The last day of hot metal typesetting at the New York Times

This is Colossal:

On July 2, 1978 the New York Times made a significant technological leap when they scuttled the last of 60 manually-operated linotype machines to usher in the era of digital and photographic typesetting. When working at 100% efficiency with an experienced operator the Linotype machines could produce 14 lines per minute cast on the spot from hot lead. That number would increase to 1,000 lines per minute the very next day using an array of computers and digital storage.

In our “digital age”, we forget (or never knew) about how things used to be done. While there’s no doubt the new method is better, the old method is fascinating.