The Cat-Mew Machine: A Device That Produces Cat Sounds, Meant to Keep Away Rodents

Powered by a two-watt motor, and like a terrible scarecrow, this machine was invented in Japan in 1963.

Called the Cat-Mew, it was designed to scare little rodents away from your premises, by letting out a meow ten times a minute. If you were in a home that didn’t allow pets, then it would seem like the perfect solution without laying down poison. If it even worked. Which it probably didn’t. Hence why it’s not around today.

Chris Christensen’s Top Secret Houseboat, 1975

Anchored in Los Angeles Harbor, Chris Christensen’s Top Secret houseboat was shaped like a flying saucer.  It looked like two pie plates pressed together.

(Photo by Mary Frampton/Los Angeles Times)

“I lived on a friend’s new sailboat and I found things wrong with it,” he told the Los Angeles Times. “I decided I was going to build something that had a lot of room and lots of comfort.”

What resulted was the Top Secret, since Christensen wanted not only room, but also “something  no one else had.” It’s 40 feet in diameter, made of fiberglass, diesel powered and seaworthy, according to Christensen. “It’s very good, except in a blow,” he said. “It moves with very little effort. The hull only displaces seven inches of water.”

Christensen did most of his displacing in the waters off Southern California and the Baja coast, radioing ahead whenever he tied up for the night.

“I always let them know I’m coming, especially in Mexico. They might send the gunboats out, otherwise, thinking I’m from outer space,” said Christensen quite seriously.

Window Tents for Healthy Persons, ca. 1910s

The window tent was originally devised in order to give the open-air treatment for tuberculosis to patients in their own homes when they could not procure the use of porches or other open buildings for this purpose in the 1910s.

But as window tents have proven both convenient and economical, they are now used by many healthy persons who wish to sleep in the fresh air during the winter months without cooling off their houses.

Window tents are all constructed practically on the same principle, the difference between them being largely in their shape and the manner of their manipulation. A frame, usually of steel, supports a canvas cover, and this canopy encloses a space inside the room connected with the window. The tent frame is either attached to the window casing or the head of the bed, and projects over the bed, covering the head and shoulders of the person lying on it.

Strange Beauty Mask, 1940

March 1940 — At the International Beauty Shop Owners’ show in New York City, Ruth Scott modeled a mask to heat the face and tone up the skin. The scratchers on her fingers were brass thimbles to protect nail polish until it dried.

Newsweek - Mar 25, 1940

(via Weird Universe)

Sofa Bazaar by Superstudio for Giovanetti, 1968

Half a century ago, a group of 20-something architecture students from Florence decided to assume the small task of conceiving an alternative model for life on earth. Contemptuous of the long reign of Modernism, which they felt had sold itself as a cure to society’s ills and never delivered, they were jazzed by American science-fiction novels and the political foment of the 1960s. They gave themselves the colorfully assured name Superstudio, and soon after helped kickstart the radical architecture movement in Italy.

The fact that they never actually finished a building is, arguably, the point. Rather, they created “anti-architecture”: psychedelic renderings, collages and films depicting their dreams — and nightmares. At gallery shows and museum exhibitions, the collective shared its mind-bending dystopic visions: hulking buildings overtaking cities, giant golden pyramids and flying silver pods invading the bucolic countryside. They even imagined the planet with no architecture at all, just “Supersurface,” a network of energy that would replace objects and buildings with a grid — an essential theme in their projects — which people could access by simply plugging in. Then, such an idea was radical; now, of course, it feels eerily prophetic.

The group lasted only 12 years, until 1978, before scattering, mostly into academia, but Superstudio’s place in postwar design history borders on the mythic. At their height, they exhibited everywhere from the Museum of Modern Art to the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, and had conceptual projects published in Domus, the influential design magazine edited by Gio Ponti, the progressive Italian monthly Casabella and even Casa Vogue.

Today, echoes of their imagery can be seen in the work of such contemporary architects as Rem Koolhaas, Steven Holl and Bjarke Ingels. Of the few furnishings they executed, a number of pieces still live on: Since 1970, Zanotta has produced their Quaderna series of rectilinear tables overlaid with a black-and-white grid pattern (based on the group’s theories for the ultimate rationalist solution, reducing architecture to a single template that could be endlessly scaled), which has lately been referenced by such of-the-moment designers as RO/LU and Scholten & Baijings.

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Amazing Mirror Trick Photography From the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries

The use of mirrors to produce a photograph with five images of the sitter was originally published in Scientific American in the 1890s. It was reused in Encylopaedic Dictionary of Photography, 1896 and in Photographic Amusements. The sitter is photographed with two mirrors set at 75˚ producing 5 images.

By exposing a person’s face from every angle, the photo-multigraph was touted as a system which would enable “us to see ourselves as others see us.”

By the 1920s the photo-multigraph was a common novelty attraction at seaside, arcade, and boardwalk photo studios throughout America and Europe. As one author noted in 1931: “People on holiday will readily part with a dollar and a half or two dollars for a half dozen of these unusual five-in-one portraits.”

The practice had all but vanished by the 1950s. What is left are thousands of multi-photographs commissioned by portrait-sitters long gone whose images continue to serve as objects of reflection.

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The Airstream Funeral Coach, ca 1980s

Did you know? During the 1980s Airstream produced around 32 funeral coaches. Designed to transport the deceased and family and flowers all at once – with space for a coffin, flowers and seating for 14 mourners.

In 1981, Airstream introduced a modified motorhome known as the Funeral Coach. It could transport 14 family members, a casket, and up to 20 baskets of flowers between the funeral home, church, and cemetery. Airstream was motivated to practicality to create this unique offering, and the story of the Funeral Coach’s genesis is as interesting as the product itself.

The story goes that in 1979, Airstream, Inc. had launched its Class A Motorhome line for the first time. However, because a recession and a gas crisis hit American drivers hard in the late 1970s, Airstream was suffering from a loss in sales. Looking for ways to offset this loss, Airstream’s president at the time, Gerry Letourneau, wanted to diversify into a wide range of customized vehicles based on motorhomes. Along with the Funeral Coach, this customized line included the Air Coach, which allowed business professionals to work together on the road, and the Sales Coach, which served as a mobile sales office or display room.

The first Funeral Coach designed for Wells-Kloss Funeral Service in Lyndhurst, Ohio.

A brochure introducing the Airstream Funeral Coach.

The Airstream Funeral Coach comfortably seated its passengers in either individual aircraft-style seats or on a wrap-around couch. It had a rear hatch compartment for flowers and a discreet side compartment for the casket. The Funeral Coach was presented as a fuel-efficient alternative that would reduce funeral procession traffic while maintaining dignity. Most importantly, however, it allowed families to travel together during a trying time.

In 1981, the cost of a Funeral Coach was $85,000 (about $250,000 today). A traditional hearse came in at $40,000, and two standard funeral limousines cost $60,000. Comparatively, the Funeral Coach was a cost-efficient option – and it was also backed by Airstream’s reputation for quality aluminum vehicles.

Interior of a brochure for the Airstream Funeral Coach.

The standard floor plans were 27’ and 28’, but customized floor plans ranging from 24’ to 35’ were also available. Some funeral home owners chose to add features such as a radio, television, microwave, and lavatory to provide extra comfort for families on longer journeys. Funeral home nameplates and identifiers were added to the exterior of the Funeral Coach, but these were removable. Because it did not look like a hearse, the unit was versatile, and early brochures advertised that it could be loaned out for special functions.

Owner testimonies were positive and stated that families embraced the new approach as a comfortable, appropriate way to be together during a difficult time. Ultimately, however, only 32 units were produced from 1981-1991.

(via Airstream.com)

Inside the Adventurer, a Model “T” Ford Motorhome From the 1910s

Light-duty-low-priced early trucks had not been developed by the early teens, although a number of enterprising firms built truck conversion kits for the popular Model “T” Ford. “The Adventurer,” a circa 1913-14 motorhome was based on a chain-driven kit with a longer wheelbase than the standard Ford.

This machine is very unique because it is quite likely that the cab and coach combination was a one-off constructed by a truck body builder. In addition, it was equipped with an aftermarket larger capacity radiator and a tapered and louvered hood.

The truck even came with a portable bath tub, a stove, record player and printing press! With all that precious cargo on board it’s probably a good thing the truck only reached a top speed of 20mph.

(via The Old Motor)

Pictures of 1952 Executive Flagship, the World’s Most Exciting Mobile Home

The Pan-American division of Mid-States Corporation built the Executive Flagship, the world’s most complete and exciting mobile home and office. Mid-States was a large trailer manufacturer so this one-of-a-kind mobile home was a perfect rolling advertisement for the company.

The Executive Flagship was designed by the company president William B. MacDonald. It was a 65-foot long, self-powered articulating mobile home with 10 wheels weighing in at 18 tons.

The front motorhome unit had a 26-foot wheelbase and held the more important things like the kitchen and bathroom. The back section, the actual mobile home, was similar to an articulated 5th wheel unit and had all the fun stuff: an observation lounge, a sun deck that could withstand a helicopter landing, a portable six-foot-deep inflatable swimming pool with a diving board, an extendable sundeck, air-conditioned dining nook, and bar. It was the ultimate party (and work) mobile.

The Executive Flagship had everything!

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Radiana – A Robot Built With Human Bones From the 1920s

Radiana was a “robot” or “automaton” employed by the magician Professor John Popjie, who toured in the 1920s and 1930s. Radiana could do some amazing things, like co-pilot a plane, drive a car, bake a cake, and even shave a brave member of the audience.

However, Radiana was no robot. In a version of the Golem illusion, there was a real person inside the automaton. The magician’s assistant was a small woman who used real hands to perform the feats while the audience was focused on Radiana’s face or Professor Popjie.

It would appear that Great-Aunt Kathleen – something of a ‘trouper’ – worked for one “Professor Popjie” who toured the world with his amazing “robot” Radiana. This supposed automaton would perform feats such as shaving willing audience members, apparently under Popjie’s control.

According to Great-Aunt Kathleen’s son, the pictures were taken around 1927 when Kath was 21. “She was small enough to fit inside the sphinx and manipulate the head, hands and legs.  She worked for Popjie for 3 years.  He proposed marriage to her – which was not accepted…”

Photos of Saunders-Roe Princess Flying Boat, the Largest All-Metal Flying Boat to Have Ever Been Constructed

Launched from the Saunders-Roe facility at Cowes on the Isle of Wight, the first Princess Flying Boat, G-ALUN, had the distinction of being the largest all-metal flying boat to have ever been constructed. It was also destined to be the last large flying boat ever created in the world. The era of the large flying boat had effectively ended prior to the aircraft’s completion.

The first prototype Princess had its maiden flight on August 22, 1952. Between 1952 and 1954, it performed 47 test flights and had two public appearances at an airshow. It featured two decks, capable of carrying 105 passengers in luxury on intercontinental flights. Powered by a unique arrangement of ten Bristol Proteus turboprop engines, it had a range of 9,210 kilometers (5,723 miles) and cruised at 580 kilometers per hour (360 mph).

Work on the Princess was cancelled after three examples had been produced, only one of which flew. By the mid-1950s, large commercial flying boats were being increasingly overshadowed by land-based jet airliners. Factors such as runway and airport improvements had added to the viability of land-based aircraft, which did not have to compromise to accommodate the additional weight and drag of the boat hulls that were necessary on seaplanes, or the mitigating measures needed against the corrosion caused by seawater. Following the project's termination, the three airframes were stored with the intention of selling them; however, upon receipt of a promising offer for the aircraft, it was found that corrosion had set in while in storage. As a result, all three aircraft prototypes were subsequently scrapped. The flying boat era had ended.

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Baby Bounces in Safety Chair, 1935

A safety chair which combines the enjoyment of a spring ride for the baby with assurance to the mother that he will not get hurt provides a solution to the problem of baby tending for the busy housewife.

Left: The chair used in an auto. Right: The safety chair is supported by a spring leaf slipped into a slot on the floor.

The chair is built high to support the baby’s back and is set on a strong steel spring leaf fastened to a slot in the floor. The baby’s legs straddle a hobby-horse head which prevent him from falling out of the front. Stirrups provide a natural rest for the child’s feet.

The spring of the safety chair may also be slipped into a slot in the auto floor, and it will eliminate all heavy shocks to provide baby with a smooth, comfortable ride in spite of rough and rutty roads.

Aesthetic Japanese Footgear for Ice Skating From the Early 20th Century

Aesthetic Japanese footgear for ice skating as “geta (wooden clogs) with iron blade” when kimono was still everyday dress for the people. For woman or child use; from Shinshu region, Meiji-Taisho period, early 20th century. Written as “Put on right” and “Put on left” at each bottom.

(via Tatami Antiques)

Here’s a Bible-Gun That Belonged to Francesco Morosini, Doge of Venice. It Could Be Fired Without Opening the Book!

This is a Bible with a compartment for a gun filled by a gun. Made in Venice for Doge Francesco Morosini in the second half of the 17th century. The owner of the bible could pull the silk bookmark to shoot while the book was still closed. Now on display at the Museo Correr in Venice.

In his book, Venise, L’hiver Et L’ete, De Pres Et De Loin, Lorenzo Cittone talks about this incredible gun-book: “I’ve found in a display case (of the Correr museum, in Venice), Morosini’s prayers book that I used to love so much as a kid. This wonderful book, apart from a few prayers, contains a buttless gun. The binding, of course, is gorgeous. And once the book closed, it is impossible to make the gun out.” 

Francesco Morosini (February 26, 1619 – January 16, 1694) was the Doge of Venice from 1688 to 1694, at the height of the Great Turkish War. He was a member of a famous noble Venetian family (the Morosini family) which produced several Doges and generals. He “dressed always in red from top to toe and never went into action without his cat beside him.”

Morosini first rose to prominence as Captain-General of the Venetian forces on Crete during the siege of Candia by the Ottoman Empire. He was eventually forced to surrender the city, and was accused of cowardice and treason on his return to Venice; however, he was acquitted after a brief trial.

In 1685, at the outbreak of the Morean War, Morosini took command of a fleet against the Ottomans. Over the next several years, he captured the Morea with the help of Otto Wilhelm Königsmarck, as well as Lefkada and parts of western Greece. He also briefly captured Athens but was unable to hold it, and attempted a failed siege of the former Venetian fortress of Negroponte. His fame reached such heights that he was given the victory title Peloponnesiacus, and was the first Venetian citizen to have a bronze bust placed during his own lifetime in the Great Hall, with the inscription Francisco Morosini Peloponnesiaco, adhuc viventi, Senatus.

During the siege of Athens in 1687 at the Morean War, his artillery turned the Parthenon from a functioning building to a simple ruin, and he personally oversaw the looting of some of the surviving sculptures. The Parthenon was used as a powder magazine by the Ottomans when on September 26, 1687, Morosini’s cannon scored a direct hit on the edifice. An attaché of the Swedish field commander General Otto Wilhelm Königsmarck wrote later: “How it dismayed His Excellency to destroy the beautiful temple which had existed three thousand years!” By contrast Morosini, who was the commander in chief of the operation, described it in his report to the Venetian government as a “fortunate shot.”

When he conquered Acropolis in early 1688, Morosini tried to loot Athena’s and Poseidon’s horses and chariots from the west pediment of the Parthenon but the sculptures fell on the ground and smashed. This was the first documented attempt to remove sculptures from the pediments. The Ottoman Empire regained possession of the monument in the following year and having noticed the demand began to sell souvenirs to Westerners.

Morosini also looted from the port of Piraeus the famous Piraeus Lion which is on display at the Venetian Arsenal.

In the summer of 1688, Morosini, now having been proclaimed Doge of Venice, attacked Negropont but was unable to capture it and was forced to return to Venice when plague broke out among his troops. He embarked on a final campaign in 1693, but was again unsuccessful in taking Negropont, and returned to Venice after sacking some minor coastal towns. After his death in 1694, a large marble arch was placed in his honor at the Doge’s Palace, and his cat, of which Morosini was notably fond, was embalmed and taken to the Museo Correr.