The justification for this clipboard gun was that it would allow police officers to approach stopped vehicles looking as if they were holding a clipboard, not a gun.
The problem that I see is that it wouldn't take long for the public to realize that the clipboards were actually guns. In which case, even if a police officer was genuinely only carrying a clipboard, everyone would assume it was a gun.
More info:
Patent No. 4,016,666
So near as I can interpret this patent, in front of every bank teller's window is erected a revolving-door chamber. The customer--or robber--must enter the chamber, which revolves shut behind him. A good customer is allowed by the clerk's pressing of a switch to exit. The robber is held in place. What could go wrong?
The clapper, adapted for underwear.
From the patent:
Lingerie, such as bras which are worn by females, have a fastening mechanism, such as a hook-type fastener, which is difficult to open, especially for the male counterpart. A bra according to the present invention could be made using a signal-activated fastener such that the female's boyfriend or husband could clap his hand and the bra would automatically open.
Patented by Josephine Rountree in 1926.
I wouldn't call having this thing strapped to your face as "without inconvenience to the user."
My invention relates to orthopedic appliances and has particular reference to an appliance adapted to be worn by the user, after retiring, whereby certain facial muscles will be trained to gradually produce the permanent effect of a smile on the countenance of the person using the appliance. The primary object of the invention is to produce such an effect and to counteract the sagging of the muscles around the corners of the mouth, due in most cases to advancing years.
Another object of the invention is to provide an appliance which will gradually train the muscles at the corners of the mouth into the position assumed by the act of smiling, without inconvenience to the user.
This is obviously a measuring device of some kind. But what exactly does it measure? The answer is below in extended.
More in extended >>
Edward Oliveira of Newport, Rhode Island was granted a patent (#2,749,555) in 1956 for a "date hat". His idea was that, by wearing the hat, a young woman could display whether she was available for a date on a specific day. From the patent:
In high schools, colleges and the like, it is often impossible to carry on very much of a conversation during, or even between classes. Since many dates between boys and girls are most easily made when they are gathered together in school, it is a disadvantage not to be able to tell whether a girl is already dated for a particular day and hour. If a boy knew that one girl is already dated for the particular time he desires, he would quickly be able to attempt to date another girl who was not already dated. However, up to the present time, this has been difficult because, in many instances, there is not sufficient time to talk to every available girl to determine their date status. In order to remedy the above situation, it is one object of the present invention to provide an article of wearing apparel which can be set to indicate to any observer whether a girl has a date for the particular time desired.
I can see a problem with this concept. Would a young woman really want to publicly display that no one had asked her out?
Also, had Oliveira attempted to get dates by systematically asking out every girl in his school? Thus leading to his frustration that there was "not sufficient time to talk to every available girl to determine their date status."
William Cowan didn't invent the bottle opener, but he did invent, and patent, a method for attaching a bottle opener to a car's bumper (
Patent No. 2,674,141).
I can see the potential use for camping or tailgate parties. But it still seems odd that this was patentable. After all, could one get a new patent for every different object a bottle opener could potentially be attached to?
This looks like an excellent way to wreck your vertebrae.
Full patent here.
Submarines were a new menace during World War I, but Louis Schramm figured he had a way to defeat them. His invention (
Patent No. 1,143,233) involved powerful electromagnets that would pull submarines to the sides of a ship where they could be electrified, killing their crew.
Critics pointed out that the magnets would attract anything metallic to the side of the ship, including mines.