Why round bottoms?

[thermal guy]

In looking at old 50's 60's incandescent flashlights why are they not flat on the bottom but are rounded or pointy?

 

[de-coloribus]

That's something I have always wondered, too.

 

[ABTOMAT]

Looks cool and streamlined. Also some of them had spare bulbs in the rounded space.

 

[IMA SOL MAN]

Rockets and streamlining were coming on, I think. Also, they slide into a pocket easier when they are rounded. I have several of the "modern" flashlights that have the flat tail caps, and honestly, some of them I'd rather have the old bullet/rocket shaped tail cap on them--easier to pocket them.

If I get into collecting old incan flashlights (as opposed to just letting them accumulate, naturally), I think I will go for those old bullet/rocket tail cap flashlights. I like the style.

 

[letschat7]

I think it is for the 'Buck Rogers' look? But of course some of these are older than the 1950s.

I've been wanting to find one in brass, usa made, D two sized, and NOS.

 

[raggie33]

Has to do with at first they was designed to run in beef jerky and I don't know either lol

 

[RWT1405]

They make the rockin' world go round!

 

[Lowglow]

The UK lights never had the rounded tails. Always flat - but the UK always was a bit starchy!

 

[alpg88]

Ribbed with round pointy end, hmm, interesting question.

Maybe it was made to hold a spare bulb, or maybe it help rigidity when stamped from thin metal,

 

[IMA SOL MAN]

I think it had a lot to do with the space race. Rockets were becoming really popular and products were trying to emulate the new space race cool. Think about the rear fins of the 1957 Chevy, and the rocket fins on the Cadillac. If you stood a red plastic ringed flashlight lens on the table, with that rounded tail cap up, it looked a lot like a rocket with a red exhaust.

 

[letschat7]

We had the best designs back then.

I sat in this once.

 

[thermal guy]

So probably just a cool looking design I'm thinking.

 

[ABTOMAT]

The UK lights never had the rounded tails. Always flat - but the UK always was a bit starchy!

When does the Slag-Lite hit stores?

 

[bykfixer]

They were called "bullet" lights. It was a fashion thing like fins on cars skinny ties. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

[ampdude]

Yea, everything was trying to emulate rockets back then. It was a marketing thing. And there was even a rocket powered car made for the commercial market back then believe it or not. I saw a youtube video about it once. Pretty amazing and cool.

 

[IMA SOL MAN]

Yea, everything was trying to emulate rockets back then. It was a marketing thing. And there was even a rocket powered car made for the commercial market back then believe it or not. I saw a youtube video about it once. Pretty amazing and cool.

Batmobile - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Jean-Luc Descarte]

So from what everyone is saying, it's a visual gimmick from times before tailstanding was seen as an useful feature? 🤔 Though I guess with flashlights as big as those old ones were, and made of cheap thin sheet metal, tailstanding would be asking for them to be knocked over and ruined on impact.

 

[thermal guy]

Oh IDK. them old lights are pretty tough

 

[sween1911]

I know some of those lights were used by old cops, and slid them in their backpockets or sap pockets on their uniform pants.

 

[IMA SOL MAN]

As fragile as those incan bulbs were, I imagine tail standing would have been seen as unwise. Plus the fact that as dim as the light was from them, bounce lighting may not have been much illumination, especially if your ceiling had low albedo.