MANY unusual buildings are now being planned for the Chicago World's Fair to be held in 1933. The most modernistic of these odd structures will be this huge sightseeing restaurant atop a gigantic column which is being designed by Norman bel Geddes.
Yup. Nailed it. (video link) Pedestrians Lose Last Refuge Our artist’s idea of what may happen if they start playing golf by auto. CURTIS W. WILLOCK. of Pasadena, is inordinately fond of golf. He may never be a champion but he certainly has contributed in a large measure, to the modernization of the ancient and […]
New Style “Traveling Grandstand” Seats for Crew Races DUE to the unusually large crowd which reserved “grandstand seats” for the Harvard-Yale crew races this summer, the New Haven railroad was compelled to exert its ingenuity to devise a “traveling grandstand” which would provide 800 extra seats. Four tiers of benches with backs were built into […]
by JAY EARLE MILLER
When the big guns roar again for the next war, will America discover that her navy has been made a second-rate one by the terms of the disarmament treaty recently executed by the "Big Five" powers? Mr. Miller tells here just what the treaty means to national defense in terms of battleships, cruisers, and big guns.
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New! Different! Dr. Harlan Tarbell, Famous Magic Wizard, teaches you Big Tricks, Illusions, Stage Stunts, 'Tatter" and the Principles of Magic.
THE automobile continues to be the most dangerous article in America. Inside the home, bathtubs and loose rugs on floors vie with each other for the doubtful distinction of being most dangerous to human life and limb.
by Walter E. Burton
HAS this ever happened to you?
You go to a photographer, look handsome or pretty as the case may be, and have several portraits made. When you get the proofs you select the pose that looks the most flattering, and order a dozen prints. When you receive the finished pictures, nicely mounted, you are delighted . . . and then it dawns upon you that there is something wrong with the pictures, but you do not know exactly what it is.
THE principal convenience of the dial telephone was that it enabled you to pick your own wrong numbers, but even this is done away with now by a sound film which repeats the number which you have just dialed and enables you to correct the mistakes which you may have made.
The new invention does not necessitate the use of the subscriber's voice. The subscriber merely dials the number and that number is called to central as the sound film automatically repeats the number through a loud speaker. The new method is expected to be put in use before the end of the year.
Ads Stenciled on Walk with Water AN INGENIOUS device which paints signs on the sidewalks, but which in no way permanently defaces the street, is used by a Barcelona wine merchant to advertise his products. The ad painter consists of a large rolling drum filled with water and enveloped in a stencil. As the drum […]
Toy Automobiles With Real Motors Displayed in England for First Time IN THESE modern times when motor cars are playing such a prominent part in family life, the children have such an advanced knowledge of the auto that they demand that their toys he correct in every detail. These miniature cars, which were recently displayed […]
ANEW departure in the way of design and operation of high power telescopes has been effected at the Treptow astronomical observatory, near Berlin, which is one of the best in Germany. Of a design that is distinctly unique—it might be called modernistic—the new mammoth telescope, shown in the photo at the left, has many features that add immensely to the facility of star-gazing.
By FAIRFAX DOWNEY
Armor plate for soldiers went out of style with the Knights of the Round Table, but modern armies go into battle clad in an entirely new type of protective armor—smoke! Important recent advances in the wartime use of smoke screens are set forth in this authoritative article.
WHEN knights joined combat with dragons in the old wonder tales, the monsters did not depend on their tough scales to protect them, but puffed out heavy snorts of smoke through their dilated nostrils. Most of the stories relate that the knights went right ahead regardless and slew the dragons. Still there must have been some occasions, which did not appeal to the story tellers as good material, when the hero, lost in his adversary's fog, suddenly found the dragon on his neck and became a casualty.
Week-End Camping Trips by Plane Becoming Popular WITH the great open spaces steadily becoming farther and farther from the cities, swifter modes of transportation have become necessary for weekend campers. The light plane, which may be safely landed on any reasonably level field or beach, has done much to solve this problem. Sportsmen may now […]
200-Mile Air Camera ALONG distance aerial camera perfected by Captain A. W. Stevens of the U. S. Army Air Service has proved itself capable of taking photographs from a distance of 200 miles. The secret of the amazing performance of the camera lies in the fact that it is equipped with a dense red filter […]
Crippled Dog Walks With Skates WHEN “Lady Lou,” the Boston Bull pet of a lady in Kansas City, was hit by a speeding motor car and partially paralyzed, it was thought that she would have to spend the rest of her life as a sedentary-invalid. Her owner, however, brought her ingenuity into play and devised […]
Building Provides Mooring Masts for Zeps NEW YORKERS may soon become accustomed to the sight of giant lighter-than-air liners moored to the tops of downtown skyscrapers, for the Empire State Building, now under construction at 34th Street and Fifth Avenue, when completed will be topped by a mooring mast of the latest type. This new […]
This is from MTV’s aborted “Bling my ride!” show. World’s Most Expensive Auto Sparkles With Seven Thousand Gems THIS little town car is made up of a preponderant assortment of precious gems. The body contains 3,000 fine diamonds over half of which are square or ornate in shape, while an exquisite pair of briolettes is […]
TWO way television, whereby two persons at opposite ends of a radio circuit may see images of each other as they talk, has finally become a practical working reality.
Before a group of skeptical witnesses the practical application of television was recently demonstrated by engineers of the American Telegraph and Telephone Company at their laboratories in New York City.
Although television is as yet outside the limits of commercial exploitation and cannot be used in homes as are broadcast receivers, the engineers are confident that this new radio development will be as popular within the next three years as is broadcast music now.
Dual Controls on Car Aid Students A DUAL control car in which a motorist student may learn to drive far from the maddening crowd is a feature of the service extended to its customers by a prominent San Francisco automobile company. The car shown below is equipped with two steering wheels, one for the student […]
The ancient and honorable game of golf has gone Scotch with a vengeance. Long a pastime requiring broad acres, expensive club-houses and equipment, the game has now moved into the city within access of all — and it costs only a quarter.
MINIATURE golf courses, which are on the increase in several states, are now being equipped for night golf through a new system of illumination and the game, played under flood lights, is becoming a country-wide craze.
DURING the World war the various fighting squadrons of the Air Service adopted the policy of painting insignia on their airplanes.. These insignia reflected the experiences of the pilots or of the squadron in war, or perhaps had no significance other than that which the original design itself intended to convey. The squadrons of the United States Air Corps have, as far as possible, continued in peace the same insignia as were used during the World war.
Insignia, besides promoting an esprit de corps provides a means of identifying the planes of a particular squadron. At the Air Corps maneuvers held at Mather Field, California, this spring, squadrons were assembled from all parts of the United States; Pursuit from San Diego and Detroit; Attack from Galveston; Bombardment from Langley, Va., and Observation from San Francisco. The insignia of the various units, to those who were not abroad in 1917-18, represented considerable imagination and initiative in their preparation, but to those who served in Air Units during the war they awoke memories of the past and brought forth many reminiscences.
MAKING ice from heat at a cost of but two cents a day is one of the latest contributions of science for man's comfort, convenience and health. The Icyball refrigerator, which operates on this principle, does not require gas or electricity and can be used anywhere.
The operation of this new and unusual refrigerator is simple. There is nothing to get out of order, no moving parts and no odor. It is absolutely noiseless and requires no oiling. The refrigerant never needs replenishing.
Puzzling Zipper Fastener Is Really a Simple Device THE “Zipper,” long a popular fastening device for purses, sweaters, galoshes and other articles of similar nature, has remained a mystery to most of its users although, as the pictures here will show, the device is simplicity itself. The little wedge-shaped affair which appears to sew up […]
Turntable for Narrow Streets TRAFFIC experts of Paris have found it necessary to install automobile turntables in certain of its narrow streets so that cabs and autos may be turned around without having to go miles out of their way to find turning places. Mounted on roller bearings which offer but little friction resistance, these […]
A MOST unusual type of dirigible involving wide departures from established principles has recently been patented by two South Dakota inventors. They call it the "Rotary Aero-Zep," and aside from the fact that the entire craft is designed to be constructed of aluminum, the most novel feature of the invention is the metal gas bag which is designed to revolve around the frame trackway carrying the passenger car, screwing the airship forward in the air through the action of spiral vanes mounted on the side of the bag.
Music While Walking With Radio A BERLIN engineer has invented a new radio hat set which may be worn without inconvenience to the wearer. With this set, shown at the right, one may listen to the Sunday sermon while motoring or playing golf, get the stock market returns at the ball game, or get the […]
TO PROVE that his unsinkable kayak will be a satisfactory lifeboat for trans-ocean flights, Kai Pless-Schmidt recently made a nine-day ocean trip from Faroe Islands to Bergen, Norway. The trip almost ended in disaster only a few miles from its destination when it encountered a school of eight-ton whales.
The object of the trip was accomplished, however, for the mariner proved that an airman, after a crash at sea, might reach safety in this boat. The craft carries three persons and inside there is room for folding rubber boats which it could tow, and thus 32 persons could be accommodated in an emergency.
Clumsy Specs Eliminated by Small Invisible Eye Glass AWKWARD and all-too-conspicuous spectacles may in time go the way of ear trumpets and bustles when the diminutive and invisible eyeglasses shown in the photos above, an invention of Prof. Dr. L. Heine of Kiel, Germany, come into widespread use. The glass is a thin curved lens […]
The fallacies surrounding many ideas in perpetual motion are set forth in this interesting yarn which recounts some of the impossibilities suggested to solve the age old problem of getting power from nothing. Wheels with over-balance, sponge engines, gold leaf machines, and a railroad which appears as though it might actually work are recounted.
by HJALMAR LUERSSEN
OF ALL the mechanical brain-bugs that repeatedly surge over the country, the perpetual motion bug holds all records for depth and duration of sting. The perpetual motion idea has been recurring in cycles and minor cycles for over a thousand years, or since the birth of scientific thought, and magazine editors have recently noted that the virus has again affected inventors.
Novel Hose Display Draws Crowds A MOST unusual means of advertising silk hose, being used by a department store in Berlin, is shown in the photo below. A young lady sits in the window wearing stockings with only her legs exposed. The store reports that curiosity to see the woman’s face brings hundreds of people […]
Hair Raising Electric Chair ONE of the features of a recent engineering show held in Portland, Oregon, was the electric chair shown here, in which a man was seated while an electric charge of 150,000 volts was passed through his body. The experience left the shockee with no ill effects, although the picture shows his […]
Beauty Machine Pats the Face A NEW beauty machine that gently pats cosmetics into the skin as advised by beauty and skin specialists has been brought out by a Connecticut manufacturer. The device is equipped with a cord for connection to light socket