What Are the Top Ten Forgotten Inventions and Technologies?

What other things in our lives ought be protected, or brought back?

Common sense?

SInce you mention food and shelter, i believe the igloo should be brought back (if it has been replaced by normal housing)...

You see, an eskimo told me that he was perfectly happy in his igloo, along with the food which was in its natural cold storage anyway. The Americans sold him the heated house. The food started going bad now, so they sold him the refrigerator. The butter in it became hard, so they sold him the butter-warmer......

It wasn't meant to be a rant of any kind...it was actually part of a presentation by an American marketing wizard who was making a point of creating a market where none exists. Like the Sony walkman.

Anyway, my sincere apologies to any Americans to whom this seemed a rant...

Dear kvsridhar,

I would totally disregard the rude, lazy arrogant poster "Guest". This troll only has one goal and that is to insult those of us who have taken the time to register and try to make a meaningful contribution to the forum.

These jerks do not deserve our time.

Cheers.

Thanks lynlynch, you make me relieved. i consider myself a world citizen first, tend to forget where i live etc. And i have friends all over the world, certainly here on CR4. However, my reference to Americans here may have offended someone, since i am not American. So....the apology

Your reference to Americans is factual and I took absolutely no offense.

We Americans wrote the modern book on greed and deceit.

Cheers.

Yes, Americans indeed wrote the modern book on greed and deceit.

And you can have your very own copy of The CR4 Guide to Shameless Self Promotion. To order your copy, simply leave a message within this thread and a sales representative of LynDoor^® Press will contact you.

On a more serious note, I also do not find the anecdote offensive. There are some individuals who are ready to rise to a perceived slight; they simply like to be offended, and look for the opportunity.

I'd give you a GA, but I'm afraid I might be accused of conflict of interest.

I too am relieving myself!

Now, that's an anti American rant if I've ever seen one.

Don't sweat the insult. Your post was funny. The post by "Guest" was rude and pontless.

I fully agree......

Few guest posts are worth even reading.....

Hi Lyn,

After many posts I would like to see some "forgotten inventions".

The "igloo" story is a modern invention (the BMPS cycle = brainstorming, marketing, producing, and selling) of creating "synthetic or modified things" or "imitations" from/of "natural items".

How is the authumn in Delaware and in particularly in Bethany Beach? Let me know if we still must hide the bottle of alcohol in the restaurants as we did in the 70's?

Don't forget to suggest one old invention that could be patented today! Wait for your answer, Gil.

Don't forget to suggest one old invention that could be patented today! Wait for your answer

As that invention would be in the public record it can not be patented.

No offense taken.

Read:

http://www.jbnickel.com/personal/pages/george2.html

Actually most of the Inuit live in northern Canada and Greenland. I as a Canadian, did not take it as a rant or an insult. We have a very good sense of humor up, we need it in winter. I do not think this as an anti American rant or an anti Canadian one either, and I doubt if the Danes would either. Some people have way to thin a skin.

I believed that you were trying to point out, that Salespeople will try to sell you any thing. And will try in a market that does not exist for it at the time. A good salesperson can do just that.

How about a salesperson selling me a Black-fly breeding kit for my cottage in northern Ontario!

Come on people; jump on in; and list the "last" things that you would want or need from some salesperson.

How about a home Lobotomy kit. "Fun for the whole Family"

Actually it's part of a George Carlin routine :

http://www.jbnickel.com/personal/pages/george3.html

That has been around long before Carlin's momma ever even thought about liking little boys. Always good for a chuckle.

I saw a story a few years ago that Eskimos were buying refrigerators to keep food from freezing. It seems a good 'fridge is well insulated.

The other advantage of refrigerators to Eskimos (Inuit, actually ;-) ) ... they warm up a house. The heat that they take out of their enclosed space is thrown out to atmosphere. Added bonus ... extra heat (from their electric power supply) gets emitted because refrigerator motors and cooling circuits aren't 100% efficient. Cheers! DZ P.S. As for selling snow to Eskimos ... anyone with a refrigerator-freezer can sell it out of season. ;-)

In post-apocalyptic times, the David vs Goliath slingshot will be an essential item for personal protection and hunting. We made and used them before we were old enough to buy pellet guns.

They are utterly simple, but a very effective weapon. Fasten two cords to a small, shaped flap of leather. As I recall, the optimum cord length was about 18 inches. A finger loop is formed at the end of one cord, the other has a small grip knot.

To use, assume a stance with your left foot forward (if you are right-handed), your right hand low and back, the smooth stone in its sling close to the ground, the cord loop around your middle finger, the grip knot of the other cord between thumb and forefinger. Bring your hand forward in a wide, accelerating arc, up, around your head (just one rotation, not around and around like a helicopter blade), and release the knotted-end cord at the point of maximum velocity. A stone the size of a small egg can be hurled with astonishing force. It is entirely believable that David slew Goliath with just such a weapon.

Good elastic materials tend to be perishable. Five to ten years after the Apocalypse, there will be no good rubber left, and you need both rubber trees and sulfur to make your own. But the bow and arrow will always be there, along with enough wood and flint to make ammunition for it.

But let us not forget the common club--a stone bound to the end of a short wooden handle. (In a pinch, a human or horse femur will do.) Handy for those times when food runs short and the neighbors start to look yummier.

Dangerous Bill

The slingshot I describe is ancient and uses no elastic. The one used by David against Goliath probably used two leather thongs for cords.

You are referring to a sling and calling it a slingshot.

Impossible to make a slingshot without elastic or something of that nature.

The myth of David and and the big guy was about a sling.

Give the guy a break (Russ). A sling is something you put your damaged limb into while a slingshot is a descriptive term (shot-sling) & does not necessarily require a any memory material (to function). Carlos

??

"A sling is something you put your damaged limb into"

Are you talking about a Thong?

High mass air well collector/condensers?

Flint and steel?

The clothesline?

Dead-fall?

Aladdin type kerosene lamp?

Regards.

I had been sometime back in Quebec, Canada.

<< The clothesline? >>

Was astonished & really happy to see well organised The clothesline System installed in the backyards of a houses. Almost 4 houses has a pole [equal to Electrical power poles height] having The clotheslines of all the flats on pulleys. You can hang your clothing one by one and pushing it away to pole.

A wonderful arrangement by the City Counsels.

Though it is off topic but another facillity provided to public is BiCycle stand for hire.

Once upon a Time there was .... story.

Bicycles shops for hiring was the main business and source of travel not only in rural area but also in cities.

I think that we have to promote it for pollution-free environment.

One of the negatives to line drying is the fact that your "inner self" is revealed for all the world to see (or at least your neighbours)

"Look Mable, Harry Johnson is cross dressing again!"

When I grew up in New York City (a very long time ago), All the apartments had clotheslines outside their windows. The taller apartment buildings had rooftop clotheslines. There were no laundromats, washer/dryer rooms in the basement. We didn't have home washing machines until sometime after WWII. You either did your laundry in the bathtub or you sent it out to a Chinese laundry, hence the term "no tickee, no washee".

Boris Johnson London Maire is doing just that, with cycle depots all over London and it may well appear to be working, ie he is not a insane as he looks.

Good Health Dub

Haajee

Most clotheslines were banished in the urban areas by city council's in the 70's and 80's, as they stated; that no one should have to look at someones under ware. Now there if movement to have that stupid bylaw removed. Solar drying is free and leaves no carbon foot print.

The one down side to using a clothesline, other than the neighbours get to see your Great Aunt's bloomers is "Winter"!

I still remember when the clothes came in they were frozen rock solid. They did not really dry, but were freeze dry-ed. You would take your thermal under ware (long johns) and stand them up in front of the fireplace and when they became flexible again you could ware them.

As for Bicycles: winter again is a problem. One meter of snow and -30deg C temps does not make for a pleasant ride. Other than the seasonal problem I like to ride when it is practical.

So far it is bows and arrows, slingshots, and clothelines?

What do you call those fold out things apartment dwellers put their clothes on to dry?

It is weird how people don't want to see the mechanisms. Us electricians are supposed to hide all the wires.

Underware is better looking than it used to be, aye. However I do suspect that I ought to return to whitey tighties since I gave up belts and use suspenders to hold my pants up. The extra leg material of the better looking long short underwear is friction pulled down causing me to have to pull up my underwear if I don't want to feel inside my pants the underwear down to my ass curve as if someone was caressing my butt with a soft rope.

Under your clothes you are naked.

I rode a motorcycle in Rochester New York in the winter. I wore half a cow of a German motorcycle corp uniform, and kept my feet out as outriggers till I got to dry pavement.

Do not put WD40 in the throttle slide, as it will freeze, and you will have to operate the throttle by hand at the carb.

Yes underwear is better looking these days. What really matters to me is, who is attached to. Do I have the "Swedish Bikini Team" next door or the "Raging Grannies"?

Either I am a very happy camper, or I am under my bed whimpering "the horror, the horror"

As for your throttle cable: Try using LPS2 from Locktite

Actually the lesson is that not all is to be lubricated and the cable is intended to be a dry slide.

There is then Stirling, Slingshot, Bow and Arrow, and Clothes line, so far?

Well sod roofs and "hanging gardens" in the shelter category - but could stretch to 'food', possibly 'clothing', certainly 'energy'.

I would say the basic woodworking tools. They have been pretty much replaced by electric powered machines. Without electricity, power tools are worthless and it may be necessary to rely on 100+ year old technology to build things in wood. In my woodworking shop, power tools have replaced a good 90% of all the tools I use, but I hang on to the basic tools just in case.

Not sure its a top ten but the Victorian era saw the introduction of the 'tea cup and saucer pump', it would pump water from a running flow of water to higher grounds to be used however. I cannot find any details to the construction of the pump. the only thing i can find is Ram pumps that require a good head of water, i am not sure they are the same thing as i cannot find the term cup and saucer related with ram pumps.

Regardless of that and being aware some still use the ram pump, it should see a comeback wherever it can be applied due to its non reliance on carbon based energy.

Good Health Dub

I saw something recently on TV- a fellow over in India created a 'refrigerator' that can keep vegatables fresh for a week or more & yet uses no electricity... It is made primarily out of mud or clay. Carlos

When I was a kid, my mom had a washing machine that would push the plug out of the outlet if the machine was overloaded (using a solenoid built into the plug).

This would be great for a number of things, including television.

That is the function of a circuit breaker isn't it?

So many of the things that seemed 'neat' when we were kids would be of zero use today - most of the for that matter.

I, for one, have zero interest in flint & steel for example.

The Stirling engine - successful ways to use it are being found today - in the past it was a useful concept but nothing more.

No, the function was in the overloading or unbalanced load of cloths like....Bump...bump..bump.bumpclick.......

A real application of the "self unplugger' is for emergency vehicles plugged into outlets for charging (ejects when ignition key is turned) so as to prevent said emergency vehicle from dragging the firehouse down the street after it.

Regards.

It was also in Electric Cattles.

A Spring-loaded-pin pushed in by inserting the power plug into cattle's socket and locked in.

The holding strips will expand at boiling point of water and release the pin which will strike the power cord pushed out.

I hope you are speaking of a mechanical bull, otherwise you might invoke the wrath of the Anti Cruelty Society!

^{I think it is Electric Kettles.}

Sliced bread

AND what was the greatest thing before sliced bread?

Sliced dough?

I would vote for this.

Inventor unknown......

Well I guess you can't patent that one now... too bad..the world is sadly in need of it. very innovative. (I could use a good kick meself some days)

I seem to recall seeing a version of it, that was remote controlled kicking of shop workers by management in offices....

Chris

I have to wear one now, but it is in the front. It is triggered by management when I start to think I actually accomplished something.Ouch!...back to work.

Well not what you're after, as it's Best Forgotten;

The vacuum operated windshield wiper.

But is was certainly a "foray into the unknown" if you exceeded half throttle in the rain.

But it did slow the traffic down when wet..........less accidents?

For us hardcore CR4 addicts, this may be a good invention innovation ..