Here's a precursor to suburbanites whose irrigation systems water their lawns in the rain.  From Le Journal Amusant, 1912.

Here's a precursor to the movie theatre gimmicks like Smell-O-Vision and Odorama.  From Le Charivari, 1879.

Here's a precursor to those downsizing TV shows in which the host forces someone to choose one of two old toys to throw away.  From Flora Macdonald's 1925 yearbook.

VHS tape glitch art isn't merely nostalgic -- it was a thing even back in the ealry 70s.  From Duke's 1973 yearbook.

Here's a precursor to David Lynch's "Six Men Getting Sick" installation (1966).  From Indiana University's 1905 yearbook.  See How to Hoodoo Hack a Yearbook.

This precursor to Mr. Potato Head is more of a pear.  From La Caricature, 1833.  See How to Believe in Your Elf.

Audience automation — a precursor to canned laughter.  From Lustige Blätter, 1904.

Here's a precursor to Lars von Trier's Melancholia.  From the State Teachers College (Farmville, Virginia) yearbook of 1935.

Here's a precursor to Daft Punk, Deadmau5, and the many DJs who wear masks in concert.  "The masked marvels of the keyboard," from Anderson's 1948 yearbook.

Here's a 1972 precursor to the "Bob" poster from Twin Peaks.  From Butler's 1972 yearbook.

Fifty years before the Summer of Love, we find these flower people in Greenboro's 1916 yearbook.

Here's a precursor to 1998's dancing flower toy.  From Mansfield's 1932 yearbook.

Here's a precursor to Breathe Right nasal strips.  From Earlham's 1920 yearbook.

Here's a precursor to the old joke about burning one ear when mistaking an iron for the telephone, and burning the other ear when the person calls back.  From Le Charivari, 1843.

Here's a precursor (by three decades) to the Doomsay Clock:

"Soon the world's clock will strike twelve; the number on its dial is red, is dipped in blood, and by that you will recognise it.  And a stormwind shall precede the new first hour." —Gustav Meyrink, The Green Face (1916)

Here's a precursor to Catcher in the Rye, from 1876.

The blind driver labeled "begger man" is a precursor to the extremely nearsighted cartoon driver Mr. Magoo (who debuted 32 years later).  From Akron's 1917 yearbook.

Here's a precursor to the superior horror/sci-fi film Slither.  From Le Charivari, 1849.