
Carlo Polito // Getty Images
1 / 26Massage helmet
In the 1960s, you didn't need to visit a spa to get a relaxing head massage. You could slip on this massage helmet for an air-powered聽. This , albeit in more modern, portable forms.

Hundreds of thousands of patents are聽 for new inventions every year. Some of these creations, such as the lightbulb, personal computer, and automobile, changed the world. Others have made everyday life a little easier, and potentially more fun鈥攋ust look at your smartphone or that resembles a DJ's turntable. And some inventions are for things people never realized they needed, but now desperately want. Who wouldn't want or a that helps you avoid overspending when you've had one too many?
But despite the countless numbers of interesting, useful, and even groundbreaking inventions on the market, many other bizarre creations in history barely made it beyond their initial prototypes. Perhaps they were ahead of their time, impractical products, or simply聽confusing to use. However, while they failed to stand the test of time, they serve as a relic of their era. Strange creations from yesteryear can give people a sense of the culture of previous generations and the problems that their crafty inventors tried to solve. Who knew that people had so much trouble scooping spaghetti from a bowl that someone dreamed up a twisting fork? It may speak to the confusion Americans may have had about foreign cuisines and their determination to enjoy these tasty new foods.
Rather than letting these designs get lost to time, 爆料TV compiled a list of 26 bizarre inventions from throughout history using archival photos from Getty. These black-and-white images are not just revelatory, they're a fascinating look at creations you might never have imagined. Plus, they're a downright fun trip down memory lane.
Click through to see some of the most obscure and creative inventions in history.
You may also like: 35 photos that show what life looked like in 1973
Carlo Polito // Getty Images
1 / 26In the 1960s, you didn't need to visit a spa to get a relaxing head massage. You could slip on this massage helmet for an air-powered聽. This , albeit in more modern, portable forms.
Reg Speller/Fox Photos // Getty Images
2 / 26Dubbed by the urban window baby cage was used in the 1930s to give infants plenty of fresh air. Doctors believed that this would boost youngsters' immune systems and . However, the health benefits may have been nullified by the obvious risk of dangling a baby several stories above a city street.
Howard Owens/BIPs // Getty Images
3 / 26Got two left feet? These Siamese dancing shoes, specially designed for ballroom dancing, might fix that problem. They were featured in the spoof "Better Living Catalogue" in 1981, potentially as a joking way to help couples stay in sync on the dance floor鈥攚hether they were mastering the foxtrot or (more likely) tripping to the ground.
General Photographic Agency // Getty Images
4 / 26Before the music world had , there was the yodel meter. The device, photographed circa 1925, could measure the pitch of a singer's voice.
Topical Press Agency // Getty Images
5 / 26The first few decades of the 20th century were a dangerous time to be on the road. Some years, car crash deaths surpassed . Inventor A.J. Grafham tried to make things a little safer with this 1930s bumper, a sponge rubber seat that promised to protect pedestrians from injuries if they were hit by a speeding automobile.
You may also like: 25 photos that show what life looked like in 1983
Ken Howard/BIPs/Hulton Archive // Getty Images
6 / 26No longer confined to the factory floor, the assembly line hit barbershops in the 19th century with this mass shaving machine. The unusual invention allowed barbers to shave a dozen men simultaneously. Anything for efficiency, right?
Evans/Three Lions // Getty Images
7 / 26Eating a bowl of pasta got much easier when this spaghetti aid was invented. It would wind spaghetti noodles around the fork in seconds. It's hard to imagine that this novelty invention had any staying power, but it returned to the market in recent years, .
Bettman // Getty Images
8 / 26The whole family could enjoy the pleasures of a bike ride with inventor Charles Steinlauf's historical machine, which included spots for two people to pedal, one person to ride in front, and even a dedicated seat for a seamstress to continue her sewing work on the go. , but you might have to look far and wide for one that includes a sewing machine.
Maurice-Louis Branger/Roger Viollet // Getty Images
9 / 26Pesky lakes and rivers didn't have to interrupt the carefree bliss of bicycling in the early 1900s. This amphibocycle allowed them to keep going over water. promise high performance, excellent balancing capabilities, and maneuverability around tight turns.
Fox Photos // Getty Images
10 / 26Inspired by one of Leonardo da Vinci's fantastical ideas, British inventor John Purves . Drivers could hit speeds of up to 30 miles per hour but may have gone head over heels if they tried to brake hard. Nowadays, shoppers can shell out thousands of dollars for a that even glows in the dark.
You may also like: 31 photos that show what life looked like in 1985
Fred Mott/Evening Standard // Getty Images
11 / 26This anti-bandit bag would release its contents all over the ground if a thief tried to steal it. It was perhaps a , which would release a smoking chemical vapor if someone tried to snatch it.
Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone // Getty Images
12 / 26Travelers who needed to cross the rivers around Somerville, Massachusetts but didn't want to deal with the hassle of a ferry or rowboat, could have perhaps hailed this water taxi for on-demand service. The idea is still alive today: Ride-hailing app Uber launched a water taxi service in Mumbai in 2019.
Douglas Miller // Getty Images
13 / 26Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. wanted to with these illuminated tires, outfitted with 18 internal light bulbs. Despite being well-received, the flashy tires were too costly and impractical to produce on a large scale. However, , a concept car from 1954. The聽鈥攃omplete with a new set of four glowing tires from Goodyear.
Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis // Getty Images
14 / 26Wipers didn't just belong on racecar windshields in the 1930s鈥攖hey also came on special rain goggles that drivers would wear in open cars. A chintzy plastic version of this invention is available on Amazon today.
Maurice-Louis Branger/Roger Viollet // Getty Images
15 / 26This fan-powered car might have made more of a splash today than in the 1910s, considering the聽worries about climate change. This early invention may have inspired the .
You may also like: 33 photos that show what life looked like in 1979
H. F. Davis/Topical Press Agency // Getty Images
16 / 26No need to hit the gym鈥攑eople looking to trim a few inches off their waistline could simply jiggle the fat away with this vibrating exercise belt from the 1920s. , which used electrical stimulation to promote weight loss, in the early 2000s reportedly were forced to pay $7 million by the Federal Trade Commission for exaggerating fitness claims.
Keystone // Getty Images
17 / 26Aircraft pressurization hadn't yet become mainstream during the time of Winston Churchill, so built him his very own pressurized pod for safer flying at high altitudes. Sadly, it was rejected for its size and weight. Churchill was probably more comfortable in his C-54 Skymaster, anyway.
Fox Photos // Getty Images
18 / 26While many people might imagine what it's like to fly like a bird, engineer Alan Stewart took things a step further with his ornithopter, a human flight machine designed to flap its wings like a bird, in 1963. Smaller ornithopters are now聽 to scare away pigeons and seagulls.
Underwood Archives // Getty Images
19 / 26With this 1920s pramobile, parents and their baby carriages could hit the streets at 15 miles per hour. Modern-day versions of this design allow moms and dads to tow their youngsters in .
Evans/Three Lions // Getty Images
20 / 26What could be more embarrassing in the 1950s than accidentally dragging your sleeve through a stick of butter as you reach across the table? American amateur inventor Russell E. Oakes solved that problem with this spider-like gadget. Today's diners solve this issue with or by politely asking someone else to pass the dish they need.
You may also like: Can you solve these 25 real Jeopardy! clues about the '70s?
Keystone // Getty Images
21 / 26Inventors are always looking to build a better mousetrap, and in 1963, this was the latest iteration. Homeowners with a mouse problem could use this mechanical cat from Japan to scare away rodents. Its eyes would light up, and the cat would "meow" 10 times every 60 seconds.
Keystone // Getty Images
22 / 26It might look more like a spaceship than a residence, but this modern house (called "Futuro") was intended to be a portable, weather-resistant home for families who had an eye on the future. Less than , and about 60 remain today.
Harry Kerr/BIPs // Getty Images
23 / 26This invention turned the top of a person's vehicle into their own private sleeping quarters in the 1950s. Travelers can now sleep in vans that have been .
Keystone/Hulton Archive // Getty Images
24 / 26The Toshiba View Phone allowed callers to see each other on a small video screen. With Facetime now a part of everyday life, it's hard to imagine a time when video chatting was not only novel but groundbreaking.
Keystone // Getty Images
25 / 26Rather than exercise, electricity was used to promote weight loss in the 1960s. Pads were placed all over a person's body to stimulate muscles with a mild electrical current.
You may also like: 60 photos that capture summer in the '60s
Evans // Getty Images
26 / 26Dunking a doughnut into a cup of coffee without getting your fingers wet was no longer the stuff of fantasy鈥攊t was a reality when amateur inventor Russel E. Oakes created this device. Whether the invention upheld the dunking standards of the National Dunking Association, a doughnut-focused organization from the 1930s, has yet to be determined.
























