Five rounds. Two strange stories each. Only one made the paper. Choose, then see the proof.
Strange inventions, from useful to wonderfully unnecessary.
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The five historical items from this edition, with their newspaper proof. Play first if you want to guess.
A Frankfurt inventor named Kutt demonstrated a tree-climbing machine with a bicycle-style frame. Hand levers drove its caterpillar mechanism up the trunk; the report said it could climb without damaging the bark.
Atlantic City Sunday Press · 1929-06-30 · printed page not established
Open the original newspaper ↗A patent-office roundup described a glass coffin among William McLean’s inventions. Its grand promise was resistance to decay, provided nobody deliberately smashed it. Forever came with a fairly important condition.
Daily Eugene Guard · 1895-12-20 · p. 3
Open the original newspaper ↗Sharp hatpins had become a danger in crowded streetcars. Albany engineer W. L. Gilchrist patented a guard that covered the point while looking like an ordinary hatpin head. The paper even described a man who had dealt with the problem himself by clipping a troublesome pin with pliers.
Albany Democrat · 1912-01-26 · p. 1
Open the original newspaper ↗William Brownhill’s elaborate wake-up system first lit a lamp and then started the stove. A kettle supplied the final alarm: once the water boiled, a whistle summoned the sleeper out of bed.
East Oregonian · 1912-01-05 · p. 5
Open the original newspaper ↗This bank alarm put gun mechanisms beneath the tellers’ windows. Pressing a button fired blank cartridges to make a robbery sound considerably less promising. The report specifically discussed precautions against substituting live ammunition.
Albany Democrat · 1924-03-12 · p. 5
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