July 18, 2006

Flashlight, 5 Power Telescope, Drinking Cup—All in One (Oct, 1933)

Filed under: General, Impractical, Just Weird — @ 12:52 am
Source: Modern Mechanix ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Oct, 1933
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Any fool could come up with a Flashlight/Telescope combo, but it takes a true creative genius to add the drinking cup.

Flashlight, 5 Power Telescope, Drinking Cup—All in One
IT’S a flashlight, but take out the batteries and it’s a telescope. The combination instrument, now on the market, has several uses for the camper. As a flashlight it has a focusing beam. The front lens can also be used as a sun glass to start fires, while the eyepiece is a good magnifying glass. Included in the tube with the batteries is a small drinking cup. By removing the batteries, bulb, and drinking cup, the camper has a fair five-power telescope. The instrument is built to provide for an adjustable telescope for varying distances.

July 16, 2006

Pole Vaulting Peasants (Sep, 1934)

Filed under: General, Just Weird — @ 4:09 pm
Source: Popular Science ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Sep, 1934
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This looks like something out of Monty Python.

PEASANTS USE VAULTING POLES TO GET TO WORK
Vaulting with poles is a necessary part of the every-day life of Friesian peasants in northern Germany. There the low, marshy fields abound with drainage ditches. These are so numerous that the construction of foot bridges would be prohibitively expensive. Hence the peasants resort to vaulting poles, which have wooden disks attached to the bottom end, as shown in the smaller view, to keep them from sinking in the soft mud. Long practice has made the Friesians adept in leaping the ditches in this manner.

July 15, 2006

Use Car Power to Grind Meat (Dec, 1932)

Filed under: Automotive, Just Weird, Kitchen — @ 4:58 pm
Source: Modern Mechanix ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Dec, 1932
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Use Car Power to Grind Meat
NOW you can operate your meat chopper, ice cream freezer, apple parer, or practically any other device turned by a crank without work or worry, thanks to the simple idea of an Illinois inventor. A strap iron strip just long enough to fasten between rim bolts on opposite sides of the car wheel is made. The shaft of the device to be operated is then attached to the center of the strap.
All that remains is to jack up the rear wheel, start up the motor and let ‘er rip. The picture below shows the arrangement in operation. It’s handy for picnics where much food has to be prepared outdoors. Naturally the shaft of the food chopper must be practically in line with the hub of the wheel.

July 14, 2006

Roulette Wheel, Ash Tray in One (Dec, 1932)

Filed under: Just Weird — @ 7:24 am
Source: Modern Mechanix ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Dec, 1932
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Roulette Wheel, Ash Tray in One
THE photo below shows a novel device for home use that will afford much amusement as well as usefulness. It is called the “roulette ash tray,” and was one of the innovations recently introduced in the Reichs Invention Union in Berlin. Although it has not the many different betting facilities of the larger wheels, it does have the more popular features.

The ash receptacle has numerals painted upon the sides which revolve around a stationary base. There is a marker upon the base which points out the winning number when the wheel comes to a stop.

July 11, 2006

Grapefruit Conquered at Last (Aug, 1933)

Filed under: Impractical, Just Weird, Kitchen — @ 7:27 am
Source: Modern Mechanix ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Aug, 1933
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Finally, after countless lives lost and ruined, the Grapefruit wars are over.

Grapefruit Conquered at Last
AT LAST the grapefruit has heen conquered. The weapon employed in the conquest is an “umbrella spoon” shown at left, which automatically opens into a large shield when you gouge down into the meat of the fruit. When you raise the spoon to your mouth the shield closes.

July 10, 2006

Spooks on the Airways (Aug, 1950)

Filed under: Just Weird, Radio — @ 9:30 am
Source: Mechanix Illustrated ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Aug, 1950
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This is a bizzare article about people and household objects that suddenly become radio receivers. It reminds me a lot of the the movie Real Genius, where poor Kent has his braces turned into a radio antenna.

My question is: Does this really happen? Can my bathtub suddenly start singing to me?

Spooks on the Airways

By Irv Leiberman
Illustrations By Chic Stone

THE lady sat down in her luxurious bubble bath and soaked contentedly. “I’m forever blowing bubbles,” crooned a soothing voice from underneath. She screamed and hopped out of the tub but the voice had stopped. Imagining herself the victim of her own delusions, she climbed back into the bathtub only to be startled by the same voice again. As it reached the end of the number, this time another voice boomed out with a commercial for a cigarette manufacturer.

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July 9, 2006

“Home James!”—Chimpanzee Acts as Owner’s Chauffeur (Sep, 1929)

Filed under: Just Weird, Other Animals — @ 6:07 pm
Source: Modern Mechanix ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Sep, 1929
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Remember, if it’s in Modern Mechanix magazine, then it must be true!

“Home James!”—Chimpanzee Acts as Owner’s Chauffeur
STEP on it, I’m late for
dinner.” That’s what the owner of this car at left tells his pet chimpanzee, who can really drive the automobile in a capable style and understands directions perfectly. James, who was renamed to conform with the discovery of his driving ability, sits proudly in the seat and guides the car through traffic. He learned by watching his owner. One day he climbed
in the car and drove it off. Everyone expected to find it parked on a telephone post or in a ditch. However, the new driver pulled up in front of the home and stopped the car.

July 6, 2006

Cameraman Wears His Darkroom (Nov, 1932)

Filed under: Just Weird, Photography — @ 7:55 am
Source: Modern Mechanix ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Nov, 1932
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Wow. I think all instant photographers owe a great deal of gratitude to Edwin Land for helping save them from this fate.

Cameraman Wears His Darkroom

PITY the poor news cameraman. In other days he carried his camera slung over his shoulders, but now he must wear it.

This innovation in cameras, shown in the photo below, made its first appearance during a sports meet in Birmingham, England. The camera is a combination portable developing and printing room. In order to speed up the business of gathering news photographs for the papers, the cameraman not only takes his pictures, but immediately develops and prints them also on the spot, using the light weight outfit built into the large camera.

With the use of this camera, every function of photographing is performed on the field, so that the editor gets the picture along with the story.

July 5, 2006

Human Sunshine Tester Compares Two Brands (Jun, 1940)

Filed under: Impractical, Just Weird, Personal Appearance, Photography — @ 10:01 am
Source: Popular Science ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Jun, 1940
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Quick! Someone call Batman!

Human Sunshine Tester Compares Two Brands
Which has the better quality of sunshine, Florida or California? To settle this longstanding dispute, the gentleman at the left is exposing half of his epidermis to Florida’s sun, reserving the clothed half for a comparison test in California.

July 3, 2006

Huge Kettle Affords Tea Room Customers Hot Stimulant (Sep, 1929)

Filed under: Just Weird, Kitchen — @ 1:07 pm
Source: Modern Mechanix ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Sep, 1929
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Of course when it is full that thing would weigh 175lbs.

Huge Kettle Affords Tea Room Customers Hot Stimulant
THERE is an old saying that an Englishman can’t do without his tea. The manufacture of this huge kettle shown at left seems to bear this out, for it was made for the purpose of being able to brew large quantities of tea to accommodate the hundreds of persons who drop in a prominent tea room in London at any time of the day or night and demand a stimulant. A study in contrast is afforded in the photo in which a young woman is pouring tea from the immense kettle into an average sized tea pot. Ordinarily she would not be able to lift it so easily, but the kettle is nearly empty. It has a capacity of approximately 20 gallons and weighs 15 pounds.

Odd Shout-O-Phone Spans Border (Jun, 1940)

Filed under: Just Weird — @ 1:01 pm
Source: Popular Science ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Jun, 1940
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Odd Shout-O-Phone Spans Border

FRIENDS and relatives on opposite sides of the French-Swiss border must exchange greetings across a forbidden zone seventy feet wide, but that doesn’t matter to the well-equipped conversationalist shown at the left. He talks through a megaphone, and listens with ear trumpets like airplane detectors, while his binoculars complete the illusion of nearness.

June 29, 2006

Meet “SUZY” (Jan, 1951)

Filed under: Advertisements, Just Weird — @ 6:47 am
Source: Popular Mechanics ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Jan, 1951
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Wow, anthropomorphizing a buffer…. I’m not sure how I’m supposed to feel… Am I supposed to be attracted to my buffer? Erm, excuse me… Handheld Workshop.

Meet “SUZY” -a POWERFUL good friend to have around the house!
“SUZY”
polishes, drills
brushes, mixes paint, saws, buffs, sharpens, sands, scrapes, grinds, routs

“SUZY KIT” — a complete workshop including a 1/4 h.p. PORTABLE POWERHOUSE and 27 PIECES, all for only $24.95
Let “SUZY” do it!

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