Mystery invention

[carl...@comcast.net]

Try to guess what Sarah Howarth's invention is before you read the
text of her 1899 patent.

"D" is a squeeze-bulb. Figures 1, 2, and 3 are all on the first page:

http://www.google.com/patents?id=zKZIAAAAEBAJ&pg=PP1&dq=627693#PPP1,M1

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

[Tom Nakashima]

I guessed a douche bag before reading the description.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Vaginal_bulb_syringe.jpg
-tom

<carl...@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:m8rhp3huccb8up3lk...@4ax.com...

[Leo Lichtman]

"Tom Nakashima" wrote: I guessed a douche bag before reading the
description.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
My guess was a distribution system for body deodorant ;-)

If enough of us post our bad guesses, then someone will eventually get it by
process of elimination.

[Brian Huntley]

On Jan 24, 3:55 pm, "Leo Lichtman" <l.licht...@worldnet.att.net>
wrote:

We'll probably halt before that.

Mark me as in the 'deodorant' camp at first.

[John Tserkezis]

Brian Huntley wrote:

> Mark me as in the 'deodorant' camp at first.

I thought leg cooler at first. Then realised how stupid that idea was.
Then remembered how stupid the patent system is, and revised my idea to
plausible once again.

A bit disappointed once I read it though. I've used a water pistol filled
with vinegar. At least my idea is more portable, and cheaper.
--
Linux Registered User # 302622
<http://counter.li.org>

[carl...@comcast.net]

On Fri, 25 Jan 2008 14:12:42 +1100, John Tserkezis
<j...@techniciansyndrome.org.invalid> wrote:

>Brian Huntley wrote:
>
>> Mark me as in the 'deodorant' camp at first.
>
> I thought leg cooler at first. Then realised how stupid that idea was.
>Then remembered how stupid the patent system is, and revised my idea to
>plausible once again.
>
> A bit disappointed once I read it though. I've used a water pistol filled
>with vinegar. At least my idea is more portable, and cheaper.

Dear John,

"Leg-cooler" makes more sense than anything that occurred to me when I
saw Sarah's contraption.

As for your water pistol, please, let's use the right tool for the
job!

Elegant ammonia model:

http://www.auctionflex.com/showlot.ap?co=9768&weventid=1053&weventitemid=441765&wmaingroupid=0&wcatmastid=0&inventorytype=&minyear=1990&minmonth=1&minday=1&maxyear=2050&maxmonth=12&maxday=31&keyword=&lotsortorder=timeleftasc&pagenum=6&action=

Our great-grandfathers didn't rely on cap-guns, either:

Probably blank-firing models, possibly cap-guns:

http://www.auctionflex.com/showlot.ap?co=9768&weventid=1053&weventitemid=441846&wmaingroupid=0&wcatmastid=0&inventorytype=&minyear=1990&minmonth=1&minday=1&maxyear=2050&maxmonth=12&maxday=31&keyword=&lotsortorder=timeleftasc&pagenum=8&action=

http://www.auctionflex.com/showlot.ap?co=9768&weventid=1053&weventitemid=441847&wmaingroupid=0&wcatmastid=0&inventorytype=&minyear=1990&minmonth=1&minday=1&maxyear=2050&maxmonth=12&maxday=31&keyword=&lotsortorder=timeleftasc&pagenum=8&action=

http://www.auctionflex.com/showlot.ap?co=9768&weventid=1053&weventitemid=441791&wmaingroupid=0&wcatmastid=0&inventorytype=&minyear=1990&minmonth=1&minday=1&maxyear=2050&maxmonth=12&maxday=31&keyword=&lotsortorder=timeleftasc&pagenum=7&action=

Naturally, I wondered if a plain 1890s water-pistol would fetch
similar prices.

This site shows 1896 water pistols (#123 and #124) being auctioned for
only $25 to $40, much less than the bicycle weapons at $65 to $175:
http://www.maurerail.com/asp/auctionlist.asp?iano=340

There are also 1890s cap pistols, most of them at similarly low
prices.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

[Leo Lichtman]

"John Tserkezis" wrote: (clip) A bit disappointed once I read it though.

I've used a water pistol filled

> with vinegar. (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Drat! I'm afraid you've spilled the beans. I was hoping that a long and
silly list would develop.

I'll supply a few ideas anyway: Pedal-powered lawn sprinkler. Weed-killer
sprayer for multi-use trails. Smoke emitter for stunt riders. Air sample
collector for environmental lab. Extinguisher for putting out discarded
cigarette butts. Crop sprayer.

[carl...@comcast.net]

I'll be damned--a similar anti-dog invention:
http://www.google.com/patents?id=deFzAAAAEBAJ&dq=545475

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

[datakoll]

perfume?