeles Times in January 1978. He was provided a wardrobe by Giorgio Armani and appeared in a photo spread for the trade publication Variety announcing his participation. The following year, Travolta dropped out of the production to deal with his mother’s death and father’s illness.

In Travolta’s absence, Barry Diller of Paramount Pictures offered the part of Julian Kay to Christopher Reeve, but Reeve turned down the million-dollar offer. Chevy Chase was also offered the role but declined. Schrader offered the part to his first choice, Richard Gere, who accepted. Gere was cast two weeks before shooting began. In 2012, Gere said he was drawn to the role partly because of its gay subtext, commenting, “I read it and I thought, ‘This is a character I don’t know very well. I don’t own a suit. He speaks languages; I don’t speak any languages. There’s kind of a gay thing that’s flirting through it and I didn’t know the gay community at all.’ I wanted to immerse myself in all of that and I had literally two weeks. So I just dove in.”

Given his racy role in American Gigolo, Gere had to look good, and while his nude scene got people talking, so did his stylish suits. The suits are immediately recognizable for their relaxed yet refined tailoring and muted color palettes, and they’re practically their own character in the film. As Schrader quipped, “As an actor, Richard was more interested in the character than the clothes, but to me the clothes and the character were the same. I mean, this is a guy who does a line of coke in order to get dressed!”

Gere and Armani were forever linked in the public eye, as American Gigolo made them both stars. They remained friends after the film. There’s even a long-running rumor that because of the impact American Gigolo had on the brand, Gere had the privilege of walking into any Armani store and getting whatever he wanted for free.

Armani credited Gere with making him famous, saying, “It was what I would call a crucial moment. Nobody could have imagined the success that film would have, which in fact marked the imagination of the ’80s, and it became an important vehicle for my fashion. He helped me to make myself known in the United States, where many requests for my clothes started to arrive.”

In a 2000 Vanity Fair interview, Gere spoke admiringly of Armani’s aesthetic, praising how the suits were “Quite stylized, big shoulders and thin waists, thin lapels. It was like looking at an old carpet where the natural colors blend and even bleed as opposed to some of these new carpets made of plastic fibers where the colors are monolithic,” and emphatically saying, “I don’t know any other designer.” The actor has continued to wear Armani suits throughout his career, and his American Gigolo looks have stayed on the vision boards of designers and menswear enthusiasts for decades.