The Strangest Inventions of History (From 1920's, 1930's & 1940's)

“If at first an idea is not absurd,” Albert Einstein famously said, “then there is no hope for it.”

Sometimes, however, absurd is just absurd — yet, even so, it’s a fascinating slice of history’s collective direction of curiosity and experimental innovation. Here comes some of the history’s most weird and wonderful inventions, from wooden swimwear to spectacles for reading in bed, captured in archival public domain images by Holland’s Nationaal Archief.

A Bicycle That Fits A Whole Family + Sewing Machine (1939)

A device that would teach a child how to walk (1939)

Amphibious Bicycle That Can Be Used On Land And In Water (1932)

Baby Stroller Protected From Gas Attacks (1938)

Extending RV (1934)

Face Cones Designed To Protect From Snow Storms And Blizzards (1939)

Glasses That Let You Read While Lying Down (1936)

Ice Cube Mask Designed To Cure Hangovers (1947)

Life Jackets Made From Bicycle Tubing (1925)

Mouthpiece Lets You Smoke Two Cigarettes At Once (1932)

All Terrain Vehicle (1931)

Piano That Can Be Played While Lying In Bed (1935)

Portable and Extendable Bridge (1926)

Precursor To The Hairdryer

Revolver That Takes A Picture Right Before A Shot Is Fired (1938)

Safety Net To Prevent Or Reduce Injuries To Pedestrians (1924)

Single Wheel Motorcycle (1931)

Special Contraption That Lets You Smoke In The Rain (1931)

Strangest Animals in the World (Part 1)

You might think you’ve seen the whole world and what it contains, under, around and through, but there will still be wonders that will make your eyes pop. First of all scientists believe that about 50 percent to 90 percent of the animals hauled up from the deep are unknown. We'll have to keep expanding our conception of what it means to be an Earth.

If you’re a dedicated animal enthusiast, you can’t honestly expect to know all of the 1,367,555 non-insect animal species, that are identified on the face of Earth today! Besides, new animal species might be discovered by the time you finish reading this text, so there will always be some new surprises for us out there.

Would you like any of these to become commonplace pets, and share a roof with you?

 Goblin Shark

This rare shark is sometimes even called a “living fossil”, “is the only extant representative of the family Mitsukurinidae, a lineage some 125 million years old.” Goblin sharks inhabit around the world at depths greater than 100 m (330 ft), with adults found deeper than juveniles. Given the depths at which it lives, the goblin shark poses no danger to humans.

Lowland Streaked Tenrec

Found in Madagascar, Africa, this small tenrec is the only mammal known to use stridulation for generating sound – something that’s usually associated with snakes and insects. (Image credits: hakoar | telegraph.co.uk)

The Pacu Fish

You probably don’t need much explanation as to why the residents of Papua New Guinea call this fish a “ball cutter.” The local fishermen were really worried about the safety of their testicles when they had to get in the water! 

Giant Isopod

This one is the largest of the existing isopods. “The enormous size of the giant isopod is a result of a phenomenon known as deep sea gigantism. This is the tendency of deep sea crustaceans and other animals to grow to a much larger size than similar species in shallower waters.”

Red-lipped Batfish

Found on the Galapagos Islands, this fish is actually a pretty bad swimmer, and uses its pectoral fins to walk on the bottom of the ocean.

 The Saiga Antelope

This saiga, spread around the Eurasian steppe, is known for its an extremely unusual, over-sized, flexible nose structure, the proboscis.

 The Bush Viper

Being a carnivore predator, the Bush Viper lives up in the trees of the tropical forests of Africa, and does most of its hunting at night. 

Shoebill

This large stork-like bird gets its name because of the shape of its beak. Even though it was already known to ancient Egyptians and Arabs, the bird was only classified in 19th century. 

Okapi

This mammal is native to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Central Africa. Despite the zebra-like stripes, it is actually more closely related to giraffes. 

Narwhal

This toothed whale, found in the arctic, has been valued for over 1000 years by the Inuit people for its meat and ivory. The narwhal, however, is especially sensitive to the climate change.

For confused females: Which "male" to marry? (Here's the scientific answer)

It might be a very difficult task for some females nowadays to chose a husband who is caring, supporting at home and helps them with their traditional and non-traditional roles. Of course most girls today prefer husbands who are in favour of gender equality; husbands who do chore-sharing at home.

The birth of sons or daughters, not having a sister and to some extent the pay-check of the husband are the key factors here:

Male CEOs typically pay their employees less and themselves more after having sons, but this trend doesn't hold with daughters. In fact, male CEOs with first-born daughters actually pay their employees more, giving female employees the biggest raises [1].

Men who have daughters also grow less attached to traditional gender roles: they become less likely to agree with the statement that “a woman’s place is in the home,” for instance, and more likely to agree that men should wash dishes and do other chores [2].

Having a sister, however, has the opposite effect, making men more supportive of traditional gender roles, more conservative politically, and less likely to perform housework [3].

Men with stay-at-home wives likewise favour a traditional division of labour. They tend to disapprove of women in the workplace, judge organizations with more female employees to be operating less smoothly, and show less interest in applying to companies led by female executives. They also more frequently deny promotions to qualified women [4].

Working with women, on the other hand, can encourage egalitarianism at home. Men take on more housework after switching from a male-dominated occupation, like construction or engineering, to a female-dominated one, like nursing or teaching, even after controlling for changes in income and hours [5].

But non-traditional career tracks don’t always mean non-traditional domestic roles: men whose wives out-earn them actually do a smaller share of housework than their breadwinner peers [6].

Evidently, the takeaway for women who want advancement at work and chore-sharing at home is this: work for a male CEO with lots of daughters, no sisters, and a working wife, and marry a man with plenty of female colleagues and a pay-check that’s bigger than yours.



References:
[1] Dahl et al., “Fatherhood and Managerial Style: How a Male CEO’s Children Affect the Wages of His Employees” (Administrative Science Quarterly, Dec. 2012)
[2] Shafer and Malhotra, “The Effect of a Child’s Sex on Support for Traditional Gender Roles” (Social Forces, Sept. 2011)
[3] Healy and Malhotra, “Childhood Socialization and Political Attitudes: Evidence From a Natural Experiment” (The Journal of Politics, Oct. 2013)
[4] Desai et al., “The Organizational Implications of a Traditional Marriage: Can a Domestic Traditionalist by Night Be an Organizational Egalitarian by Day?” (Kenan-Flagler Research Paper, March 2012)
[5] McClintock, “Gender-Atypical Occupations and Time Spent on Housework: Doing Gender or Doing Chores?” (presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association,
Aug. 2013)
[6] Bertrand et al., “Gender Identity and Relative Income Within Households” (NBER Working Paper, May 2013)

Working Women of WWII in rare colourful photos

When millions of men joined the armed forces, women had to replace them by taking jobs that previously had been held by men – Jobs such as bank teller, shoe salesperson or even aircraft mechanic. Woman started working in factories – this was called the “Rosie the Riveter” phenomenon.

Although we’re blessed of not having to witness the atrocities of World War II, some people take great interest in the history of the period. Dave Hall, fascinated by the authentic photographs from the time, brings them back to life by color correcting, toning, and sharpening to restore the brilliant texture and amazing sharpness found in the original negatives and glass plates[1]. Most of the pictures come from the Library of Congress, and were originally taken by Alfred T. Palmer who worked for the Office of War Information (responsible for promoting patriotism, war news management and women recruitment). His photos had to lure young women into the factories by showing women workers as glamorous and even fashionable.

Dave is also running a vintage photo blog Shorpy.com, where he publishes his retouched photos. The website is named after Shorpy Higginbotham, who lived over 100 years ago, and today features thousands of high definition images from the 1850s to the 1950s. Some of them could really be confused for contemporary photography!

October 1942. Long Beach, California. “Women are trained to do precise and vital engine installation detail in Douglas Aircraft Co. plants.”

October 1942. “Women are trained as engine mechanics in thorough Douglas training methods. Douglas Aircraft Company, Long Beach, California.”

February 1943. Heil & Co., Milwaukee. “Agnes Cliemka, age 23, husband may be going into the service any day. Agnes used to work in a department store. Checking fuel hose on gasoline trailer before it is turned over to the Air Force.”

October 1942. Inglewood, California. “Young woman employee of North American Aviation working over the landing gear mechanism of a P-51 fighter plane.”

October 1942. Yet another still from the Technicolor pajama party that was the American aircraft industry in World War II: “Women at work on bomber, Douglas Aircraft Company, Long Beach, California.”

October 1942. Long Beach, California. “Girl riveting machine operator at the Douglas Aircraft Company plant joins sections of wing ribs to reinforce the inner wing assemblies of B-17F heavy bombers.”

Women employed as roundhouse wipers having lunch, Chicago & North Western Railroad, Clinton, Iowa. Marcella Hart is at left, Mrs. Elibia Siematter at right. April 1943

Working on a “Vengeance” dive-bomber at Vultee-Nashville. February 1943.

June 1942. Engine inspector for North American Aviation at Long Beach, California.

October 1942. Girl worker at lunch also absorbing California sunshine, Douglas Aircraft Company, Long Beach

October 1942. Engine installers at Douglas Aircraft in Long Beach, California.

B-25 bomber cowl assembly, North American Aviation, Kansas City, Kansas. October 1942.

October 1942. Lathe operator machining parts for transport planes at the Consolidated Aircraft plant in Fort Worth, Texas.

October 1942. “Douglas Aircraft plant at Long Beach, California. An A-20 bomber being riveted by a woman worker.” (With, yes, a power drill.)