Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 88.djvu/942

 Little Inventions to Make Life Easy

Why Weren't They Thought of Before?

��Small Electric Heater

THE electric heater shown in the illustration is very serviceable for quickly heating small quantities of water or other liquid in a suit- able vessel. The large heating surface insures very quick action. An easily detached connector adds to the convenience.

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��Packing the Things You Never Can Cram into Your Suitcase

'HE attach- ment fits the side of a suitcase and is meant to increase the capacity of the interior. The central rectangle is made of stiff material, while the side-pieces fold in on it, completely covering what- ever is placed inside. The neat, flat bundle thus made may then be fastened to the side of the suitcase with tie straps provided for the purpose.

The Fruit Picker's Sleeve -Chute

ATTACHED to the wrist of the operator is a sleeve. Fruit grasped by the hand slides down the cloth tube and into the bag. The fruit-picker's other hand is thus left free to grasp a ladder, tree-branch, or other support. Much time is thus saved over the older method of holding a pail or basket with one hand and dropping picked fruit into it with the other.

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��Safety-First for Window -Cleaners SMALL

���platform is clamped to a window-ledge to serve as an exten- sion to the outer sill. This gives a wider foothold outside the window and ma- terially increases the safety with which window-washing operations may be undertaken on high buildings. A railing around the top of the platform lessens the danger of a chance miss-step.

A Mitten -Duster

AM I T T E N- duster which can be slipped on the hand enables the housewife to dust furniture as with the ordinary dust cloth and at the same time keep her hand perfectly L, clean. The mitten consists of a hand- shaped piece of soft felt; a bunch of cotton yarn is attached to the lower edge and serves to gather the dust.

Muffler for Bowling-Pins

THE noise made by falling bowling pins is a nuisance, especially when the alleys are in the vicinity of a hotel or other place where quiet is desirable. This difficulty is overcome in large part by cutting a groove in the belly of the pin and in the top, and then putting in place a rubber band to deaden the sound made by the falling pins. This acts effectively as a muffler and reduces insomnia in nearby places to a minimum.

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