Weird old inventions and curiosities of yesteryear
(Pocket-lint) – Mankind has been crafting all sorts of weird and wonderful inventions since time began. Some of them appeared way before their time and were underappreciated. Others are intriguing curiosities, often with unexpected uses and hidden surprises.
The Museum of Curiosities is a Twitter account that’s dedicated to collecting these trinkets, gadgets, gizmos and oddities. It’s well worth following in order to see some brilliant curiosities. We’ve collected some of our favourites for you to enjoy.
A curious orange
Here’s a neat little thing.
A set of perfume bottles that are designed to look like an orange. Each segment is an individual bottle with a total of eight being held inside the skin.
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A multi-purpose radiator
From the Victorian era comes an invention that’s ideal for multitasking. This is a radiator but one that also doubles as a bread warmer.
Others have suggested that you could also use it to dry your shoes out or use it as a cat bed.
A bonkers tricycle
Here’s a bonkers tricycle from the 1930s. Designs back then were bright, bold and in-your-face. Would we see kids riding this sort of thing down the street now?
Probably not.
Tiny books within books
Book lovers are bound to appreciate this one. In 1757 a bookbinder in the Netherlands apparently made a tiny bookshelf with miniature books and nestled it away inside another bigger book. Weird and wonderful.
Efficient reading
If you like multitasking then you’ll surely love this.
It’s a 300-year-old contraption for opening (and reading) multiple books at once. Why just read one when you can read seven?
In-car coffee machine
You’ve probably marvelled at the various accessories you’ll find conveniently installed in modern motor vehicles. But car manufacturers have been putting things inside cars for years.
In the late 1950s, Volkswagen was apparently installing optional coffee machines in its vehicles. Convenient, but probably not terribly safe.
Complex wiring
We love seeing how technology has changed over the decades. And this photo from the late 1950s shows what could now be seen as a “primitive computer”, but at the time was a marvel of IBM engineering.
Retro radios
Radios might not have been as fancy as modern music tech or even as the phone in your pocket but that doesn’t mean they couldn’t look great.
Here are some awesome-looking Art Deco radios from the 1930s.
Razzle Dazzle camoflauge
You’ve probably heard about modern stealth technology used on military aeroplanes and vehicles but have you ever seen Razzle Dazzle camouflage? This was a type of camouflage painted on allied ships during WW1 to confuse the enemy. It was inspired by British marine artist Norman Wilkinson and was intended to make it difficult to range the ships accurately.
Thus making them harder to hit.
Double wide limo
Jay Ohrberg is famous for creating some pretty bonkers cars including experimental vehicles for TV shows and movies. This is one of his creations, a “double wide” limo. Not really practical, but certainly curious.
Casio EG-5 Cassette Player
This awesome creation dates back to the 1980s.
It’s a guitar/cassette player and recorder combo. Ideal if you want to jam out and record your own music at the same time?
Weird TV
Here’s a weird and wonderful Philco Predicta Television from the 1950s. Sure, it might be tiny compared to modern TVs but its design is certainly quirky.
Reusable shopping list
Using a piece of paper and pen to write a shopping list is so archaic.
But using your phone to note it down is a bit too dull too. How about this reusable shopping list instead.
Air conditioned lawn mower
Some of these inventions are clearly way beyond their time and perhaps verge on being a bit unnecessary. Like this ride-on lawnmower that also has air conditioning.
There’s a reason they aren’t commonplace several decades after they were first invented.
Writing by Adrian Willings.
