What are some bizarre, unlikely inventions that have been lost to history?
Asked by
TexasDude (
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December 13th, 2009
The late Victorian/Early Edwardian era seemed to be the Golden Age of weird inventions and sketchy contraptions. Like this early “radar” designed to detect incoming planes, or this home electro-therapy kit.
What are some weird inventions that you know of that have been lost to history?
Alternatively, do you know of any ideas or inventions that were once considered quackery that are now commonplace?
Or do you know of any inventions that were once commonplace which are now considered questionable?
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What was the name of the machine that Tesla allegedly invented that made earthquakes again?
That one.
Huh. I have no idea. Probably because I haven’t heard of them given that they’ve all been lost to history. I’ll be interested to see what the answers are though. GQ!
Oh yeah: Hewlett Packard to Steve Jobs, in the 1980s: What the hell is anyone going to do with a personal computer? GTFO.
@QuackIsWhack lol half the shit tesla did falls into this category :P
@QuackIsWhack, it was basically a very large oscillator which he intended to use as an energy source. According to legend, it oscillated at the same natural resonant frequency as his office building (which theoretically, could have disasterous consequences, as that is how it is possible to shatter crystal with sound)
@holden, lol!
The rigid dirigible! And it was “you” who told me a little about them. :)
I think they look weird and funny, but apparently, they were quite efficient and convenient, despite the Hindenburg Incident.
I find it sad that their use was discontinued after that, and because the Nazis decided that those weren’t good enough to kill people with.
I wonder how different the world would be today if they had went on as more than floating billboards?
The search engine ‘Ask Jeeves’
@Symbeline, I imagine something like Final Fantasy IX
@J0E, Ask Jeeves does seem a bit odd in retrospect, doesn’t it?
@J0E Sorry about that! I thought you were telling @Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard to ask this question on Ask Jeeves. Yes, I realize that I am a tad behind the times… why do you ask?
that coat that you can pee into in public without being seen.. had little baggies inside it.. it was horrible and disgusting .. and I don’t think anyone but the inventor ever dared use it
I don’t know about inventions that have been lost to time, but my friend’s dad invented a device that cuts hot dogs into the shape of corkscrews. It just seems silly to me.
A gender neutral body suit to avoid discrimination during employment interviews.
@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard
That radar – that you say was used to detect incoming planets was – was actually what the British used before they had radar. It was a “air attack listener” if you will, which amplified the sound of distant airplanes.
@FireMadeFlesh, that thing is pretty interesting.
and @KatawaGrey, I want a corkscrew hotdog maker!
@oratio, I knew that. I said planes, not planets. It originated in WWI.
Lol, aw, I read planes as planets. Well, they both begin with p. So I wasn’t way off.
Carry on.
Here’s a few “oddballs” off the top of my head: The Puckle Gun- an 18th century tripod mounted flintlock revolver; it came with two cylinders, one for firing round bullets at Christians and another for firing square bullets at “Turks”. X-ray machines in shoe stores, in the 1920s-40s you could try on shoes and then look at how they fit your feet through a fluoroscope, getting a goodly radiation dose in the process. Radium-water dispensers- In the early 20th century there were devices that actually put radium into drinking water for its supposedly healthful benefits. Coffin alarms- in mid to late 19th century there was a scare that a person might be buried as dead but only in a coma, so coffins could be equipped with a pull-cord inside connected to a bell on the surface; if the “dead” awoke buried in the coffin, all that was needed was to pull the cord and ring a bell for assistance.
Another one I just remembered: the steam-powered vibrator. Installed in doctors offices in the late 19th century to ease the workload of physicians who would otherwise have to manually “manipulate” their female patients when treating them for “hysterical conditions”.
Yeah, @stranger_in_a_strange_land, I actually wrote a report on the Puckle gun once. And I always thought it funny that you should mention the vibrator as a treatment for “hysteria” (hence the root hyster- as in hysterectomy) Thanks.
Hystera was Greek for womb. Hysterical condition was a catch all phrase for “we don’t know and don’t have time to figure it out’. I think those doctors doing some manipulating were probably on to something!!!??
Oops. Just realized that I’m too late. xD
Did penises look like that back then? ]minus the bumps, i mean] if I thought that was all I’d ever get forever and a day, I would become hysterical, too.
The “modern” one cracks me up. Me and my girlfriend ran into one of those the other day at an adult shop.. right next to a leather full-head mask shaped like a doberman pincher’s head.
The spork seems to be an endangered species.
Just like the little plastic pronged table thing they used to put in the center of pizzas, huh, @peedub?
@peedub I don’t know if they have these in the north, but Popeyes fast food chain still uses them.
@stemnyjones WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT AND WHY IS PHYLLIS SCHLAFLY’S NAME IN THE UPPER LEFT HAND CORNER?
@holden Lmao. While I don’t know why Phyllis Schlafly’s name is in it (other than it remotely resembles Phallus Shaftly), it was used as a cure for “female hysteria”, which in reality was actually just horny women.
@stemnyjones Interesting links. But the last one is full of faults and misconceptions. The most preposterous claim in that article is the dildo of Iceland that is supposed to be 106 000 years old. Not only wasn’t Iceland inhabited at the time, Homo Sapiens hadn’t even come to Europe until some 35000 years ago.
Amusing, but just a crock.
@oratio Honestly I didn’t even read the article. I googled “weird dildos”.
The steam engine (originally invented by the Greeks) which the Romans used to make toys. Similarly, the Chinese used gunpowder to make fireworks for centuries before some smart-arse European thought of using them for warfare. Arabs made the first robots in the 11th c and Therans had the first jacuzzis and toilet flushes in 2100BC.
But I think Da Vinci still beats them all.
G’day FPCB,
Thank you for your question.
How about the “please don’t smoke” ashtray and other some weird inventions. link
Regards
@Jack79 If my memory serves me correctly, the Koreans had gunpowder fired arrow-launchers before the Europeans invented the cannon.
Edit: Sorry, they were about the same time. 1346 for the European’s cannon, 1400s for the Hwacha according to all-knowing Wikipedia.
@keithold GA for the link! The bird trap wouldn’t survive in today’s world of endangered species though…...
I still have (and occasionally use) a Presto Hot Dogger. Passes 110v. through hot dogs, cooking them. Its good to show kids why they shouldnt stick their fingers in electrical outlets. And mmmmm that ozoney smell of burning hot dog!
The “Nazi Bell” Anti-Gravity device.
@stranger_in_a_strange_land: I do love to open conversations with, “Did you know that vibrators were originally used as medical instruments?” The looks on people’s face as they try and figure out what it could have possibly been used for are hilarious.
@NaturalMineralWater @Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard: I have no idea what it’s called exactly or where you can even get one. I’ll ask my friend next time I see him. :)
@stemnyjones – Machines. Pfft. All a girl needs for that little problem is the right Doctor. Well, if she likes that sort of thing. I realize some girls do not.
That weight loss belt that vibrates.
From Ancient Egypt remnants of low current batteries have been found that were used during that time.
It’s believed they were used for electroplating.
When I was a child some shoe stores had a large xray machine for use by their customers. You could step up and put your feet into two holes then look down at a screen to see the bones in your feet. It was a favorite thing I used to do. Guess no one realized the danger.
Coke started out with actual cocaine as an ingredient. Soft drinks now have caffeine
a legal stimulant.
@KatawaGrey ROFLMAO!!
@WilAthart I actually use pocket protectors. As a genuine engineering nerd. They are de rigeur, almost a badge of my profession. Allows me to take all the junk out of my shirt pocket in one motion and keeps it all together. Not exactly it’s original intended purpose, but very convenient.
Wine treated with coca leaves so that it contained dissolved cocaine: Vin Mariani. Enthusiasts included Pope Leo XIII, Thomas Edison and Ulysses S. Grant.
@stranger_in_a_strange_land I was in no way saying that they were not useful, they were! But I’m glad you are aware of how nerdy they must have looked!
Thanks everyone, some great answers in here. Unfortunately, I probably won’t have a home internet connection for a while and I’ll be forced to use my mobile device to fluther (starting now). This is going to make addressing everyone’s answer very difficult, so please accept my humble apologies.
I dont remember what it was called, but I recall a device that would blow warm air up your nose and then you squirted medicine up your warmed up sinuses. Apparently it made it work better? For sure it wasn’t around for long. Right up there with Ronco’s spray on hair.
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