Category:
Inventions
Inventions
Inventions of Buckminster Fuller, part 1: the Dymaxion Car
This is just one of the many strange inventions that Fuller imagined would improve society. Dymaxion, which is an abbreviation of dynamic maximum tension, was the name he attached to many of his inventions.
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Posted By: fyshstyxx - Fri May 15, 2009 -
Comments (5)
Category: Inventions, Odd Names, 1930s, Cars
Murals That Move
Posted By: Nethie - Fri May 15, 2009 -
Comments (3)
Category: Architecture, Art, Inventions
They Had That Back Then? #2
Today's lesson: Musical Ring Tones.
(from the May 1956 issue of Popular Science)
Posted By: Salamander Sam - Tue May 12, 2009 -
Comments (4)
Category: Inventions, Music, Technology, 1950s, Yesterday’s Tomorrows
Guess the Object
This is my first entry, so I thought I'd go with something simple. Have a guess as to what this is and find out on the comments page
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Posted By: fyshstyxx - Tue May 05, 2009 -
Comments (4)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Inventions
So, We Taste Like Bacon?
Ever wondered what human flesh would taste like but you've never been trapped in the Andes due to a horrific plane crash? Then this cute little robot has the answer. Designed by researchers in Japan, the Winebot is supposed to be for sorting different types of wine, cheese and hors d'oeuvres. But when a reporter placed his hand against the sensor, he was declared to be "bacon". Anyone care to confirm?
Posted By: Nethie - Mon May 04, 2009 -
Comments (7)
Category: Animals, Body, Cannibalism, Inventions, Robots
Water-Saving Shower Curtain
Here in Southern California we're facing water shortages, so Elisabeth Buecher's shower curtain could come in handy. It helps save water because it "slowly inflates around you while you shower. It leaves you only a few minutes to take your shower before trapping you."She calls her overall philosophy of design the "design of threat and punishment." Sounds kinky.
I have to admit that the idea of installing her shower curtain in the guest bathroom of our house, and not warning guests about it beforehand, is very tempting.
(Warning: One of the images on her page may be slightly NSFW.)
Posted By: Alex - Thu Apr 23, 2009 -
Comments (11)
Category: Bathrooms, Hygiene, Inventions
The Bicycle Shower
Combining your workout with a shower could save some time, I suppose. Though I'm not sure if that was the intended purpose of this invention. From the Chicago Tribune, Jan 18, 1903.
Posted By: Alex - Tue Apr 21, 2009 -
Comments (14)
Category: Bathrooms, Exercise and Fitness, Hygiene, Inventions, 1900s
Transparent Face Mask
From Popular Science, March 1940:
Slipped over the head, a bag of cellulose tissue designed for use in skiing and other outdoor sports offers protection for the face without interfering with vision. The transparent mask can also be used as a shower cap, an apron, a tray cover, and a turban, the makers say.
Maybe it didn't interfere with vision, but the interfering with breathing probably posed a problem.
Posted By: Alex - Thu Apr 16, 2009 -
Comments (6)
Category: Inventions, Products, 1940s
Build your own hug machine
Hugmachine.org offers complete instructions on how to build your very own, low-cost hug machine. For those times when you need to feel the comforting press of two mattresses around you.The Hug Machine was invented by Temple Grandin as a way to treat her autism. From Wikipedia:
The idea for the hug machine was devised during a visit to her aunt's Colorado ranch, where she noted the way cattle were vaccinated while confined in a squeeze chute, and how some of the cattle immediately calmed down after pressure was administered. She realized the deep pressure from the chute had a calming effect, and decided that might well settle down her own hypersensitivity. Whereas psychologists at her high school sought to confiscate her prototype hug machine, her science teacher encouraged her to determine just why it helped resolve her anxiety and sensory issues.
Posted By: Alex - Fri Apr 03, 2009 -
Comments (7)
Category: Inventions, Psychology
Sloped Writing
It's not a bad idea, though it has no chance of ever becoming widely adopted. Inventor Paolo Bizziocchi proposes that it would be easier to read text if it were sloped downhill from left to right, so that each new line would be at the same height as the line just finished. This would allow "a quick-reading without mistakes and delays whatsoever."Bizziocchi filed a patent that includes this helpful illustration:
What I don't understand is how this was patentable. People have been writing with lines at all kinds of crazy angles ever since writing was invented.
Posted By: Alex - Fri Mar 20, 2009 -
Comments (7)
Category: Inventions, Patents
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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 |