August 3, 2008

Safety Belt Moors Baby in the Bathtub (Oct, 1939)

Filed under: Bathroom, Scary — @ 11:55 pm
Source: Popular Science ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Oct, 1939
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Strapping your kid into the bathtub just seems like a bad idea. How about they just change the first sentence to: “It’s dangerous to leave a small baby unattended in the bathtub, so don’t do it.”

Safety Belt Moors Baby in the Bathtub

It’s dangerous to leave a small baby unattended in the bathtub, and yet, when the telephone rings or the doorbell must be answered, it is sometimes inconvenient not to be able to do so. Carl H. Fischer, a Council Bluffs, Iowa, engineer and father of three youngsters, solved this problem with the ingenious device pictured at the left. The baby is strapped in a harness that is attached to a metal bar. When the bar is turned, rubber pads threaded to the ends press tightly against the sides of the tub and hold the safety bar firmly in place.

July 17, 2008

Diagonal Bathtub Is Revolutionary (Jul, 1934)

Filed under: Bathroom — @ 11:24 pm
Source: Modern Mechanix ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Jul, 1934
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Diagonal Bathtub Is Revolutionary

THE introduction of a new diagonal bathtub marks the first major change in bathtub design since the first installation in 1841.

Though the new tub is but four feet square, it has just as much room for bathing as the rectangular tubs. The bathing recess extends diagonally across the corners, with two seats in opposite corners. Mothers can sit comfortably while bathing children. The seat in the rear is very convenient to use while taking a shower. All plumbing is concealed under the rim.

June 2, 2008

WONDER PHOTOS REVEAL UNSUSPECTED FACTS ABOUT Razor Blades and Shaving (Oct, 1931)

Filed under: Bathroom — @ 1:50 am
Source: Popular Science ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Oct, 1931
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WONDER PHOTOS REVEAL UNSUSPECTED FACTS ABOUT Razor Blades and Shaving

By Robert E. Martin

A THIN ribbon of sheet steel that would reach halfway round the earth is used every year to scrape the whiskers off the American chin.

These unwanted stubs of hair, if laid end to end, probably would reach from here to Mars, but there is no way of estimating the total amount of suffering and mental anguish involved in their removal. It is a safe guess, however, that the aggregate pain produced by dull razor blades exceeds that of all other pain sources put together.
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April 7, 2008

Revolving Tooth Brush (Oct, 1938)

Filed under: Bathroom, Origins — @ 9:05 pm
Source: Science And Mechanics ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Oct, 1938
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Revolving Tooth Brush

Especial efficiency in cleansing teeth is claimed for a new rotating tooth brush that operates with a spring mechanism. The brush, circular and of 1/2-inch diameter, is located at the end of an extension from the handle which contains the mechanism. The spring is wound with a handle which may then be folded flush and the mechanism is operated by pressing on a lever with the thumb. Practicing dentists aided in the design of the mechanism which, it is asserted, cleanses more thoroughly and more rapidly than the ordinary tooth brush.

March 16, 2008

Bath in Ocean of Soapsuds Is Latest Reducing Method (Feb, 1933)

Filed under: Bathroom, Scary — @ 3:18 am
Source: Modern Mechanix ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Feb, 1933
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Effective in the “reducing process”? I didn’t know that bubble baths helped you lose weight. Maybe they are talking about all the calories you’ll burn convulsing when your bath water shorts out the bubbler and electrocutes you.

Bath in Ocean of Soapsuds Is Latest Reducing Method

SLEEPING in the clouds has nothing on the “bubble bath,” the latest novelty in the way of health gadgets. This device consists of a waterproof electric motor and pump, which connects with a series of long perforated metal tubes placed in the bottom of the bathtub. Air emitted from these tubes causes the water in the tub to bubble and splash like a miniature surf.
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February 21, 2008

MAGNETIC SOAP HOLDER (Feb, 1949)

Filed under: Bathroom — @ 2:02 am
Source: Mechanix Illustrated ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Feb, 1949
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MAGNETIC SOAP HOLDER

EVERY time Urey Edger of Louisville, Ky., washed his face he got n trouble. Not bad trouble—nobody was killed or clapped behind bars. But trouble enough to make him squeeze up his face tight, hop blindly around the washbasin and holler for a towel, to wipe that stinging soap out of his eyes.

Urey noticed a messy jelly in his soap dish and thought that some of his soft-soap goo might be smearing into his eyes and causing his face-washing woe.
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August 16, 2007

All-Purpose Soap Aids Our GI Joes (Oct, 1944)

Filed under: Bathroom, War — @ 12:01 am
Source: Popular Science ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Oct, 1944
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All-Purpose Soap Aids Our GI Joes

MAKING life a lot easier for our soldiers is a soap mild enough for shaving, powerful enough for the i greasiest pots and pans, and capable of producing a foamy lather in water hard or soft, fresh or salt, hot or cold. Secret of the soap lies in a synthetic sulpho-nated product developed from petroleum by Du Pont and known merely as MP 646. It is being sold by the hundreds of thousands of pounds to soap manufacturers who add it to their products in the ratio of one to two. Wide civilian use is expected in postwar years.

July 14, 2007

Hair-Drying Attachment for Fan (Jun, 1924)

Filed under: Bathroom — @ 2:55 am
Source: Popular Mechanics ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Jun, 1924
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Hair-Drying Attachment for Fan

Drying the hair with an electric drier is a quick and convenient method, but not every one cares to buy one for such occasional use. Where some other electrical appliances such as a fan is at hand, an attachment can easily be made for it, that will serve the purpose.

The attachment consists essentially of a cone-shaped piece of sheet metal such as brass, to which a rubber tube with a nozzle is attached, as shown. Read the rest of this entry »

May 29, 2007

HANDLE OF TOOTHBRUSH HOLDS DENTAL MIRROR (Nov, 1936)

Filed under: Bathroom — @ 7:20 am
Source: Popular Science ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Nov, 1936
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HANDLE OF TOOTHBRUSH HOLDS DENTAL MIRROR
Inspection of the teeth for tartar formation or possible decay is made easy by a new type of toothbrush which contains a dental mirror in its handle. By holding the highly polished reflector inside the mouth while facing a larger wall or cabinet mirror, the user can conveniently and quickly examine both front and back surfaces of the teeth and gums. When not in use, the mirror slides into the handle, where it does not interfere with the ordinary function of the brush.

March 6, 2007

Home Steam Bath (Mar, 1952)

Filed under: Bathroom — @ 9:15 am
Source: Mechanix Illustrated ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Mar, 1952
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Home Steam Bath is a white enamel steam stool, inset, 17 inches high and 13-1/2 inches square. Vinyl plastic robe is stored in stool’s cover. One pint of water lasts 30 min. Home Accessories, Jacksonville, Ill.

January 24, 2007

Electric Razor Brushes Teeth (Jun, 1939)

Filed under: Bathroom — @ 11:42 am
Source: Popular Science ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Jun, 1939
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Electric Razor Brushes Teeth
Toothbrush and razor, both electrically operated, are now available in a single unit just placed on the market. The body of the device is a small, oblong container housing an electric motor that draws current through an extension cord plugged into a wall outlet. Either a rotating brush for cleaning the teeth, or a cutting mechanism for shaving, may be inserted in the working head, which is connected to the motor unit by means of a flexible shaft.

December 27, 2006

New Tooth-Paste Tubes Are Made of Glass (Oct, 1937)

Filed under: Bathroom — @ 1:44 pm
Source: Popular Science ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Oct, 1937
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New Tooth-Paste Tubes Are Made of Glass
Glass containers for tooth paste, recently developed by a German firm as a substitute for conventional metal tubes, have a built-in piston at one end to force the paste out onto the brush. When empty, the containers can be refilled with paste.

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