The Electric Hairbrush and Comb of Hugo Gernsback

One of the fathers of modern science fiction once came up with this.

Tip o' the hat to Steve Davidson, current proprietor of Amazing Stories.

Full patent here.

Posted By: Paul - Wed Dec 27, 2023 - Comments (0)
Category: Magazines, Patents, Science Fiction, 1910s, Hair and Hairstyling

Somnambulist Bathing

Posted By: Paul - Wed Nov 29, 2023 - Comments (0)
Category: Hygiene, Sleep and Dreams, Danger, Risk, and Peril, 1910s

What a Life!  An Autobiography

You might enjoy this very silly book.

Posted By: Paul - Sat Nov 18, 2023 - Comments (2)
Category: Art, Surrealism, Humor, Books, 1910s

Rain-Making Device

Full patent here.

Posted By: Paul - Tue Oct 17, 2023 - Comments (0)
Category: Inventions, Patents, 1910s, Weather

“Fighting the Flames” at Dreamland

The Dreamland amusement park had a spectacle that consisted of a street scene of building facades which would erupt in flames, allowing a mock rescue by fireman-actors. Ironically, the whole park died in a giant inferno.

Posted By: Paul - Mon Sep 25, 2023 - Comments (0)
Category: Fairs, Amusement Parks, and Resorts, Firefighting, Arson, Wildfires, Infernos and Other Conflagrations, Simulations, Make-Believe, Cosplay and other Pretend Situations, 1900s, 1910s

The Aerowagon

The Wikipedia page.

The Aerowagon or Aeromotowagon (Russian: Аэроваго́н, аэродрези́на, romanized: aerovagon, aerodrezyna) was an experimental high-speed railcar fitted with an aircraft engine and propeller traction invented by Valerian Abakovsky, a Soviet engineer from Latvia. It produced speeds of up to 140 kilometres per hour (87 miles per hour).[1] The Aerowagon was originally intended for the express transportation of important documents, and to carry Soviet officials on government business.[2]

Good article and more pics here.

Posted By: Paul - Wed Jun 28, 2023 - Comments (2)
Category: Death, Inventions, Motor Vehicles, 1910s, Russia

Hand Grenade Throwing as a College Sport

Lewis Omer’s Hand Grenade Throwing as a College Sport, published in 1918, appears in various lists of books with odd titles.

I was curious about the contents of the book, but I initially came up empty handed. The British Library blog reported that it was a nine-page booklet, but that no copies of the title seemed to remain in existence. The Library of Congress didn't have a copy, nor did any other libraries. And the British Library's own copy was destroyed during aerial bombing in World War II.

But after some searching I found what appears to be the text of Omer's booklet reproduced in the Spalding's Athletic Library Official Handbook, published in 1919, and viewable at archive.org.

So why hand-grenade throwing as a college sport? Because, at the time Omer wrote his book, young American men were being sent to fight in World War I, and some colleges had introduced grenade throwing as a sport, to prepare them for the war. Using dummy grenades, obviously, rather than live ones. Omer's booklet provided the official rules for the new sport.

Some more info about the history of grenade throwing as a sport can be found at the History Of The California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section.

Posted By: Alex - Thu Jun 22, 2023 - Comments (5)
Category: Sports, Books, 1910s, Weapons

Slang of 1911

Posted By: Paul - Sun Jun 11, 2023 - Comments (4)
Category: 1910s, North America, Slang

Device for attracting submarines and the like

Submarines were a new menace during World War I, but Louis Schramm figured he had a way to defeat them. His invention (Patent No. 1,143,233) involved powerful electromagnets that would pull submarines to the sides of a ship where they could be electrified, killing their crew.

Critics pointed out that the magnets would attract anything metallic to the side of the ship, including mines.

Posted By: Alex - Mon May 08, 2023 - Comments (3)
Category: Boats, Oceans and Maritime Pursuits, War, Patents, 1910s

He Resolves Not To Smoke

Posted By: Paul - Sat Apr 29, 2023 - Comments (0)
Category: Tobacco and Smoking, Fantasy, Cartoons, 1910s