10 Wacky Victorian Inventions

In Victorian times, Great Britain was the melting pot of whimsical inventors. Several of those British innovations have since been overtaken by the times. Here is a look at the wacky contraptions made in England in those days.

Multi-purpose Cane

This was an invention that courted gentlemen with the promise of the best cane possible. The cane incredibly converted into an umbrella, a smoking pipe, a butterfly catcher, a flute and a yardstick.

Writing Stabiliser

This writing tool does not sound as wacky as it looks. It never achieved its goal better than what your other hand can do.

Automated Smoking Machine

As with many marketing gimmicks, the Automatic smoking machine was extremely customized and extravagant. It was an invention that tricked customers to thinking a bar was a popular by creating tobacco smoke.

Ladies’ Bicycle Protector

Well, we all imagine those days as characterised by ladies with overflowing skirts which did impede on cycling. The bicycle protector was invented for safety purposes to protect the hems from spinning spokes and not from protruding eyes.

Electric Jewellery

This was tantamount to wearing a disco bowl on your person. Electricity found dazzling use in Victorian bling bling.

Rolling Bridge

The Rolling Bridge would have made sense if it moved to provide different points of crossings on a river. It did not justify its expense as it was more like a fixed ferry route. The construction would cost more than a standard bridge and need fuel afterwards to keep working.

Stamp Licker

This was an invention that rode on the superior inventions of stamps and envelopes. We do have similar devices in busy offices, but the stamp licker was particularly wacky because it attempted to closely emulate the licking process of a human.

Bigraph and Diplograph

This should be the wackiest of the inventions. Writing twice at the same time was highly mechanised before carbon paper was discovered.

Horse Brushing Machine

It looked like a buffing machine for horses which were essentially cars in Victorian times. The fact that batteries and wires weren’t yet invented meant the brushing machine would have to look wacky and scary.

Spherical Velocipede

Who said transport was not fun. The velocipede obviously required a helmet and belonged more in a circus than in the street.

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/atoach/