Inventions
DIY Railroading
Posted By: Paul - Thu Nov 08, 2012 -
Comments (7)
Category: Hobbies and DIY, Inebriation and Intoxicants, Inventions, Technology, Wild West and US Frontier, Transportation
No Place Like Dumpster
Posted By: Paul - Thu Oct 11, 2012 -
Comments (4)
Category: Domestic, Eccentrics, Inventions
The Sport-Briar Pipe
"Is that an Indian Club between your lips, or are you just glad to be smoking?"
No wonder this never caught on.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Oct 01, 2012 -
Comments (3)
Category: Inventions, Chindogu, Smoking and Tobacco, 1920s
The Chest Pencil
This is an unusual object on display at the London Science Museum, which offers this explanation:
Posted By: Alex - Fri Sep 21, 2012 -
Comments (8)
Category: Inventions
Helicopter for Kids
I want one of these in my backyard! From the Lewiston Morning Tribune, Nov 9, 1968:
Posted By: Alex - Wed Aug 29, 2012 -
Comments (7)
Category: Inventions
Self-Gassing Device
Kind of like having an octopus attached to your head. From Popular Science, May 1938.
Posted By: Alex - Sun Aug 19, 2012 -
Comments (6)
Category: Inventions, Medicine
The Inflatoplane
Developed by Goodyear in the 1950s, the Inflatoplane could fit in the trunk of a car, and then be inflated to full size in 10 minutes. The idea was that the air force could drop inflatoplanes to pilots stranded in enemy territory, allowing them to fly themselves to safety. But the project was eventually abandoned because of a series of accidents, and the military's concern that the plane could too easily be shot down. Link: bendbulletin.com
Posted By: Alex - Wed Aug 15, 2012 -
Comments (4)
Category: Inventions, Military, Air Travel and Airlines
The Korean Nine-Person Shovel
Westerners traveling to Korea in the late nineteenth century were puzzled by this shovel, which they frequently saw in use on Korean farms. It required between three to nine people to operate, but it seemed to shovel dirt no faster or better than a western-style, one-person shovel.However, the westerners may have been mistaken about the lack of efficiency of the Korean shovel. An article in Esquire (June 21, 2010) by John Richardson offers this piece of info:
via Flickr
via wikipedia
Posted By: Alex - Thu Jun 28, 2012 -
Comments (4)
Category: Inventions
The Flying Platform
According to the Air and Space Museum:
Unfortunately, the flying platform was plagued by engineering problems. Otherwise, we'd probably all be floating around cities in these today. More info here
Posted By: Alex - Mon May 21, 2012 -
Comments (6)
Category: Inventions, Military
A Hat To Protect the Wearer from Falling Bricks
From The Strand magazine, 1895.
Posted By: Alex - Thu May 17, 2012 -
Comments (3)
Category: Inventions, Headgear
| 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 |