Gadgeteer Ron Popeil, who was awarded the 1993 Ig Nobel Prize for consumer engineering, has died, according to press reports. The famed inventor was cited, in winning that Ig Nobel prize, for “redefining the industrial revolution with such devices as the Veg-O-Matic, the Pocket Fisherman, Mr. Microphone, and the Inside-the-Shell Egg Scrambler.” Here is a […]
Tag: gadgets
Seriously Silly Design Fictions (study)
What would be the point of designing and developing “Magic Machines” in the form of a “Poo Detector” … Or an “Eyes and Ears” gizmo? … One reason would be to draw attention to the effects of so-called ‘Solutionism’ – prevalent in today’s world where technological ‘solutions’ (esp. gadgets) are constantly presented to solve problems […]
Heath Robinson drawings, if you happen to see them
For engineers, designers, and other persons who love, love love complexity, it’s almost always a good time to go look at some drawings by Heath Robinson. However, evidence suggests that his heirs are a bit on the litigious side, a bit demanding perhaps that Internet sites not show Heath Robinson’s wonderful drawings. So all we […]
The wisdom of Ig Nobel winner Ron Popeil
Ron Popeil is being showered with new recognition. Mr. Popeil was awarded the 1993 Ig Nobel Prize in consumer engineering for redefining the industrial revolution with such devices as the Veg-O-Matic, the Pocket Fisherman, Mr. Microphone, and the Inside-the-Shell Egg Scrambler. [REFERENCE: “The Salesman of the Century : Inventing, Marketing, and Selling on TV: How I Did It and How […]