There’s a (relatively) new website called If Star Wars Was Real.com. It takes historical photographs, adds a George Lucas touch and a synopsis to explain each one. Some are more realistic looking than others. I, of course, found out about this via Super Punch. I’ve been writing WAY too much lately… so here are some examples:
The above photograph of a 1957 gas station by the name of Palpatine Oil offers further evidence to the Galactic Empire’s interest/involvement in the energetic resources of earth. Palpatine Oil, named after Senator Palpatine (now Emperor Palpatine), operated as a sbusidiary of what is now Chevron Oil. It has been speculated, however, that Palpatine had more influence than, simply, a gasoline distributor!
Chevron was originally known as Standard Oil of California, or Socal, and was formed amid the antitrust breakup of Standard Oil in 1911. It was one of the “Seven Sisters” that dominated the world oil industry during the early 20th century. In 1933, Saudi Arabia granted Socal a concession to find oil, which finally occurred in 1938 when the largest oil field on earth was discovered. Socal’s subsidiary California-Arabian Standard Oil Company evolved over the years, becoming the Arabian American Oil Company (ARAMCO) in 1944. Thereafter, several off-shoots emerged, some very localized with only a few distributors, such as, Palpatine Oil.
The above photograph of Howard Hughes at work on one of his many aircraft projects shows an aircraft heavily influenced by the infamous T-65 X-Wing Starfighter manufactured by Incom Corporation for the Rebel Alliance!
Howard Hughes was an American aviator, industrialist, film producer/director, philanthropist, and one of the wealthiest people in the world. He is famous for setting multiple world air-speed records, building the Hughes H-1 Racer and H-4 “Spruce Goose” aircraft, producing the movies Hell’s Angels, Scarface and The Outlaw, as well as owning and expanding Trans World Airlines. Hughes remains an iconic figure of the 20th century, not only for his professional accomplishments, but for his debilitating eccentric behaviour in later life. Despite his well-known bouts with obsessive-compulsive disorder and reclusiveness, Hughes is believed by many to be one of the most brilliant minds that America has produced and still to this day is one of the most successful American aviators.
-Sonny
