Whew! It’s a good thing he took this secret to his grave, otherwise he could have given it to the terrorists and none of our rabbits would be safe!

Inventor Hides Secret of “Death Ray”

Pigeons on the wing instantly killed by death rays from a machine four miles away—that is the feat reputedly accomplished by a deadly apparatus developed by Dr. Antonio Longoria, of Cleveland, Ohio, who recently announced that he had deliberately destroyed the lethal machine for the good of humanity. The Cleveland inventor declared that he had stumbled on the deadly rays while experimenting in the treatment of cancer with high-frequency radiations. The action of the fatal rays, he declared, is painless and they work by changing the blood into a useless substance, much as light transforms silver salts in photographic processes. Before a group of scientists, it is reported, he once demonstrated that the radiations would kill rats, mice, and rabbits, even when the animals were incased in a thick-walled metal chamber. The rays, Dr. Longoria believes, could kill human beings just as easily.

There are a lot of jokes to be made here about the cycles he left out, but I think I’ll leave those to the comments.

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Do Cycles Rule Your Life?

If science manages to chart the rhythms of the universe, the world may be able to predict its own wars, depressions and epidemics.

By Lester David

THE stock market will hit the crest of a rising wave in the mid-1950s.

There will be extra good salmon fishing in eastern Canada in 1953.

Diphtheria and influenza will strike hard in the U. S. in 1953.

These predictions, and many others, are based on an amazing yet little known science—cycle research. A group of some 3,000 scientists, delving deep into history, is charting the occurrence of wars, business activities, disease, weather, earthquakes, floods, volcanic eruptions—even your own emotions.

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Amphibian Bicycle Can Travel on Land or Water

A hybrid among vehicles, an amphibian bicycle that can travel on land or water, was demonstrated by its French inventor at a recent Paris exposition. Its wheels are hollow, bulbous floats that, with the aid of four smaller globes on outriggers, sustain it in the water. All of the floats revolve freely like wheels, resulting in a minimum of drag. When the rider pedals across the water, fins on the rear wheel serve as paddles to drive the machine forward. For a ride on dry land, the outriggers supporting the outer floats may be folded up clear of the ground. Proof that the floats would be sufficiently buoyant to support the rider was given when the inventor navigated his device, without difficulty, across a large swimming pool.

How exactly does one turn with this thing?

Squirrel Cage for jeeps is this new device for travel over swamps, bogs, soft beaches and heavy underbrush. It’s a continuous road matting on rollers which runs around the body and under the wheels. The Marine Corps is testing it at the Quantico, Virginia, base.

While this works well for sushi, I’m not so sure about groceries.

SHELVES MOVE IN NEW STORE
Comfortably seated in a self-service grocery store just opened in Los Angeles, Calif., a housewife selects her purchases from moving shelves of price-tagged merchandise that pass before her. The endless, motor-driven chain of shelves, makes a complete circuit in eight minutes— leisurely enough for the customer to make her choices and lift the articles from their shelves. When her basket is full, she pays the cashier.

DIVING HELMETS WORN AS SWIMMERS LEARN STROKES

Diving helmets are worn by pupils taking swimming lessons from a San Francisco, Calif., instructor who employs a radical new method of instruction. Wearing these helmets, the beginners frequently remain under water for long periods during which they study the swimming movements of the instructor and later attempt to imitate them. The helmets are made from thin metal containers and cost little. The bottom is removed and the sides hollowed out to fit over the shoulders. The helmet is held in place by straps that pass under the arms of the wearer. Good vision is insured by a large rectangular window in the front of the helmet and air is supplied by a hose that leads to an air-pump at the surface.

REVOLVING HAT NEW ADVERTISING STUNT
A spinning hat bearing advertising messages is the latest wrinkle for sandwich men in Paris, France. A concealed switch
enables the wearer to start the hat revolving or stop it at will. Lest even this strange apparition fail to arrest the eyes of passers-by, the hat is also equipped with lights that flash on and off at the wearer’s control by means of a concealed switch.

Yuck.

Use of Electric Shaver Sold by Slot Machine
FOR men who want a quick shave away from home, a novel coin-operated machine recently introduced provides an electric shaver and a well-lighted mirror. When a coin is dropped into a slot in the machine, the current for the shaver is turned on. When not in use, the electric razor is placed in a receptacle where it is thoroughly sterilized for the next customer by rays from a built-in ultra-violet lamp. The machine is intended for installation in office buildings, bus and train terminals, and other public places.

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Giant Wind Turbines

Currents in Upper Air Form Unfailing Source of Power for “Windmills” of Future

WIND, at the surface of the earth, is proverbially uncertain; but recent researches show that, a thousand feet or more above the ground, wind is comparatively steady and unfailing. This has given new life to the hope of finding a substantial source of natural power, even more universally available than water power; and the designs illustrated here have been prepared by a German engineer, Honnef, the erector of several huge radio towers. As shown here, the structure carrying the power plant would be higher than any other building man has yet been able to erect.

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This seems like it would just be really awkward and end up giving you a headache.

PRISMS AID BED READER
To make reading in bed easier, a British inventor has devised “lying-down” spectacles. Prisms mounted in eyeglass frames bend the light rays at right angles so that the wearer can lie flat and read a book held upright on his chest.

I can’t imagine why these didn’t take off. That monorail train looks utterly stable to me! Not to mention the plane stabilized by a pendulum.

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Vehicle Oddities

Boynton Bicycle Locomotive built in 1889 was tested in Gravesend, Brooklyn, on one overhead and one ground rail. Arrangement was supposed to reduce weight, friction and save power on curves.

Bicycle Airship designed to fly in any direction was the fantastic brainchild of Herman Rieckert in 1889. Bicycle apparatus in pilothouse flapped side and center wings, providing motive power.

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But is it worth it if you also get seasick?

ROCKING BED EASES HEART STRAIN
Sufferers from heart ailments are said to be aided by a new rocking bed. Operated by an electric motor, the bed alternately raises
the head and feet of the patient, helping the blood circulate to all parts of the body, thus easing the strain upon an over-taxed heart.