The December, 1949 cover of Science and Mechanics featured this illustration of "Man Made Sea Legs for Ships."
See also:
Commuter Helicopter (1947)
Personal Helicopter (1943)
'Flying Saucer' Buses (1950)
Will War Drive Civilization Underground? (1942)
I'm more interested in the "25 uses for your electric drill." How many different ways can you say "Drill a hole in stuff!"
ReplyDeleteUnless the ship's center of rotation is in the same line as the fulcrum of the helipad, it won't work -- a computer might be able to keep the helipad "level", but in the meantime it would be swinging about port and starboard, and bobbing up and down with the ship's bow.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if they had variable speed drills in 1949, but if they did, you could use them for all sorts of things: driving screws, mixing paint, sanding, grinding, removing rust, running a hole saw, etc.
ReplyDeleteI guess that you could use a drill press as a substitute for a mill or a router (which cut from the side rather than axially), but you probably shouldn't.
Ashley: are you a subscriber to Variable Speed Drill Monthly?
ReplyDeleteYou can also replace the bit with, say, a whisk, and use your drill as a mixer/beater for batter, frosting, etc.
ReplyDelete73man: I'm not gay for drills, but I do think it's interesting that before the 1980s or so, magazines offered a lot of advice on how to do things around the home, or just little memes that improved life. Things like how to remove a stain, keep your garage organized, de-stink a pet, or whatever. Nowadays, the media is much more likely to sell you a product to do the same job. Today, small-run, hobbyist-published magazines still pass on learned wisdom, but that's declined in mainstream magazines.
ReplyDeleteActually the device depicted on the cover has become reality (not on that scale, just for people to make safe transfer at open sea). Check http://www.ampelmann.nl/
ReplyDeletebtw great blog!