Inventions

Modern times

Z-2, the largest dirigible in Germany (1913).

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Prevention of accidents by electric wires (1889)

Judge’s Library, 1889:

Judge’s appliance for the prevention of accidents by electric wires.

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Life before blinkers

November 13, 2012

I assume there were also matching arrows in the front of the vehicle?

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In this hand-operated vacuum cleaner, which has been recently placed on the market, a bellows, strapped to the back and around the waist, provides the suction. A lever, worked to and fro by the left hand, operates the bellows, and the right hand directs the suction nozzle. The dust is drawn into the bellows, where [...]

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Retro future: 1961 car as envisioned in 1911

November 13, 2012

Not that far off, really. The size of the wheels is especially interesting.

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What? Enclosed driver’s seat? Preposterous! (1911)

November 13, 2012

This automobile has its driver’s seat inclosed in the same manner as the rear seat!

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Photographs on finger nails (1911)

November 13, 2012

One of the latest fads in Germany is the mounting of photographs on the finger nails, the idea growing out of the whim of a cousin of the Kaiser, who had an enameled portrait of her fiance worked on the nail of her little finger. This portrait was a work of art and cost $90, [...]

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Summer toboggans (1911)

November 13, 2012

A three-wheeled coaster, called a summer toboggan, is coming into general use in Germany for coasting down inclines. The seat is arranged above the single rear wheel, and steering is done by means of both the hands and feet. The little coaster is quite light, and at the end of a descent can be collapsed [...]

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Battle in the Air: French Airmen Attacking a German Observation Balloon

November 13, 2012

For code signals a glittering disk suspended by a wire a number of feet below the air craft is used. By swinging this disk, the airman can signal as though it were a flag, using the dot-and-dash”wigwag” code. The German observation balloons, derisively called “sausages” by the allies because of their peculiar shape, use this [...]

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