Neatorama » invention http://www.neatorama.com The Neat Side of the Web Wed, 15 Feb 2012 02:00:13 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 The World’s First “Carphone” http://www.neatorama.com/2012/01/26/the-worlds-first-carphone/ http://www.neatorama.com/2012/01/26/the-worlds-first-carphone/#comments Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:53:44 +0000 Miss Cellania http://www.neatorama.com/?p=59776

On March 21, 1920, the Sandusky Register reported on an astonishing invention in which W. W. Macfarlane, traveling in a car (driven by a chauffeur), held a conversation with his wife back at the garage -500 yards down the road! The article is reprinted at Paleofuture. Link

]]> http://www.neatorama.com/2012/01/26/the-worlds-first-carphone/feed/ 2 For The Lush That Has Everything-The Booze Backpack http://www.neatorama.com/2011/11/30/for-the-lush-that-has-everything-the-booze-backpack/ http://www.neatorama.com/2011/11/30/for-the-lush-that-has-everything-the-booze-backpack/#comments Thu, 01 Dec 2011 06:38:36 +0000 Zeon Santos http://www.neatorama.com/2011/11/30/for-the-lush-that-has-everything-the-booze-backpack/

This double barreled contraption can either be loads of fun, say if you fill it with punch or soda for a kid’s birthday party, or you can fill the chambers with booze and prepare for your house to become a vomitorium.

This is the kind of stupid invention you hope doesn’t fall into the wrong hands, even though I’m pretty sure the only people that are going to buy this thing were born with the wrong hands.

Link –via Geekologie

]]> http://www.neatorama.com/2011/11/30/for-the-lush-that-has-everything-the-booze-backpack/feed/ 2 Tempest Prognosticator http://www.neatorama.com/2011/11/30/tempest-prognosticator/ http://www.neatorama.com/2011/11/30/tempest-prognosticator/#comments Wed, 30 Nov 2011 17:32:24 +0000 Miss Cellania http://www.neatorama.com/?p=56723 George Merryweather was a doctor in Whitby, on the British coast of Yorkshire. He was also an inventor.

…the thing which Mr. Merryweather became truly famous for was his “Atmospheric, Electromagnetic Telegraph, conducted by Animal Instinct,” or, more shortly, his Tempest Prognosticator,” which he built for the Great Exhibition of 1851. It is a beautiful structure, with a bell at the top designed to look like the dome at St. Pauls. Around the bottom are placed a dozen glass bottles; threading from tiny hammers around the edge of the bell are threads, which connect to a piece of whalebone just inside the neck of each bottle. Inside each bottle is poured an inch of rainwater and then — oh happy home! — each bottle is occupied by a leech. A common, ordinary surgical leech.

Being a doctor, Merryweather had observed that medical leeches responded to barometric pressure or electrical charge in the air, or whatever it is that allows smaller animals to know when bad weather is afoot. The leeches’ response was to climb — probably a good response for water-dwelling creatures just before a rain, so that they don’t get washed away. So when Merryweather’s leeches climbed to the top of the bottle, they nudged the piece of whalebone, which caused the string to move and ring the bell. It’s not clear, but it appears that the more the bell rang before a storm, the worse the weather to come.

The Tempest Prognosticator proved to be surprisingly accurate, but did not catch on because it was not considered scientific enough. Read more about the device at Cabinet of Wonders, on a visit to the Whitby Museum, where Merryweather’s device is housed. Link

]]> http://www.neatorama.com/2011/11/30/tempest-prognosticator/feed/ 0 So Now You Know-How To Use A Flowbee http://www.neatorama.com/2011/09/22/so-now-you-know-how-to-use-a-flowbee/ http://www.neatorama.com/2011/09/22/so-now-you-know-how-to-use-a-flowbee/#comments Fri, 23 Sep 2011 06:29:22 +0000 Zeon Santos http://www.neatorama.com/?p=53372

(YouTube Link)

So it never helped anyone open up a hair salon in their home, and it only cuts your hair into one generic style, but the Flowbee is as fun to use as it’s name is to say. Watch this educational video about the proper usage of this marvelous device, then try and resist the urge to buy one of your very own!

-via BestWeekEver

]]> http://www.neatorama.com/2011/09/22/so-now-you-know-how-to-use-a-flowbee/feed/ 6 Catch Birds And Feed Your Cat-At The Same Time http://www.neatorama.com/2011/08/17/catch-birds-and-feed-your-cat-at-the-same-time/ http://www.neatorama.com/2011/08/17/catch-birds-and-feed-your-cat-at-the-same-time/#comments Thu, 18 Aug 2011 02:23:02 +0000 Zeon Santos http://www.neatorama.com/2011/08/17/catch-birds-and-feed-your-cat-at-the-same-time/ What’s the hottest new home accessory that will make your life easier and way more fun? Well, it’s probably not this sadistic little number, and if you think this thing looks like fun then you’re sick! Leo Voelker applied for a patent for this strange device, a combination bird catcher and cat feeder, in 1979 and either the guy hates birds or there was a plague of them in his backyard. Feeding your cute little kitty never seemed so gross, and I wouldn’t want to be the one who has to clean out the trap. Oh, according to Leo you won’t have to clean it:

“The cat feeder by its design is self-cleaning since the cat quickly learns to remove the sparrow from the cage.”

Thankfully, you won’t be seeing these in your neighborhoods anytime soon, and cats will just have to settle for birds they can catch on their own.

Link -via BoingBoing

]]> http://www.neatorama.com/2011/08/17/catch-birds-and-feed-your-cat-at-the-same-time/feed/ 1 Robotic Hand Made By High School Kid http://www.neatorama.com/2011/08/16/robotic-hand-made-by-high-school-kid/ http://www.neatorama.com/2011/08/16/robotic-hand-made-by-high-school-kid/#comments Tue, 16 Aug 2011 21:35:28 +0000 Zeon Santos http://www.neatorama.com/?p=51409

If you’re upset about the state of education in America, here’s a ray of hope in the form of a robotic hand. Created by Colorado high school student Easton LaChappelle, this mechanical marvel was ingeniously printed out of paper and fiberglass, and is controlled remotely by Easton via glove control, which allows the young inventor the privilege of congratulating himself. Watch the hand in action over at PopSci.

Link -image by Easton LaChappelle

]]> http://www.neatorama.com/2011/08/16/robotic-hand-made-by-high-school-kid/feed/ 0 1954 Karlsson Cat Levitator http://www.neatorama.com/2011/04/14/1954-karlsson-cat-levitator/ http://www.neatorama.com/2011/04/14/1954-karlsson-cat-levitator/#comments Thu, 14 Apr 2011 16:24:30 +0000 Miss Cellania http://www.neatorama.com/?p=44641

Flickr user Mr. Thinktank posted this “invention” for levitating cats.

Cats love anti gravity. I bet you didn’t know that. This device was invented by Swedish immigrant Per Karlsson in the early 50s, and a small series was produced in Wellington for a while. But people didn’t go for it as much as Karlsson had hoped; maybe because they didn’t fancy having the cat hover around too much. In case you’re wondering what the little cap with the “antlers” is the cat is wearing on its head, it’s the mind reader. The cat steers the machine with her thoughts, because, how else would she.

The picture is part of a marvelous set of photographs in his Flickr set Old Anti Gravity Cruisers of New Zealand. Link -via Everlasting Blort

(Image credit: Flickr user Mr. Thinktank)

]]> http://www.neatorama.com/2011/04/14/1954-karlsson-cat-levitator/feed/ 1 Brilliant Inventions that Look Like Gag Gifts http://www.neatorama.com/2011/03/25/brilliant-inventions-that-look-like-gag-gifts/ http://www.neatorama.com/2011/03/25/brilliant-inventions-that-look-like-gag-gifts/#comments Fri, 25 Mar 2011 16:07:10 +0000 Miss Cellania http://www.neatorama.com/?p=43735

Would you believe… a helicopter ejection seat? A solar-powered flashlight? An inflatable anchor? They’re not jokes -well, they are the subjects of some jokes, but these gadgets really exist, and they really do the job, as you’ll see in this list from Cracked. NSFW text. Link -via The Daily What

]]> http://www.neatorama.com/2011/03/25/brilliant-inventions-that-look-like-gag-gifts/feed/ 0 Twitter in 1935 http://www.neatorama.com/2011/03/11/twitter-in-1935/ http://www.neatorama.com/2011/03/11/twitter-in-1935/#comments Fri, 11 Mar 2011 16:04:18 +0000 Miss Cellania http://www.neatorama.com/?p=43034

The “notificator” was coin-operated and left a message for only two hours. It probably did not catch on due to competition from the much-cheaper “bulletin board.” Link -via reddit

]]> http://www.neatorama.com/2011/03/11/twitter-in-1935/feed/ 2 The Balloon Man http://www.neatorama.com/2011/03/07/the-balloon-man/ http://www.neatorama.com/2011/03/07/the-balloon-man/#comments Mon, 07 Mar 2011 13:08:55 +0000 Miss Cellania http://www.neatorama.com/?p=42829 The following is an article from Uncle John’s Endlessly Engrossing Bathroom Reader.

It’s hard to imagine birthday parties, celebrations, or political conventions without a rainbow of balloons. So considering that they’re associated with joyous occasions, it’s kind of ironic that if it weren’t for poverty and sheer desperation, balloons would never have been invented.

FROM DEPRESSION TO INFLATION

Before the 1929 stock market crash and the Great Depression, Neil Tillotson thought he had a career that could last him a lifetime. In 1915 he dropped out of high school and began working for the Hood Rubber Company, a prosperous manufacturer of tires and and rubber footwear located in Watertown, Massachusetts. In little time, he worked his way into a position as a researcher.

After serving in World War I (he was assigned to a cavalry unit that spent the war years chasing Mexican outlaw Pancho Villa around Texas and northern Mexico), he returned home and reclaimed his position at Hood. With new products and research on artificial rubber, Hood’s wartime boom promised to continue in the post-war years. In the 1920s, an industry newsletter reported that Hood had become the largest independent rubber footwear manufacturer in the country, capable of pumping out 75,000 pairs of shoes a day.

But then came the Depression. Struggling with cash flow issues and a lack of demand for its products, Hood Rubber went on hiatus for most of January 1931, locking its doors and laying off 1,200 employees. Along with everyone else, Tillotson found himself on an involuntary, unpaid vacation. To make matters worse, his brother and father-in-law had lost their jobs …and moved in with Tillotson. Trapped in a house that had become uncomfortable overcrowded, and with cabin fever setting in, he feared that Hood would not reopen. Regardless, he knew that he couldn’t afford to work for a company that reserved the right to lay him off periodically with little warning.

ESCAPING TO HIS LAB

So Tillotson built a makeshift laboratory in his attic and set about trying to invent something that might let him start his own business. The problem was that the only thing Tillotson knew well was rubber, and making the vulcanized rubber invented by Charles Goodyear required expensive machinery, lots of raw materials, and workers.

Tillotson pinned his hoped on something new in the field: liquid latex. A few years earlier, German scientist Peter Schidrowitz had developed a thick liquid that could be painted onto almost anything and would air dry into a rubber skin. It didn’t require heat, sulfur, or molding machines, just a paintbrush or a dipping bowl, which made it theoretically possible for Tillotson to start manufacturing something (he wasn’t sure what yet) with a few molds and minimal up-front costs. But what could he make?

AIR HEAD

Back at Hood Rubber, Tillotson had been lucky: He’d been allocated a supply of liquid latex and assigned the job of finding uses for it, so he already knew something about what it could do.  He’d also had the opportunity to take home a quantity of liquid latex before the plant locked its doors.

His first idea was to create inexpensive inner tubes for automobile and bicycle tires. On paper, it seemed like it should work, but Tillotson quickly discovered that his latex skin wasn’t as strong as molded rubber, and it wasn’t durable enough for heavy-duty use. His first efforts were, quite literally, a blowout.

Not Tillotson's actual cat balloon.

Frustrated, Tillotson came up with another idea- one that he thought might be an amusing novelty. He cut a piece of cardboard into the shape of a cat’s head (complete with little cat ears at the top) and dipped it into the gooey latex.. He had no idea what would happen, but it was a whimsical diversion from working on inner tubes. After the latex dried, he sprinkled it with talc to keep the rubber from sticking to itself, and then carefully rolled the thin skin off the cardboard. It seemed to be an intact cat-head shape. Gingerly, he put it to his lips and blew a small puff of air into the hole at the bottom. It seemed to be airtight, so he blew a little more and kept repeating until the latex was round and dangerously taut. It was a balloon with cat ears, something he’d never seen before.

BALLOONS FROM THE BUTCHER

Not that toy balloons were anything new. For a great kids’ toy in the early 1800s, you couldn’t do much better than blowing up a pig’s bladder: It was thin, airtight, durable, and fun to toss around. Kids who wanted a different-sized balloon had plenty of choices available, from small balloons made of pig intestines or rabbit bladders to large balloons of cattle organs.

In 1824 British scientist Michael Faraday invented a rubber balloon by taking two pieces of rubber and sticking them together. It didn’t require special adhesives because before Charles Goodyear invented vulcanization to fix the problem, rubber was sticky and malleable like a thick bubble gum. Faraday filled his balloons with hydrogen in order to conduct scientific experiments, but it didn’t take long for the invention to become a popular plaything for his kids. Problems: The balloons couldn’t be mass-produced, and they didn’t last long.

A CAT KISS FOR LUCK

Tillotson ha d something new, and he knew it. He tied off the balloon and painted a cat’s face on the front. When he carried it downstairs to show the rest of the family, their reaction was enough to make him completely forget about inner tubes. He went to work with his scissors, creating more cat-head molds, and recruited his older brother and father-in-law to help hand dip dozens at a a time. After making and painting 2,000, he sold them all to a Boston novelty company, C. Decieco & Son, who filled them with helium to sell at a parade in nearby Lexington.

Desperately curious to see how the public would respond to his cat balloons, Tillotson headed to the parade site. Besides being reassured by the brisk sales of balloons, he witnessed something that convinced him that he had a hit product on his hands: A little girl pulled her balloon down and kissed the cat’s face.

That was it. Tillotson withdrew his life savings and sank the entire $720 into latex, molds, and a building, and set up production. By the end of 1931, the Tillotson Rubber Company had popped out five million cat-faced balloons and, despite the worsening Depression, generated sales of $85,000 (the equivalent of $1.2 million today).

Other companies also began making balloons and plenty of other rubbery products. Tillotson’s company went on to develop the first high-speed latex dipping machine, which helped with his second invention in the early 1960s: the one-size-fits-either-hand disposable latex medical glove.

FOOTNOTE TO OBSCURITY

Tillotson became fabulously wealthy, moved to Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, and bought a hotel. There he earned his final claim to fame: For 40 years, until his death in 2001 at age 102, he was the nation’s first voter in all presidential primaries and all presidential elections. He slid his paper ballot into Dixville Notch’s ballot box at the stroke of midnight every Election Day, followed by the three dozen other registered voters in the tiny town. Dixville Notch became famous as the first place to vote and the first to report its results a few minutes later, resulting in a crush of reporters and television cameras at every election.

Tillotson always ended up in the network news reports. But did that give him the fame he deserved as the inventor of the modern balloon and the disposable surgical glove? No. In 2007 the New Hampshire Historical Society began selling a Neil Tillotson bobblehead …depicting the staunch Republican dropping his ballot into the Dixville Notch ballot box. (Want one? At last report, they still have plenty on hand.)

__________

The article above is reprinted with permission from Uncle John’s Endlessly Engrossing Bathroom Reader.

Since 1988, the Bathroom Reader Institute had published a series of popular books containing irresistible bits of trivia and obscure yet fascinating facts.

If you like Neatorama, you’ll love the Bathroom Reader Institute’s books – go ahead and check ‘em out!

]]> http://www.neatorama.com/2011/03/07/the-balloon-man/feed/ 0 Light Bulb Filament http://www.neatorama.com/2011/03/02/light-bulb-filament/ http://www.neatorama.com/2011/03/02/light-bulb-filament/#comments Wed, 02 Mar 2011 16:32:21 +0000 Miss Cellania http://www.neatorama.com/?p=42652
(YouTube link)

The tungsten filament of a common incandescent light bulb is way more interesting than you thought. Bill Hammock, “The Engineer Guy,” explains how it is made and how it works -or sometimes doesn’t. -Thanks, Bill!

Also: If you enjoy the Engineer Guy, you’ll love the video in which he posts and responds to criticism from reddit members. Link

]]> http://www.neatorama.com/2011/03/02/light-bulb-filament/feed/ 2 Name That Weird Invention! http://www.neatorama.com/2011/02/28/name-that-weird-invention-21/ http://www.neatorama.com/2011/02/28/name-that-weird-invention-21/#comments Mon, 28 Feb 2011 14:33:40 +0000 Miss Cellania http://www.neatorama.com/?p=42495

It’s time for the Name That Weird Invention! contest. Steven M. Johnson comes up with all sorts of crazy ideas in his Museum of Possibilities posts. What should we call these? The commenters suggesting the funniest and wittiest names will win a free T-shirt from the NeatoShop. Start your brainstorming and leave an entry in the comments.

Contest rules: one entry per comment, though you can enter as many as you like. Please make a selection of the T-shirt you want (may we suggest the Science T-shirt, Funny T-shirt, and Artist-designed T-shirt categories?) alongside your entry. If you don’t select a shirt, then you forfeit the prize. Have fun and good luck!

Update: First prize goes to Deo for Espadrills. The second place winner is amanderpanderer, who called them SKIL-lettos (the newest SKIL multi-tool). Both win t-shirts from the NeatoShop!

Honorable mentions:
AWB, Drillettos
Patrick Girouard, Swiss Army Shoes
SnarKatestic, Handy Heels
Spiffyspork, Mrs. Fixits

]]> http://www.neatorama.com/2011/02/28/name-that-weird-invention-21/feed/ 46 Weird Inventions of Edison http://www.neatorama.com/2011/02/02/weird-inventions-of-edison/ http://www.neatorama.com/2011/02/02/weird-inventions-of-edison/#comments Wed, 02 Feb 2011 11:04:29 +0000 Alex http://www.neatorama.com/2011/02/02/weird-inventions-of-edison/
One of Edison’s weirdest inventions: The Edison Talking Doll

Perhaps you thought of the lightbulb, the phonograph, or even direct current when you think about Thomas Edison, but those aren’t the only things he invented (or technically, improved), as shown by this Oobject list: Link

Previously on Neatorama: 10 Fascinating Facts About Edison

]]> http://www.neatorama.com/2011/02/02/weird-inventions-of-edison/feed/ 3 Name That Weird Invention! http://www.neatorama.com/2011/01/24/name-that-weird-invention-16/ http://www.neatorama.com/2011/01/24/name-that-weird-invention-16/#comments Mon, 24 Jan 2011 14:09:56 +0000 Miss Cellania http://www.neatorama.com/?p=40896

It’s time for the Name That Weird Invention! contest. Steven M. Johnson comes up with all sorts of crazy ideas in his Museum of Possibilities posts. Can you come up with a name for this one? The commenters suggesting the funniest and wittiest names will win a free T-shirt from the NeatoShop. Let your imagination run wild, and good luck!

Update: ladybuggs wins a t-shirt for coming up with the name “the Toothsayer”! Also tripleX had the second place winning name with “ayePad”, but didn’t specify a shirt. Honorable mentions to Andrew X for “Den-Tell” and to Trevor for “DenTell Plaque.”

]]> http://www.neatorama.com/2011/01/24/name-that-weird-invention-16/feed/ 25 Name That Weird Invention! http://www.neatorama.com/2010/12/27/name-that-weird-invention-14/ http://www.neatorama.com/2010/12/27/name-that-weird-invention-14/#comments Mon, 27 Dec 2010 15:28:35 +0000 Miss Cellania http://www.neatorama.com/?p=39781

It’s time for the Name That Weird Invention! contest. Steven M. Johnson comes up with all sorts of crazy ideas in his weekly Museum of Possibilities posts. Can you come up with a name for this one? The commenter suggesting the funniest and wittiest name will win a free T-shirt from the NeatoShop. Have fun, and good luck!

Update: Congratulations to Madam Atom, who named the boots Ankle Biters, and Carolyn Bahm, who called them Moc Martens. Both win t-shirts from the NeatoShop!

]]> http://www.neatorama.com/2010/12/27/name-that-weird-invention-14/feed/ 45 Name That Weird Invention! http://www.neatorama.com/2010/12/20/name-that-weird-invention-13/ http://www.neatorama.com/2010/12/20/name-that-weird-invention-13/#comments Mon, 20 Dec 2010 14:37:31 +0000 Miss Cellania http://www.neatorama.com/?p=39614

It’s time for the Name That Weird Invention! contest. Steven M. Johnson comes up with all sorts of wacky inventions in his weekly Museum of Possibilities posts. Can you come up with a name for this one? I can’t even figure out what it’s for! The commenter suggesting the funniest and wittiest name will win a free T-shirt from the NeatoShop.

Contest rules: one entry per comment, though you can enter as many as you like. Please make a selection of the T-shirt you want (may we suggest the Science T-shirt, Funny T-shirt, and Artist-designed T-shirt categories?) alongside your entry. If you don’t select a shirt, then you forfeit the prize. Good luck!

Update: Congratulations to qwhacker, who called this “The Long Arm of the Law”. Qwhacker wins a t-shirt from the NeatoShop! The second place entry was from cs, who did not specify a t-shirt:

“The future of traffic enforcement – The Self-Service Ticketing Lane Response Vehicle and Revenue Generator. No longer will officers have to be inconvenienced by weather or in danger from other vehicles on the highway. They will be able to work comfortably from the nearest coffee shop and use Facetime to issue tickets while sipping their latte.

]]> http://www.neatorama.com/2010/12/20/name-that-weird-invention-13/feed/ 34 Name That Weird Invention! http://www.neatorama.com/2010/12/13/name-that-weird-invention-12/ http://www.neatorama.com/2010/12/13/name-that-weird-invention-12/#comments Mon, 13 Dec 2010 14:23:43 +0000 Miss Cellania http://www.neatorama.com/2010/12/13/name-that-weird-invention-12/

It’s time for the Name That Weird Invention! contest. Steven M. Johnson comes up with all sorts of wacky inventions in his weekly Museum of Possibilities posts. Can you come up with a name for this one? I can’t even figure out what it’s for! The commenter suggesting the funniest and wittiest name will win a free T-shirt from the NeatoShop.

Contest rules: one entry per comment, though you can enter as many as you like. Please make a selection of the T-shirt you want (may we suggest the Science T-shirt, Funny T-shirt, and Artist-designed T-shirt categories?) alongside your entry. If you don’t select a shirt, then you forfeit the prize. Good luck!

Update: We have winners! A difficult selection, with many entries and many good entries, and ultimately Foosnark rose to the top with arBra, a clever palindrome. old_joe came in second with the Dance Enhancer. Both win t-shirts from the NeatoShop!

]]> http://www.neatorama.com/2010/12/13/name-that-weird-invention-12/feed/ 79 Name That Weird Invention! http://www.neatorama.com/2010/12/06/name-that-weird-invention-11/ http://www.neatorama.com/2010/12/06/name-that-weird-invention-11/#comments Mon, 06 Dec 2010 14:33:27 +0000 Miss Cellania http://www.neatorama.com/?p=39164

It’s time for another round of the Name That Weird Invention! contest. Steven M. Johnson comes up with all sorts of wacky inventions in his weekly Museum of Possibilities posts. Can you come up with a name for this one? The commenter suggesting the funniest and wittiest name win a free T-shirt from the NeatoShop.

Contest rules: one entry per comment, though you can enter as many as you’d like. Please make a selection of the T-shirt you want (may we suggest the Science T-shirt, Funny T-shirt, and Artist-designed T-shirt categories?) alongside your entry. If you don’t select a shirt, then you forfeit the prize. Have fun!

Update: Congratulations to Gauldar, who came up with The Hygenie 2000, and to haricotvert  who named this item the Roto-Toother! Both win t-shirts from the NeatoShop.

]]> http://www.neatorama.com/2010/12/06/name-that-weird-invention-11/feed/ 38 Lawnmower + Boat = Shortcutter http://www.neatorama.com/2010/11/30/lawnmower-boat-shortcutter/ http://www.neatorama.com/2010/11/30/lawnmower-boat-shortcutter/#comments Tue, 30 Nov 2010 18:38:05 +0000 Miss Cellania http://www.neatorama.com/?p=38999 John Hinton of Horsham in West Sussex, England, combined a boat and a lawnmower to make a vehicle he can drive around traffic jams by slipping into a canal.

John’s ‘Shortcutter’, made from a sit-on lawnmower and an old boat, can chug along the roads at a ‘relaxing’ 9kph (6mph), then take to the water at the first sign of a snarl-up.

Of course, with a top speed that could cause more traffic jams than it solves and a propeller that spins wildly behind it on dry land, the four-wheeler is still very much a work in progress.

The downside is that now no one can use the term “shortcutter” for the Name That Weird Invention contest this week. Hinton says his vehicle is a prototype and he will continue to improve it. Link -via Arbroath

]]> http://www.neatorama.com/2010/11/30/lawnmower-boat-shortcutter/feed/ 1 Name That Weird Invention! http://www.neatorama.com/2010/11/29/name-that-weird-invention-10/ http://www.neatorama.com/2010/11/29/name-that-weird-invention-10/#comments Mon, 29 Nov 2010 14:30:19 +0000 Miss Cellania http://www.neatorama.com/?p=38911

It’s time for another round of the Name That Weird Invention! contest. Steven M. Johnson comes up with all sorts of wacky inventions in his weekly Museum of Possibilities posts. Can you come up with a name for this one? The commenter suggesting the funniest and wittiest name win a free T-shirt from the NeatoShop.

Contest rules: one entry per comment, though you can enter as many as you’d like. Please make a selection of the T-shirt you want (may we suggest the Science T-shirt, Funny T-shirt, and Artist-designed T-shirt categories?) alongside your entry. If you don’t select a shirt, then you forfeit the prize. Have fun with this one!

Update: Congratulations to first place winner ladybuggs who suggested Aquaphobmobile – a vehicle for the “sailor” who is afraid of the water, and to second place winner scarab, who called it a Minnow-Bago. Both win t-shirts from the NeatoShop!

]]> http://www.neatorama.com/2010/11/29/name-that-weird-invention-10/feed/ 21 Name That Weird Invention! http://www.neatorama.com/2010/11/22/name-that-weird-invention-9/ http://www.neatorama.com/2010/11/22/name-that-weird-invention-9/#comments Mon, 22 Nov 2010 14:28:57 +0000 Miss Cellania http://www.neatorama.com/?p=38619

Steven M. Johnson comes up with all sorts of wacky inventions in his weekly Museum of Possibilities posts, but something’s missing from his strange gadgets: names. Can you come up with a name for this one? The commenter suggesting the funniest and wittiest name will win a free T-shirt from the NeatoShop!

Contest rules: one entry per comment, though you can enter as many as you’d like. Please make a selection of the T-shirt you want (may we suggest the Science T-shirt, Funny T-shirt, and Artist-designed T-shirt categories?) alongside your entry. If you don’t select a shirt, then you forfeit the prize. Good luck!

Update: Congratulations to first prize winner Jacob Holcomb, who named it Right Side Up, and second place winner Guldaur, who named it Awrygarb. Both win t-shirts from the NeatoShop! We also have some entries deserving of honorable mention: Amanderpanderer  parallelopants, Scarab Tilt-A-World Officewear by Management Vision, Scarab Sidewinder Suit, BrianD Slantaloons, BrianD The right pants!, reba buhr the elongoutfit, Trevor The Turncoat, and Trevor again for Whirrdrobe

]]> http://www.neatorama.com/2010/11/22/name-that-weird-invention-9/feed/ 30 Name That Weird Invention! http://www.neatorama.com/2010/11/15/name-that-weird-invention-8/ http://www.neatorama.com/2010/11/15/name-that-weird-invention-8/#comments Mon, 15 Nov 2010 14:07:30 +0000 Miss Cellania http://www.neatorama.com/2010/11/15/name-that-weird-invention-8/

Steven M. Johnson comes up with all sorts of wacky inventions in his weekly Museum of Possibilities posts, but something’s missing from his strange gadgets: names. Can you come up with a name for this one? The commenter suggesting the funniest and wittiest name will win a free T-shirt from the NeatoShop.

Update: We couldn’t decide between two great entries, so a first place tie was declared. Mike Struthers suggested Parkaderm, and scarab suggested Pachytherms. Both are awesome!

]]> http://www.neatorama.com/2010/11/15/name-that-weird-invention-8/feed/ 37 Name That Weird Invention! http://www.neatorama.com/2010/11/08/name-that-weird-invention-7/ http://www.neatorama.com/2010/11/08/name-that-weird-invention-7/#comments Mon, 08 Nov 2010 14:26:09 +0000 Miss Cellania http://www.neatorama.com/?p=38089

It’s time for another round of the Name That Weird Invention! contest. Steven M. Johnson comes up with all sorts of wacky inventions in his weekly Museum of Possibilities posts. Can you come up with a name for this one? The commenter suggesting the funniest and wittiest name win a free T-shirt from the NeatoShop.

Contest rules: one entry per comment, though you can enter as many as you’d like. Please make a selection of the T-shirt you want (may we suggest the Science T-shirt, Funny T-shirt, and Artist-designed T-shirt categories?) alongside your entry. If you don’t select a shirt, then you forfeit the prize. Have fun with this one!

Update: Congratulations to noah, who suggested Club-Foot “Combine with Racquet-Bangles and Mallet-Trousers to be the ultimate ‘One Man Country Club’” and to Caroline who called this Caddidas! Both win t-shirts from the NeatoShop. Stay tuned for another contest coming soon!

]]> http://www.neatorama.com/2010/11/08/name-that-weird-invention-7/feed/ 34 A Quantum Leap for Solar Power? http://www.neatorama.com/2010/11/06/a-quantum-leap-for-solar-power/ http://www.neatorama.com/2010/11/06/a-quantum-leap-for-solar-power/#comments Sat, 06 Nov 2010 11:30:37 +0000 Miss Cellania http://www.neatorama.com/?p=38073 After two decades of research into alternative energy, engineer Lonnie Johnson has developed an energy-producing device called the JTEC, which could double our current efficiency in converting solar power into electricity. The concept has scientists, research centers, and the US Air Force excited about its potential. One scientist called the JTEC “a very clever way to extract energy from a heat engine … It’s incredibly elegant.” Here’s a partial explanation of how it works:

Johnson’s latest JTEC prototype, which looks like a desktop model for a next-generation moonshine still, features two fuel-cell-like stacks, or chambers, filled with hydrogen gas and connected by steel tubes with round pressure gauges. Where a steam engine uses the heat generated by burning coal to create steam pressure and move mechanical elements, the JTEC uses heat (from the sun, for instance) to expand hydrogen atoms in one stack. The expanding atoms, each made up of a proton and an electron, split apart, and the freed electrons travel through an external circuit as electric current, charging a battery or performing some other useful work. Meanwhile the positively charged protons, also known as ions, squeeze through a specially designed proton-exchange membrane (one of the JTEC elements borrowed from fuel cells) and combine with the electrons on the other side, reconstituting the hydrogen, which is compressed and pumped back into the hot stack. As long as heat is supplied, the cycle continues indefinitely.

Besides efficiency, the advantages of such a machine are durability, as it has no moving parts, and the absence of polluting waste products. Lonnie Johnson already made a name for himself as the inventor of the Super Soaker. His biography (included in the article) is almost as fascinating as his latest invention. Link -via Metafilter

(Image credit: Ben Baker/Redux)

]]> http://www.neatorama.com/2010/11/06/a-quantum-leap-for-solar-power/feed/ 11 Name That Weird Invention! http://www.neatorama.com/2010/10/29/name-that-weird-invention-6/ http://www.neatorama.com/2010/10/29/name-that-weird-invention-6/#comments Fri, 29 Oct 2010 13:45:29 +0000 Miss Cellania http://www.neatorama.com/?p=37693

Just because we like to keep you on your toes, this week we have a second round of the Name That Weird Invention! contest. Steven M. Johnson comes up with all sorts of wacky inventions in his weekly Museum of Possibilities posts. Can you come up with a name for this one? The commenter suggesting the funniest and wittiest name win a free T-shirt from the NeatoShop.

Contest rules: one entry per comment, though you can enter as many as you’d like. Please make a selection of the T-shirt you want (may we suggest the Science T-shirt, Funny T-shirt, and Artist-designed T-shirt categories?) alongside your entry. If you don’t select a shirt, then you forfeit the prize. Good luck!

Update: Congratulations to our winners, Noah, who suggested “Colostocamp”, and Hannah for “Loitering Within Tent”. Both win t-shirts from the NeatoShop!

Honorable mentions: CB Dragon “The Tuggie”, Old Geezer “The Sleep-walker Outdoorsman”, Deathbyawesomeness “Porta-Tent”, Michael Hicks “Roam Dome Tent”, Trevor “The Burkamper”, Trevor “The Eskimove”, and John P “Dome of the Walk”.

]]> http://www.neatorama.com/2010/10/29/name-that-weird-invention-6/feed/ 41 Name That Weird Invention! http://www.neatorama.com/2010/10/25/name-that-weird-invention-5/ http://www.neatorama.com/2010/10/25/name-that-weird-invention-5/#comments Mon, 25 Oct 2010 14:30:25 +0000 Miss Cellania http://www.neatorama.com/?p=37569

It’s time for another edition of Name That Weird Invention! -this time with a decidedly Halloween theme. Steven M. Johnson comes up with all sorts of wacky inventions in his weekly Museum of Possibilities posts. Can you come up with a name for this one? The commenter suggesting the funniest and wittiest name win a free T-shirt from the NeatoShop.

Contest rules: one entry per comment, though you can enter as many as you’d like. Please make a selection of the T-shirt you want (may we suggest the Science T-shirt, Funny T-shirt, and Artist-designed T-shirt categories?) alongside your entry. If you don’t select a shirt, then you forfeit the prize. Good luck!

Update: Congratulations to our winners! T-shirts from the NeatoShop go to Barking Bud, who called it a Mortalcycle, and John P, who came up with the name Moto-Crossbones by Bone-Daddy Bikes (which comes in “his and hearse models”). Honorable mentions: Elizabeth
(Bone Chopper), Hannah (Tyred of Life), Saudia (Nutcracker), Heather B (Dirt Nap Bike), deathbyawesomeness (diecycle), Sasha (BMXoskelton), and ladybuggs (The Grim Chopper).

]]> http://www.neatorama.com/2010/10/25/name-that-weird-invention-5/feed/ 29 Name That Weird Invention! http://www.neatorama.com/2010/10/18/name-that-weird-invention-4/ http://www.neatorama.com/2010/10/18/name-that-weird-invention-4/#comments Mon, 18 Oct 2010 14:05:48 +0000 Miss Cellania http://www.neatorama.com/?p=37300

Steven M. Johnson comes up with all sorts of wacky inventions in his weekly Museum of Possibilities posts, but something’s missing from his strange gadgets: names. Can you come up with a name for this one? The commenter suggesting the funniest and wittiest name win a free T-shirt from the NeatoShop.

Contest rules: one entry per comment, though you can enter as many as you’d like. Please make a selection of the T-shirt you want (may we suggest the Science T-shirt, Funny T-shirt, and Artist-designed T-shirt categories?) alongside your entry. If you don’t select a shirt, then you forfeit the prize. Good luck!

Update: Congratulations to winner NathanBBlu, who named the invention “Stalaglites,” and explained why. And also to winner lolamouse, who came up with “Light in the Loafers” (used to tell interested observers which way you go). Both win t-shirts from the NeatoShop!

]]> http://www.neatorama.com/2010/10/18/name-that-weird-invention-4/feed/ 37 Name That Weird Invention! http://www.neatorama.com/2010/10/11/name-that-weird-invention-3/ http://www.neatorama.com/2010/10/11/name-that-weird-invention-3/#comments Mon, 11 Oct 2010 13:04:59 +0000 Miss Cellania http://www.neatorama.com/2010/10/11/name-that-weird-invention-3/

Steven M. Johnson comes up with all sorts of wacky inventions in his weekly Museum of Possibilities posts, but something’s missing from his strange gadgets: names. Can you come up with a name for this one? The commenter suggesting the funniest and wittiest name win a free T-shirt from the NeatoShop.

Contest rules: one entry per comment, though you can enter as many as you’d like. Please make a selection of the T-shirt you want (may we suggest the Science T-shirt, Funny T-shirt, and Artist-designed T-shirt categories?) alongside your entry. If you don’t select a shirt, then you forfeit the prize. Good luck!

Update: We have winners! First place goes to Craig, who suggested the name “Glockets”, and the second place name is “The Smitten”, suggested by Abby. Both win t-shirts from the NeatoShop!

]]> http://www.neatorama.com/2010/10/11/name-that-weird-invention-3/feed/ 47 Name That Weird Invention! http://www.neatorama.com/2010/10/04/name-that-weird-invention-2/ http://www.neatorama.com/2010/10/04/name-that-weird-invention-2/#comments Mon, 04 Oct 2010 13:32:44 +0000 Miss Cellania http://www.neatorama.com/?p=36747

Steven M. Johnson comes up with all sorts of wacky inventions in his weekly Museum of Possibilities posts, but something’s missing from his strange gadgets: names. Can you come up with a name for this one? The commenter suggesting the funniest and wittiest name (along with proposed use of such strange object – the weirder the better) will win a free copy of Steve’s autographed first edition book What The World Needs Now. Two runner-ups win free T-shirts from the NeatoShop.

Contest rules: one entry per comment, though you can enter as many as you’d like. Please make a selection of the T-shirt you want (may we suggest the Science T-shirt, Funny T-shirt, and Artist-designed T-shirt categories?) alongside your entry. If you don’t select a shirt, then you forfeit the prize. Good luck!

Update 10/9: Congratulations to first place winner redfi5e who suggested we call this invention “Flures.” Second place winners are Carolyn Bahm (“Dive-Thrus”) and ernest (“Flap-jerks”). Carolyn was the only one who followed stated a t-shirt preference as per the contest rules, so she gets a t-shirt from the NeatoShop!

The artist, Steven Johnson, said, “I was blown away by the cleverness of many of the names. I also noticed that a well-conceived name made my art seem funnier!” So he wanted to recognize these entries as Honorable Mentions: The Flopcatch, Masterbaiters, Toe Tacklers, Self Contained Underwater Baiting Apparatus (SCUBA), Flipplures, Trollfins, FlipperDippers, SCUBait, Flip-o-bait, Flip Service, Kickbait, Flipping Hookers, Toe-Bait-O’s, and Stuck in pro-bait.

]]> http://www.neatorama.com/2010/10/04/name-that-weird-invention-2/feed/ 49 Leave A Message For The Dead http://www.neatorama.com/2010/08/04/leave-a-message-for-the-dead/ http://www.neatorama.com/2010/08/04/leave-a-message-for-the-dead/#comments Thu, 05 Aug 2010 06:51:56 +0000 Alex http://www.neatorama.com/2010/08/04/leave-a-message-for-the-dead/ The problem with being dead and buried – besides all that rotting flesh stuff – is that it’s darned lonely to spend all of eternity by oneself.

Thankfully, inventor Jeff Dannenberg took care of the problem with this nifty and patented invention:

An apparatus and method for generating post-burial audio communications from surviving friends and loved ones in a casket by providing a burial
casket, and providing an electronic audio communication system for placement in said casket to automatically electronically generate post-burial communications in said casket.

This way, you can continue wish the dead "Happy Birthday," "Merry Christmas," "Happy Anniversary" until the end of time. Or until the battery runs out, whichever is first.

Link – Thanks Martin g!

Previously on Neatorama: Patently Silly Animal Patents | Top 10 Strangest Anti-Terrorism Patents

]]> http://www.neatorama.com/2010/08/04/leave-a-message-for-the-dead/feed/ 7 Museum of Possibilities http://www.neatorama.com/2010/06/25/museum-of-possibilities/ http://www.neatorama.com/2010/06/25/museum-of-possibilities/#comments Fri, 25 Jun 2010 18:06:32 +0000 Alex http://www.neatorama.com/2010/06/25/museum-of-possibilities/ When I first saw futurist Steven M. Johnson‘s "inventions" (and believe me, the word "invention" under-describes what Steve produces), two thoughts popped in my mind.

The first is that they remind me of "chindogu," the Japanese art of useless inventions, except that Steve’s brilliantly whimsical (or is it whimsically brilliant?) creations are like chindogu on steroids. And the second is that we absolutely must have him on Neatorama.

Allison Arieff of The New York Times’ Opinionator Blog describes him as "a sort of R. Crumb meets R. Buckminster Fuller":

In discussing his often fantastical, sometimes silly, sometimes visionary concepts, he has said, “If I could use two words to describe what it is that I enjoy it is that I love to be sneakily outrageous . . . [It may be that] I have decided an idea has no practical worth and would never be likely to be adopted seriously (like most of my ideas), but I like it anyway.”

Steve has written two books, What the World Needs Now and Public Therapy Buses, Information Specialty Bums, Solar Cook-A-Mats and Other Visions of the 21st Century. featuring hundreds of his inventions over the years (some of which actually came true), including these gems:

PERSONALS T-SHIRT

A brave new generation indulges in unabashed self-advertisement, sporting personals T-shirts

BEDSHEET-ON-A-ROLL

The automatic self-making bed, a dream of many adolescents and some adults, is produced. All that is required is periodic forward winding of the take-up sheet roll, which draws a fresh sheet segment around a roller to create a "pair" of clean sheets. The used sheet roll is picked up for cleaning by a mobile laundry service, which leaves behind a fresh roll.

TOILET FOR TWO

Installing a duplex toilet would be considerably less expensive than constructing an additional bathroom to accomodate a growing family.

VACUUM SUIT

Wearing the vacuum suit, one feels free to move around the house, developing a skating or dancing motion while listening to stereo headphones. Vacuum motor can be reversed for yard leaf blowing. "Sauna" suit helps one to lose weight.

The bad news is that those books are out of print, though we do have a small stock of these rare books for sale. The good news is that he’s never stopped inventing (he’s got boxes and boxes of ideas jotted down for posterity) and that yours truly managed to coax the 70 72-year-old inventor to come out of retirement and produce a new regular series on exclusively on Neatorama.

Here is the inaugural blog post of Steven M. Johnson’s Museum of Possibilities: Link – Enjoy!

]]> http://www.neatorama.com/2010/06/25/museum-of-possibilities/feed/ 6 Brilliant Ideas Inspired by Mundane Tasks http://www.neatorama.com/2009/11/13/brilliant-ideas-inspired-by-mundane-tasks/ http://www.neatorama.com/2009/11/13/brilliant-ideas-inspired-by-mundane-tasks/#comments Fri, 13 Nov 2009 07:35:26 +0000 Alex http://www.neatorama.com/?p=27490

If you haven't had your big breakthrough yet, try one of these simple strategies:

1. CRACK OPEN A CAN OF BEER

Toolmaker Ermal Fraze was on a picnic in 1959 when he realized he had no way to open his beverage. At the time, drinking from a can required a triangular tool called a "church key" to punch two holes in the top. Because no one had thought to bring one, Fraze tried to use a car bumper to pierce the container. The result was a foamy mess.

Several nights later, while suffering from insomnia, Fraze went down to his workshop. By the next morning, he'd developed a built-in, tear-off opener for cans. Over time, Fraze refined the idea, and by 1965, 75 percent of American brewers were using Fraze's ring-pull design for their beer.

2. SHAVE YOUR STUBBLE

Although he'd written extensively about the evils of capitalism, King Camp Gillette still dreamed of getting rich.

As a traveling salesman, he understood that the key to financial success was to create something that people would have to buy over and over again. But his big idea didn't hit him until he started shaving one morning in 1895.

At the time, Gillette was using a traditional safety razor, which had to be sharpened after almost every use. So, Gillette imagined a blade that could simply be thrown away when it became dull. By putting a sharp edge on a thin piece of sheet steel, he created the first disposable razor. It took him eight years to get the invention to market, but once it hit stores, Gillette quickly became a millionaire.


Gillette's razor patent, dated November 15, 1904

In 1913, he retired to California to grow fruit and pursue his utopian dream of founding a city called Metropolis, where everyone would live in perfect harmony. Let's just say the shaving venture went more smoothly.

3. TAKE A COLD SHOWER

In 1958, Jean Hoerni was one of eight engineers at the Fairchild Semiconductor company racing to build a better high-speed transistor. At the time, transistors were easily disrupted by dust or moisture, which is, you know, everywhere.

One morning, Hoerni was taking a shower when he noticed the way the water flowed over his hands, and it gave him an idea. If the transistors could be coated in the right substance, then dust and moisture would just flow right over them. He then thought of silicon dioxide, the perfect material for the job. His solution eventually led to the integrated circuit, the silicon chip, and almost everything else to come out of Silicon Valley. (Photo: Fairchild Semiconductor)

4. WALK THE DOG

One evening in 1948, George de Mestral was getting ready to go out to dinner when his wife asked him to zip up the back of her dress. As he struggled with the jammed zipper, he longed for a better way to fasten cloth.

A few weeks later, he was walking his dog in the woods when he noticed that his pants were covered in burrs. When he got home, he examined one of the burrs under his microscope and noticed that it was covered with tiny hooks that stuck to the small loops of thread in his clothes.

By replicating the idea using little hooks and loops made of nylon, de Mestral developed Velcro. He eventually sold the rights to the patent and made millions in royalties, never to deal with zippers again. (Photo: Francoise and Charles de Mestral)

5. DREAM A LITTLE DREAM

In the late 1830s, Elias Howe Jr. was working as a machinist's apprentice when he overheard someone say that the first person to invent a small automatic sewing machine would make a fortune. Howe decided to take on the challenge, but it proved harder than he thought.

Then one night, he awoke from a nightmare about being captured by cannibals and stuffed into a stew-pot. The dream nagged at him until he realized that the cannibals had each carried a spear with a hole in the tip. This was the breakthrough that Howe needed.

Traditional sewing needle were designed so that the hole carrying the thread went through the fabric last. For Howe's machine to work, he needed the hole to go through first. He patented his sewing machine in 1846, but other manufacturers, including Isaac Singer, stole his design. After a lengthy court battle, Howe was finally awarded royalties on all sewing machine sales until both he and his patent expired in 1867.

The article above, written by Ashley Larsen, is reprinted with permission from Scatterbrained section of the Jul/Aug 2009 issue of mental_floss magazine.

Be sure to visit mental_floss' website and blog for more fun stuff!

]]> http://www.neatorama.com/2009/11/13/brilliant-ideas-inspired-by-mundane-tasks/feed/ 9 New Super Surface Hates Water AND Oil! http://www.neatorama.com/2008/11/16/new-super-surface-hates-water-and-oil/ http://www.neatorama.com/2008/11/16/new-super-surface-hates-water-and-oil/#comments Sun, 16 Nov 2008 19:53:56 +0000 Alex http://www.neatorama.com/2008/11/16/new-super-surface-hates-water-and-oil/ MIT researchers led by chemical engineer Robert Cohen and mechanical engineer Gareth McKinley have created the world’s first superoleophobic and superhydrophobic surface (let me translate for you: the "super surface" repels both water and oil):

A group of MIT researchers have created an improved set of design rules for making any surface impervious to any liquid, be it water or gasoline. Such materials could eventually have promise as fingerprint-repelling coatings, fuel filters, self-washing car paints, and stain-resistant clothing. [...]

They started with a polymer developed by the Air Force that contains large numbers of oil-repelling fluorine groups. The MIT researchers made the material even more oil resistant by using lithography to pattern it with overhanging microstructures. These tiny structures create air pockets that help suspend liquids and prevent them from penetrating to the surface. The MIT researchers found that the surfaces are both superoleophobic and also superhydrophobic, or water repelling. Because they repel everything, they’re called omniphobic.

Link – via Blue’s News

Photo: Anish Tuteja/Wonjae Choi

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