February 8, 2006

Soldiers Wear Camouflage (Jul, 1939)

That is some pretty amazing camouflage there. Why, I almost mistook them for trees. Trees with binoculars and handguns….

Soldiers Wear Camouflage
The men in the above picture are not inhavitants of Mars. They are only British soldiers, wearing camouflage in their helmets during a mimic battle.

December 27, 2005

Motorized Rocking Chair (Dec, 1955)

Filed under: Useless Tech — @ 7:17 pm
Source: Popular Science ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Dec, 1955

I love the fact that it has a gear shift.

Automatic Drive Catches Up with Rockin’ Chair

Feller retired t’other day and got himself a new kind of rockin’ chair. Rocks itself. Rocks him, too. Semms like when this feller, a machinist type, quit to take it easy, some other fellers he’d worked with said, “Well now! How about havin’ a chair that rocks automatic-like?” So they built it out of a one-cylinder gas engine and gears. Works, too. Noisy though. Feller’s name is Frank miller. Other fellers - them as built it- are Bull Nyman, Bob Connely, Joe Wright and Bill Jacobus. Chair rocks itself and Frank in Huntington Station, N.Y.

December 25, 2005

Speed Mask (Nov, 1968)

Calvin’s mom told him his new retainer made him look very handsome…

Speed mask streamlines swimmer

This prow-shaped mask with built-in snorkel and compass holder was invented by Calvin Gongwer and used by him in a recent 22-mile swim from Catalina Island to San Pedro Calif. He claims that the “speed mask” cuts drag by 35 percent.

December 21, 2005

Egg-Beater Wind Plane Imitates Hovering Flight of Eagle (Oct, 1934)


Egg-Beater Wind Plane Imitates Hovering Flight of Eagle

Revolving blades resembling somewhat the working parts of an egg beater replace wings and tail stabilizers on the “cycloidal flying machine,” an airplane designed to reproduce the best features of an eagle’s flight.

A seven foot model of the unusual craft has already been built in the aeornautical laboratories of the University of Washington by its inventor, Dr. Frederick K. Kirsten. The novel wing mechanism is expected to give higher speeds, hovering flight, and slower landings.

November 18, 2005

Kerosene Radio (Jun, 1956)

Filed under: Radio, Useless Tech — @ 4:03 pm
Source: Popular Science ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Jun, 1956

“Hold on ma, let me go light the radio!”

Made in Moscow for use in rural areas, this all-wave radio is reportedly powered by the kerosene lamp hanging above it. A group of thermocouples is heated internally to 570 degrees by the flame. Fins cool the outside to about 90 degrees. The temperature differential generates enough current to operate the low-drain reciever. Regular listeners may want fur lined union suits, though: it works best in a room with open windows.

November 16, 2005

“Glamour Bonnet” Provides Vacuum to Aid Complexion (Mar, 1941)

Wow, that sure is glamorous.
Actually, I’m not quite sure how that works. The mask doesn’t look like it’s rigid, so shouldn’t it just shrink-wrap her head?

“Glamour Bonnet” Provides Vacuum to Aid Complexion
Some persons believe a mud pack is the answer to the search for a beautiful complexion, others think massage will do the trick, but Mrs. D. M. Ackerman, of Hollywood, Calif., has decided that reduced air pressure is a good treatment. So she has devised a “glamour bonnet” like a diver’s helmet with which the atmospheric pressure around the beauty seeker’s head can be lowered. The effect is similar to what a person feels who climbs a high mountain or flies high in a plane, and Mrs. Ackerman claims that the reduced pressure stimulates blood circulation and thus aids the complexion to attain its natural beauty. A window has been installed so the customers can read during treatments.

Nonskid roll grips wandering weenie (Mar, 1939)

Filed under: Kitchen, Useless Tech — @ 4:55 pm
Source: Popular Science ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Mar, 1939

“AT LAST America has it - the nonskid roll for hot dogs! A clever inventor has devised the metal mold shown at left to turn out rolls imprinted with a series of ridges. They take a masterful grip upon the delectable but elusive weenie and prevent it from slipping from it’s rightful place to fall to the floor or one’s lap.”

October 18, 2005

Mechanical Willie (Aug, 1934)

Filed under: Robots, Useless Tech — @ 2:54 pm
Source: Modern Mechanix ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Aug, 1934

Great strides have been made in reducing the size of Mechanical “Willies” in the last 70 years.

Mechanical “Willie” Combines Crooning With Housework
CROONING in mellow baritone on command and manipulating a vacuum cleaner with almost human skill, “Mechanical Willie,” laboratory robot, may prove a novel servant.

The product of Westinghouse engineers, Willie salutes, raises flags, smokes, sits, stands and bows at the operator’s orders. Words spoken via a receiver are transformed by a photo electric cell into light beams which transmit impulses to his operating mechanism.

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