Category:
Inventions

Smile Mirror

Visual Arts student Berk Ilhan has created a mirror that will only work if you smile. His idea was that this would help cheer up cancer patients by forcing them to smile. He's hoping to sell these for between $2000 and $3000 each. So far, the reaction to his invention has been, shall we say, not positive.

Some of the reviews: guardian, smh.com.au

Smile Mirror site

Posted By: Alex - Thu Nov 09, 2017 - Comments (1)
Category: Inventions

Noise-canceling ramen fork

The OTOHIKO fork from Nissin, for noisy ramen slurpers. It doesn't actually cancel out the noise. When it detects a slurping noise it causes your phone to make a louder, wave-crashing sound, which drowns out the slurping sound.

It costs ¥14,800. Or around $130.





via mashable.com

Posted By: Alex - Sun Oct 29, 2017 - Comments (1)
Category: Inventions, Noises and Other Public Disturbances of the Peace, Cacophony, Dissonance, White Noise and Other Sonic Assaults

Filter Queen Vibrator

A 1950s gadget that, when attached to the hose of your vacuum, transformed it into a vibrating massager.



"Directions: The Filter Queen Vibrator should be inserted into the wand end of the hose and the hose fastened to the suction inlet of the Filter Queen... For use, place hose on neck, shoulders or other parts of the body to be massaged. See illustration on opposite side of box."





More info: Herald Tribune
Image source: Flickr

Posted By: Alex - Sat Oct 28, 2017 - Comments (3)
Category: Inventions, 1950s

Pause Pod

It's a personal-sized tent that you can bust out at work when you need "Your Private Space for Relaxation." Or use it at home to "Evoke Mindfulness."

Available for $99 via indiegogo.



Posted By: Alex - Sun Oct 01, 2017 - Comments (5)
Category: Inventions

The Morale Raiser

Also known as a pat-on-the-back machine. An earlier version of this.



Wilmington News Journal - Dec 22, 1950

Posted By: Alex - Sun Sep 17, 2017 - Comments (3)
Category: Inventions, 1950s

Drip Fire Rifle

Invented by Lance Corporal William Charles Scurry during WWI, while fighting in Gallipoli. The Drip Fire Rifle was a way to jerry-rig a rifle using readily available materials so that it would randomly fire on its own. The Australian forces set up a whole bunch of these Drip Fire Rifles, and in this way were able to fool the Turkish forces into thinking they were actively manning the front lines, when in fact they were all sneaking away in boats. From abc.net.au:

His invention involved water dripping from one ration tin into a lower tin attached to a weight, which was tied to a trigger. Depending on the hole in the ration tin, the lower one could take between 20 minutes to an hour to fill. The weight would then pull the rifle trigger. The resultant sporadic fire sounded like any other night, and mirrored the rhythms of the Anzacs that the Turkish forces had grown familiar with.


via Australian War Memorial

Posted By: Alex - Sat Sep 16, 2017 - Comments (1)
Category: Inventions, War, Weapons, 1910s

Wasabi Smoke Alarm

Fire alarms for the deaf typically involve strobe lights or vibration (such as a vibrating bed or pillow to wake a sleeper). But over in Japan, a few years back, researchers invented an alarm that sprayed the smell of Wasabi into the air. Tests revealed it could wake sleepers within two minutes.

The researchers also tested the smells of banana, coconut milk, and tea tree oil, but they found the smell of wasabi worked best.

More info: BBC News



Posted By: Alex - Fri Sep 15, 2017 - Comments (1)
Category: Inventions

Len Solomon and the Bellowphone





Posted By: Paul - Mon Aug 21, 2017 - Comments (0)
Category: Eccentrics, Inventions, Music

Manatee Alerting Device

Edmund Gerstein claims to have invented a "Manatee Alerting Device" (aka MAD) that, when attached beneath a boat, will emit a beam of sound alerting manatees to get out of the way. But it's controversial. Other researchers insist the device will just add more noise to an already noisy underwater environment. It would be like "putting a siren on every car on a highway." And that manatees wouldn't be able to tell where the sound is coming from.

Complicating the controversy, it turns out Gerstein has a history of advancing unorthodox manatee theories. Back in the 1990s he claimed to have discovered that manatees can hear high-speed boats better than low-speed ones. His claim was promoted by boaters who wanted no speed regulations, but after paying tens of thousands of dollars on extra manatee research, the state of Florida decided Gerstein was wrong. He was also busted for faking a degree. Which is why researchers aren't exactly welcoming him with open arms now.

More info: tbo.com



"Demonstration of an acoustic warning system to alert manatees" [pdf]


Posted By: Alex - Fri Aug 18, 2017 - Comments (2)
Category: Animals, Inventions

Self-Lighting Cigarettes

Self-lighting cigarettes seem to be an idea that inventors keep dreaming up, not realizing that the idea has already been tried. The basic problem with them is identified in this thread on the Guardian. Either the head of the cigarette rips off as you try to light it, or it doesn't light and you're left with a smashed-up cigarette.

Also, although I'm not a smoker, it seems like a problem that doesn't need a solution. I get the sense that smokers like the ritual of lighting their ciggies.

More in extended >>

Posted By: Alex - Mon Aug 14, 2017 - Comments (3)
Category: Inventions, Smoking and Tobacco

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Alex Boese
Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes.

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