October 1963…An air traveler might avoid excess baggage charges by checking on luggage weight when he packs. He could do it easily by turning the handle of this suitcase to engage a built-in scale. Turning it back would lock out the scale, allow the handle to support the weight of the packed case. A great […]

Here’s an interesting idea for an everyday item. Umbrellas have been around for thousands of years. In modern times they are usually collapsible so that they can be fit into a handbag or satchel and then brought out quickly just as a downpour begins to start.With this inventive change to an umbrella, you’d be well […]

September 1963… To simplify painting of window frames, wall moldings and other trim, this brush guard would limit the length of exposed bristles and guide them along the edge of the wood. The slip-on sleeve and sliding, thumbscrew adjusted guide would serve also to confine the bristles and keep them from spreading.

May 1963…Glasses light your work. Tiny bulbs above the lenses of these spectacles and batteries in the earpieces would put light where you want it and let you use both hands.Opaque reflectors behind the bulbs would focus the light and keep it out of your eyes. Switches in the frames would let you use either […]

by Dean Himmelreich(Milwaukee) June 1963… Garden edging blocks with long stakes precast and protruding from one side would prevent the need for having to dig a trench and would also keep them from moving or getting kicked around your garden.

This idea from April 1963 might be useful for those who like to do a portage – fold in wheels that can help you carry your boat or canoe. The lightweight wheels can be carried in a small boat or canoe, making lake to cabin hauling or lake to lake portaging much easier. This idea […]

A HEAT-DISPERSING FAN flat enough to hang between the wall and radiator where heat gets pocketed. It would operate much as a car heater does.—A. K. Baldentceck, Kirkwood, Mo.

A tripod flashlight mount, adjustable for height, that would swivel at various angles and lock. This would leave both hands free for the workman.—H. G. Frank, Teaneck, N.J.

A non-tangling cord an on an electric drill and similar shop equipment. Why can’t they be sold with the self-coiling wire now commonly used on telephones?—W. C. Fox, Nampa, Idaho.

Made short enough to fit inside a capped soda bottle, this plastic (or plastic-coated) straw would rise to sipping height when the bottle was opened. A bell-shaped float would supply lift, rising on gas bubbles. To sink the float when the bottle was being filled, the inventor suggests filling it with ice or sugar.

A scuba diver might travel under water faster and easier – and with less turbulence – on this snake-like craft. By lying on a frame and manipulating a crank, he’d undulate a rubbery sheet beneath him. The inventor claims the flexing would simulate the movements with which a fish or reptile propels itself.

June 1963… Flag signals shallow water. At low tide or in unfamiliar water, you’d navigate more confidently if you had a flag-ended feeler like this pivoted to the hull of your boat. Opposed springs normally would hold the arm upright. On contact with an obstruction, the flag would dip, alerting you to shallow waters and […]

July 1963… A false bottom makes the pool safer. An electric motor, plus a system of pulleys and guide rails, would raise this protective net from its normal position at the bottom of a pool so that, in an emergency, anyone in the pool could be immediately brought to the surface. When unattended, the pool […]

June 1963…Electric basin heats water. A sink like this at your country cabin might give you hot water convenience on a boiler-less budget.The basin would nest in a tank fitted with a coil heater. Two taps would feed a mixer faucet from a single inlet, but turning the hot tap would route the flow of […]

April 1963… A curved push-broom for sweeping large areas such as schools or factories would make the task much easier. Flared ends would keep the sweepings from escaping and save you the need of overlapping the area you’d just swept.

August 1963… This recent invention might cut waiting in a plant cafeteria, say, by letting each diner set his own place at counter or table. He’d do it by flipping over a tray to turn up a fresh setting, turning the soiled side down to be scrubbed by a rotating brush inside. Clips would hold […]

July 1963… Convex saucer keeps the cup dry. A concave seat on the bottom of this cup would rest on a matching convex portion of the saucer, thus holding the cup in place. And if any coffee slopped out of the cup, it would stay in the outer valley of the saucer, leaving the cup […]

April 1963…This idea for a come-apart barbecue grill with fewer cross pieces makes cleaning much easier.The rods would lock at the ends for use but they can also easily be disconnected for cleaning or for moving a section with tongs in order to stoke the charcoal.Although after living in Canada for 8 years, I learned […]

September 1963… Instead of squirming in and out of a taxi or other low-roofed car, invalids, oldsters (and even agile folks) could ride comfortably to or from the sidewalk on this patented slide seat. Flanged tracks under the seat and transverse rails on the car floor would let the driver move the motorized platform in […]

August 1963…Car hitch loads boat. Universal couplings on the ends of this boat-loading post would let one man lift his boat in toward the support and walk it around to the car-top cradle.Tipping the boat would drain it as he walked. To offload, he’d reverse the steps; and use the pole’s reach to set the […]

November 1963… You could enjoy more comfortable camping outside meals or quick roadside picnics if you carried a two-level folding table like this. Hooked to a car door, it would be firm and level even if the ground wasn’t. It would open and fold away quickly and take up less space than a conventional table.

This idea from April 1963 is for a cap that measures powdered coffee. No more guessing what the right amount of instant coffee should be for a standard-sized mug. With this idea, your instant coffee might be even more instant and better-tasting via perfectly measured amounts. You simply replace the jar cap of your instant […]

December 1963… Fold-out legs would convert this double-duty dispatch case into a reading stand or lectern that might be useful to a salesman, club officer, or the like. To expose the legs, you’d slide out a side panel from between grooved ends, then move the panel to the upper side to use its ledge for […]

By Ben T. Sheppard Bricks with protrusions at the sides could be used as spacers. This would make it a lot easier for the amateur bricklayer to keep each course level.

May 1963… Brake spins tail-light beam. A brake light might flash a more urgent and unmistakable warning if it were housed inside this slotted, motor-drive sleeve. Applying either the foot or hand brake would cause the sleeve to spin and thus give an apparent whirling motion to the light that is bounced rearward by a […]

August 1963…Bottle bib catches drips. Looped around the neck of a bottle, this absorbent strip would stop drips on the way down and soak them up before they could stain a tablecloth or mar a tabletop.The slightly curved strip, cut from any absorbent fabric or paper, would be slotted near one end so the other […]

April 1963… A padded motorcycle backrest, curved to fit the back. To provide a flat seat for a second rider, you’d move it back and swing the curved side down. by B.D.Galligher (Headrick)

An extra set of windshield wipers on the inside of a car. Fog, mist or condensation that forms there could easily be wiped off. This would help prevent the driver’s vision from being obscured. Wipers could either be operated manually or electronically. by C A Mallory (Conneaut, Ohio)

Edible toothpicks – spears of garlic-flavored pretzel stick of peppermint candy – for holding sandwiches together of for serving hors d’oeuvres. A.R. Dunham, Pasadena, California.

A shorten-at-will handle grip on one side of power lawn mowers so that you could get close to fences and other obstacles. It could telescope,  screw-in, or fold. W.P. Twigg, Oak Lawn, Ill.

Garden edging blocks with long stakes precast on one side. Then you wouldn’t have to dig a trench to prevent them from getting kicked around the yard. – Dean Himmelreich, Milwaukee.

Rear-window air deflectors on station wagons to keep out gales, yet allow ventilation throughout the car. The angle could be controllable by a switch on the dashboard. – John King, Ashkum, Ill.

Spray poles triggered at the bottom to operate an insecticide bomb held at the top. They would put you on target for spraying caterpillar tents or wasp nests in trees or under house eaves. – S. Smith, New Augusta, Ind.

High-visibility fertilizers and weed killers so you can see where you have been and not overlap on a lawn. Why not dye the pellets a bright color? S. Johnson, Wesleyville, Pa

A hide-away air conditioner to fit basement windows screened by shrubs. Cool air from a top vent would be ducted to a floor grille in the room above. A. A. Scott, Leonia, N.J.

Screw-in drain plugs for remote outboard tanks. Sloshing a left-over pint of gasoline out of that inch hole at the top of the can is for the birds. – H. Anderson, Cassopolis, Mich.

Children’s roller skates with a clip or other fastener underneath to hold the clamp key. Loose keys, constantly lost, are just a nuisance. – Mrs. E. Ross, San Bernardino, California.

Bumpers with built-in hitches for trailer hauling. Add-on hitches are unsightly and make it hard to get a push in an emergency. F.M. Maguire, Savannah

Designed for a small sports car bucket seat or better still to fit between the two seats, saddled over the hump. – Mrs. Carol G. Donahue, West Andover, Mass.Although doesn’t look too safe to me!

Trim that hard to cut long grass with extendable fingers at the sides of power lawnmowers. Tallgrass close to the house or garden beds would be guided into the path of the blade. – Dr. L.A. Russell, Newtonville, Mass.

Chemically treated netting, dyed green. Ideal for supporting vegetable vines. At the end of the season, it could be thrown on the compost pile to aid decomposition. G. Jorgenson, Tacoma

Is your dive too dark then you need this idea for underwater spotlights on skin-diving masks? A working light like a miner’s lamp would be out of the way where it wouldn’t impede the diver. – K.H. Schroeder, Westmont, N.J.

Let your kids have a bath in a shower with a shower bathtub – a deep, poly-plastic liner with a drain to fit inside shower stalls. Fine for bathing the kids in motels. hotels or summer cottages that don’t have bathtubs. – T.B. Ellis, Trenton, N.J.

Spring-loaded nail feeders – as each nail popped into the final position, a shaft or anvil would drop on the head. Pound it down and it would set the nail too. – J. Myers, Sylvania, Ohio

Fountain stamps with porous letters and a refillable ink reservoir. Clerks who stamp hundreds of forms daily wouldn’t waste motion swatting at a pad. – H. M. Monaghan, N.Y.

Quick-frozen lunches in disposable cartons – a boon to the sandwich detail. Pop them into the schoolbags in the morning and they’d thaw by noon. – Mrs. E. Miller, Lansing, Mich.

Light-reflecting trim on the sides of cars, designed to be part of the standard trim. Luminous plastic edging the chrome might do the job. – David F. Tufaro, Hartsdale, N.Y.

Broadcasting projectors for sound movies. Put a radio transmitter in the projector and a receiver in the speaker enclosure, and you would eliminate the need for a cable. – Charles R. DeKay, Grenada, Miss.

Finger grip holes at the center of a phonograph record. This idea would mean that when loading or unloading such discs the sound-track grooves would get less handling. – E.J.Monjack, Chicago Heights

Hunting and camping knives that carry their own whetstone in a recess in the handle. With this idea, you would never be caught in the woods with a dull blade. – W.L.Adams, East Syracuse, N.Y.

Bricks that have protrusions at the sides would mean that bricks could easily be laid with perfect spacing. This would make it much easier for amateur bricklayers to keep each course level. – Ben T. Sheppard, Columbus, Ga

Movie reels in square cans for upright storage on shelves. They wouldn’t roll, and they’d be easier to remove and replace than stacked cans. – A.R. Tanner Jr., Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

A motorized seat back in station wagons so you wouldn’t have to struggle with latches and hooks every time you wanted to make extra load space. – Phil Glotzbach, Kettering, Ohio

Jam-proof drawers in built-ins and furniture. A strip of wood across the top at the rear would keep things from spilling out over the back. – Mrs. J. Shuppert, West Acton, Mass.

Bricks with one rounded face for paving walks. Smoothly curved edges ad corners wouldn’t snag a snow shovel and there would be less chipping of bricks. – Gary A. Larson, Kane, Pa.

We need some device to prevent filling station attendants from whamming it down so hard that they chip the paint. – Ellis Thompson, Candler, N.C.

Miniature TV tubes with a pilot at the base and at the socket would enable you to determine when to press them in safely. They’re devils when you can’t see their sockets – P. Legon, Malden, Mass And then came the transistor and printed circuits!

A no-platen typewriter for draftsmen that would roll on a drawing board. It would eliminate the printing of labels and instructions on drawings and blueprints – J.A. Defrees, Durhamville, N.Y. Perhaps not quite so useful in our modern-day world full of computers and Computer-Aided design software!

Gripper snaps on the back panels of television sets and on the front panels of washing machines would save on repair time and there would be no screws to lose. Not much use for modern televisions which are currently not much thicker than the back panel itself! But us there soemthing else this idea could […]

A slide-out index behind wall telephones would enable you to quickly take note of numbers you need to remember. Often there is no flat surface near such phones and no place to note frequently used numbers.Great idea for the time but not so useful now we live in a world of electronic gadgets and smart […]

Shoelace kits with yards of lacing, metal tips, and a tip applying tool. With several kids in the family, you never have the right length of lace. – R. Klingensmith, Monroeville, P.A. Although, personally, I think the modern velcro fasteners that you find on some kids shoes these days is a much better idea!

Basin shaped floor mats for cars would hold that grit from icy roads that you track into the car, and they could be lifted out and emptied easily. Makes cleaning the car at the weekend much easier! – S. Selsky, Massapequa, N.Y.

Hand warming snow blowers would put their hollow handles to work. As the tubing for the handles ends up near the engine why not pipe hot air through it? No more cold hand while clearing the driveway or side walk! – Marks Stephens, Manchester, Conn.