MERRY-GO-ROUND DRIVEN BY HAND

Children provide their own power to take an exciting spin on a merry-go-round produced by a Dallas, Texas, inventor. Occupying seats at the ends of a long board, the two children push hand levers back and forth. Wires leading from these handles actuate a ratchet wheel which causes the board to spin rapidly about. The board is mounted on ball bearings on a single support set in concrete. Adjustable steel stirrups are fitted to the board.

The U.S. issued a rather nice Garbo stamp in 2005.

Will Sweden Issue “Garbo” Stamp?
IN a recent contest conducted by a Stockholm newspaper for a new Swedish postage stamp design, one contestant submitted this design bearing the likeness of Sweden’s famous daughter, Greta Garbo. If the design meets with official approval, it will be issued.

Two Pedal but Only One Steers on Bike with Rumble Seat
Rumble seats for bicycles—a new version of the “bicycle built for two.” It is an Australian’s idea. The “aft” seat was mounted low for the junior member of the family, who can help pedal but has to let dad do all the steering. The diameter of the rear wheel is only half that of the front.

SOUND TRUCK HELPS LAND AIRSHIP
When the Navy’s new airship Macon takes off or lands at the Akron Municipal Airport, Ohio, activities of the ground crew are directed by means of a sound truck that amplifies the voice of the mooring officer so it is audible to every man on the handling lines. This system was particularly valuable during early practice flights, when a slight hitch in carrying out commands might have proved disastrous.

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DECEIVE YOUR SENSES

by Roy Lester

SEEING isn’t always believing. Nor is smelling, feeling, hearing or tasting. Your senses, as a matter of fact, are pretty gullible. They go, hook, line and sinker, for any number of tricks. On these pages are a few simple methods by which you may prove to your own satisfaction that your senses are far from infallible.

They’re easy to try, and the results are guaranteed to surprise you.

Get it? The Apple is a revolutionary computer. Ben Franklin was a revolutionary. Ben Franklin + Apple Computer = Marketing Genius.

What kind of man owns his own computer?

Rather revolutionary, the whole idea of owning your own computer? Not if you’re a diplomat, printer, scientist, inventor… or a kite designer, too. Today there’s Apple Computer. It’s designed to be a personal computer. To uncomplicate your life. And make you more effective.

It’s a wise man who owns an Apple.
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Novel Use for Old Razor Blades

UTILIZING old safety razor blades to cut grass, the inventor of this sickle designed it so that it folds up like a jack knife, thus protecting the sharp edge. The old razor blades are slipped into a groove and tightened by small screws. If one of the blades is damaged in any manner, it can easily be replaced without expense and with little trouble.

In addition to providing a practical use for razor blades that are too dull for shaving, the sickle cuts grass and weeds much more rapidly than one of average make. When ready for use on a lawn, there is no danger that the knife will close on the fingers gripping the handle. It is locked securely by a spring-catch.

HOMEMADE HYDROELECTRIC PLANT LIGHTS HOUSES AND RUNS RADIO

Constructed of junk parts at a total cost of $20, a homemade hydroelectric power plant is supplying current on the farm of William E. Howell, Decatur Island, Wash. The water wheel is built up on half of a rear automobile axle, and the two-foot, V-shaped buckets are constructed of cedar planks. A thousand gallons of water a minute run down a 217-foot flume from a small creek and strike the buckets after a five-foot drop, spinning a one-fourth-horsepower, thirty-two-volt motor of washing machine type which is used as a generator. The electricity thus produced by the “backyard” hydroelectric station is sufficient to light two houses, the barn and outbuildings, to operate an electric washer, sewing machine, vacuum cleaner and sheep-shearing machine, and to run the builder’s amateur radio station, with which he talks to the mainland.

Six facts every engineer and scientist should know about the new CRC102-A

Electronic Digital General-Purpose Computer

1. LOW INITIAL COST – The CRC 102-A is one of the lowest priced, large scale, digital electronic computers now available commercially. It may be purchased, rented, or leased with an option to buy. Performance guarantees are given as part of every lease contract.
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I Read “P.M.” Behind the Iron Curtain

M/Sgt. Elmer Bender, U.S.M.C.

A COPY of Popular Mechanics Magazine that turned up miraculously in a remote mud village—that was a high spot in our 18 months of captivity by the Chinese Communists. How the magazine got into that part of China I have no idea but it was an old and welcome friend. We read it and reread it from cover to cover.

Chief Electrician’s Mate William C. Smith and I were taken prisoner on October 19, 1948, when the light liaison plane I was flying ran out of gas and we had to land on an ocean beach. Ascribe that to a technical malfunction. The gas indicator showed that the tank was almost full even while the engine was turning over for the last time.
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Spearing Balloons Is New Boat-Race Hazard

Balloon “busting” from careering speedboats is the spectacular sport recently devised by a racing association in California. Before the start of a race, a cable is stretched above the starting line of the course about ten feet above the water. Large toy balloons are suspended from the cable by means of weighted cords that are just long enough to enable the balloons to be touched by a mechanic standing in a speeding boat. As the pilots steer their craft under the balloons at the finish of each lap, the mechanic, armed with a spear and standing in the boat, attempts to puncture a balloon. If he fails, the pilot must circle about until the mechanic finally succeeds in spearing his balloon. Only then can the boat continue on with the next lap.

That certainly is strange.

Bird Embryo In Apricot

ORNITHOLOGISTS in California were confronted with a puzzle when an apricot was found there with a well-developed bird embryo inside it.