An archive of Omni magazine (1978-1995), courtesy of the Internet Archive. “Omni was a science and science fiction magazine published in the US and the UK. It contained articles on science, parapsychology, and short works of science fiction and fantasy.”
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Yes! I actually found a copy of the only story I remember reading in Omni just a couple weeks ago. I was a subscriber in the 80s as a (probably too young) kid. Ah, the days of lax parental oversight....
Back in the 90s Omni had a story about cryopreservation that activated the existential fear all young kids inevitably experience once they realize we all check out one day. But it was also the magazine that awoke the non-believer in me too. I loved my stack of issues back then. Really scrambled my brain in the best possible ways.
Pretty sure it was translated to Italian too. I remember buying it, and it had the same typographic style, but I lived in Italy at the time, and I doubt they were importing the English version.
It might be a bit of a stretch in people’s interest, but the design of the site mourned here 25 years ago (kottke.org/01/08/whoaironminds-is-going-bye-bye) was somewhat inspired by Omni.
ghostofironminds.com
I wish I still had my old copies… I think I was also too young when I had my subscription, because I don't think I was really doing a good job separating the science from the science fiction. That was my "scared of UFOs" era.
And, notably, a *phenomenally* well paying market for SF stories. I think both OMNI and PLAYBOY paid $2000 flat, in a world where everyone else paid $.03/word.
Guccione got old pro Ben Bova to be the first SF editor, and the quality showed.
I adored the stash of Omni in our secondary school library - easily learned more about the scientific method and how interesting technology could be than the rote chemistry of actual science class.
In the 1980’s I was frequently flying across the Pacific for work. I’d grab a copy before I flew and have an interesting read for travel. Great quality.
I absolutely loved getting my Omni issues in the mail as a teenager. They felt so premium and grown up. They even had a different smell from the other magazines we got. I've got a big box full of them somewhere in my basement - now I need to go find them and see if they still smell the same :)
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