HUMANLIKE SKELETONS POSE FOR ARTISTS

To aid students of art and medicine in studying the postures of the human body, a young German sculptor has devised skeleton puppets that can be adjusted to anypose. The figures are made of aluminum, and action of their joints is patterned after that found in the human body. Like marionettes, the puppets are manipulated into the desired attitude with the aid of strings. The illustration at the left shows the inventor of the skeleton puppets viewing a pair of his creations which show all of the bones.

This is actually a really cool idea. I doubt it would be practical with the variety of modern body and wheel types, not to mention the fact that modern tires need air far less frequently, but it’s still nifty.

TIRE INFLATOR WORKS WITHOUT HUMAN AID

Putting air in the tires of your car should be a pleasure instead of a nuisance,according to Ellis E. White, of Los Angeles, who has just perfected an automatic tire inflator. To get air in the tires of his car, the driver need not get out from behind the wheel.

When his tires need air, he drives up a runway at the service station. He passes a box with a lever and a graduated scale, and with a touch of his hand he sets the lever to the number of pounds pressure he wishes in his tires.

At a certain point on the runway his wheels drop into a groove and close an electric contact, setting the intlator in action. Air nozzles advance from each side and press against special connections on the wheel’s hubs. Air flows into the tires. When the tire is full a bell rings and the air is shut off. To use the novel service, a car must have special air nipples that fit over the hub of his car’s wheels and have a pipe connection to the tire valve to complete the operation.

Phono Runs on Spring or AC
One drawback to the production of AC-DC-battery phonograph portables has been the lack of motors that would operate anywhere. Capitol Records, Inc., of Hollywood, combines an AC motor and a spring-drive mechanism with a three-way amplifier to get a truly portable record player.

Rear projection screen fits into briefcase

Any projector—movie, slide, filmstrip, or microfilm—can be used with this miniature fold-up screen. The “black” Plexiglass screen is eight inches square and can be comfortably viewed by six people. The Groupshow Mini’s folding hood keeps room lights from washing out the picture. Hudson Photo Industries, Irvington, N.Y. $25.

Furniture Calculator Suspends Person in Mid-Air to Determine Contours

With a simple rig that suspends a person in mid-air, furniture designers can tailor-make a chair to fit the exact body contours of the subject. Rudolph Jegrt, an art instructor in Milwaukee, Wis., invented the contour delineator, which consists of two panels of steel mesh and some steel rods. The mesh panels are mounted two feet apart. A basic chair design is envisioned, and the rods pushed through the mesh to form the contour. The subject then climbs into the “chair” and the rods are shifted to match the subject’s body lines.

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Radio Robot Squirts Out 3 a Minute

A COMPLETE radio set every 20 seconds is the production goal of this new British automatic machine known as ECME (Electronic Circuit Making Equipment). Nearing completion at the research laboratories of Sargrove Electronics, Ltd., this automaton uses the sprayed-circuit technique to do the jobs of a double line of skilled workers. Wiring mistakes are eliminated, and the machine even makes its own tests, signaling the location of any defects in the circuit.

Plastic plates are fed into each end of the two parallel rows of electronic units shown in the photograph at the top of p. 160. As the plates move down the line, all the necessary inductances, capacitors, resistors, and potentiometer tracks are “built up.” After lacquering, other units automatically insert rivets, eyelets, and studs. When two plates are joined together at the end of the line, they form a complete radio receiver except for a few parts such as electrolytic condensers, tubes, and loudspeaker, which are added by hand. It is claimed that the sets will be both lighter and sturdier than those made with wired circuits.

This is actually a really good idea, though I think their claim of unlimited plugs in one outlet is a little optimistic. It would be really nice if powerbricks had outlets in them.

Many Wall Plugs Fit in One Outlet
DOUBLE and triple outlet electric plugs are no longer needed. A novel wall plug now available is of such a design that another plug can be inserted right on top of it. There is no limit to the number of extension cords that can be used on one outlet.

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Radio Amateurs to the Rescue in Florida Hurricane

During disasters radio “hams” come to the rescue. They keep in touch with lonely outposts, with explorers, arid like sentinels in the night guard against death.

by Clinton B. De Soto

WHEN a roaring hurricane swept through Florida in September, unknown amateur radio operators became heroes in the midst of death and destruction. Through howling wind and pelting rain they tapped away on their low-power transmitters when telephone, telegraph, and powerful broadcasting stations failed.

Their dots and dashes—the language of the radio amateur—hurtling through the ether flashed to the rest of the world news of the disaster and set the great task of relief into motion.

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This is actually a really good idea.

Punch and Judy Theater Hides Camera from Children
Getting young children to pose naturally indoors for a portrait is far from easy, as many amateur photographers have discovered. If much work of this type is to be done, it pays to follow the example of successful professionals and give the children something interesting to look at. In one studio devoted to child photography, the camera is set up behind a Punch and Judy theater. The children are fascinated by the puppets and pay little or no attention to anything else, so that it is a simple matter to take their pictures.
—Lawrence Gottlieb.

Whole library in a nutshell
This latest space trick might work well with earthbound libraries. The magnifying viewer on the astronaut’s knee holds 12,000 pages of microfilmed manuals, maps, and navigation data for use in the Apollo lunar spacecraft. The film is coded and indexed so a flip of a switch puts any page on the screen in 15 seconds.

What will those scientists think of next?

Armrest for Car
Easy-chair comfort for the car driver is provided by an adjustable armrest which hooks over the back of the front seat. The driving aid—a flexible metal bar with a sliding cushion—fits all cars. A small lever permits the foam-rubber cushion to be adjusted to the most comfortable height, then locked in place. The metal bar is covered with fabric to prevent damage to the car upholstery.

Tree Serves as Cellar
Maintaining a temperature between forty and fifty degrees F. the year ’round, the hollow trunk of a huge maple tree serves as a fruit-storage cellar for a Redmond, Wash., family. The tree cellar has room for 400 quart fruit jars.