Inventions
Groundhog Detector
Feb 1947: the residents of Quarryville, Pennsylvania used strange, new technology in an attempt to detect and communicate with groundhogs.
Chairman of the Hibernating Groundhog Lodge in Quarryville, Pa. calibrates the "ultra-secret invention" that will be used to contact "10,672 registered groundhogs in Lancaster County" on Groundhog Day.
image source: Temple University Library
Louisville Courier-Journal - Feb 2, 1947
Brooklyn Daily Eagle - Feb 2, 1947
Posted By: Alex - Tue Feb 02, 2021 -
Comments (2)
Category: Holidays, Inventions, 1940s
Wearable Boat
Posted By: Paul - Sat Jan 30, 2021 -
Comments (0)
Category: Hunting, Trapping and Other Wilderness Activities, Inventions, Chindogu, Oceans and Maritime Pursuits, 1930s
Airbag Jeans
Another addition to our growing collection of weird jeans:Moses Shahrivar, who calls himself "The Artist Moses," has invented airbag jeans. From upi.com:
It seems similar in concept to the wearable airbags, designed to prevent the elderly if they fall, that we've posted about before.
Posted By: Alex - Wed Jan 27, 2021 -
Comments (3)
Category: Inventions, Denim
Whistling Accelerators
Accelerators have inspired a number of weird inventions. For example, a few years ago we posted about the "Deaccelerator" which was a device that aimed to prevent speeding by making it harder to depress the pedal in your car once you reached a pre-set speed (usually 50 mph).We've also posted about an effort to replace the accelerator with a pedal. The faster the driver pedaled, the faster the car would go. This was designed to give drivers some exercise as they commuted to work.
And yet another odd accelerator invention is the whistling accelerator. The idea is that if the accelerator is depressed too rapidly it will produce an annoying whistle. This will remind the driver not to accelerate too quickly, thereby saving gas.
The idea for a noise-making accelerator goes back to a 1958 patent granted to Philip Kershman of Los Angeles. He had rigged up an accelerator so that it would ring a bell if depressed too quickly.
Eighteen years later, in 1976, Henry Merriman of Michigan simplified this idea by replacing the bell with a whistle. He basically took a squeeze toy and attached it to the underside of the accelerator.
Merriman's squawking accelerator
St. Joseph News-Press/Gazette - Apr 30, 1975
Another whistling accelerator was patented in 2012. Its design was more sophisticated, but it was overall the same idea — accelerate too quickly and the thing starts whistling. The patentees described it as a "vehicle fuel efficiency monitor and signalling device".
Personally, I'm content to drive without any bells or whistles attached to the accelerator.
Posted By: Alex - Wed Jan 20, 2021 -
Comments (0)
Category: Inventions, Patents, Cars, Cacophony, Dissonance, White Noise and Other Sonic Assaults
The Balance Watch
In 2005, John Paul Castro of Santa Monica, CA was granted a patent (No. 6,840,665) for what he called the "Balance Watch". From his patent:
Based on the quality of the artwork in his patent, it's apparent he chose not to splurge and hire a professional illustrator.
As far as I know, the balance watch never made it to market. But it would seem easy enough to make your own. Get two identical watches. Remove the minute hand from one, and the hour hand from the other. Then wear them simultaneously on opposite wrists.
Posted By: Alex - Sun Jan 17, 2021 -
Comments (3)
Category: Fashion, Inventions, Patents, Technology
The Trash Creations of Dinaa Amin
More at her YouTube channel.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Jan 17, 2021 -
Comments (1)
Category: Garbage, Trash, Waste and Other Detritus, Inventions, Outsider Art
Cheese-Filtered Cigarettes
We've previously posted about "cheese candy", which was the invention of Wisconsin lumberman Stuart Stebbings. Another of his inventions was cheese-filtered cigarettes. He was, apparently, a man driven to find new uses for cheese.
Lab tests demonstrated that a cheese filter could remove 90 percent of the tar in cigarettes. A hard cheese worked best, such as Parmesan, Romano, or Swiss. Although an aged cheddar could also be used. Or even a blend of cheeses.
In 1966, Stebbings was granted Patent No. 3,234,948. But as far as I know, his cheese-filtered cigarettes never made it to market.
Mason City Globe-Gazette - Feb 8, 1960
Posted By: Alex - Sun Jan 03, 2021 -
Comments (3)
Category: Food, Inventions, Patents, Smoking and Tobacco, 1960s
An apparatus for holding eyelids open
Alexander Barash of Illinois was recently granted a patent for an "apparatus for opening and holding eyelids open" (Patent No. 10842477).
I guess that A Clockwork Orange didn't count as prior art.
Posted By: Alex - Sat Dec 12, 2020 -
Comments (2)
Category: Inventions, Patents, Eyes and Vision
Panasonic Radio *PLUS* Calculator
Entry at Radio Museum.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Dec 11, 2020 -
Comments (1)
Category: Excess, Overkill, Hyperbole and Too Much Is Not Enough, Inventions, Chindogu, Technology, 1970s
The Vibro-Helmontholator
A fancy name for a worm catcher.
The Elizabethton Star - Jan 12, 1938
San Francisco Examiner - Dec 16, 1937
Posted By: Alex - Thu Dec 10, 2020 -
Comments (4)
Category: Inventions, Odd Names, 1930s
| Who We Are |
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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 |