Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 88.djvu/622

 Why Weren't They Thought of

Before?

Little Inventions to Make Life Easy

���A

��Light Your Umbrella if You Are Afraid to Go Home in the Dark

N umbrella, made with an electric bat- tery within its hollow handle, has lights affixed at each end of the stick and at the ends of the ribs. Push buttons in the handle make and break the circuit. The inventor has the idea that his um- brella will be of value in theaters and in dark streets and alleys.

Signaling to the Driver Behind You

���B^:

��pressmg an electric but- ton on the steer- ing wheel of an automobile, a red light is made to appear in a small box fastened on the rear mud- guard, and a small semaphore arm is raised to indicate danger. When the button is pressed a second time, the semaphore drops and the red light changes to green.

Pen Rack Removes Ink from Nib

���A

��PEN RACK

to be fast- ened against the wall, has a prong- ed hook which holds the pen- holder in a verti- cal position, with the penpoint down. When the penholder is hung up and allowed to swing back it is suddenly arrested by a ledge and the ink is spattered against the blotting paper.

��A Freight Hook of Many Uses

SEVERAL im- provements are made over the familiar hook commonly used by teamsters and freight handlers. At the lower part of the hook, the shank becomes separated and is curved upward to form a claw, very useful for pulling nails. The fulcrum of the claw is shaped like a hammer head, and may be used for driving nails. Hinged to and counter- sunk in the shank is a blade which serv^es for cutting and as a keeper for the hook.

Do Not Wring Your Mop by Hand GEAR, actu-

���A

���ated by a handle, turns a hook to which is attached one end of a mop. At the same time, the pressure frame is moved upwards by a set of gears, also actuated by the movement of the handle. Thus, when the handle is ■moved, the mop cloth is tightly stretched by the shifting of the presser frame, and the small loop is turned until the mop is wrung out.

A Fountain Tooth Brush

THIS tooth- brush is equipped with a hollow head and passages leading from this cavity within the brush to the bristles. Near the handle is attached a tube which conveys a medicated solution from a tank suspended above directly to the interior of the brush.

���594

�� �