16 Old-Time Inventions We Were Never Going To Use

Since before we began to record our history, we as humans have always had inventive spirits. No matter how comfortable our lives may seem, we know there’s always an easier way to do things. Although most of us are dogged by the question of how to find that easier way, some of the bright few among us catch a wave of inspiration and change our lives forever.

Yet what we often forget is that there are just as many folks who think they have something but learn that the public feels differently when they unveil their creation. Nowadays, these big yet failed ideas are often relegated to unsuccessful Kickstarter campaigns, but people have missed the mark of innovation for a lot longer than that.

We’ll never know how wild some of them got, but these 16 photos will give us a hint of what these bright-eyed inventors tried to impress our grandparents with.

COMMENT and let us know if you’ve come across any inventions that don’t make sense to you at all.

1. This protective safety net was supposed to scoop up pedestrians when a car hit them.

It may have worked back in 1927 when cars were slower, but even then it seems like you would’ve had to land just the right way.

2. This was an automatic tip requester intended for hotel bellhops.

Apparently, the bellhop could flip up that “no sale” sign if the tip seemed too low. I can imagine that starting a lot of arguments.

3. This device was apparently supposed to help teach a child to walk. 

As far as I can tell, it just looks like a good way to make people fall over.

4. That’s more smoke than anyone could want at once.

This could only be invented back when tobacco companies were allowed to claim more doctors smoked their cigarettes than any other brand.

But that’s not the only smoking invention it would be hard to convince people to use today. And this next one’s a little more awkward.