Some devices from the past might seriously scare you. Ever heard of a beauty calibrator? It was a device from the 1930s that claimed to measure a person's facial features and compare them to an "ideal" template. Then there's the dimple maker, a contraption from the early 20th century designed to help people achieve the perfect smile by creating dimples on their cheeks. It involved squeezing the skin with metal clamps, which sounds painful and, frankly, unnecessary. The Shoe-Fitting Fluoroscope was a popular gadget in the mid-20th century used to measure people's feet for shoes. It worked by emitting X-rays, allowing salespeople to see the bones inside the foot. And there's more of those, so stay tuned! Credit:
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Category
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FunTranscript
00:00In 1925, magazine publisher Hugo Gernsback created the Isolator, a bizarre-looking helmet
00:07for people who need to concentrate properly.
00:11Its first version was made using wood and felt.
00:14But Gernsback wasn't satisfied since it didn't block all the external sounds as
00:18well as he had hoped.
00:20Then he redesigned the device, removing the wood and adding glass so users could see through
00:26it.
00:27A problem emerged.
00:29The helmet could only be worn for about 15 minutes at a time before the user became drowsy.
00:3738 years later, Gernsback presented the Tel-i Glasses, a handy pocket-sized portable TV
00:44set.
00:45You might find them funny-looking, but to be honest, today's VR goggles are only slightly
00:51less geeky.
00:52The Tel-i Glasses weighed about 5 ounces and were built around small cathode-ray tubes
00:58that ran on low-voltage current from tiny batteries.
01:01The device had a separate screen for each eye, which meant it could display stereoscopic
01:07images, working pretty much like 3D glasses.
01:11Gernsback promised that users faced no danger of being electrocuted, but, well, people didn't
01:17take his word for granted.
01:20Meet the Beauty Micrometer, also known as the Beauty Calibrator.
01:27This 1930s technology definitely looks like a clockwork orange device, but it was actually
01:33designed to enhance people's beauty.
01:36The specialists placed this thing around a person's head, and the flexible metal strips
01:40helped calculate facial measurements with great precision.
01:44The inventor was particularly focused on two measurements, the heights of the nose and
01:49forehead should be the same, and the eyes should be separated by the width of one eye.
01:54If the Beauty Micrometer spotted an imperfection, they suggested using makeup to correct the
02:00situation.
02:01So, this device was supposed to be a big deal for actresses and actors working in the movie
02:06industry, but it was a flop, and it definitely didn't become a nationwide craze.
02:12Sheet masks are all about aesthetics nowadays, but they were way more bizarre-looking in
02:17the past.
02:19Take this ice mask created in the 40s by the legendary Max Factor Jr., who basically invented
02:25makeup for movie stars.
02:27He hoped that actresses would go to great lengths to get a mask like this to reduce
02:32facial puffiness, but that really never happened.
02:38Some people find those dimples around a smile to be the most charming and attractive thing
02:43ever.
02:44So, an inventor came up with the Dimple Maker back in 1936, which basically looks like some
02:51medieval dental equipment.
02:54The instructions were pretty simple, the user should stand in front of a mirror, smile to
02:58position the Dimple Maker correctly, and wear it two or three times a day for five minutes
03:04each time.
03:06The idea was to repeat the process until dimples appeared.
03:10But no surprises here, the thing couldn't really make dimples look better or create
03:14new ones.
03:15In fact, the medical association even stated that this device could bring you serious health
03:21issues, instead of conventional beauty.
03:24Even the most experienced men can injure themselves by shaving from time to time.
03:29So probably only the bravest would pay to use this mass shaving machine, which allowed
03:34barbers to shave a dozen men simultaneously.
03:38This device appeared in a pilot for a TV series in the 60s, but it was invented in
03:42the 19th century.
03:44Still, the commercial success was never meant to happen, as this machine would simply never
03:49adapt to different face shapes.
03:54Another dangerous invention was the shoe-fitting fluoroscope.
04:00When shopping for shoes, instead of the usual try-on routine, people would step onto this
04:05cool machine that uses x-rays to show a real-time moving image of your feet inside the shoes.
04:12It's like a high-tech way to make sure your kicks fit just right.
04:15It sounds pretty cool, but these machines were actually dangerous, since they were blasting
04:20out a crazy amount of radiation.
04:23I mean, during a quick 20-second view, you'd get a dose way above safe levels.
04:29Even though the radiation was aimed at people's feet, a bunch of it would scatter around,
04:34exposing everyone nearby.
04:36So salespeople who spent hours around these things were getting a whole year's worth
04:40of radiation in just two hours.
04:44There were reports of injuries, so this invention was finally banned in the 70s.
04:50If you've got two left feet, you can learn how to dance with YouTube videos, or call
04:54your partner to help you out by using these Siamese dancing shoes.
04:59This invention made its debut in a 1981 mail-order catalog, intending to help couples stay in
05:05sync on the dance floor.
05:07But they were more likely to have you both tripping to the ground.
05:14Let me introduce you to the autoskates, an invention dating back to the 40s.
05:21The inventor used to kickstart the motorized roller skates as if firing up a lawnmower,
05:27and they could run up to 160 miles on a single gallon.
05:31But they had a little issue with the brakes, which could, uh, not brake at all.
05:36So a co-pilot was necessary there.
05:39And by co-pilot, I mean someone brave enough to chill on a little stool behind the driver
05:44and help brake using their own feet.
05:47If someone needed to take their whole family for a spin, they could just hop on the goofy
05:51bike.
05:52The first invention unveiled in Chicago in 1939 was a bike for four people that also
05:57doubled as a mobile sewing station.
06:00When this quirky ride was parked, the sewing machine's legs kept the tall cycle from toppling
06:05over.
06:06But I wouldn't be so close to it, just in case.
06:10The autoskates and the goofy bike seem like relatively safe ways to get around compared
06:15to a barrel.
06:17In 1901, a schoolteacher named Annie Edson Taylor celebrated her 63rd birthday by taking
06:23a journey down Niagara Falls inside a 5-foot-high wooden pickle barrel.
06:29Following her daring feat, 15 copycats tried using the same device to conquer Niagara Falls,
06:36but not all of them succeeded.
06:38Nowadays, attempting such stunts is prohibited due to the significant risks involved, and
06:43the fine is approximately $10,000.
06:48Back in 1929, someone apparently thought that wood veneer sheets could be the next big thing
06:54in bathing suit materials.
06:57They were advertising a kind of DIY and recycling method, and one of the promotional videos
07:03featured a girl explaining how she crafted her outfit using leftover veneer from building
07:08a house.
07:10The funny thing is that they even claimed that, so far, none of the bathing suits had
07:15warped or cracked.
07:16But let's be real, the wood would need some serious waterproofing to pass the test of
07:20time.
07:21This invention didn't stick around for too long, probably because they didn't exactly
07:26win any awards for the most flattering design.
07:30About 10 years later, men were seen rocking periscope top hats in London.
07:35This clever invention gave short people a slight boost to peek over heads in large crowds.
07:41The images bounced from a mirror at the top of the hat down to another mirror right in
07:45front of the eyes through a hole in the brim.
07:49But while they seemed a great idea for parades and sporting events, they simply weren't practical
07:54in any other situation.
07:59Whether you're feeling lazy or tired, there's really no excuse to skip your piano practice.
08:05All thanks to this 1935 invention, the foldable piano.
08:09The instrument sits at the foot of the bed, and the keyboard can be pulled out like a
08:13drawer, bent over on hinges until it's at the right angle for the player's hands.
08:19Is it safe though?
08:20All it takes is the piano not being totally secure, and BAM!
08:24A disaster is about to happen.
08:27Let's say the well-being of kids wasn't exactly a top concern for the minds behind the mercury
08:33maze.
08:34This 1978 invention was a handheld game, where kids were supposed to rotate it and tilt the
08:40puzzle to guide a silver blob of mercury along a path to the center of the maze.
08:45Yes, we're referring to the toxic and health-hazardous mercury in a kid's toy.
08:51What could possibly go wrong?
09:01That's it for today.
09:02If you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your friends.
09:07Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the Bright Side!