Awesome Inventions

Hand Tool Rescue previously created a unique tabletop vice with jaws that used a fractal design to grip irregular objects. He came across a 1913 patent for a fractal device – a chair that uses rotating sections to adapt to the shape of someone sitting on it. He collaborated with Josh Fick to create the metal parts with a fiber laser.

We’re most creative as children because our imaginations have yet to be restricted by things like cost, practicality, and safety. Allen Pan asked his audience to relay some of their craziest childhood inventions and made his best effort to make them real. He started with shoes for climbing on ceilings; then, things get really dangerous.

There’s a good reason that wheels are round: friction. But basic physics are never going to stand in the way of mad builder The Q. His latest creation is a standard bike frame with one major modification – it rolls on custom-made square wheels. It rides pretty smoothly, but it also doesn’t work how we assumed it would.

Most DoorDash and GrubHub deliveries are made using gas-guzzling cars sitting in traffic. Zipline hopes to change that with drones that hover 400 feet up, then lower a small delivery unit to quietly and safely drop off small packages. Mark Rober explains the tech and how Zipline has been saving lives with their existing drones.

They say necessity is the mother of invention. And apparently, war creates a lot of necessities. So it’s no wonder so many things get invented for the military. Mental Floss digs into nine popular items that you probably didn’t know started with a military purpose from Silly Putty to Slinkies to powdered cheese.

A little candlelight can really enhance the mood. But an unattended candle will burn all the way to the bottom. Rescue & Restore shows us a clever 19th-century invention that could be placed atop a burning candle and that automatically cut off its oxygen supply after it had burned for a set amount of time.

It hasn’t been that long since people used landline telephones, tape players, and VCRs on an everyday basis. But like so many other devices, they’ve been replaced by smartphones or other technology. Rhetty for History looks at these and other inventions which were popular in the 20th century and are now obsolete.

Handy Geng is showing off another unnecessarily complicated invention. His latest build is a multifunctional fishing rod with an ice-breaking shovel on one end, a smartphone-controlled motorized reel, accent lighting, and the ability to detect when a fish is on the hook. It also works as a pot stand for cooking your fresh catch.

Now that we’ve got your attention, we’re here to reveal that the hydraulic exosuit that Handy Geng created is not for self-pleasure but for tenderizing beef. It’s still a ridiculous idea, and just the kind of thing we’d expect from the man who gave us the corn on the cob machine. It can also provide massages and chop veggies.

Farming is a tricky business. When growing a crop like rice, it’s not easy to access the plants to apply nutrients or pesticides. This clever farmer uses a set of large balloons to suspend spray pipes over the plants, minimizing damage and keeping vehicles from getting stuck in the marsh.

Back in the day, some cars had a vent placed under the dashboard to blow cool air towards your crotch. For some reason, modern cars don’t offer this feature, so Unnecessary Inventions got to work building an add-on designed specifically for cooling your privates while driving. We’re also jealous that he has a Bronco.

Despite the name of his channel, Matty Benedetto’s Unnecessary Inventions occasionally does create something we could use. His Burrito Bumper is one such item. Pre-load its base with a tortilla, place its funnel beneath your chin, and any time you spill burrito ingredients, they end up inside the taco. Second course served!

Frustrated by a failed project, I did a thing decided to turn to his viewers for some suggestions. Among the stupid and dangerous ideas he tested was a treadmill with a sandpaper belt, a self-heating hot dog, an idiotic way to cut grass, and a food-processor helmet.

Designers, inventors, and engineers frequently patent their ideas so they can’t be freely copied. Author Thomas Rinaldi’s fascinating coffee table book catalogs 1000 original patent drawings from iconic and ubiquitous objects such as furniture, lamps, appliances, and electronics.

Joseph’s Machines is known for over-engineering solutions to simple problems. In this video, he comes up with fixes for some common household cleaning challenges. His inventions include a drill-powered paper towel dispenser, an RC-car floor cleaner, and a clever way to put his dog to work.

Tired of flossing your teeth one at a time? Well, Unnecessary Inventions has the solution, a gadget which can floss all of your teeth at once. While it was designed as a joke, we could totally see someone selling such a device. Though we imagine reloading the floss would take way more time than just flossing normally.