This month Springbok Casino looks at ten inventions that just didn’t catch on with the public and are long forgotten. They may very well have changed our world, but somehow, they just didn’t work.
“Some of these inventions did not have a place in our time,” laughed Springbok’s manager, Daniel van Wyke, “Some of them are just plain strange. But that’s what makes them interesting!”
Goodyear created a synthetic rubber called Neothane in the 1950s. It was semi-translucent and could be dyed in a range of colors. Tires made of this substance glowed as they were brightly lit by lights in the wheel rims. The synthetic glowing rubber didn’t make very good tires and Goodyear eventually scrapped the idea.
In 1939, Hugo Gernsback invented “teleyeglasses” — a small TV for each eye. It was actually quite cool looking, an idea similar to our present-day virtual reality headsets. But surprise surprise, people weren’t happy about having little TVs on their faces.
The Cigarette Umbrella — a cigarette holder with a small umbrella over it, was one of the wackiest inventions. The silly thought behind it was that the smoker could be soaked in the rain but the cigarette stayed lit and dry. Not surprisingly, this one never had legs.
Other doomed inventions on Springbok’s list are the Highway WiFi (an under-dash record player in 1956 Chrysler automobiles), the Cyclomer (an amphibious bicycle) and Spray On Hair for bald men.
All Ten Inventions That Never Took Off are found at https://www.springbokcasino.co.za/inventions-that-never-took-off.
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Springbok Casino has hundreds of slots and table games from Realtime Gaming. Games are played in Rands and customer service is available in either English or Afrikaans
