Inventions
SOCCKET (Energy-Producing Soccer Ball)
It sounds like a nice idea. The "SOCCKET" is an electricity generating soccer ball. So children in impoverished communities, whose parents can't afford electric light, can play soccer during the day to charge the device up, and then use it at night to power a small lamp to read by.Plenty of money was raised to produce these things and ship them worldwide. Unfortunately it seems that the gadget wasn't field-tested very well, because reports are that most of them promptly stopped working after a few days. So a lot of kids now have an overpriced soccer ball. [pri.org]
Posted By: Alex - Sun Apr 13, 2014 -
Comments (5)
Category: Inventions, Sports
S.E.L.F.I.E. Mirror
If holding a camera in front of your face and snapping a picture is too much trouble, then you might be interested in the S.E.L.F.I.E. Mirror (which stands for Self Enhancing Live Feed Image Engine).When you stand in front of it, it automatically takes a picture of you and uploads it to Twitter.
Although, if it's taking the picture, then is it still a selfie? Or is it a mirrorie? [via slashgear]
Posted By: Alex - Fri Apr 11, 2014 -
Comments (6)
Category: Inventions, Photography and Photographers
The God Helmet
Wikipedia info here.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Apr 04, 2014 -
Comments (8)
Category: Inventions, Religion, Technology, Brain
Sound Jar
Posted By: Alex - Tue Apr 01, 2014 -
Comments (3)
Category: Inventions
Solafeet Foot Tanner
With Solafeet you can make your feet match your existing tan... or go for the tanned-feet-only look! It's only $229 (plus shipping). Available only from Solafeet.com!
Posted By: Alex - Mon Mar 24, 2014 -
Comments (8)
Category: Inventions, Products
Hail Protector
It protects your car from hail, plus doubles as an inflatable trampoline for children's parties!
Posted By: Alex - Sat Mar 15, 2014 -
Comments (6)
Category: Inventions
A better rattrap
The July 14, 1952 issue of Life had a photo feature about a contest sponsored by the city of Hammond, Ind., in which schoolchildren were asked to design a better rattrap. The challenge apparently released the inner sadist in some of the kids.Arnold Knopf's trap: a weight falls, releasing a crossbow which shoots an arrow into the rat's back.
Jim Olsen's contribution: after the rat trips a trigger, a weight falls, jerking a noose tight around the rat's neck.
Steve Miller and Ed Cox designed a rat guillotine that included a basket to catch the rat's head.
Posted By: Alex - Tue Feb 11, 2014 -
Comments (6)
Category: Death, Inventions, Pests, Plagues and Infestations, 1950s
DURR!
DURR is a watch that shivers, every five minutes. That's all it does. No hands to tell the time. It just shivers at set, five-minute intervals.
Its makers describe it as a kind of experiment to investigate how we perceive the passage of time: "We made Durr to explore how we perceive 5 minutes in different situations. By markedly shivering every 5 minutes, it creates a haptic rythm to make us notice the changing tempo of time."
They're currently sold out. So you'll have to wait to get yours.
Posted By: Alex - Tue Jan 14, 2014 -
Comments (7)
Category: Inventions
Hands-Free Umbrella
A 1953 invention:
And its descendant in 2005:
Posted By: Alex - Sat Jan 04, 2014 -
Comments (5)
Category: Inventions, 1950s
The SkiBee
Invented by Detroit resident Donald Steeg, circa 1970. The SkiBee had an eight-horsepower engine with a 24-inch propellor that served as a propulsion unit for motorized skiing. Anyone who was willing to wear this thing on their back, could enjoy skiing without having to find a slope to go down. During the summer, it could also be used as an outboard motor on a boat.
[Hutchinson News - Feb 6, 1970]
Posted By: Alex - Thu Dec 26, 2013 -
Comments (7)
Category: Inventions, Motor Vehicles, Sports, 1970s
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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 |