1Rectal tool kit
The CIA issued rectal tool kits for spies. This imaginative gadget was designed to get operatives out of difficult situations.
2. In the 1930's, Helene Adelaide Shelby invented an apparatus (Confession device) for obtaining criminal confessions, which consisted of putting the criminal in a dark chamber, and confronting them with a human skeleton with glowing red eyes, which contained a camera and microphone
3. A man named Arunachalam Muruganantham in India created and patented a machine that could manufacture low-cost sanitary pads for less than a third of the cost of commercial pads and provided the machines to self-help groups run by women all over India.
4. Carl Haber created a machine named SmartScope that can read the surface of very old audio recordings and reproduce them without anything having to touch them; using the same type of technology that was used to see the Higgs boson particle.
5. In 1965, a patent was filed for a "birthing apparatus" which would spin pregnant women around at as much as 7G until their baby was flung out from the centrifugal force.
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6Williams WASP X-Jet
In 1974, there was a single man flying machine called "Williams WASP X-Jet." It had no wings and no propellers. It could fly up to 60 MPH, had a service ceiling of 10,000 feet, and could fly for nearly 45 minutes.
7. Some modern appliances have something called "Sabbath Mode" which makes subtle changes to the way they operate (fridges, ovens, etc) - basically allowing people who observe not using machines and whatnot the ability to "cheat" and still use them.
8. The Orgone Accumulator was a device sold in the 1950s to allow a person sitting inside to attract orgone, a massless 'healing energy'. The FDA noted that one purchaser, a college professor, knew it was "phony" but found it "helpful because his wife sat quietly in it for four hours every day."
9. The icebox was a gadget that was widely used before refrigerators to keep things fresh/cold. It's literally a box with ice in it. People had jobs collecting large blocks of ice to supply the icebox.
10. There is a machine that transforms concrete rubble into Lego-like building blocks. The blocks allow victims of war or natural disasters to construct their own new, earthquake-resistant houses.
11Eierschalensollbruchstellenverursacher
Many German households own a device designed to neatly cut a hole into a soft boiled egg, called an "Eierschalensollbruchstellenverursacher," which literally translates to "eggshell breaking point causer."
12. Otohime a.k.a. ‘The Noise Princess’ is a gadget installed in some Japanese toilets whose sole purpose is to produce an electronic flushing sound to drown out the noise of other lavatory activities.
13. "The Momsen Lung" was a device that was used in World War 2 to escape submarines over 100 feet deep. It recycled oxygen in your breath while filtering C02. It was used only once, in 1944, by 9 members of the USS Tang after it torpedoed itself and sank in 180 feet of water.
14. Japanese researchers have created a fire-alarm for the deaf. It’s a gadget that emits a wasabi mist that will wake the endangered person and get them out of the building alive.
15. The turboencabulator is a fictional technobabble device and an in-joke among engineers. The idea was invented in 1944 and featured in Time Magazine in 1946, confusing many readers. Companies such as GE and Chrysler have released joke data sheets and training videos for the device.
16Vaportini
The "Vaportini" is a device where users heat alcoholic beverages and become intoxicated by inhaling the resulting vapors.
17. The foot-measuring tool ("Brannock Device") used by shoe stores was invented by Charles Brannock in 1927. He was advised to make it out of plastic so regular replacements would be needed, but he insisted on steel. Today, most Brannock Devices survive 10-15 years of daily use before wearing out.
18. There is a device known as a derailer which is used to intentionally derail trains that enter into unauthorized areas.
19. The Mosquito Laser is a device invented to kill large numbers of mosquitoes to reduce malaria infection rates. The idea has been criticized because most areas where malaria is prevalent do not have reliable electrical power.
20. A researcher has developed a handheld "lickable screen" device that, when inserted into your mouth, can recreate all taste sensations associated with food. It relies on electrolytes inserted into 5 gels controlling the intensity of the 5 basic flavors: sour, sweet, bitter, salt, and umami.
21The Thing
"The Thing" was a listening device that was designed by the same guy who invented the theremin. It was disguised as a gift from the Soviets to the US ambassador to spy on the US.
22. A Confederate sabotage device called a coal torpedo was actually a bomb that was designed to look like a lump of coal and meant to cause a steam ship’s boiler to explode.
23. A device called Stentrode functions as a brain-computer interface (BCI). It allows people with paralyzed or missing limbs to use their neural signals or thoughts to control computers and other devices.
24. Space Pen can upside down, in frigid or hot conditions, underwater, and in zero gravity. Pressurized cartridge ink, a gel-like solid turns to the fluid to write. Pressurized nitrogen prevents air from mixing with the ink, so it cannot evaporate or oxidize.
25. Elink glasses is a device developed to help nearly blind people see again. It is equipped with two high-resolution screens and a 21.5 MP camera with a liquid lens and 24x zoom.
