Category:
1970s

Whisper Seat

Patent awarded to Paul Bungo of Ambridge, Pennsylvania - July 20, 1971:

A principal object of the present invention is to provide a whisper seat for a toilet and which prevents sounds, made within a toilet bowl during a bowel movement, from being heard by other persons.
Another object is to provide a whisper seat which accordingly will eliminate the embarrassment to an occupant of a bath room that persons outside thereof have heard him during a bowel movement.

I can't imagine that this invention actually worked, because how would it stop the sound from coming out from between your legs?

Posted By: Alex - Tue Oct 02, 2018 - Comments (3)
Category: Inventions, Patents, Flatulence, 1970s

The Clone Master

The premise of this proposed 1978 TV series doesn't sound that bad, but only one pilot episode was ever made. NBC decided not to pick up the full show. Description from ioffer.com:

Scientist Simon Shane (Hindle) is working on a project which will create human clones of himself. Years of failed experiments with his mentor (Bellamy) at his side have yielded breakthroughs but not a successful final product though one is set to be unleashed within days. With his mentor kidnapped and a mysterious new party having presented itself with designs on the project which are suspicious at best, Simon accelerates the project and clones himself a dozen times maintaining a telepathic link with each of his fully grown "children" each of whom is an exact replica of him with all of his memories and capabilities.

Unfortunately, the full pilot episode isn't available anywhere online. A clip is all that YouTube has.



The show was written by Frederik Pohl, who had this to say about it in a 1977 interview with Tangent magazine:

TANGENT: What do you think of science fiction expanding into all of the different media? We have the records, tapes, comic books, television, etc. plus the books.
POHL: I think that the other media are peripheral. I get involved in them from time to time. I’m making a record and I have a contract to do the pilot script – and the treatment – for a new television series. It’s called “The Clone Master” at the moment. It’s not an anthology series, it’s a series series. They trapped me into it by promising me that it would be an anthology series. Now, this is one that I generated. The producer asked me for some suggestions and I told him that it should be an anthology series and ultimately badgered me down to where I am now. The process is one of badgering down. You get into television and you find there are twenty-five people who are being paid to criticize what you do and they all have to justify their salaries. It’s no fun, I don’t like doing it. I do like it in the sense that I like experimenting on my own in areas that I haven’t done before.


source: Made for TV Movie Wiki

Posted By: Alex - Mon Oct 01, 2018 - Comments (6)
Category: Television, Science Fiction, 1970s

Footprint Rugs

A fad in the early 1970s. I can't find them available for sale anywhere now, however.



Posted By: Alex - Thu Sep 20, 2018 - Comments (7)
Category: Interior Decorating, 1970s

Follies of the Madmen #383



Our swill is so vile that nothing is possibly beneath it.

Original ad here.

Posted By: Paul - Sun Sep 16, 2018 - Comments (4)
Category: Business, Advertising, 1970s, Alcohol

Paul Frees and the Poster People

Famous and brilliant voice actor Paul Frees does some imitations--but has his characters singing pop songs?!?





Other tracks here.

Posted By: Paul - Sat Sep 15, 2018 - Comments (1)
Category: Imitations, Forgeries, Rip-offs and Faux, Movies, Music, 1970s, Parody

Toe Holder for Sunbathers

Invented by Russell Greathouse of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. Patented on Jan 23, 1973.

This invention relates to a toe holder or similar device for holding one’s feet together when sunbathing or the like, and it includes the process of applying the toe holder.

When a sunbather lies on his back his feet are not normally held perpendicular to the ground, but swing outward. As a result, the inner surfaces of the legs are subjected more intensely to the sun’s rays than the outer surfaces. By the use of a toe holder or similar device which holds the big toes adjacent one another a relatively uniform burning effect is obtainable.

The toe holder shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 includes two rings 5 and 6 joined by the web 7. There is a small hole 8 through the web. This hole is not necessary but provides means for decorating the toe holder, and in the drawing the stem 10 of a flower (natural or artificial) is held in the opening 8.

Posted By: Alex - Wed Sep 12, 2018 - Comments (2)
Category: Inventions, Patents, 1970s

Heinz Help Fruit Drink

Heinz's venture into the beverage market during the mid-1970s with its Help Fruit Drink only lasted a few years. The fact that Heinz is so associated with ketchup probably didn't 'help' the product. But also, what an odd name 'Help' was.





Posted By: Alex - Mon Sep 03, 2018 - Comments (0)
Category: Food, 1970s

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