What is the best lava lamp? It seems that no matter how much culture changes, there’s always a demand for the retro, which is why the playful visuals of a lava lamp never seem to go out of style.

• British inventor Edward Craven Walker created the “Astro” Lamp which he presented at a trade show in Brussels in 1965 which caught the eye of entrepreneur Adolph Wertheimer. He and his partner ...