27 of History’s Strangest Inventions

27 of History’s Strangest Inventions

“If at first an idea is not absurd,” Albert Einstein famously said, “then there is no hope for it.” Sometimes, however, absurd is just absurd — yet, even so, it’s a fascinating slice of history’s collective direction of curiosity and experimental innovation. After those vintage versions of modern social media and yesteryear’s visions for the future of technology, here come some of history’s most weird and wonderful inventions, from wooden swimwear to spectacles for reading in bed, captured in archival public domain images by Holland’s Nationaal Archief.

One-wheel motorcycle
Germany, 1925

Manual dredger
Workers operated the so-called bucket dredger with their arms and legs using stepper boards. The machine is a small model, but whether it was actually realized is unknown.

Bike tyre used as a swimming aid
Invented by Italian M. Goventosa de Udine; maximum speed: 150 kilometers per hour (93 mph).

Steam automobile design circa 1845

Amphibious bicycle
This land-and-water bike can carry a load of 120 pounds; Paris, 1932

All-terrain car
This all-terrain car can descend slopes up to 65 degrees; England, 1936.

Radio stroller
Stroller equipped with a radio, including antenna and loudspeaker, to keep the baby quiet; USA, 1921.

Wooden bathing suits
Wooden bathing suits, supposed to make swimming a lot easier; Hoquiam, Washington, USA, 1929

Ice sailboat
In the 17th century, it was so cold that meteorologists spoke of a Little Ice Age. The ice sailboat addressed the challenge of transporting goods over frozen lakes and rivers. Designed by A. Terrier, January 17, 1600

Radio hat
Portable radio in a straw hat, made by an American inventor in 1931

Wetlands windmill
A windmill for draining wetlands, lightweight enough to function in marshy areas. It was designed by C.D. Muys in 1589 but was never built.

Bulletproof glass
Demonstration by NYPD’s finest shooter, 1931

Clap skate
In 1936, inventor R. Handl came up with the movable heel plate, but it wasn’t until 1996 that this concept revolutionized skating.

Extensible caravan
Built by an unknown French engineer in 1934.

Piano for the bedridden
Piano especially designed for people confined to bedrest; Great Britain, 1935

Hamblin glasses for reading in bed
A pair of spectacles especially designed for reading in bed; England, 1936

Electrically heated jacket
Electrically heated vest, developed for the traffic police in the United States, 1932. The power is supplied by electric contacts in the street.

Loetafoon
A turntable linked to a film projector. It comes with single, dual and triple turntable. Designed by F.B.A. Prinsen, 1929

Car with shovel for pedestrians
Invented for the purpose of ‘reducing the number of casualties among pedestrians;’ Paris, 1924

Hearing light for the blind
1912

Early GPS
Yesteryear’s TomTom, a rolling key map that passes through the screen in a tempo determined by the speed of the car; 1932

Folding bridge for emergencies
The emergency bridge can easily be transported on a handcart; invented by L. Deth. The Netherlands, 1926

Booted rubber boat
Drawing of a ‘pneumatic sports- fish and hunt boat,’ an inflatable boat for one person with boots attached; The Netherlands, 1915

Faxed newspaper
In 1938, the world’s first wireless newspaper was sent from WOR radio station in New York City. In this photo, children are reading the children’s page of a Missouri paper.

Snowstorm mask
Plastic face protection from snowstorms. Canada, Montreal, 1939

Gas-resistant stroller
A wartime stroller equipped with gas protection; England, Hextable, 1938

Revolver camera
A Colt 38 carrying a small camera that automatically takes a picture when you pull the trigger. At the left: six pictures taken by the camera. New York, 1938.

  [ The Content in the above Article is collected from News Articles]