Before John Long applied his expertise to the problem, people tried many ways to make meat more tender — chewing it, pounding it, soaking it in enzymes. The report, Hydrodyne Exploding Meat Tenderness, published in 1998 by the US department of agriculture (USDA), describes Long’s act of creation as “a peacetime use for explosives”. “Throughout John Long’s career as […]
Tag: explode
A boxing match, with fireworks
John Ptak is spotlighting some inventions of limited utility. Here’s the first, a boxing exhibition in London, in which the contestants wear asbestos suits with fireworks that explode during the (pardon the pun) match. It’s pictured in a 1937 issue of Popular Science magazine: BONUS: From a later decade: electronic rock-em sock-em robots