May 28, 2006

Portable Globe House for Well-Rounded Living (Jan, 1961)

Filed under: Architecture, Cool — @ 11:02 am
Source: Science And Mechanics ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Jan, 1961
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Portable Globe House for Well-Rounded Living

Only 15 feet in diameter, low-cost home offers all the conveniences of a larger one. And, it can be delivered by boat, truck or even helicopter.

IT looks like a satellite that just fell out of orbit. But actually it is a down-to-Earth, low-cost portable home—with all the modern conveniences you would expect to find only in a more usual-looking (and usual-priced) house. Called the Kugelhaus (Kugel is German for “ball,” and haus means just what it sounds like), it is nothing more than a 15-ft.-diameter hollow ball. Its eggshell-like construction is of either lightweight reinforced concrete, metal or plastic. Just one inch of concrete gives good results, says the inventor, Dr. Johann Ludowici. The house can be completely assembled in the factory—with whatever furniture or other equipment is wanted—before delivery. As portable as a house could be, it can be flown to wherever you want it by helicopter, towed in by boat (it floats), or, more conventionally, carried on a truck.
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May 26, 2006

FLUORESCENCE (Dec, 1944)

Filed under: Cool, Science — @ 10:28 am
Source: Mechanix Illustrated ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Dec, 1944
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FLUORESCENCE

ITS RAINBOW COLORS MAY LIGHT TOMORROW’S CITIES

by Samuel G. Hibben

Director of Applied Lighting, Westinghouse Lamp Division.

AGE-OLD mysteries of flourescence and phosphoresence are being solved today because the demands of war and the foretaste of post-war electrical living have spurred scientific research and development, formerly dormant for several generations. A great incentive has been given to extend scientific studies of this subject—generally termed “luminescence”—through recent developments of the practical methods of producing the chief ingredient, “black light.” True, black light, which is another name for invisible ultraviolet radiations just out of range of the human eye, does exist in sunlight, but it is overcome by the much more powerful visible radiations.
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May 19, 2006

MOVIE CARTOONS Gain THIRD Dimension (Jul, 1936)

Filed under: Cool, General, Movies — @ 9:10 am
Source: Modern Mechanix ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Jul, 1936
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MOVIE CARTOONS Gain THIRD Dimension

MAX FLEISCHER worked a full year to produce 250 feet of motion picture film on one of the first animated cartoons ever to reach the silver screen. Alone, he made thousands of drawings, wrote the story, and did the photography. The animated cartoon was “Out of the Ink Well.” It made movie history just after the World War.

Today he has a staff of 225 people who turn cut a 650-foot animated cartoon every ten days. All of them are in sound, many in color and, latest of all, with three dimensions. The famous “Popeye the Sailor” animateds are leaders in the field; “Betty Boop,” “Ko-Ko the Klown,” and the familiar Screen Songs with the famous bouncing ball are known to every movie-goer. They are released through Paramount Pictures Corporation.
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May 16, 2006

CAN SCIENCE MAKE US LIVE FOREVER? (Jun, 1936)

Filed under: Cool, Medical — @ 12:48 pm
Source: Modern Mechanix ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Jun, 1936
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CAN SCIENCE MAKE US LIVE FOREVER?

Look down into the Well of Youth through these pages and see Biology’s most recent and amazing discoveries. For “booster” hearts and human cold storage are just two of many longevity miracles the doctor orders for your descendants.

YOUR great-great-great-great-great grandchildren may live for a thousand years!

by DONALD GRAY

Let us assume that it is the year 2136 and this far-off descendant of yours has reached the age of twenty-five. He summons a scientist and says:

“I have decided to retire from the world for a while. Put me in a storage vault and leave orders that I be restored to the world of living men one hundred years from today.”
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May 11, 2006

Eyeglasses for Dogs (Apr, 1939)

Filed under: Cool, Dogs, Medical — @ 10:03 am
Source: Popular Science ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Apr, 1939
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There is actually a company called Doggles that sells prescription eyewear for your dog.

Eyeglasses for Dogs

BY MENTIONING that her dog seemed nearsighted, a girl customer started an optician of Geneva, Switzerland, on his way to becoming a specialist in fitting canines with glasses. Not only did he succeed in curing her pet, but now he has found a novel and profitable career in applying his newly discovered methods to other four-footed subjects.
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Amazing Computer Called MRS (Dec, 1958)

Filed under: Computers, Cool — @ 9:34 am
Source: Popular Electronics ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Dec, 1958
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Wow! This was a stunningly advanced computer for the time. I think it would give HAL a run for his money.

MRS

A temperamental MRS computer doesn’t always follow instructions—and self-programs a surprise that only another computer could understand

By Hugh B. Brous, JR.

FIRST OFF, let me tell you that the MRS is no off-the-shelf commercial computer. MRS stands for Multipurpose Research System, and we designed and built the whole works ourselves at the Research Institute. Consequently, we can blame only ourselves for the design features that led to all the troubles. Everyone on the staff still feels that the basic concepts are sound but we unanimously agree that some changes will have to be made before MRS can be a dependable computer system.

MRS is a well-built hunk of hardware with just about everything a computerman could want. She’s got microprograming, built-in compiling routines, half a billion words of high-speed memory, a basic pulse rate of a micromicrosecond, and fantastically fast input-output scanners that work with a whole printed page at a time.
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Miniature Cars are Practical (Feb, 1935)

Filed under: Automotive, Cool, Just Weird — @ 9:16 am
Source: Science And Mechanics ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Feb, 1935
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I really wish people still drove around in these. I certainly would pay extra for a pizza delivered by a little kid wearing a cap, driving tiny car.

Miniature Cars are Practical
CHEAP and serviceable, this little car has attained much favor in England. It goes only 15 miles an hour, but can be driven by a child, and is obviously easy to maneuver and park. Weight, 200 pounds; balloon tires, 12-inch diameter. It is cheap to run —and taxes (based on power) are very low. It is even used for sales display as a miniature of larger cars, with bodies on a reduced scale. In spite of a juvenile appearance, it is quite serviceable for commercial and individual use. Control is by a single pedal.

Ad: Miscellaneous goodies and gadgets (Jan, 1933)

Filed under: Advertisements, Cool — @ 9:08 am
Source: Science And Mechanics ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Jan, 1933
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A cool ad for miscellaneous goodies and gadgets from the JOHNSON SMITH & CO.

Giant sized version so you can actually read the text.

BOYS! THROW YOUR VOICE
THE VENTRILO
BOY AMATEUR ELECTRICIAN 10c
BIG ENTERTAINER
Fighting Roosters
GOOD LUCK RING
PLAY PIANO
INONEHOUR
MIDGET BIBLE
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May 10, 2006

Hotel Guests DIAL for Radio Programs (Aug, 1935)

Filed under: Cool, Radio — @ 5:23 pm
Source: Modern Mechanix ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Aug, 1935
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This is pretty sweet.

Hotel Guests DIAL for Radio Programs
HOMESICK foreign guests at New York City’s Waldorf-Astoria hotel can now listen to radio programs from their own country, or perhaps even from their home town. At their service is the greatest all-wave radio receiver in the world—a set which can bring to each of the 2,200 suites of rooms programs from any one of the powerful broadcasting stations in the world. These programs are oftentimes heard with the same volume and clarity as are local stations.

Some rooms have a unique dialing system, which permits guests to select any station they desire from a printed daily list of world-wide broadcasts, or even hear their favorite phonograph records. In other rooms there are controls on the modernistic loudspeaker, which give to guests a choice of six broadcasts. Amplifiers build up the strength of weak signals more than a hundred billion times.

May 9, 2006

Beerador (Apr, 1939)

Filed under: Cool, Kitchen — @ 11:47 am
Source: Mechanix Illustrated ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Apr, 1939
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Novel Beverage Refrigerator
FEATURING seven revolving shelves which accommodate 504 bottles, this novel electric beverage refrigerator display unit measures only 37 inches in diameter, saving floor space while advertising many brands.

May 8, 2006

SCIENCE SAYS… It Ain’t So (Dec, 1950)

Filed under: Cool, Just Weird, Science — @ 12:05 pm
Source: Mechanix Illustrated ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Dec, 1950
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All my life, I’ve believed that practice makes perfect and that the hand is quicker than the eye. Now stupid, meanie science has to come and shatter all of my dreams. Damn you science!!!

SCIENCE SAYS… It Ain’t So

Before you read the story on the following pages, mark these items TRUE or FALSE, then check the answers in the text. If your score is 16 or better, you’re smarter than science thinks you are.

1. Ground glass will always kill you
2. Brain power declines rapidly with age
3. Your body is symmetrical
4. Geniuses are sickly and die young
5. Faces reveal character
6. Alcohol is a stimulant
7. Women have more intuition than men
8. Practice makes perfect
9. Ptomaine poisoning causes most food sickness
10. You’re more efficient in cold climate
11. Milk prevents tooth decay
12. Cats can kill babies by sucking their breath
13. Marriage between cousins produces morons
14. Goldenrod is the main cause of hayfever
15. Pasteurization kills all germs in milk
16. Don’t keep food in opened cans
17. Blood tests can prove paternity
18. The hand is quicker than the eye
19. Don’t drink water with meals
20. Hypnotized people won’t act against their will
21. Tuberculosis and syphilis are hereditary
22. Rust causes lockjaw
23. Sleeping on the left side is bad for the heart
24. Treat frostbite by rubbing with snow
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Pimp your IMP (Jun, 1953)

Filed under: Automotive, Cool — @ 9:04 am
Source: Mechanix Illustrated ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Jun, 1953
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I love this picture.

MECHANIX ILLUSTRATED PIN-UP CAR
1913 IMP CYCLECAR
Owner: R. F. Clouse, Auburn, Ind. Engine: two-cylinder, air-cooled, 12 horsepower. Friction drive, four speeds forward. Sheet metal body over wood frame. Independent wheel suspension, no axles. Wheelbase 100 inches. Weight 600 pounds. Original price $375. Designed by William B. Stout.

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