Zany Inventions: 150 Years of Misguided American Ingenuity
- ISBN-10
- 0615313760
- ISBN-13
- 9780615313764
- Pages
- 176
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2009-08-16
- Author
- Brad DeRoos
Description
Zany Inventions: 150 Years of Misguided American Ingenuity is a collection of nearly 150 humorous inventions found in the archives of the United States Patent Office. The patent archives provide a history of the progression of technology in America. As this book points out, the methods by which problems were solved in the past served as stepping stones for the future. While many historic inventions might now be viewed as being humorous, trivial, or overly complex, these inventions were likely perceived much differently in their day. Following are some examples of the ?zany inventions? found. ?How do you make sure a road crew is working? The ?counting shovel.? ?How do you figure out which hens are laying and which ones aren?t? Use an ?egg counter? strapped on their posterior. ?How do you store your chewing gum so you can chew it for a week? Use a ?chewing gum locket? you can wear around your neck. Each patent within this book includes an Inventor?s Description that has been extracted from the patent text. These descriptions provide interesting insights into problems of the day along with the benefits the proposed solution offered. The patents are neatly organized into thirteen functional areas (e.g. ?better mousetraps?, ?law and order?, ?better living?) with the patents presented from earliest issued to most current.
