Exercise and Fitness
Neck-Exercising Device
Patent No. 4,832,333
Posted By: Alex - Mon Sep 23, 2024 -
Comments (0)
Category: Exercise and Fitness, Patents, 1980s
Electric Dumb Bell
Couldn't you achieve the same thing by just sticking your finger in a wall socket while exercising?Full patent here.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Aug 18, 2024 -
Comments (1)
Category: Exercise and Fitness, Patents, 1920s, Bodybuilding, Pain, Self-inflicted and Otherwise
Inflatable Dumbbells
Frewoini Kassa of Sausalito, California was recently granted a patent (No. 12,005,293) for inflatable dumbbells. In the patent description, Kassa makes the claim that, "Users can inflate the dumbbell devices to a desired weight for customized workouts."In fact, Kassa makes this claim repeatedly. But how would that work?
A pound of dry air occupies about 13 cubic feet at sea level. So to add 5 pounds to a dumbbell you would need to compress 65 cubic feet of air into it.
By comparison, the air in a tire, compressed to 30 psi, doesn't even add up to a pound.
I'd like to see a working example of one of Kassa's inflatable dumbbells!
via Jeff Steck
Posted By: Alex - Wed Jun 19, 2024 -
Comments (3)
Category: Exercise and Fitness, Patents
Flo Motion
Flo Motion was a brief-lived exercise fad in the early 1990s. The idea was to get in shape by swinging a bag of water around.Seems like a bit of a gimmick, which I suppose is why the fad didn't last long.
Spokane Chronicle - Sep 25, 1991
Melbourne Age - Jun 16, 1991
Escondido Times-Advocate - Mar 8, 1991
Posted By: Alex - Tue Apr 09, 2024 -
Comments (2)
Category: Exercise and Fitness, 1990s
Spank yourself slim
Slimming advice from Mildred Graves Ryan, author of Clothes For You (1954).
via Oddball Emporium
Posted By: Alex - Tue Oct 10, 2023 -
Comments (0)
Category: Exercise and Fitness, 1950s, Dieting and Weight Loss
Disco Body Shaper
Posted By: Paul - Tue Sep 05, 2023 -
Comments (3)
Category: Exercise and Fitness, Advertising, 1970s
Body Exerciser
This looks like an excellent way to wreck your vertebrae.Full patent here.
Posted By: Paul - Fri May 12, 2023 -
Comments (0)
Category: Exercise and Fitness, Inventions, Patents, 1920s
How To Keep Your Husband Happy
Alas, you will listen in vain for anything risque.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Apr 22, 2023 -
Comments (1)
Category: Exercise and Fitness, Innuendo, Double Entendres, Symbolism, Nudge-Nudge-Wink-Wink and Subliminal Messages, Television, Husbands, 1960s
Electro-Stimulation Bicycle
Inventors Young Sam Chun and Hyoung Tae Kim of Korea were recently granted Patent No. 11,458,310 for an "electro-stimulation type indoor bicycle." If I'm reading the patent correctly, it gives you an electric shock if you pedal too slow:
Posted By: Alex - Fri Apr 07, 2023 -
Comments (5)
Category: Exercise and Fitness, Patents
Legs of Tomorrow
In 1939, ice skater Erna Anderson was declared to have the "Legs of Tomorrow" on the theory that "the woman of tomorrow will be more athletic."Arguably this prediction came true. At least, it's common now for women to go to gyms, whereas it wasn't in the 1930s.
Minneapolis Star - June 2, 1939
Erna Anderson. Source: New York Public Library
Posted By: Alex - Mon May 09, 2022 -
Comments (7)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Exercise and Fitness, 1930s, Legs, Yesterday’s Tomorrows
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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 |