Tocky, pictured here [click on the image to see Tocky in action], is the new advanced-engineering sibling of Clocky, the alarm clock that runs away and hides, repeatedly, thus ensuring that people DO get out of bed, and thus theoretically adding many productive hours to the workday. Clocky moved on wheels. Tocky is wheel-less, being […]
Tag: invention
Whynott: A Shaft for a Lamp Adjuster
Some people ask why. Some ask Whynott. Today we celebrate the work of inventor John Whynott of Kenosha, Wisconsin, USA: “Input Shaft for a Lamp Adjuster,” John Whynott, US patent #7438457, Oct 21, 2008.
Dual-use: Anti-Bird, Pro-Avalanche
If you have a problem with surfeit of birds or a lack of avalanches, this invention offers a possible dual solution: NOISE GENERATING DEVICE TO SCARE BIRDS OR TRIGGER AVALANCHES, Michael Eggers, US patent application number: 12/303,141, Filing date: Jun 5, 2007.
This leads to that, etc., engineering
A mechanical engineering tour de force, a la Rube Goldberg, in a four-minute video, sponsored by an insurance company:
To prevent unappetization
Why do great inventors invent? In “PROCESS FOR PREPARING A COOKED CEREAL AND THE RESULTING PRODUCT“, US patent #3,113,868, granted Dec. 10, 1963, inventor Louis J. Lee makes clear some of his motivation: The seriousness of this problem can be appreciated when it is realized that in many commercial eating establishments, particularly in cafeterias, it […]
Upside-Down Reliability (device)
U.S. patent #4565370 was granted on January 21, 1986 to Tony Christianson for a “foot holding device for hanging upside down.” Mr. Christianson’s patent makes pointed reference to earlier, roughly similar inventions—especially to one by R.M. Martin, who was granted U.S. patent number 3,380,447 on April 30, 1968 for an “ankle device for supporting an […]
Baynam/Tyers Contraption
Baynham & Tyers‘s contraption:
Ganson’s mechanical buzzing fly
Arthur Ganson’s mechanical fly buzzing around a lightbulb:
Not a traditional slot machine
Yes, it looks like a slot machine. But the manufacturer says it solves, um, a women’s problem. Ms. Lucas and her Viveve colleagues are coming to the rescue with a vaginal version of Thermage, the radiofrequency-powered facial tightener. With a few modifications, the same energy seems to work just as well on collagen underlying the […]
Bernstein’s butt-lighting machine
This cigarette-lighting device, built by German artist Daniel Kühn, was owned by conductor Leonard Bernstein, and plays Bernstein’s theme from the musical Candide. (Thanks to investigator Jim Cowdery for bringing it to our attention.)