Inventions – that arn’t inventive (Part 1)

Inventions change the way we do things, they allow tasks to be safer, faster and sometimes more entertaining. But you never hear of the inventions that dont make the cut, the ones that the public would be better off not knowing about. But they hold a place in inventive history no matter how bad they are. I decided that I would dig them up and share them with you. Lets take a journey into the could-have-been.

Metal Detecting Sandals

Ever thought what it would be like to walk down the beach and discover hidden treasure with out actively looking for it? Well this was the answer that couldnt deliver. Incorporating a compact and low powered metal detector into a sandal to allow for endless walking/detecting fun! All you have to put up with is the black box strapped to your leg.

Maple Mobile Phone

A couple of Korean students, Hyun Jin Yoon and Eun Hak Lee, decided plastic could not be the only material to make phones out of. So they set out to prove it by creating a phone made from maple wood. Compelte with a screen, camera and a keypad that somehow works. I can see downsides ranging from weight to size, but upsides like unique wood grain per phone and renewable source. Oh well, at least its not a brick.

Shoe-Fitting Fluoroscope

Back before we knew just how degrading radiation could be to human health, we accepted this machine into our lives. Its an xray shoe fitting device, were you could see your foot in live xray form and see if it fits well in the shoe. Sounds stupid today, but was a great hit for a while in 1927, selling over 10'000 units. Once there were reports of skin burns, bone stunting, and the model who paraded the device had her leg amputated, it was banned. All units were removed from public use.

We have Jacob Lowe to thank for this invention.

Thats all for this blog, there will be a second part, because there are that many useless inventions we need a second go at it.