Nostalgic Google Doodle Honors the 79th Anniversary of Drive-In Theaters

Thanks to the rising cost of real estate, the advent of color TV, video rentals and other factors, drive-in movie theaters are few and far between these days. But Google is honoring the 79th anniversary of drive-ins with a cool doodle that evokes their heyday in the 1950s.

Just click on the ticket and a nifty animation begins showing a group of drivers watching a black-and-white horror movie at a drive-in. Note the anachronistic Android dashboard figure. (Nice self-promotion, Google.) Also note the two kids who pop out of the back of a pickup truck, which was once a popular method for sneaking people in.

The very first drive-in opened in Camden, New Jersey, in 1933. And at the peak of their popularity, more than 5,000 drive-ins could be found across America. Today, however, it's estimated that only 366 exist. Given that, this awesome doodle might be the closest most of us ever get to one.