Although floppy disks are not used often in today’s world of gigabytes and terabytes, some companies and individuals still rely on them to update or back up older systems. For others, floppy disks have become a common feature in recycled art. They also represent a specific time in our history, providing a bit of nostalgia in many movies produced in the 1980s and ’90s. And the icon of a floppy disk remains the universal symbol for saving files.
Floppy disk art
Floppy disk car
Lara Weigand completely covered her 1998 Honda Civic with floppy disks that she painted various colors and then glued onto the car. Other parts of the car are embellished with keyboard keys, punched cards and processor chips.
Courtesy of Jim Flanagan
Floppy disk clock
Enterprising artists are recycling floppy disks to create products such as this a working clock made from a 5-1/4 inch floppy disk and a more modern piece of technology: a DVD. Binary numbers are used to represent the hours of the day.
Courtesy of Joe Oliveri
Floppy disk coasters
Another use of old floppy disks: drink coasters. These coasters are made from 3-1/2 inch floppy disks with vinyl covers and a cork base.
Courtesy of Natasha Dzurny
Floppy disk bag
Looking for a unique laptop bag? This bag is constructed of several 3-1/2 inch floppy disks, which offer a hard, durable case for your laptop computer.
Courtesy of Dillan Shikotra
Floppy disks in film
WarGames
Floppy disks have permeated television and film over the years, In the cult classic WarGames (1983), Matthew Broderick’s character uses an 8-inch floppy disk to program a phone-based modem, which he uses to hack into what he thinks is a video-game company. He ends up almost starting World War III. Tom Cruise’s 1996 Mission: Impossible character sneaks into a government building and saves the NOC (Non-Official Cover) list, a list of every American agent, on a 3-1/2 inch disk in order to keep it safe. (Trivia buffs have pointed out that a 3-1/2 inch disk would never hold that much data!)