January 15, 2009

CUSTOM CARS and HOT RODS (Jan, 1951)

Filed under: Automotive, Origins — @ 12:15 am
Source: Mechanix Illustrated ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Jan, 1951
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While it does look pretty cool, that custom “Porsche” car will never catch on.

CUSTOM CARS and HOT RODS

JUDGE a man by the company he keeps” is a proverb which has managed to survive the years. But nowadays you can substitute “the car he keeps” and still be on the right track.

For more and more motorists are getting bored with the production-line beauty and middle-class standard performance of our stock cars. And more and more of them— are actually doing something about it.
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January 13, 2009

Fish-Net Shirt (Nov, 1949)

Filed under: Just Weird, Personal Appearance — @ 10:45 pm
Source: Mechanix Illustrated ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Nov, 1949
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Fish-Net Shirt is a satisfactory substitute for the Eskimo caribou garments in the Arctic. It allows body perspiration to evaporate and form a vapor barrier, thus conserving all possible natural heat needed in frigid climates. First used in the Canadian Arctic by Operation Musk-Ox, this hole-some shirt is now worn under army winter underwear.

This Car Has Everything (Apr, 1957)

Filed under: Automotive — @ 10:45 pm
Source: Mechanix Illustrated ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Apr, 1957
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This Car Has Everything

WHEN Don Swartzwelder drives his car into a gas station the hood raises by itself, stunning the attendant and making Don moderately happy. A Fort Lauderdale, Fla., TV technician, Don has made a hobby of gooking up his ‘38 Ford with gadgets until she now boasts a TV set, PA system, electrically-locked doors and gas tank cap, record player, 110-volt utility outlet, self-raising and lowering hood and fog lights that go on automatically if headlights fail. Engine is a full-race ‘48 Merc, souped up to top out at 123 mph.

PRICKLY PAIR (Aug, 1954)

Filed under: Other Animals — @ 10:45 pm
Source: Mechanix Illustrated ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Aug, 1954
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PRICKLY PAIR

TWO sharp quillers from the Amazon Jungle moved in with Marion and Paul McMichael of Brooklyn two years ago just so the husband and wife could prove a point. You see, the quillers are prehensile-tailed porcupines named Gerald and Geraldine and the McMichaels had heard that all such animals were dumb—and dangerous. As a member of the New York Zoological Society, Paul didn’t think so and he brought a couple home to study..
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PLAYGROUNDS IN THE SKY (Apr, 1957)

Filed under: Architecture, Impractical, Sports — @ 10:45 pm
Source: Mechanix Illustrated ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Apr, 1957
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PLAYGROUNDS IN THE SKY

Here is MI’s hold plan to fight juvenile delinquency and get kids off the street.

THE scene is your city on a sticky, sweltering twilight in midsummer. Lights are beginning to wink on and kids are starting to gather in the streets after the evening meal.

A few years ago this was the danger hour in your city. You remember it well—the nightly muggings would begin about now and young girls would be afraid to venture out alone. Beatings were commonplace and gang wars, fiercely fought with knives and zip-guns, were a frequent occurrence. But things are different now. Read the rest of this entry »

January 12, 2009

Cut Hair with Your Electric Shaver (Feb, 1957)

Filed under: Impractical, Personal Appearance — @ 11:28 pm
Source: Science And Mechanics ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Feb, 1957
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Cut Hair with Your Electric Shaver

With the Electric Shaver Haircutting Guide anyone owning a Remington, Schick or Norelco shaver can give a good haircut. Made of metal, the wire guide has an overall length of eight inches and a width of three inches.

In use, the shaver is inserted in the adaptor which holds it in position and the entire unit is placed against the head. One hand holds the guide while the other hand moves the shaver up and down as illustrated. Included in the $2.98 guide price are complete instructions. If you do not have a shaver, a $30.50 price includes your choice of Remington Deluxe or Schick, while a $25.95 price brings a Norelco with the guide.

Ski Boot Weighs 1,200 Pounds (Jun, 1937)

Filed under: General — @ 11:28 pm
Source: Modern Mechanix ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Jun, 1937
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Ski Boot Weighs 1,200 Pounds

A GARGANTUAN ski boot, size 371, took six weeks to make and is an oversize duplicate of the type worn at fashionable winter sports resorts in the United States and on the Continent.

Built for exhibition purposes, the boot measures 13 feet in length and has six eyelets, eight hooks and the laces are of mountain rope. The heel is 35 inches wide and 40 inches long. The entire boot weighs 1,200 pounds.

Copter Cops (Nov, 1958)

Filed under: Aviation, Crime and Police — @ 11:27 pm
Source: Mechanix Illustrated ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Nov, 1958
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Copter Cops

By Frank Tinsley

TODAY’S high-speed turnpikes require ground-bound traffic police to take to the air and graduate to the status of “Copter Cops,” mounted in a vehicle that could speed safely above the car-choked roads and provide a bird’s eye view of driving conditions and dangers. Such a vehicle could go far beyond the utility of the present patrol car. It could control traffic speed, clear jams at bottle- necks, perform emergency rescue work and provide fast aerial ambulance service, plus offering a more efficient pursuit of criminals.
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Robot Suits for Animated Youngsters (Feb, 1957)

Filed under: Personal Appearance, Robots — @ 11:26 pm
Source: Science And Mechanics ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Feb, 1957
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Robot Suits for Animated Youngsters

ANY costume party, parade or trip in a space ship will be a real pleasure for the young live wire in your family when he is clad in this bizarre suit (Fig. 1). The dimensions in the drawing will make a suit that fits the average seven to ten year old, but vary the size to fit the child who will wear it.

Completed suit has a one-piece head and body, two arms and two legs. Prepare the body box first (Fig. 2), cutting out the bottom completely. ‘ In the top cut a hole slightly smaller than the head box (by about 1/4 in. each way). Cut arm holes in each side.
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MI Tests the New Crosley (Jul, 1947)

Filed under: Automotive — @ 11:26 pm
Source: Mechanix Illustrated ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Jul, 1947
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MI Tests the New Crosley

Tom McCahill, Mi’s auto expert, puts the new Crosley through its automotive paces.

EVER since I started on Mi’s automobile test series in 1946 hundreds of letters have come in asking about the Crosley and other miniature pieces of transportation. So here is the dope on the Crosley. To get it I came to Florida, where they seem to be the most popular—and here I am writing this in Palm Beach. Read the rest of this entry »

Electric Hand (Nov, 1949)

Filed under: Robots — @ 12:05 am
Source: Mechanix Illustrated ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Nov, 1949
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Electric Hand is made of a lightweight metal, driven by a tiny motor installed in the wrist. The electric engine operates off a six-volt battery. A button attached to the user’s upper arm allows the motor to be switched on or off merely by pressure against the body. Device was developed by Friesecke & Hoepfner of Erlangenbruck. Germany.

THEY CALL ‘EM “PIGLOOS” (Nov, 1958)

Filed under: Animals — @ 12:05 am
Source: Mechanix Illustrated ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Nov, 1958
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THEY CALL ‘EM “PIGLOOS”
SCIENCE has taken a look at the pigpen and devised a revolutionary new system to raise young swine. Developed by Nutrena Mills, Inc., Minneapolis, Minn., the Pigloo is a prefab wooden structure designed to increase the low-cost production of hogs by protecting them from disease. It is said to cut breeding costs over 50 per cent.

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