1985 Tom Thumb : Wonders of the Modern World



1985 Tom Thumb : Wonders of the Modern World

Wonders of the Modern World trading cards were issued in 1985 by John Player & Sons of Nottingham, England. The 30-card collection features photographs of contemporary technological and engineering marvels. Each card measures approximately 2.9 x 2.25 inches (74 x 57 mm). The series was distributed with Tom Thumb cigars from Player and Imperial Group PLC. A free Wonders of the Modern World collector album was available for by mail order until June 30, 1988. The album introduction was authored by Jean Cooke.

Space Shuttle Columbia is pictured on the crawler-transporter during transfer to Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral. The photograph was taken in August 1981 during preparations for STS-2.

1985 Tom Thumb : Wonders of the Modern World #11 - Space Shuttle and Its Transporter 1985 Tom Thumb : Wonders of the Modern World #11 - Space Shuttle and Its Transporter

Astronaut Bruce McCandless is pictured in the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU) during Space Shuttle Challenger mission STS 41-B. McCandless and Robert Stewart performed the first untethered EVA on February 7, 1984. McCandless is travelling at nearly 18,000 miles per hour, but the relative thrusts of the MMU were roughly two or three miles per hour.

1985 Tom Thumb : Wonders of the Modern World #12 - Space Back Pack 1985 Tom Thumb : Wonders of the Modern World #12 - Space Back Pack

The Solar Maximum Mission Observatory Satellite (SolarMax) was launched into orbit on February 14, 1980. The spacecraft was manufactured by Fairchild Industries. The SolarMax satellite reentered the atmosphere and burned up over the Indian Ocean on December 2, 1989.

1985 Tom Thumb : Wonders of the Modern World #14 - Solar Max 1985 Tom Thumb : Wonders of the Modern World #14 - Solar Max


Tom Thumb : Wonders of the Modern World
1 JPS Lotus Formula 1 Car
2 Shinkansen 'Bullet' Train
3 Hovercraft
4 Supertanker
5 Polaris Submarine
6 Underwater Observatory
7 Naval Guided Missiles
8 Concorde
9 Sea Harrier
10 'Blackbird' Spy Plane
11 Space Shuttle and Its Transporter
12 Space Back Pack
13 Gossamer Albatross
14 Solar Max
15 The Very Large Array
16 Bingham Canyon Copper Mine
17 Alaska Oil Pipeline
18 Offshore Oil Platform
19 Solar Furnace
20 Thames Flood Barrier
21 The Humber Bridge
22 Itaipu Power Plant
23 Sydney Opera House
24 Sears Tower
25 Laser
26 Robot Hand
27 Microchips
28 Scanning Electron Microscope
29 Thermography
30 Computer Graphics