The Washington herald., 1912-07-21
UNCLE SANS PATENT OFFICE
SEES MANY QUEER INVENTIONS
Bubble Hats Artificial Eye Lashes Cocktails for Restoring HAIR
and "Wrecking Balloons" Among Some Of Novelties

when inserted into fabric in order tc
take hold. All that Is necessary IL to
push 1t in.
Patents Hair Tonic.
A remarkable hair tonic has been Pct
ented recently by q Chicago man. Fried
ich w. e. Muller. It consists. accord
Ing to his prescription, Of water. ten
per cent; ripe black currants, twenty
five per cent; granulated suger. five per
cent: whisky (best corn). forty per cent.
and port wine. twenty per cent. The
currants are put into the whisky and
allowed to soak four weeks, after which
they are strained out and thrown away
The whisky Is then thoroughly mixed
with the water and other Ingredients.
Users are directed to rub the prepara-
tion on the scalp several times a day
with the tips Of the fingers. 1t may or
may not accomplish as much as is
claimed for 1t in the way Of encourag-
ing q growth of hair. but II possesses
one undeniable advantage In the fact
that 1t will serve In an emergency as
most excellent and palatabie cocktail
On the other hand, Thomas H. Bart
lett. or Los Angeles. prefers to employ
pork and beans for the same purpose.
His hair renewer'' is made by first boil
ing and then baking three cups Of COM
mon white beans with three pounds of
salt pork. From, this" he says, II
obtain twenty-four teaspoonfuls of
grease. I then fry out sufficient mutton
suet to get about three teaspoonfuls of
tallow. which is added. I then add five
grams Of gum camphor and one tea
spoonful Of olive OIL" The mixture.
when nearly cold. is scented with fif-
teen drops of lavender oil or rose OIL
and. after being well shaken, Is ready
for use. Not only does II make the
hair grow. but 1t restores the natural
color.
~Pneumatic Hair Collector"
A pneumatic hair collector is the in
vention of James w. Deckert. of Oak
Vile. Canada. 1t is intended to do
away with the suffering which every
ber's. has had his cut hair get down
the back Of his neck. This is especially
annoying in hot weather. Also he finds
more or less of II scattered over his
clothes. But the contrivance above
mentioned does away with the trouble
by catching the hair in a sort Of trough
shaped rubber collar that is adjusted
about the customers throat. a current
of air thereupon whisking 1t away
through a tube connected with the de-
vice. One advantage of the latter. as
claimed by Mr.. Deckert, Is that 'it will
enable the barber to dispense with the
usual boy to sweep the hair up"
An Ohio man is the originator OF the
rubber warship. He thinks that our
fighting vessels would be much more ef-
fcient IL they were built Of rubber in
stead of steel. Just imagine. The new
battleship Caoutchouc comes upon an
enemy in midccean. The latter at once
opens fire at short range. The first shot
misses: the second strikes the Caout-
chouc squsrely amidships. and. bounding
back. carries away the bastard foes
smokestack, the cooks galley. and all
the captains official bric-a-brac. A third
shot hits a glancing blow. and, flying
into the air to a great height. falls down
the enemy's after hatchway and straight
through the copper-sheathed bilge cellar.
II he survives these setbacks-or bound
backs-he may foolishly attempt to ram
our rubber pride of the seas, and Is
thereupon flung back with such force as
to land wrong side up-one OF the most
embarrassing OF marine situations. Thus
the Csoutchouc wins the fight without
even firing shot.
Would Preserve Dead.
Joseph Karwowski. OF Herkimer, y
Y, has hit upon a most attractive idea
for preserving the dead-the defunct per-
son being hermetically sealed in a block
of transparent glass, and kept forever
in a Hfelike condition. This is accom-
plished by first applying to the subject
a thick coat OF silicate of soda (water-
glass;: then exposing to dry heat for
short time. to harden this envelope, and
finally inciosing the body in a mass of
molten glass-the latter nodded in the
form Of a cylinder of rectangular block
as preferred. II desired lthe inventor
suggests, the head alone may be pre-
served in this way.
An elastic glass. by the way, is one
Of the inventions yet to Ie made that
promise fortunes to the lucky persons
who may hit upon them. Another Is a
oyster shucker-the present
primitive method of opening oysters being
surely susceptible Of Improvement. A
wall papering machine is badly wanted, !
and likewise a scrubbing machine. Some
day a means of producing rubber arti- |
ficially will be discovered. and will be an
enormous boon to mankind. Meanwhile !
i would be OF utmost advantage IL some.
body could work out the problem Of
a fire-proot paper Of asbestos. |
for deeds and other valuable documents, |
with a surface capable Of taking ink |
from the pen without blurring.
Have Travelling Churches.
One after another. these and other as
inventions will be made. |
A cheap substitute for carpet, durable |
md pleasing to the eye, was in the list |
until recently, when il was supplied by |
the grass rug-a floor covering made |
rom the common salt-marsh grass which |
hitherto has gone to waste. Whatever |
civilization needs Is bound to be fur
lished by inventive ingenuity. Even |
churches (the idea Of Albert |
8ierstadt, an eminent painter) have ar
lived to meet the requirements OF peri |
,atetic pastors. When making a journey !
hey look like ordinary railroad cars, |
,ut, on arriving at a stopping place, the |
'ide walls are swung out. and the whole |
lffair unfolds. The cars travel In pairs, !
zach one being half a church. 1t takes |
,nly thirty minutes to put the sacred |
.difice together. and to place on top of |
{ the collapsible steeple, which telescopes |
when out of use. Even the settees for |
he congregation fold up. /
Another Interesting idea in the trans
line is the trolley hearse and |
nourners' carriage CONFERENCE.-The inven-
ton of Robert A. McCauley. Of Balti-
more. 1t Is designed to achieve economy
n funerals, and is adarted for use in
any city or town where there is a troll
ey road running out to the cemetery.
The vehicle is occupied by the relatives
and friends of the late lamented, and
he comm is placed on top.
Would Mark Ocean Lanes.
Reuben II. Plass. of Brooklyn. pro-
poses to mark the trans Atlantic lanes"
.raversed by steamships with a series
~ sv,,an 400 ting Hobfho,Sex apchorad