PETER JENSEN, a veteran bird trainer at the Luna Park zoo, Los Angeles, has simplified the task of teaching parrots to talk.
THE ancient Biblical feat of walking on water is soon to be duplicated by a Washington youth, George Terry, who has invented an odd pair of gondola shoes to achieve the stunt. The scene of the re-enactment of the feat will be the English Channel, between Dover and Calais.
Yacht on Wheels Speeds 95 per on Land, Balks on Water A LUXURIOUS yacht on wheels but one that won’t float in water attracted much attention at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during the 1931 Memorial Day gasoline derby. Built on a Pierce-Arrow chassis, the “boat” is 24 feet long, 5-1/2 feet wide, weighs 5,700 pounds, [...]
For health and comfort in homes, this novel humidifier which throws moisture into air in form of unheated vapor is now being marketed. Electrically driven cone spouts tiny water particles upward by centrifugal force.
Equipped with long wooden handle, this new holder lifts hot pans from stove by strong alligator-like jaws.
“Human Quoits” Is Amusing New Bathing Beach Game YOU have to use your head in this amusing new game of “human quoits” in which padded barrel hoops are tossed at the heads of players buried in the sand, the object being to “ring” them. It’s a game amusing to spectators as well as players, and [...]
For novelty in radiator ornaments, you'll have to go a long way to beat this mechanical flying goose. As you speed along in your car, an ingenious arrangement of mechanism in the bird causes it to straighten out and flap its wings to simulate a real live goose in flight.
WHILE your car is standing still this wild goose isn't so wild. He perches sedately upon the radiator cap surveying the world with a glassy eye. But as soon as you start up and shift into high he flattens out his tail, stretches his neck forward and begins to flap his wings as if he were going somewhere, and going there in a hurry.
Sugar Moon Dial Tricks Observers A SAN FRANCISCO confectioner played a neat trick on his customers with a moon dial displayed in his window. But one night when the moon failed to shine the clock, made, by the way, entirely from sugar, kept on telling time just the same. Later it was discovered that the [...]
Mechanical Barroom Dispenses Drinks by Coin-in-Slot AND now comes the mechanized barroom in the form of an automat that dispenses any liquor you may wish by simply inserting a coin in a slot. (Don’t get excited—it’s in Germany.) Displayed recently at the Great Fair in Leipzig, the device has a row of spigots fed by [...]
The author of this article tells you exactly where you can find $125,000,000 in gold—and it's all yours the moment you lay hands on it. The difficulty is that the gold is buried in the hulks of wrecked ships several hundred feet beneath the sea. Inventors of diving contrivances are staging a frantic race to see who will be first to retrieve the golden fortunes.
by DONALD GRAY
STORIES of buried treasure, hidden by Lafitte or Kidd or concealed somewhere about the old homestead by the wealthy farmer who was afraid of banks, usually have this one feature in common: although the existence of the treasure is well-authenticated and widely credited, nobody knows exactly where the hidden doubloons have been laid to rest.
ON A clear, moonless night a diffuse glow or a well-defined arch of pale pearly light is seen low over the northern horizon. Gradually the light grows brighter and presently long beams shoot up in great fan-like sheaves. In ghostly procession they shift back and forth across the sky.
Moods of Cone Bird Tell Weather MADE from a pine cone, and mounted on a pair of stilts carved to resemble legs, this odd little weather bird will tell you just what kind of weather is in the offing. When fair weather is due, the bird will bristle up as if it were angry, but [...]
THE world's most expensive car is valued at $125,000 and is owned by the great Shah of Persia. Finished in silver and upholstered in blue leather, this costly machine has hub caps, instrument panel and shift lever knob inlaid with diamonds and other precious stones, making the car the world's greatest motor investment.
16 mph? Were early speedometers in binary? Odd Traffic Signs Warn Motorists ESPECIALLY designed to command instant notice of motorists, a new type of traffic signal, recently put into use in Philadelphia, is shaped like a diamond and equipped with a blinker light to give additional warning. The signals are installed at all corners likely [...]
by KENNETH COLLINS
Modern explorers striking out into uncharted regions must be equipped for every emergency. Here a veteran explorer tells how these preparations are made at great costs.
BEFORE an explorer strikes out on his hazardous journey into some remote and uncharted region of the world, he is confronted with the prodigious task of laying in a stock of supplies and equipment that may range from airplanes to can openers.
"How does the explorer go about making such provisions for his expedition?" you may wonder. "Where does he begin? How can he determine what supplies he will need and in what quantities he will need them? What precautions must he take? And, finally, where does he purchase his unique equipment?"
by LLOYD S. GRAHAM
Designed with infinite attention to minute detail are the small three-dimension picture sets built by modern museums to depict such scenes as the rising of the pyramids and the temple worship of ancient Mayans. Elaborate methods of construction used in erecting plaster buildings and shaping wax figures into such life-like form that they almost seem to breathe are described here.
Handy Portable Auto Bath House MOTORISTS driving out to the beach for a plunge need not worry in the least about bath house facilities, for a portable dress tent which can be erected alongside an auto in a jiffy has recently been put on the market. Designed especially for use with closed cars, the tent [...]
Long known as the "One Man Vaudeville Show," Joe Cook, star of the musical comedy stage and screen, has given further proof of his inventive ability in his latest success —"Fine and Dandy." Here he tells you of his nutty inventions which brighten the show.
by JOE COOK As told to Bennett Lincoln
WELL, sir, the days when a song and dance routine with a few gags strewn in between denoted that you were a comedian on the American stage have vanished.
You've now got to show the customers out yonder that you're a smart guy. The way I get around that is to slam-bang them with a load of cuckoo and complicated inventions. First they are baffling but then you soon realize that it's all in fun, as my partner, Dave Chasen, would say.
Hand Signal Light for Motorists EVERY year a large number of auto accidents occur because drivers fail to notice signals. A simple device, the hand signal light, recently invented, helps to make driving safer, especially at night. If the driver ahead wishes to make a left-hand turn, the driver behind will be able to see [...]
Handy Wristholder for Pencil FOUNTAIN pens and pencils are made quickly and easily accessible by the use of a new wrist pencil and pen holder now on the market.
by DR. KARL ARNSTEIN
(Vice President and Chief Engineer, Goodyear Zeppelin Corp.)
As told to JAY EARLE MILLER
The biggest airship in the world, an amazing structure which is veritably a flying battleship, is practically finished and ready for test flights by the U. S. Navy, The man who supervised the design of this warship of the sky reveals here the fascinating mechanical details of its construction.
ABOUT the time this article appears in print the largest lighter-than-air ship ever built—the 6,500,000 cubic feet Akron will be walked out of the world's largest airship dock, or hangar, for its initial trial flight.
When the Akron takes to the air, the dream of Count Zeppelin—a super-airship capable of taking its place in world commerce—will have been realized. Not that the Akron is such a ship, for it is purely a military craft, a sort of flying battleship, built for scouting work with the fleet at sea, but it contains within it all the essentials which the coming trans-oceanic air liners will need, save actual passenger compartments.
THOSE who have wandered in the woods know how difficult it is to walk up a slope covered with pine-needles. Some have even slid down such slopes, when young, on a barrel stave, which was lots of fun. Just such an idea is embodied in this "Pine Needle" toboggan slide. It makes use of a smooth bottomed sled, an artificial slide covered with pine-needles and a good slope of land.
TRAINERS at the Los Angeles alligator farm have originated a new and unique method for exercising their century old saurian charges. A few balloons liberally smeared with fish oil and then floated over the pool do the trick.
by RAYMOND FRANCIS YATES
What are the inventions of tomorrow which will be worth billions of dollars to industry? Mr. Yates, member of the Institute of Radio Engineers and well-known writer on scientific subjects, here describes ten billion-dollar ideas. It will be interesting to make your own list and compare it with that of Mr. Yates.
by ROBERT M. ROOF
(Builder of cars for dirt track racing) It is danger in sport that fascinates both spectator and participant, which is the main reason why dirt track racing is gaining in popularity every year. In this article a man who has devoted his life to the development of this thrilling sport gives you some real inside information on the men and cars that burn up the ovals at the state and county fairs about this time of the year.
by Uthai Vincent Wilcox
Amazing inventions perfected by tiny creatures of the insect world have long baffled scientists, who are studying the remarkable accomplishments of "bug" architects, chemists and engineers to find solutions for their scientific problems.
NATURE is, above all, an inventor. She invents new devices, new processes, new ways to meet situations. Many of her amazing inventions are still fascinating mysteries. Scientists know about them, but they are unable adequately to explain them.
A SCRAMBLING of the ancient Scotch game of golf and the somewhat less Scotch game of roulette has resulted in the creation which beats all for novelty—golf played on a roulette wheel. In the center of a circular pit a gaming wheel, marked like the table variety, spins merrily, while the golfer attempts to knock a golf ball into the winning compartments.
TERRIFYING in aspect and noisy enough to wake the dead is the dragon wagon built by Fred Jolly, Indianapolis airplane designer. Jolly is solving his unemployment problem by becoming a modern town crier.
DR. OTTO THOMPSON, an optometrist of Waukegan, "Illinois, in exercising and strengthening weakened eyes of patients, makes use of an old bicycle wheel covered with a dark cloth and marked with a spiral yellow line that ends at a colored "flasher."
A CLEVER California fisherman, Capt. Guy Silva, has perfected a novel and efficient method of landing 200 and 300 pound fish with the minimum amount of labor.
He electrocutes them!
A GIGANTIC nocturnal sun-dial, using light instead of shadow to tell the time, is to be installed by the municipality of Guayaquil, Republic of Ecuador. The light source will be an electric searchlight which, revolving once every 12 hours, will indicate the time by illuminating surrounding landmarks at the same time each night.
ANT houses for children to build and watch at school and at home, as many schools and homes now keep bowls of goldfish or other kinds of aquaria, have been introduced at Hanover, New Hampshire, by Prof. Frank E. Austin of Dartmouth College. An ant house consists of two sheets of glass held in a wooden frame, like the two panes of a double window.
IN THE torrid Madeira Islands, automobiles have donned straw hats to provide the last word in comfort for motorists. Experimenters there have found that woven straw is much less heat absorbing than the customary metal cover, and so have equipped their cars with an overall sheathing of this airy material.
This inspired the very short-lived spin off magazine Suicide Illustrated. Precaution for Would-be Suicides IF YOU are figuring on committing suicide, be sure to take this precaution: Use new bullets. Old bullets are sure to be laden with germs, so that they might infect the wound, and cause you to die. If you use new [...]
by ALFRED ALBELLI
Archaeologists, who are as much adventurers as they are scientists, are every day striking out into remote parts of the world in search of relics of mankind's mysterious past. The dangers these explorers encounter, the scientific methods they employ, and the treasures they have unearthed are described in this article.
CARRYING the development of air driven automobiles a step farther, Emil Sohn, a Berlin aviation engineer, has invented a motor car that secures high flexibility of control from power of an airplane motor and twin propellers located in the rear, in the position of the rumble seat.
Aquaplanes Carry TENNIS to Sea IT JUST had to come! With a mile-long waiting line at the public tennis courts of most cities, the devotees of the sport just had to find some place to play; and as a net across the pavement might interfere with traffic to a certain extent there was no place [...]
Sun Bath Helmet Prevents Sunburn THE latest contribution to the science of improving feminine beauty is a helmet having a glass shield which is treated to remove infra-red rays from sunlight, allowing wearer to retain white skin on the face.
CANNON have been used for many years to send a line or rope across an impassable barrier. Harpoons with ropes attached are shot into whales. The Life Saving Stations use cannon to send lines from shore to ships stranded in low water. However, in both of these cases the distance to the target has always been comparatively short and thus the effectiveness of the cannon for this purpose has been limited.
Take that creationists! Fish Gills on Man Prove Evolution A MAN with gill slits on his neck like a fish has been discovered in Germany and was examined recently by physicians and biologists at the University Clinic at Heidelberg. No “pre-natal influence” or other mystery is involved, the scientists agreed, but merely a “throw-back” to [...]
IF YOU don't know what to do with your old shoes, here's a suggestion—make bike wheels out of them. No less a unique stunt has been performed by Marie Glory, a well-known Parisian bicycling enthusiast, as the photo at left shows. The regular wheel has been dispensed with altogether, and the "shoe wheel" substituted.
Milk Cans Loaded by Gravity Power GRAVITY, without assistance of other power, is employed by a chocolate factory in England for the loading and storing of milk cans. After being elevated by an endless chain to the top of the tower the cans spiral down a roller track to the bottom, where gravity holds them [...]
by H.H. Dunn
From all corners of the globe come the queer animals which modern fashion demands as pets—koa bears, ocelots, even boa constrictors. Read why alligators and raccoons have gone out of style while chimpanzees have become popular.
TIME was when the dog, cat and canary, with an occasional parrot, satisfied the demands of civilized man for pets, but today not less than half a hundred other animals and birds have been added to the list.
London to Build Mid-City Air Port WITH the rapid growth of airplane transportation, the air port of the future may be moved up into the center of the city where it will be easily accessible. A bold step in this direction has been taken by Charles Clever, a London architect, who has constructed a model [...]
Portable Radios for U. S. Cavalry THE latest in portable radio receivers and transmitters has been developed by Signal Corps engineers for use by the U. S. Cavalry. The antenna is strung on a short mast, while the instruments are carried on the saddle, as illustrated below.
FOR the first time in all its history, the legitimate stage is able to rival and even to outstrip the motion picture in its ability to present swift changes of scene to the eyes of an audience. In the past it has been the movie alone which could shift instantly from a desert setting to a polar scene, but now the legitimate theater is not only able to duplicate such a performance, if it wishes, but it can also present as many as four different scenes to the eyes of the audience simultaneously—a feat which the movies have not yet found practical.
First Rocket Glider Launched Successfully in Actual Tests THAT the ground crews hitherto needed for glider flying may soon be dispensed with in many cases was proved recently by William G. Swan, who before a crowd of 2000 persons succeeded in launching a glider by rocket power. The glider was equipped with two sets of [...]
Porkers Fed by Automatic Mother FINDING himelf confronted with the task of providing nourishment for a litter of little porkers that had lost their mother, a Glens Falls, New York farmer rigged up an automatic mother which seemed to fill the bill quite satisfactorily. The squeals of hunger were quieted by means of a bottle [...]
