The technology gap between 1950 and today hides remarkable forgotten innovations. Sixteen bizarre gadgets from this era solved problems we no longer face or addressed them in ways that make us cringe. Inventors created everything from neck brush collars for children to buoyant suits that kept swimmers upright without effort. These strange solutions reflect a time when technological boundaries were pushed with little regulation or safety testing and reveal important lessons about innovation and cultural values.
16. Illuminated Car Tires
Glowing from within, these automotive oddities combined translucent rubber with interior lights to create cars that literally lit up the road. While they actually improved night visibility, they were mostly about making your ride look insanely cool. The technology never caught on commercially, partly due to reduced durability compared to standard tires and high production costs. Goodyear showcased these at auto shows, where they generated significant buzz, but regulatory challenges and practical concerns kept them from mass production. For more interesting car innovations, check out these crazy concept cars from the 80s.
15. Bald Man’s Brush
What do you get the man who’s lost his hair? This bizarre grooming tool featured a dual-sided design—bristles on one side for remaining side hair, while a felt pad on the other supposedly gave scalps a “therapeutic” massage. Its ergonomic handle allowed for precise strokes across the dome. The brush represents how the 50s approached male grooming with a unique marketing angle, though it faced limited market appeal due to its niche target audience and potential stigma associated with baldness in that era. Few survive today, occasionally appearing in vintage grooming collections.
14. Suntan Lotion Vending Machine
Beach innovation came in metal boxes during the 50s. For just a dime, beachgoers could get a 30-second spray of suntan lotion from these weather-resistant machines that lined boardwalks and pools. Their coin-operated mechanisms delivered quick bursts of protection without the hassle of carrying bottles. They captured the carefree beach culture exploding in post-war America, aligning with growing awareness of sun safety. Popular at resorts in the 50s and early 60s, they eventually disappeared as personal sunscreen bottles became more convenient.
13. Snail Chariot
The Snail Chariot turned backyard pests into racing champions when kids decorated shells with paint and glitter and attached tiny “chariots” made from various materials, creating living toys that moved at a literal snail’s pace. This nature-based activity encouraged interaction with the outdoors and appeared in children’s magazines and nature activity books. More DIY project than commercial product, snail chariots had obvious limitations—potential harm to snails if handled carelessly, limited mobility, and seasonal dependency on snail availability.
12. Flying Bedstead
“How do we make planes take off vertically?” asked Rolls-Royce engineers, who answered with this bizarre contraption that used two Rolls-Royce Nene jet engines to hover like a floating platform without wings or rotors. The Flying Bedstead wasn’t meant for commercial use but served as a crucial experimental aircraft that pioneered jet-lift technology. Despite looking like something from a low-budget sci-fi film, it laid groundwork for the development of the Harrier Jump Jet. Original prototypes now sit in aviation museums for their historical significance.
11. Smog Masks
When deadly pollution choked London during the Great Smog of 1952, smog masks evolved from bizarre curiosity to life-saving necessity, with designs ranging from simple cloth barriers to advanced models with activated charcoal filters. The visible sign of industrial pollution’s impact sparked public debate about public health and led to environmental legislation like the Clean Air Act of 1956 in the UK. These early masks influenced the development of modern air pollution protection, though they had limited effectiveness against the smallest particulate matter.
10. Buoyant Suit
Water safety met questionable design in these strange swimsuits with built-in flotation chambers that kept wearers perfectly upright without effort. Made from waterproof rubberized fabric, they promised to keep people balanced and afloat without swimming skills. The suits never caught on commercially, likely due to their bulky design that restricted movement, potential safety risks if they malfunctioned, and difficulty putting them on when wet. Caught between a life jacket and a wetsuit, the buoyant suit solved a problem that regular swimming lessons addressed more effectively, but the concept influenced later developments in personal flotation devices.
9. Flying Bicycle
The dream of personal flight became bizarrely accessible when inventors attached wings and a small motor (typically less than 5 horsepower) to regular bicycle frames, creating hybrid vehicles that promised affordable aviation for the masses. These hybrids retained pedals for ground locomotion but aimed for the skies. Unsurprisingly, they faced major limitations—insufficient power-to-weight ratio, lack of stability in air, and minimal protection for riders. Sadly, the physics of flight defeated even the most enthusiastic inventors, turning what could have been revolutionary transportation into museum curiosities.
8. Automatic Tip Requester
Restaurant owners tried mechanical guilt trips with this bizarre device featuring an artificial hand that extended from a cash box toward patrons—essentially a creepy robot demanding tips. The mechanical arm was often decorated to attract attention, but it was generally viewed as a novelty rather than a practical solution. The automatic tip requester couldn’t adapt to different social situations, and mechanical failures made it impractical. Few units were ever produced, mainly for novelty establishments, making surviving examples quirky collectibles for those with unusual tastes.
7. Ringer Washing Machines
Laundry day meant potential danger when these machines required feeding wet clothes through hand-cranked or electric-powered rollers to squeeze out water. They featured separate washing tubs and wringer mechanisms with adjustable pressure rollers. While reducing labor compared to hand washing, they required manual transfer of clothes between cycles and posed safety risks—fingers or clothing could get caught in the wringer. Widely used in 1950s households, especially in rural areas, they bridged the gap between washboards and fully automatic machines.
6. Radio Hat
Fashion met function awkwardly in this pith helmet with a built-in transistor radio that let you listen to broadcasts while keeping your hands free. With battery power, simple tuning mechanism, and a single earpiece, the radio hat utilized emerging technology and foreshadowed later developments in portable audio. Despite initial buzz as a futuristic gadget, it had limited mainstream adoption due to practical issues—poor audio quality, bulky design, and short battery life. Today, these odd headpieces fetch high prices as sought-after collector’s items for vintage tech enthusiasts.
5. Mimeograph Machine
Before photocopiers, the humble Mimeograph machine democratized publishing by letting anyone with ideas produce hundreds of copies. Using a stencil-based duplication process, both hand-cranked and electric models could mass-produce copies with distinctive purple ink and slightly blurry text. Mimeographs became crucial tools for schools, churches, small businesses, and underground publications until the photocopier arrived. Though messy and limited to monochrome printing, they dominated small-scale printing through the 1950s and 1960s and played a vital role in grassroots movements.
4. Reel-to-Reel Tape Recorder
Music lovers rejoiced with the arrival of the Reel-to-Reel Tape Recorders. With recording speeds typically at 3¾, 7½, or 15 inches per second, they transformed music production, journalism, and home recording with superior quality. Enthusiastically adopted by audiophiles and professionals, they became standard equipment for radio broadcasting and recording studios. Despite bulky size, complex operation requiring manual threading, and higher cost compared to later cassette systems, high-end vintage models still attract audio enthusiasts for their warm sound quality. Today’s audiophiles, however, may prefer the convenience of modern wireless options, such as these best Bluetooth speakers for superior sound on the go.
3. Automatic Cigarette Dispenser
Want a cigarette at 3 AM? These coin-operated machines with illuminated displays made smoking accessible around the clock, representing peak convenience before health concerns and age restrictions changed tobacco culture forever. Widely deployed in bars, restaurants, and public spaces, they provided constant access to cigarettes and reduced labor costs for retailers before health concerns became prominent. Their easily accessible nature raised ethical concerns about minors purchasing cigarettes without age verification. After peak popularity in the 1950s and 1960s, they declined due to smoking regulations, with vintage machines now repurposed for non-tobacco products by collectors.
2. Kerosene Heaters
Winter warmth presented serious risk thanks to these portable heaters that brought heat to homes without central heating. Using a wick-based combustion system to produce between 10,000 to 25,000 BTU of heat, they were popular in rural areas and as backup heating in urban homes. They provided efficient heating without electricity at relatively low operating costs, but they were serious fire hazards if not maintained properly, produced harmful fumes requiring ventilation, and needed regular maintenance. Sales remained steady throughout the 1950s, especially in colder regions, before declining with the spread of safer central heating.
1. Neck Brush Collar
Parental obsession with cleanliness reached bizarre heights with this plastic collar featuring inward-facing bristles supposedly cleaning a child’s neck during play. Made of lightweight, washable materials with an adjustable fit for different neck sizes, it aimed to automate hygiene for children. Most kids hated wearing what amounted to a torture device, and parents quickly realized it caused more problems than it solved. It quickly fell out of favor due to discomfort, limited effectiveness in actual cleaning, and skin irritation from constant bristle contact. No wonder most ended up in the trash rather than becoming cherished family heirlooms.
