Bizarre inventions throughout history

[jw5]

The face glove​

Developed in the US, the face glove mask was designed to refine and preserve youthful skin. Resembling something from a creepy horror film, the main problem was the treatment didn't result in anything...

 

[jw5]

Water taxi​

For travelers who needed to cross the rivers around Somerville, Massachusetts, they could hail this water taxi for on-demand service.

 

[jw5]

Amphibocycle​

Lakes and rivers didn't have to interrupt a blissful bike ride. In the early 1900s, the amphibocycle allowed cyclists to keep going over water.

 

[jw5]

Ice age-resistant boats​

Back in the 1600s in the Netherlands, there was a fear of an impending ice age. So they designed a boat that they believed had the capacity to transport goods over frozen rivers and lakes.

 

[jw5]

Family bicycle​

Invented by Charles Steinlauf, this four-person bicycle was made so that the whole family could enjoy the pleasures of a bike ride. It even had a dedicated seat for a seamstress to continue her sewing work on the go!

 

[jw5]

Rain goggles for race drivers​

Wipers were not just on racecar windshields in the 1930s. They also came on special rain goggles that drivers would wear in open cars.

 

[jw5]

Ornithopter​

In 1963, engineer Alan Stewart created the ornithopter, a human flight machine designed to flap its wings like a bird. Smaller versions are now used at some airports to scare away pigeons and seagulls.

 

[jw5]

Churchill’s pressure egg​

Aircraft pressurization hadn’t yet become a thing during the time of Winston Churchill, so the Institute of Aviation Medicine built him his very own pressurized pod for safer flying. Unfortunately, it was rejected for its size and weight.

 

[jw5]

Portable hat radio​

Decades before the Walkman, iPod, and smartphones in general, listening to the radio on the move became a reality with a portable hat radio.

 

[jw5]

Rolling bridge​

The rolling bridge was a British invention that emerged during the Victorian era. The invention served as an alternative to the traditional bridge, and enabled the user to move across water on a rolling platform that was attached to rails. Not very practical at all!

 

[jw5]

The gas-resistant stroller​

When World War II hit, gas-resistant strollers were designed to protect babies and toddlers from gas attacks during possible air raids.