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What’s New

A picture roundup of new products and developments.

Advanced-design features A drag-reducing front spoiler on Volvo’s “concept” car retracts automatically at speeds under 40 mph, when it has little aerodynamic effect and could be damaged by curbs or deep snow. An electronic memory for the power-adjusted driver’s seat is another feature that may turn up in future models: Push a button (above, right) and the memory recalls seat positions for four people. The dash has small CRT’s for function and warning displays. A two-liter engine with fuel injection is turbocharged to deliver 136 hp and meet California’s emission standards.
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Cattalo —A New Animal from the North

“Cattalo steak, sir? Nice and tender today.” You may hear that in dining-cars and hotels in the near future.

The “cattalo” is the result of crossing the buffalo and Hereford cow, and has been bred by the animal husbandmen of the Canadian Department of Agriculture with a view to transforming the Arctic prairies into a profitable ranch. Read the rest of this entry »

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HANDY HANDSET

Sound-powered telephones make superlative yuletide toys

By HAROLD P. STRAND

SURE THEY WORK—and you don’t even need batteries! What are they? Just a pair of sound-powered telephones that are certain to turn a couple of kids into a pair of happy hooligans for many a fun-time session. And what’s the secret? There really isn’t any— other than the fact that a crystal earphone will work as either an earphone or a microphone, depending on whether you talk or listen. Read the rest of this entry »

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Giant Slingshots of the Navy

by Rear Admiral E. R. Stitt (U.S.N.)
and Lt. Com. J. C. Adams (U.S.N.)

Senior Flight Surgeon, Aircraft Squadrons
Fighting seaplanes of Uncle Sam’s navy are launched into the air by means of powerful catapults which throw them into the air like giant slingshots. This is only one of the unusual stunts which naval flyers are required to perform—which explains why only the most perfect pilots win the title of “naval aviator.” Read the rest of this entry »

Mechanical Barroom Dispenses Drinks by Coin-in-Slot

AND now comes the mechanized barroom in the form of an automat that dispenses any liquor you may wish by simply inserting a coin in a slot. (Don’t get excited—it’s in Germany.) Displayed recently at the Great Fair in Leipzig, the device has a row of spigots fed by tanks containing all choice liquors of every vintage.

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WHAT’S NEW FOR Your Home

TRANSPARENT FIREPLACE is a freestanding unit with quarter-inch heat-resistant glass on three sides. The raised hearth is made of ceramic-coated steel. A star-shaped sloping hood covers the firebox area and rises to join a 10-inch flue housing. Venting attachments and extensions are available to accommodate most room heights. The fireplace, which can be painted to match room, is made by Majestic Co., Huntington, Ind. Read the rest of this entry »

Electrically Regulated Plow Reduces the Required Man Power on Farms

AN ELECTRIC plow which does not require an attendant was used in a demonstration at Ames, Iowa, at the College of Agriculture, before a large group of western students. The plow is so regulated by the electrical mechanism that it maintains a set speed. It can be adjusted so that it will go around a three or four cornered piece of land, making the turns unaided. It will travel in a true line.

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St. Louis’ two-legged tower: Tallest U.S. Monument

By Charles Remsberg
Illustrated by Ray Pioch

A SOARING arch 630 feet high, and of equal span, will soon be the tallest monument in the U.S. Its gleaming skin will be made of 886 tons of stainless steel, biggest single order on record. Trains with ingenious drum-shaped cars will run up and down inside it. Called the Gateway Arch, it forms the spectacular centerpiece of St. Louis’ new $30 million Jefferson National Ex- pansion Memorial Park. It symbolizes the city’s role as the gateway to the West after the Louisiana Purchase of 1803.
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KAISER’S “CHASSIS” HOMES

They’re assembled from factory-built units, but they don’t look alike

What Henry J. Kaiser is already doing to meet the housing shortage in the Los Angeles area he regards as a sample of what he will be doing shortly near Detroit, Portland (Oregon), and other of our cities. Teamed up with Fritz B. Burns, veteran Los Angeles land developer, Kaiser is completing 1,700 homes near the California city, and before the year is over he expects to put up 10,000 more, there and elsewhere. Read the rest of this entry »