Every June, we announce PopSci’s chosen Inventions of the Year, our favorites among the brainchildren of garage tinkerers. Who knew that you could make a fish-friendly tidal turbine or a hearing aid that uses bones to conduct sound?
At PopSci, we’re eager to recognize the potential in these inventions, but only time will tell which ones will become ubiquitous and which ones will be forgotten. For every television, radio, and Post-It Note, there’ve been half a dozen whosits and whatsits that faded into obscurity.
Of course, thanks to our 138-year online archive, no invention that ever graced our magazine’s pages has ever really been forgotten. For every sports car and newfangled smartphone we’ve covered, there’s been a dog-powered car, a self-administering gas dispenser, and a 10-foot submarine. Hell, many of them could use a comeback, if only for novelty’s sake.
Click through our latest archive gallery to see our favorite quirky inventions from the past 138 years.
