January 1, 2010

“Radio City” will be Marvel of Architecture (Jun, 1931)

Filed under: Architecture — @ 12:54 pm
Source: Modern Mechanix ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Jun, 1931
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“Radio City” will be Marvel of Architecture

A glittering city within a city, covering three square blocks and costing the staggering total of $250,000,000—that’s the “Radio City” which will begin next month to rise in New York, the project of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Details of this architectural marvel are set forth in this article.
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Tilting Ash Tray Eliminates Fire Dangers (May, 1938)

Filed under: House and Home, Impractical — @ 12:54 pm
Source: Modern Mechanix ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: May, 1938
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Yeah, because that will work better than just adding a flange.

Tilting Ash Tray Eliminates Fire Dangers

EQUIPPED with a self-tilting mechanism, this ash tray makes it impossible for a cigarette to burn down so short that the weight of the over-hanging end causes the cigarette to over-balance and fall off the tray and burn the table or rug. If the cigarette is allowed to burn for any length of time while on the rest, its heat causes a spring within the tray to expand and tilt, thus dumping the burning butt into the tray. This tray in use eliminates not only the danger of damaging furniture as the result of forgotten cigarettes, but the possibility of fire from the same cause.

December 7, 2009

Five-Story Steel Ball Makes Novel Hospital (Jan, 1929)

Filed under: Architecture — @ 12:40 pm
Source: Modern Mechanix ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Jan, 1929
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Five-Story Steel Ball Makes Novel Hospital

RESEMBLING a strange machine from another planet, a huge steel ball standing five stories high is being erected at Cleveland, Ohio, so that persons suffering from diabetes may be given treatment under ideal conditions.

In the strange spherical “health hotel,” patients will live constantly in an atmosphere of high oxygen content, maintained at a pressure of 30 pounds per square inch, twice that of the normal atmosphere.

There are five floors inside the tank. An elevator in the center of the tank connects the different levels. Each of the private rooms is furnished like that in a modern hotel. Light enters through windows shaped like portholes to resist the pressure.

The treatment tank was designed in the shape of a ball so that air-tight seams could be secured more easily.

Air under 30 pounds pressure will be maintained, and the temperature and humidity will be carefully regulated. A large refrigerating plant has been built for cooling air as it leaves the compressors, and a drying plant will remove excess moisture.

November 24, 2009

PLASTIC HOME (Apr, 1946)

Filed under: Architecture — @ 1:37 pm
Source: Mechanix Illustrated ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Apr, 1946
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PLASTIC HOME

HERE is the “Plexiglas Dream Suite,” designed to show peace-time uses for the clear plastic which has done such an efficient job decorating the noses and turrets of our fighting planes. The rooms are small in size for efficient air conditioning, but do away with that “closed in” feeling by the use of sweeping plastic walls with draw curtains for privacy. The four-color murals have a three-dimensional effect, achieved by superimposing four sheets of Plexiglas etched in separate colors and design elements. Bookshelves supply just enough indirect illumination. Drawers and shelves have plastic accessories.

October 28, 2009

Novel Ice Cream Dispenser (Feb, 1932)

Filed under: Kitchen — @ 12:52 pm
Source: Modern Mechanix ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Feb, 1932
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Novel Ice Cream Dispenser

SODA jerkers and confectioners who are called on to “dish up” ice cream cones will appreciate the labor-saving features of a new tray which holds the cones in such a manner that both hands are free for the filling operation. Aside from its time-saving aspect, the tray permits the salesman to pause in his work of filling the cones in case he is called on to serve a rush customer.

The section containing the holes which hold the cones fits over a wooden tray base, so that the device comes in two parts. Advertising copy for ice cream manufacturers can be imprinted on the holders.

August 26, 2009

Sun Supplies Heat For This House (Feb, 1940)

Filed under: Architecture — @ 10:19 am
Source: Mechanix Illustrated ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Feb, 1940
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Sun Supplies Heat For This House
OLD SOL provides the heat for the hot water system in this new sun laboratory, recently completed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology for research on using the sun rays for house heating and power generation. The man on the roof is Dr. Byron B. Woertz, research assistant, who is inspecting energy collectors, or “heat traps,” in which circulating water is heated by sunlight and stored in a large basement tank for future use.

August 24, 2009

Corner Windows Feature of New Gotham Skyscraper (Jul, 1931)

Filed under: Architecture — @ 7:26 am
Source: Modern Mechanix ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Jul, 1931
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Corner Windows Feature of New Gotham Skyscraper

A NEW step in office building construction has been marked with the completion of a new 34-story skyscraper in New York City. The most noteworthy feature of the building is that the supporting steel framework does not extend to the corners of the structure, these corners being left entirely clear, and windows being placed at each floor with only a thin metal window sash at the angle. The additional light thus available in the corner offices makes these suites desirable especially in the upper stories beyond reach of street noises.

August 19, 2009

Plastic Oven (Feb, 1946)

Filed under: Impractical, Kitchen — @ 10:10 pm
Source: Mechanix Illustrated ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Feb, 1946
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Even assuming that it wouldn’t melt, why would it reduce the possibility of burning your food?

Plastic Oven is the latest use of the wonder synthetic. It offers considerable advantages for the housewife, chiefly in reducing possibility of burnt steaks, roasts, cakes, etc. Model shown is British.

July 27, 2009

Haywire House (Apr, 1947)

Filed under: Architecture, Entertainment — @ 9:27 am
Source: Mechanix Illustrated ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Apr, 1947
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Haywire House

By R.W.K

I’VE been there, I’ve seen, I’ve taken pictures—but I still don’t see how such things are possible.

The Editors of MI heard some wild stories about a place called the House of Mystery. What stories! People go around ten degrees off the vertical! A golf ball thrown straight up comes down several inches to one side! A bottle rolls uphill! A broom stands by itself—at an angle to the floor! People grow taller or shorter, depending on where they stand! All this happens in Oregon, in a peculiar area called the Oregon Vortex, a circle, or rather a sphere, exactly 165 feet 4-1/2 inches in diameter up in the Gold Hill country!
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July 15, 2009

A Hundred Miles of Cookies Every Day (Feb, 1929)

Filed under: Kitchen — @ 11:26 am
Source: Modern Mechanix ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Feb, 1929
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A Hundred Miles of Cookies Every Day

USING complicated machines, modern bakeries turn out millions of cookies every day to satisfy the American sweet tooth.

MUCH has been said of quantity production, and in the public mind the term usually is associated with motor car assembling. But the process of continuous manufacture was in use in other industries long before the automobile achieved its remarkable popularity.
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June 23, 2009

House Shaped Like Elephant (Jan, 1937)

Filed under: Architecture, Just Weird — @ 12:33 pm
Source: Modern Mechanix ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Jan, 1937
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House Shaped Like Elephant
A HOUSE built in the shape of an elephant is located at Margate City, N. J. Erected in 1882 by James V. Lafferty, the novel home is said to be the only one of its kind. The body is 38 feet long, the circumference, 80 feet. The head is 26 feet long and 48 feet around. Legs are 22 feet long with a diameter of 10 feet. Glass eyes have an 18-inch diameter.

June 22, 2009

Plastic Bathtub (Dec, 1947)

Filed under: House and Home — @ 10:23 am
Source: Mechanix Illustrated ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Dec, 1947
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Plastic Bathtub is a great time saver, says Dolly Down, nightclub singer, above. You can sun-bathe and water-bathe at the same time. She’s shown here atop a Miami hotel.

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