Peculiar Patents and the Patent Office Oddities
A column surveys strange patent requests and whimsical inventions submitted to the Patent Office. It notes perpetual motion schemes, farm contrivances, and odd devices from Harriet Hosmer and Abraham Lincoln, with humorous remarks on their practicality and the office’s demand for working models. It ends reflecting on improbable ideas and quirky claims of the era.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Abraham Lincoln
Harriet Hosmer
Mary Walker
Connecticut
Floating Tendencies of Fat Men
A Philadelphia Record item recalls fat men who fell overboard and survived or drowned in New York harbor and the Delaware, with witnesses noting how a gold belt helped a man float and a Jersey giant nearly froze after being rescued. The anecdotes reflect sailor superstitions and wartime pierside scenes.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York Harbor
Mr. McClain
Washington Avenue
Washington Pier
McClain
Delaware
Camden
Philadelphia
The Buffalo and the Great Western Plains
A historical account describing how the buffalo aided Native tribes east of the Mississippi, enabling hunter gatherer lifeways, driving prairie fires that trimmed forests, expanding pasturage for roaming herds into Ohio and Kentucky regions, and contributing to the decline of early settled life as tribes clashed and civilization waned.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Mississippi
Ohio
Kentucky
Carolinas
Tennessee River
Scribner
Global woes and advances from 19th century notes
A digest of diverse items covers world mortality and births, slavery myths, rabbit pests in New Zealand, fruit yields in the US, livestock expansion in Servia, electric lighting growth in the U S, and Odessa’s grain trade. The piece notes pensions of Riverside California, feminist views, Southern city growth, Irish political hopes, telpherage rail ideas, polar expedition plans, Greenland exploration, and New York coast defense upgrades.
Paper Barrels Challenge Wooden Ones in Industry
An English firm after three years of trial has produced paper barrels that rival wooden barrels. Made from waste paper cardboard and old sacks, the process yields pulp through beating and mixing, then forming, drying and hooped construction with waterproof coatings. Standard size is 16.5 by 28 inches, and price is about 28 cents versus 34 cents for wood. No waste is produced as offcuts are recycled back into pulp.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Patent Office
Donatico Ingguirendo
Interior Department
Atlantic Ocean
Sancho Panza
Charlestown
New Jersey
Tea funded chapels in English Methodism a social engine
A fragment describes how tea parties sustain church building funds in English Methodist communities. Volunteers host gatherings charging a shilling, with tea and treats, then use proceeds to pool for land, builders, and a chapel roof. The practice reappears three to four times yearly, followed by services and sermons from ministers.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Enelang
Pecleu of
Methodist Church
England
New York
Francis Marion The Swamp Fox of the Revolutionary Era
The piece portrays Francis Marion as a swift, resourceful partisan leader famed for fearless raids against British and Tory forces. It highlights his small, hardy cadre, improvised weaponry, and ruthless efficiency, noting his humane aims to spare noncombatants and his notable battlefield ingenuity.
The Memory Hoop Craze Among Society Girls
The memory hoop craze spread among young society women with hoops covered in ribbons bearing givers names and dates. From male friends a copper piece etched with initials hangs from the hoop, signaling the giver's status if ribbons fade or copper darkens.
Mark Antony and Opal Treasures Across Ages
A fragmentary account notes Mark Antony’s fascination with opals, praising their rainbow hues and opaque glow. It mentions an opal once offered for 550000 as a priceless gem, Hungary as a source, and opals’ heat sensitivity that can cause cracking.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Buttius
Hungary
Also Mentioned on This Page
The
Buffalo
Plains
William Tell
United States of
Columbia
New Zealand
Rabbit Department
Tuoven
California
Nitsch
Servia
National Electric Light Association
Marsden J. Perry
Providence
United States
Russia
India
Roumania
Odessa
Russian Empire
Riverside
Fenwick Miller
London
Southern Lumberman
Louisville
Memphis
Nashville
Atlanta
Savannah
Dallas
Galveston
Chattanooga
Birmingham
Fort Worth
Ireland
New York Sun
Pleanty
Greely
Dr. Nansen
North Pole
Greenland
Ryder
Fort Wadsworth
Staten Island
Francis Marion
France
Louis Viv
Georgetown
Anate Son
Machimeea
Dom
Atlantic Monthly
Mark Antony
Opal
Etarrisi
This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!