Inventions
The Tummy Tutor
It also went by the name "Belly Beeper". The idea was that if you slouched or let your stomach out, it would start beeping. Supposedly this would train you to always keep your stomach muscles tensed and not slouch.Either that or it would train you to avoid wearing it.
The Miami Herald - Oct 7, 1973
Posted By: Alex - Tue Apr 21, 2020 -
Comments (2)
Category: Inventions, 1970s, Dieting and Weight Loss, Stomach
Clean Hands Assured
Claude Davis of Melbourne, Florida obtained a patent for this curious device in 2000. It seems newly relevant in the era of coronavirus.The gadget attached to bathroom doors. Whenever someone turned the handle to open the door, the gadget would spray their hand with dye. This, reasoned Davis, would encourage people to wash their hands, to remove the dye. He imagined his invention might be useful in restaurants and hospitals that have "statutory type hygiene requirements to have their staff and employees clean their hands after using restroom facilities."
Although the invention had good intentions, I can think of several problems with it.
First, I'm sure that most employees would find it incredibly obnoxious to have their hand sprayed with dye every time they went to the bathroom.
Second, wouldn't the gadget also spray dye whenever someone exited the door... spraying into empty air? In which case, half the dye would be wasted. I can imagine employees standing on the inside of the door, pumping away at the door handle until all the dye was used up.
Posted By: Alex - Sun Apr 19, 2020 -
Comments (2)
Category: Bathrooms, Hygiene, Inventions, Patents
Wearable Airbag
Designed to prevent elderly people from injuring themselves when they fall.Interesting idea, though I imagine getting people to wear these things often enough to make a difference would be a challenge.
Posted By: Alex - Wed Apr 15, 2020 -
Comments (3)
Category: Elderly and Seniors, Inventions
Anti-Aging Chair
Hattie Wiener received patents in 1991 and 1993 for an anti-aging chair. The two patents were basically variations on the same theme. The 1991 version of the chair is on the left below, and the 1993 version is on the right.Actually, in the patent write-ups she didn’t mention the anti-aging properties of the chair, but that’s how she described it to the media. She also promoted herself as an “anti-aging consultant.”
The idea was that the chair would force a person to sit upright, and thereby improve their posture and circulation. And this, in turn, would help a person stay healthy as they aged.
She hoped to sell the chair for $600. A lot for a fairly minimalist piece of furniture. But as far as I can tell, it never made it to market.
(left) The Desert Sun - Oct 27, 1991; (right) Austin American-Statesman - Nov 10, 1991
Hattie was in her 50s when she patented the chair. Fast-forward almost thirty years, and now, in her 80s, she's still in the news, but for a very different reason. She's become known as the "Tinder Granny," due to her enthusiasm for using the dating app Tinder to find hookups with younger men.
She's certainly defying the stereotypes of age. But I'm disappointed that in none of the recent pictures of her is she using her anti-aging chair. In fact, in the photo below she's totally slouching.
Hattie Wiener, age 83
Posted By: Alex - Sun Apr 12, 2020 -
Comments (2)
Category: Elderly and Seniors, Furniture, Inventions, Patents
Cat Mew Machine
New York Dispatch - Sep 19, 1963
Posted By: Alex - Sat Apr 11, 2020 -
Comments (3)
Category: Inventions, Cats, 1960s
Mold-A-Rama
Wikipedia page.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Apr 11, 2020 -
Comments (1)
Category: Eccentrics, Collectors, Inventions, Souvenirs, Mementos, and Tchotchkes, Toys, Statues and Monuments, 1960s
Animal Keyboard
The "animal keyboard," introduced by Smith Corona in the mid-1930s, was designed to teach children how to type by having pictures of animals on the keys of the typewriter. As explained by Merritt Ierley in his book Wondrous Contrivances:
The Antikey Chop website provides even more info about the animal keyboard, but I must be missing the point because I don't understand how having pictures of animals on the keys would make it any easier to learn how to type.
Allentown Morning Call - Jan 7, 1937
Posted By: Alex - Mon Apr 06, 2020 -
Comments (3)
Category: Inventions, 1930s
MONAD Studio - 3D-printed, Piezoelectric Violin
Posted By: Paul - Mon Apr 06, 2020 -
Comments (2)
Category: Inventions, Music, Technology
Camera Hat
John L. Johnson of Pinehurst, Washington obtained a patent for his "camera support" in 1945. Patent No. 2,369,829. The support provided a way to conceal a camera inside a hat.I wonder if the patent illustration was a self-portrait.
Posted By: Alex - Sun Apr 05, 2020 -
Comments (2)
Category: Inventions, Patents, Photography and Photographers, 1940s
Odor-based Alarms
Alex's recent run of Weird Patents reminded me of the attempts to base an alarm device on smells.Here's one that seems to have gone nowhere.
And another.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Mar 31, 2020 -
Comments (4)
Category: Annoying Things, Inventions, Twenty-first Century, Smells and Odors
| Who We Are |
|---|
| 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 |