Inventions
The Piano Violin
Full patent here.The player has to bow the strings and strike some keys simultaneously. Wonder why it never caught on?
Posted By: Paul - Wed Sep 04, 2024 -
Comments (6)
Category: Inventions, Music, 1900s
The Guitar-Xylophone
A guitar with an attached xylophone! Perfect for one-man bands!Original patent here.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Aug 10, 2024 -
Comments (0)
Category: Inventions, Chindogu, Patents, Music, 1920s
Electro-Vibratory Bodysuit
A full suit of electrical stimulators and vibrators to cure your charley-horses.Full patent here.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Aug 06, 2024 -
Comments (2)
Category: Body, Inventions, Patents, Technology, Twenty-first Century
The Soybean Car
The "Soybean Car" was actually a plastic-bodied car unveiled by Henry Ford on August 13, 1941 at Dearborn Days, an annual community festival. The frame, made of tubular steel, had 14 plastic panels attached to it. The car weighed 2000 lbs., 1000 lbs. lighter than a steel car. The exact ingredients of the plastic panels are unknown because no record of the formula exists today. One article claims that they were made from a chemical formula that, among many other ingredients, included soybeans, wheat, hemp, flax and ramie; while the man who was instrumental in creating the car, Lowell E. Overly, claims it was "…soybean fiber in a phenolic resin with formaldehyde used in the impregnation"
See more pix and text here.
Or at the Wikipedia page.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Aug 04, 2024 -
Comments (0)
Category: Inventions, 1940s, Cars
Foot-powered helicopter
I assume that the prize referenced in the clipping was the Kremer Prize, established in 1959 and eventually won in 1977.
Santa Ana Register - July 29, 1964
Details from Wikipedia:
Under the auspices of the Society, in 1959 the industrialist Henry Kremer offered the first Kremer prizes, of £5,000 for the first human-powered aircraft to fly a figure-of-eight course round two markers half-a-mile apart. It was conditional that the designer, entrant pilot, place of construction and flight must all be British. In 1973 Kremer increased the prize to £50,000 and opened it to all nationalities, to stimulate interest.
The first Kremer prize of £50,000 was won on 23 August 1977 by Dr. Paul MacCready when his Gossamer Condor, piloted by Bryan Allen, was the first human-powered aircraft to fly a figure eight around two markers one half mile apart, starting and ending the course at least 10 feet (3.0 m) above the ground.
Posted By: Alex - Fri Jul 26, 2024 -
Comments (1)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Inventions, Air Travel and Airlines, 1960s
Butt Irrigator
Complete patent here.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Jul 26, 2024 -
Comments (1)
Category: Body, Diseases, Domestic, Hygiene, Inventions, Patents, 1960s
Toaster That Butters the Toast
Man, given the laziness of the average person, this should have been a bestselling item. Unless...the notion of a reservoir full of old butter sitting at room temperature for weeks was a turn-off.Full patent here.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Jul 15, 2024 -
Comments (3)
Category: Domestic, Food, Inventions, Patents, Technology, 1960s
Suction-Cup Bathtub Slipper
Instead of providing safety, these look likely to kill the wearer, as the bather struggles to break the grip of the suction cups.Full patent here.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Jul 02, 2024 -
Comments (0)
Category: Domestic, Hygiene, Inventions, Patents, 1930s, Feet
The Ether Orchestra
Source.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Jun 19, 2024 -
Comments (0)
Category: Inventions, Music, 1930s, Europe
Anti-snoring Pillow
The original patent here has no suitable illustration of its product, so I've taken the liberty of having Copilot conjure up some images. Basically, the pillow would use Active Noise Control to cancel out the snores.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Jun 17, 2024 -
Comments (0)
Category: Inventions, Patents, Sleep and Dreams, Twenty-first Century, Cacophony, Dissonance, White Noise and Other Sonic Assaults
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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. Paul Di Filippo Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over thirty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. He has recently begun blogging on many curious topics with three fellow writers at The Inferior 4+1. Contact Us |