As reported by VSL, Worth1000.com currently has a contest that challenges designers to present products in a "vintage" way. Many of these entries contrast a bygone medium with a modern product--my favorite is a Segway inserted into an old Dutch scene featuring smiling maidens with napkins on their heads. The funny thing about this entry is that it kind of makes sense. There's something cheerful and naive about the Segway that seems to belong in this antique portrait of rural Holland.

In fact, the Dutch have a history of making product-based comparisons between past and present. A few years ago, the Dutch workshop .ekwc asked designers to reimagine Dutch souvenirs for the modern age. My favorite is the "Dutch Delight Dildo" by the the somehow appropriately named firm Oooms and Grosemans, which puts Delft style porcelain to a new purpose.