26No-Contact Jacket
The No-Contact Jacket is a defensive device that uses electric shock to discourage assailants from grabbing the wearer in unwanted situations such as in cases of assault.
27. In 1961, the Canadian government hired a university professor to develop a machine named Fruit Machine to identify gay people. It was at the height of the cold war and homosexuals were thought to be more susceptible to communism.
28. The Tempest Prognosticator was a device that kept 12 leeches inside small bottles. They attempted to climb out of the bottles when a storm was approaching, causing a bell to ring. The number of times the bell was struck indicated the likelihood of a storm.
29. From 1985-1987, the most powerful computing device Apple sold was the LaserWriter. It was one of the first generally-available laser printers. It had its own built-in CPU which was 50% faster than the Macs available at the time, which was needed to drive the printing engine.
30. In 1995, an Australian doctor created the ‘Deliverance Machine.’ It is a euthanasia device which utilizes a software called ‘Deliverance.’ Patients are posed three questions via a notebook computer. If they answer yes to all three, the machine administers a lethal dose of barbiturates.
Latest FactRepublic Video:
15 Most Controversial & Costly Blunders in History
31StripeSpotter
Scientists have built a device named StripeSpotter that can scan the pattern of stripes on zebras, as if it were a bar code, in order to differentiate between them.
32. The Kleroterion was a device that was used by ancient Athenians to randomly select citizens for state councils, offices and court juries during their period of democracy.
33. In 1985, the Soviets developed Dead Hand, a doomsday device that is still around. In the event of a total decapitation of the Soviet/Russian chain of command, an automatic system could detect a nuclear first strike and launch a retaliatory strike completely autonomously.
34. Astronauts have a device called Valsalva installed into their helmet to allow them to block their noses so that they can equalize the pressure in their ears (the Valsalva maneuver).
35. Bhangmeter is the device used to measure the yield of a nuclear weapon. It is named after the Hindi word for cannabis as a joke that only a person on drugs would believe the bhangmeter to work properly.
