Have you ever heard someone use the term, chindōgu? This Japanese term literally translates to unusual tool. These are tools that might be useful and work, but they are strange and impractical. Kenji ...

Innovation rarely looks elegant at the start. Many of the ideas that quietly reshaped daily life began as punchlines, failed experiments, or odd little gadgets no one knew how to categorize. Friends ...

When it comes to bizarre inventions, this absurd pedestrian scooper takes the whole carriage. Car safety technology saw a dramatic improvement in the 21st century, but in the '30s, things were a lot ...

13 Bizarre Inventions That Never Took Off Without inventions, we wouldn’t have many of the modern luxuries we have today. But not all inventions are major wins like cellphones, stoplights, or washing ...

An invention to keep from splattering your clothes and hair with broth as you slurp your noodles. Also worthwhile if you want your friends to think you are a flower. Chindogu are Japanese inventions ...

Hugo Gernsback was a pioneer in the world of science fiction during the first half of the 20th century—so much so that the Hugo Awards are named after him. But Gernback also edited serious tech ...

Includes drawings of unusual inventions submitted to the patent office with clues to aid the reader in guessing the purpose of each invention. https://siris-libraries ...