Umbrella-Vender for Showers

WHAT to do when caught in a shower without an umbrella—that is one of the world’s greatest problems that has just been solved by the recent invention of an automatic umbrella vending machine which delivers an umbrella by the insertion of a coin in a slot. Devised by a noted German inventor, Herr Kreuger, the machine is placed on street corners, where it will be easily accessible in case of a sudden shower and drops an umbrella in a slot when the lever on the side is pulled down.

While the umbrella delivered by the machine is not particularly elegant, yet it sheds rain satisfactorily in an emergency and that is the chief purpose of the scheme.

view additional pages

QUICK-FREEZE HUMAN LIFE?

By Morrison Colladay

EVEN though our universe has been criss-crossed and catalogued for hundreds of years, there still remains a country unknown to science. It’s a place where there’s an entire absence of heat—a spot called “Absolute Zero!” Read the rest of this entry »

Electric Chair Powerless to Harm Wizard

THREE hundred and fifty amperes of electric current were powerless to affect the body of Bernays Johnson, electrical wizard, shown strapped to the electric chair in which the demonstration took place. The feat was performed at the recent Aero-Radio show in Boston. Read the rest of this entry »

view additional pages

“Fog-Drip” May Hold Key to Drought Relief

by CALVIN FRAZER

Scientists, spurred on by last summer’s disastrous drought, are still vainly seeking a method of controlling rainfall. In some parts of the world fog is a more important source of moisture than rain, and various methods, as described here by Mr. Frazer, have been proposed to make fog yield water during arid seasons. Read the rest of this entry »

SOMETHING NEW on WHEELS

THERE’S more than one way of getting there, in fact, almost every day brings us something new in the way of transportation. Here we have a child’s two-passenger electric lighted foot power car, the storage battery under the hood supply the juice. Read the rest of this entry »

view additional pages

New Uses for Old Fords Contest!

MODERN MECHANICS will pay $10 for acceptable photos of every odd use to which old model T Fords have been put. The queer machines shown below are made from old “Tin Lizzies.”

UP IN Minnesota where the water is sky blue many sportsmen sojourn during the summer. These same sportsmen use motorboats and demand clear, weedless lakes from their hotel and resort keepers. Read the rest of this entry »

Tear Gas Makes Weapon of Fountain Pen

AN INNOCENT-APPEARING fountain pen containing a charge of tear gas which makes it a most effective weapon has been perfected for the use of cashiers, bank tellers, and others likely, to be objects of robbery. The tear gas is carried in the pen in liquid form and when the trigger is released it spouts out of the pen as a vapor which will blind and disable anyone it is directed against. The release trigger is shaped like the conventional ink-filling lever, and in appearance the weapon cannot be distinguished from an ordinary writing tool.

Motor-Powered Pencil Sharpener

PENCIL sharpening is an effortless job when there is used a pencil sharpener driven by an electric motor now on the market. Furthermore, unlike most hand-operated sharpeners, the new machine has a series of different-sized openings, so that it can be used to sharpen pencils of almost any size.

The device has an opening and a transparent case like the ordinary hand sharpeners. The pencil is placed in the open end, a little switch on top of the motor is thrown on and the little machine sharpens the pencil neatly and quickly.

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.

Keep your eye on the D-500 . . . IT’S A REAL BOMB!

These days, more and more of you guys who know and love cars are “talking up” the fabulous Dodge D-500. And no wonder! This D-500 is a real bomb!

In official NASCAR acceleration tests at Daytona Beach, the Dodge D-500 licked all cars—regardless of size, price or horsepower. Read the rest of this entry »

Saxophone Combined With Organ

TONE modulation such as only the most accomplished wind instrument artist can achieve can now be duplicated by a beginner as a result of a new instrument called the solfia now being manufactured in Germany. The new wind instrument is played with a mouthpiece similar to that of a saxophone, but the notes are controlled by an organ keyboard. An air chamber within the device modulates the tone and adds resonance.

Money Changing Machine Gives Silver for Bills!

MANY times has the cash girl wished that she didn’t have to change paper money and run out of change. Realizing this, an English inventor conceived and produced a changing machine. The bank note is placed within a flap on the top of the machine and the lever pressed downward. Read the rest of this entry »