The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1883-11-28
Curious Inventions

Fashions do not change so easily as
most people suppose. The fashion for
| tombstones, for instance, has been much
the same for many years, yet It appears
| from models in the patent office that
various attempts have been made by
enterprising gentlemen to change the
form and style of these gruesome re-
minders of mortality. Monuments are
still made of marble and granite, al
though an inventor patented a hollow
glass column, filed with white powder.
Another man devised a glass pyramid
to he placed on a stone pedestal, the
pyramid to be filed with artificial flow
ers. Several people have made plans
for preserving the picture of the occu-
pant of the grave in conspicuous place
| upon the tombstone. In 1851 the lead
ing style of picture was a daguerreotype.
| There is one of them fastened to the
model of a tombstone whsch was pat.
ented that year. 1t is probable the
counterfeit preseptment" of the gen.
| tleman who patented the continuance.
| 1t has ghostly look. There are q large
number of models for tombs and mon
| uments in one great stone grave, to be
placed above ground. On these mod
els, as well as upon those of the many
contrivances for grave guards, it ap-
pears to have been the custom to en-
grave names as they would appear upon
the genuine article. The taste of the
inventor appears in the names chosen.
One tomb bears the name OF John
Smith," and hurts noboGy's sensitive
feelings, but upon others tne irreverent
inventors have put George Washing
tom and Abraham Lincoln" The
queerest model in the collection is
labeled: Improvement in grave
! mounds" 1t was patented in 1868, and
appears to be a pyramid of little
; tie yellow cones. There is nothing to
show what the little cones are to be
made of, OF why they sre IN improve
ment upon ordinary earth aad turf.
A strong effort has also been made to
change the fashion of opening oysters.
There are numerous models Of machines
for that purpose. One of them appears
10 have wise to hold the oyster while a
powerful battering ram coines up from
behind and hits him unawares. It is
understood that after the battering ram
hits him once the oyster will give up
and let go of himself. Several of the
models are called machines for " shuck-
ing" oysters One of them seems to be
nothing but big iron hook. In spite
colored man still stands behind the
:: counter with knife, prizes the shell
open, cuts his own finger with the knife,
and hedews the oyster with human
blood as he passes him out to be swal-
lowed
Their, are several ingenious devices
for scaling fish. One of them is shaped
like box car, has twenty wheels. and
a dozen leather belts. One of the leath-
er belts HIS row of sharp tacks along
it. There is place for the fish to be
put in whole, and another place for it
to come out dressed. The machine ap-
pears to be intended to run by steam
power.
Housewives have received their fair
share of attention from Inventive genius.
There are mere models of washing-ma-
chimes than ef any other one thing.
Much mind labor has been bestowed
upon potato-mashers and egg-beaters.
Some of the results are surprising.
There is a model of an egg beater which
is exactly like an old-fashioned -four
poster" bedstesd. Instead of cords or
springs there is q combination of wheels
and bands, by which several egg-beaters
are whirled around with great rapidity
underneath. The eggs are deposited in
of animal-traps, hsect-traps, fiy-traps,
rat-traps and mouse-traps have been
invented tU make life more pleasant for
the housewife, and to relieve her of her
tormentors. Some of them appear to
be so constructed that the rat, mouse,
fly or insect must have a previous course
of training to enable it to get into the
trap. One rat-trap has loaded pistol
just outside of it, which is intended to
shoot the wretch while he is trying to
get in. 1t was patented in 1859. Sew
eral of the traps consist of inoffensive-
looking cylinders, out of which sprung
harpoons, barbed hooks, spears and
other deadly implements to pierce the
animal when he accommodatingly
touches the trigger. There is one fly
trap, of the size and general appearance
of corn-sheller. 1t is probably in
tended to be run by horsepower. The
farmer is remembered by small spears
concealed in the hills of freshly-planted
corn When the crow comes the spring.
ing spear flies upward and impales
him.
There are no shapes into which wire
can be twisted which are not to be seen
in the models for spring BEDS The first
one was patented forty-one years ago.
1t consists simply of thin and narrow
strips of metal running lengthwise and
crosswise of the bed, and riveted at the
intersections. For few years there
after the rage seemed TO be for canvas
substructures for bedsteads, then came
the wire and the wood strips. Some
bed frames were composed largely of
rubber, and these must have been de-
lightfully elastic. Humanity went
through long course of experiments,
however, before it found the easiest
way to rest its weary bones, and the
Sybarite who bitterly complained be-
cause one of the rose leaves which COM
posed his bed had become crumpled,
would have found some of the contriv-
ances invented for his comfort quite
unbearable. The Oldest model for a
bedstead is dated June IL, 1929. Only
one post and one side bar appear in the
model, and the invention must have
been either of new way of putting
them together, or of a reversible post
which would stand upon either end
with equal ease.-Ndtional Republican.