Dumb Inventions From The Past
Life magazine has put together a special collection of dumb inventions from the past. What were they thinking?
Curved Barrel Machine Gun, 1953
M3 sub-machine gun with a curved barrel for shooting around corners.
Baby Cage, 1937
A nanny supervising a baby suspended in a wire cage attached to the outside of a high tenement block window.
Illuminated Tires, 1961
The tire is made from a single piece of synthetic rubber and is brightly lit by bulbs mounted inside the wheel rim.
Cigarette Pack Holder, 1955
Smoke a carton at once. Perfect for the person with a nicotine ‘jones’. Should it have a warning label?
Photos by Keystone/Reg Speller/Douglas Miller/Jacobsen/Getty Images.
Scott Quitter on October 16th, 2009 1:18 pm
LOL For every amazing idea out there, I’m guessing there are dozens of dumb ones.
chris on October 18th, 2009 1:18 am
I could use that Smoke a Carton at once especially with my ISP
Jaclyn Wells on October 18th, 2009 2:44 pm
Okay…why on earth would anyone ever put a baby in a cage dangling outside of a window? I don’t care how sturdy that thing was…there is just no way. On a lighter side…i have some day’s every now and then to where that smoke a carton at once may come in handy! :)
chris on October 18th, 2009 4:00 pm
The CartonSmoker is for After your Baby Falls out the Window
Angela Shupe on October 19th, 2009 3:26 am
The real question is whether the machine gun worked after having the barrel bent like that. However, I could not imagine what was going through the mind of the person who came up with that window cage for babies.
Sean on October 19th, 2009 4:30 am
Great pictures.
Mistakes make the best teachers in life.
Anyone who never made a mistook never learn’d a thing ;)
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