Transparent plastic gas tanks on lawnmowers, so you could check fuel levels instead of waiting until the mower stops to know that the tank is empty.
By Jeffrey Konig, Grafton, Wis.
March 1959
Creative Ideas From The Past
Venetian blinds of flexible plastic. Youngsters (or the family pup) couldn’t bend them out of shape when they poke them aside to look out of windows.
By Glenn Corbett, Kansas City, Mo.
March 1959
You can purchase Venetian blinds from Amazon…
Curbside trash receivers like the mailboxes that can be reached from inside a car. On highways, they could be at the edge of the shoulder.
By John Bryant, Cumberland, Md.
March 1959
A screwdriver with spider gears in the handle would enable you to cut the turn ratio in half and give you a lot more power for those difficult to budge, heavy screws.
By Charles E. Tuma, Lombard, Ill.
June 1962
These days you would probably be best just purchasing a cordless, electric screwdriver such as the following from Amazon…
A sliding roof panel on station wagons would enable you to transport tall cargo. The cost of the change shouldn’t be too great if the tailgate is fitted with crank down windows.
By R.A.Couture, Somersworth, N.H.
June 1962
A lift-up handle on the front of power mowers would make them safer and easier to lift into a car trunk or to carry to your shed or down into your basement.
By Allen Kast, Tell City, Ind.
June 1962
This is an idea for an aluminum foil covered dog feeding dish. The dish would be weighted at the bottom and would have a collar at the top to secure the foil in place. This would remove the need for cleaning the dish – you would instead just throw away the foil liner.
By E.Bloomingdale, Lindenhurst, New York.
June 1962
You can purchase yourself some dog feeding dishes from Amazon…
This idea for a canoe outrigger made out of foam with flexible fiberglass boom support would stabilize a canoe and be light in weight for easy transporting to the edge of the water.
By Peter Mundy, Libertyville, Illinois.
June 1962
Get yourself a portable, blow-up, kayak from Amazon, although at the time of publishing the US version appears to be a much better deal than the UK one!..
Bottles of oxygen you could team up with a propane torch for metal cutting or for welding jobs. Both hobbyists and homeowners would benefit.
By Joseph E. Blaze, Alliance, Ohio.
June 1961
Squared-off motor-oil cans so you could salvage them for your shop or garage. With one side cutaway, they would make fine drawers for small parts.
By N.D.Stowell, Wichita, Kan.
June 1961