January 12, 2009

Electric Hand (Nov, 1949)

Electric Hand is made of a lightweight metal, driven by a tiny motor installed in the wrist. The electric engine operates off a six-volt battery. A button attached to the user’s upper arm allows the motor to be switched on or off merely by pressure against the body. Device was developed by Friesecke & Hoepfner of Erlangenbruck. Germany.

THEY CALL ‘EM “PIGLOOS” (Nov, 1958)

THEY CALL ‘EM “PIGLOOS”
SCIENCE has taken a look at the pigpen and devised a revolutionary new system to raise young swine. Developed by Nutrena Mills, Inc., Minneapolis, Minn., the Pigloo is a prefab wooden structure designed to increase the low-cost production of hogs by protecting them from disease. It is said to cut breeding costs over 50 per cent.

Bronzing Baby’s Shoes (Nov, 1949)

Coolest product name ever: Nukemite, by Nukem Products Corp., Buffalo, NY.

Bronzing Baby’s Shoes

How to transform your baby’s first pair of walkers into a permanent keepsake.

By Ken Murray

IT is said that the electroplating of baby shoes was conceived when a Scotchman saw a suit of armor during a visit to his ancestral home. Nowadays the “metalizing” of baby’s first shoes is reaching an astonishing popularity, based mostly on the permanence given such articles when they are protected against time with a coating of metal. Copper is the metal most commonly used, and it is enduring enough in itself, but for further protection and attractiveness the encasement of copper may be plated over with gold, silver or nickel. The electroplated shoes are stiff and rigid and may be displayed mounted or unmounted as permanent keepsakes. Read the rest of this entry »

Spuriscope (Nov, 1949)

So, why couldn’t the counterfeiter buy one of these?

Spuriscope tells the difference between a counterfeit bill and a genuine piece of money. The user dials the serial number which is on the currency and there appears on the machine an alphabetical series designation. If the bill in question does not bear the same letters, it’s counterfeit. Accurate Molding Corp., Long Island City, N. Y. makes it.

The Mechanics of Baseball (Jul, 1930)

Filed under: Sports — @ 12:03 am
Source: Modern Mechanix ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Jul, 1930
Buy on Ebay
Tags:

The Mechanics of Baseball

By Babe Ruth

The Sultan of Swat! The Bustin’ Babe! The most colorful player the game has ever seen! In these terms we habitually think of Babe Ruth. In this article he reveals many of the secrets that have made him the game’s most valuable player.

IT SEEMS strange to talk or write of baseball mechanics. Yet the term is a good one, for we who play baseball are as much mechanicians as the engineers who develop airplanes, the men who operate engines or the mechanic who tinkers with an automobile in a garage. The only difference is in the engine. Read the rest of this entry »

January 9, 2009

Doctor Makes Peg Leg for Porker (May, 1932)

Filed under: Animals — @ 11:28 pm
Source: Modern Mechanix ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: May, 1932
Buy on Ebay

Reminds me of this joke.

Doctor Makes Peg Leg for Porker

WHEN Oscar broke his hind leg some time ago it looked like it wouldn’t be long before some white-aproned butcher would be weighing him up as ham, bacon, pigs’ feet, etc. However, a doctor was called in and he decided that an operation was in order.

Oscar was given chloroform and slept while the doctor amputated his limb. Later a peg leg was adjusted on Oscar as the photo shows. The butcher will have to wait.

Making Trick PICTURES with a Home Movie Camera (May, 1932)

Making Trick PICTURES with a Home Movie Camera

by Walter E. Burton

Half the fun in making home movies lies in getting unusual shots that will mystify friends viewing your production. Taking such trick pictures is quite simple and easy, as told here.

IF YOU purchase, borrow, or receive as a present a motion picture camera, you will find the mere process of photographing everything in sight thrilling enough for the first half-dozen reels. Then you will look about for new fields to conquer. Perhaps you will undertake the making of your own dramas or comedies—movies with a plot or at least a basic theme. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s New! (Nov, 1968)

It’s New!

AERIAL FIRE BUCKET being tested in South Vietnam dumps 450 gallons of aqua; refilling from river takes 15 secs.

INSTANT MONEY MACHINE in Paris operates round the clock, issues cash upon insertion of coded credit card.

ELECTRACYCLE. shown with swivel carrier, has 2-1/2-hp, 12V power plant can cover 60-100 mi. at speeds to 40.
Read the rest of this entry »

Inside Uncle Tom (Nov, 1953)

Inside Uncle Tom

Which car does Tom McCahill really like best?

What kind of a guy is he personally?

What testing methods does he use? Read the rest of this entry »

King of Cymbals (Aug, 1954)

King of Cymbals

An ancient Turkish formula has grown into one of the world’s most fabulous monopolies.

By H. W. Kellick

IN quiet, colonial North Quincy, Massachusetts, a small vault-like structure as impenetrable as Fort Knox reverberates with a crash echoed ’round the world by 99 per cent of the professional bands and orchestras. Read the rest of this entry »

January 8, 2009

Jet Engine For Your Car (Apr, 1947)

Jet Engine For Your Car

THE jet engine for automobiles is no idle rumor. Here is one, pictured on these pages—and it runs. The inventor is a young engineer, Robert Kafka, of the firm of Carney Associates, New York City.

Kafka has been working on his invention for ten years. His success is signalled by a report that the Army Air Forces Command at Wright Field has ordered three of the engines as soon as they can be built and delivered. The Air Forces will probably use them to start conventional turbines for airplanes, however, rather than to power automobiles.
Read the rest of this entry »

“Commuter” helicopter (Jul, 1947)

“Commuter” helicopter pictured at right and below is claimed to be the world’s first successful two-place co-axial rotary wing aircraft. The all-metal blades line up fore and aft above the aluminum tear-drop fuselage and all controls are contained in a single unit. In recent public tests it performed vertical take-offs and landings and turned on its own axis while hovering. The pilot is Stanley Hiller, Jr.

17 queries. 0.842 seconds.