INVENTIONS OF THE YEAR

Manawatu Times, Volume 61, Issue 298, 17 December 1936, Page 31

INVENTIONS OF THE YEAR

“What next?” is the apt slogan adopted by tho Institute of Patentees for its twelfth International Exhibition of Inventions, London. Here was to be seen the fruits of a year’s labour by inventors all over the world; and, as with so many inventions, the wonder may well be that no one thought of them before.

Between six and seven hundred inventions by members of the institute were on view, among them some that may make fortunes for their authors. The most distinct trend, says tho “Observer,” is among inventions appertaining to motoring, such as new forms of gearing and propulsion, traffic signals, anti-dazzle devices, and so on.

But many strike a more homely or personal note. There is tho automatic shockproof fusebox, in which a new fuse may be adjusted and the old one ejected merely by pressing a button. Teapots may be stirred without removing the lids, and the forgetful may have a milk saucepan that cannot boil over. Another ingenious device is a delivery bin which, when once a milk bottle, for

Gadgets for Car and Home

instance, has been inserted, cannot be released until the door i-s opened. There are locks with flexible fibre keys; a scale of indicating the weight of loads on vehicles; and two Brighton ladies have found a means of securing stoppers on bottles and petrol-tank caps with a key. Among games there is a dart’s target that electrically registers the score, and the despairing golfer may well find a boon in a club weighted in such a way that he must swing

correctly. These are only a few of many wondors to be seen to be believed. The aim of the exhibition, says the General Secretary of the Institute of Patentees, is to stimulate inventions throughout Ihe country, and also to interest manufacturers in them. Every year the exhibition leads to a number of inventions being placed, and some of them have created new industries. It is noteworthy that about 40,000 patents are applied for each year, though with many members of the Institute inventing things is simply a hobby. Their view is that there is nothing that cannot bo invented.