Weird and wonderful: old high tech

[gwyneth]

This site has scanned and cataloged hundreds of articles from old "practical science" publications.

It's all here--truly amazing how-to projects; visionary glimpses of the future (robot maids were supposed to take over about 15 years ago); early reports of technology that really did change the world; and much more.

Back in my youth as the editor of a high-tech home magazine, I became a connoisseur of how-to stories. It's unbelievable how unconcerned magazines used to be about liability and hazards--although my personal fave, the backyard ferris wheel powered by a two-stroke engine and operated by a pipe-smoking dad shifting the ol' Borg-Warner three-speed manual transmission to speed it up, isn't here, there are plenty of others.

The chandelier made from bullets, the homemade steam-powered auto, and the kiddy-car powered by a washing machine motor are just a few of the projects detailed here.

But this post was to give George something to smile about. I found:

Beating Bombs Into Mufflers (Oct, 1947)

while I was looking for this:

Stove From Unexploded Bomb

[gtgeorge]

Originally Posted by gwyneth

But this post was to give George something to smile about. I found:

Beating Bombs Into Mufflers (Oct, 1947)

while I was looking for this:

Stove From Unexploded Bomb

And they both worked very nicely! What a way to start the day.

It put pictures in my head of the Three Stooges blowing themselves up with ideas of greatness when they find an unexploded bomb.

[TeeJa]

Having some experience and training disarming them rascals, I don't think I would be that hard up for a stove knowing how all those where bobby trapped in the fuses.
That 1000 lb GP bomb empty is 500 lbs.

[gwyneth]

The site's organizers do seem to be fond of alternative uses for bombs (as, really, which of us is not?)

One thing I've been mentally collecting for years: single-purpose appliances. I thought it would be hard to beat the "salsa grinder" from the '80s, but compared to this gem I discovered today, the salsa grinder is a model of versatility.

Introduced in 1930, when barely 10% of U.S. households had electric refrigerators--and in the face of the Depression--it's not really surprising that this device didn't become, well, a household word:

Compact Toaster for Marshmallows

[Serra]

That is funny, I was just telling my son about a friend of mine that took 6 Mk 82 high-drag bombs and turned them into lawn ornaments. Rather attractive once they were painted. Kinda like giant flowers.

Here are some images of the bombs:

http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/dumb/mk82.htm

The high-drag version is at the bottom, the ones that look like giant lawn darts.

[gwyneth]

Wow, Serra. I used to know somebody who had a "practice bomb"--one of the ones to be filled with sand--but your friend's project is much more spectacular.

Here's another:

Salvaged Bomb Makes Juvenile Space Ship

Speaking of kids, my sisters don't like it when I tell theirs about how dangerous everyday life was in the sixties--metal playground equipment on concrete surfaces, cars without seatbelts, no bike helmets, etc.

But a lot of the site's projects from the 1930s carry recreational danger to a level that's hard to imagine today. What's even more amazing to me is that apparently nobody gave it a thought! Just tonight I discovered step-by-step instructions for:

Build a Blow Torch from a Vacuum Sweeper

Build A Diving Helmet from a Water Heater

Fun with Explosive Gases

Build Your Own One-Man Submarine!

FUN with QUICKSILVER

Harmless Steam Cannon Shoots Ball Bearings

The last one heats ball bearings until they're red hot, drops them into a small chamber of water, with the resulting steam creating the propulsion. There was also "Fun With Glass Etching Chemicals" which involved hydrofluoric acid!

Oh, and let's not forget this classic:

DIY Iron Lung

[Serra]

Originally Posted by gwyneth

Speaking of kids, my sisters don't like it when I tell theirs about how dangerous everyday life was in the sixties--metal playground equipment on concrete surfaces, cars without seatbelts, no bike helmets, etc.

The playground at my son's prior grade school was all padded and had wood chips and everything. When I was a child in Milwaukee, our playground was over tarmac and the slide was at least 12 feet tall, metal jungle-gym, etc. Plus my school had about 400 more students that his school.

Given all of that, more kids have been hurt on the "safe" playground while he was there than were ever hurt at the playground at my childhood school. No one EVER broke an arm at my school. Three kids broke their arms at the 'safe' playground while he was there. My son went the the emergency room twice from playground accidents. I had to pick him up once after an accident and he looked like someone sprayed him with blood. Took to two hours to get the blood off his shoes.

I'm fairly sure that if you put a kid on a jungle gym over tarmac, they will try their best to avoid slamming their face into the ground. If you put it over something soft, then it doesn't seem so bad... till they fall and find out it is not really all that soft.

[TeeJa]

Originally Posted by gwyneth

Speaking of kids, my sisters don't like it when I tell theirs about how dangerous everyday life was in the sixties--metal playground equipment on concrete surfaces, cars without seatbelts, no bike helmets, etc.

I agree with Serra, back when I was growing up in Chicago, no such thing as "safe Play Grounds". Never heard of anybody get more than a scrap.
On the seat belts in cars, well back in the 50's, we had CARS back then, not these tin and reinforced tinfoil/plastic cars of today. Today it is like a tank VS a wood glider..... Ahhh, for the good old days... Well, somethings?

[gwyneth]

There must be a correlation between "dangerous" toys/environment: larger families and "safe" toys/environment: smaller families but I haven't figured it out.

[Serra]

Originally Posted by TeeJa

On the seat belts in cars, well back in the 50's, we had CARS back then, not these tin and reinforced tinfoil/plastic cars of today. Today it is like a tank VS a wood glider..... Ahhh, for the good old days... Well, somethings?

I remember being able to sit on the floor of the backseat of my Mom and Dad's car and play. Me sitting on one side, my sister sitting on the other. Now I can't even keep a pair of shoes in my back seat floor...

[gwyneth]

Originally Posted by Serra

I remember being able to sit on the floor of the backseat of my Mom and Dad's car and play. Me sitting on one side, my sister sitting on the other. Now I can't even keep a pair of shoes in my back seat floor...

...and if they're running shoes, they certainly cost more than I paid for my first car...

[Serra]

Originally Posted by gwyneth

...and if they're running shoes, they certainly cost more than I paid for my first car...

I pay more a year for my Jeep than I did for my first car. (Well, my first car that was mine... that my wife didn't steal from me). Oddly, I didn't get my first car until I was 26, when I moved back to America.

[gwyneth]

Originally Posted by Serra

I pay more a year for my Jeep than I did for my first car. (Well, my first car that was mine... that my wife didn't steal from me). Oddly, I didn't get my first car until I was 26, when I moved back to America.

Ahem...I was not joking about the shoes costing more than I paid for a '63 Corvair in 1974. The "Recall Ralph Nader" bumper sticker was free.