October 17, 2007

Corkscrew Puts Leverage on Stubborn Stoppers (May, 1939)

Corkscrew Puts Leverage on Stubborn Stoppers
Even the most stubborn cork is said to be tamed by the powerful leverage of a new corkscrew. Inserting the screw in the cork, by turning a winged key, raises a pair of geared arms to a horizontal position. Push the arms down again, and out comes the cork, under pressure applied through a flange that fits over the neck of the bottle. The two operations are shown in the pictures below.

October 10, 2007

The Radio that Was Shot from a Gun (Mar, 1948)

Coming_the Radio that Was Shot from a Gun

The tiny elements used in a great war invention are now ready to go to work in civilian transceivers.

By Harland Manchester

CARRYING a complete broadcasting station in the palm of his hand, a radio engineer walked out of his laboratory at the Bureau of Standards in Washington the other day, talking as he went down the stairs and out of the building. His voice came to us from a loudspeaker in the room he had left, as clearly as if he were still there. His transmitter, containing microphone, tubes, circuits, batteries, and aerial, was enclosed in a plastic box about the size of a pack of cigarettes.

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October 9, 2007

Early Night Vision Goggles (Aug, 1950)

Filed under: Origins — @ 8:44 am
Source: Popular Mechanics ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Aug, 1950
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Blackout “Eye”

Searching for persons or objects in total darkness poses no problems for soldiers wearing sniperscopes. Clamped to a helmet, the equipment combines an infrared light source and an electronic telescope. Its energy comes from a power pack and battery which can be carried in a knapsack on the operator’s back.

September 30, 2007

Danish Furniture Knocks Down for Moving (Feb, 1947)

Danish Furniture Knocks Down for Moving

DESIGNED chiefly for sale in Europe’s war-devastated countries, this new line of Danish furniture sacrifices little in visual appeal. Modern in appearance, the simple, functional pieces are well suited to mass production methods. They can be quickly set up or taken apart, thus easing the moving problem on the unsettled continent. Shipping and storing difficulties are correspondingly lessened, since in a knocked-down condition the furniture occupies less than a quarter of its’ normal volume. Stacking also allows for considerable saving of space.

September 27, 2007

Mother Could Fix This Radio (Jan, 1948)

Filed under: Origins, Radio — @ 12:34 am
Source: Popular Science ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Jan, 1948
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This is an interesting harbinger of the huge wave changes that occurred in the electronics industry in the 50 years after this article was published. What they’ve done here is essentially modularized an entire radio into plug and play components. Their reason for doing this was to make repair simpler, but now everything is designed that way so you can use standardized components and simplify assembly. If hundreds of different devices uses the same oscillator (or Ethernet controller for that matter) you can make them a lot cheaper.

Mother Could Fix This Radio

PSM photos by Robert F. Smith

YOU don’t need to know a coil from a condenser to fix this radio. Throw-away units, as easy to change as radio tubes, contain practically everything that might go wrong in the set. Six “canned” circuits with pronged bases, designed to retail in department stores at $1.85 apiece, replace the maze of wiring located in back of the dial of a conventional radio.

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September 7, 2007

Electrical Air Cleaning (Feb, 1938)

This device was also highlighted in Modern Mechanix (Ionic Breeze ‘38)

Electrical Air Cleaning

Air almost 100 percent free from dirt particles and other substances is obtained when it is passed through a new electrostatic air filter. The device charges the particles which then cling to magnetic plates through which the air is passed. The result is absolutely or relatively absolutely pure air and a new method of relief for those suffering with ailments that are aggravated by foreign matter of any kind in the air. The operation of the device is so perfect that in operation it will even remove smoke from the air. Its effectiveness is shown in the illustration of the demonstration model.

September 6, 2007

Speeders Are Timed By Robot Cop (Oct, 1935)

Speeders Are Timed By Robot Cop

RUTHLESS speeders, driving with one eye on the rear vision mirror for signs of a trailing traffic officer, now have a new enemy to watch out for, a robot speed meter which instantly gauges the speed of a car on the highway.

The speed meter is small, and can easily be moved from one place to another. On one side of the road is an apparatus which directs two parallel beams of light, invisible to the driver, upon a mechanism on the opposite side of the road. The length of time taken by a car to intercept both beams of light is shown in terms of miles per hour on the meter.

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August 21, 2007

ELECTRIC DOOR LOCK REQUIRES NO KEY (Nov, 1936)

This seems like a poor design. Wouldn’t you want to put all the lock and bell mechanism on the inside of the door to prevent tampering? Also a combination lock with “dozens” of possible combinations does not exactly inspire confidence.

ELECTRIC DOOR LOCK REQUIRES NO KEY
No key is required to operate a novel electric door lock, recently exhibited in Chicago, Ill. The user merely has to push the right buttons selected from a circular row of eight, resembling a telephone dial, and the door will open. Pushing the wrong buttons not only fails to open the door, but sets off an alarm bell that rings for seven minutes. The owner can change the “combination” at will, and dozens of settings are possible.

August 17, 2007

Household Inventions Lighten the Tasks of the Homemaker (Nov, 1935)

Yay! It’s a spork.

Household Inventions Lighten the Tasks of the Homemaker

LAMP SHADE TURNS UP OR DOWN
This new-type floor lamp has a shade which can be tilted up toward the ceiling for indirect illumination or down for close work. A mercury-capsule switch automatically turns on a 150-watt bulb when the shade is turned up; an ordinary switch controls the smaller bulb for close work

SPOON AND FORK COMBINED
The new piece of cutlery illustrated at the left is a cross between a spoon and a fork. It is recommended for eating gravies, stews, peas, desserts, and many other foods. It can be used with a knife, like any fork

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August 16, 2007

PAST PRESIDENTS “TALK” IN EXHIBIT (Nov, 1935)

Filed under: Origins, Robots — @ 12:01 am
Source: Popular Science ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Nov, 1935
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Not too shabby considering Disney’s Hall of Presidents didn’t come out until 1971.

PAST PRESIDENTS “TALK” IN EXHIBIT

Five of our most famous presidents come to life in a unique historical exhibit designed by a New York inventor for display in stores and schools. Under the control of an operator offstage, figures representing Theodore Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Grover Cleveland rise in turn and deliver excerpts from some of their most famous speeches. Levers like those in a signal tower raise and seat the figures, and the voices are supplied by sixteen-inch phonograph records and reproduced by loudspeakers hidden behind the stage. Dummy microphones give the exhibit a modern touch, suggesting that these former chief executives might have assembled to take part in a present-day meeting.

August 9, 2007

Gas Under Pressure Operates Lighter (Sep, 1949)

Filed under: Origins — @ 6:01 am
Source: Popular Mechanics ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Sep, 1949
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That looks just like a modern butane lighter, but with a MUCH bigger fuel tank.

Gas Under Pressure Operates Lighter
Butane gas under pressure is the fuel used in a new cigarette lighter that yields more than 3000 lights before the tank is empty. A small knob is pushed with the thumb to release the jet of gas before the spark wheel is spun. When the fuel tank is empty, it is replaced with a new unit. The fuel from one tank will burn for three hours. It provides an odor-free flame and a “tasteless” light.

August 1, 2007

Self-Starter for Dead Man’s Heart (Oct, 1933)

This looks like an early version of a defibrillator.

PHYSICIAN INVENTS Self-Starter for Dead Man’s Heart

WHAT can be done when the heart ceases to beat? Under all sorts of different conditions, a doctor often is confronted with this urgent question.

The ambulance physician faces it with the victim of heart stroke, drowning, or accident. The surgeon faces it when the pulse of an etherized patient suddenly stops. The family physician faces it when a baby is still born or when a mother’s heart stops during childbirth.

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