Nikola Tesla represents what every American hopes to be, despite having been born in Austria. Intelligent, business savvy and I heard he never wore white after Labor Day; not to mention the insane amount of ingenious patents of his that still apply to this day and age. Let’s face it: he was a bigger pimp than Edison and not nearly as much of a prima donna.

Needless to say, I’m a fan. So, when I saw that the writers of Hack N Mod had compiled a gallery of their favorite Tesla coil creations I just couldn’t contain myself. Notice how they all light up like a Christmas tree. It brings tears to my little Jewish eyes.

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Who would have thought that a watch belonging to one of the most brilliant minds in history, Albert Einstein, would go for so cheap? This Swiss watch owned and operated by the famous patent clerk, himself, will be sold at an auction next month and could earn around 20,000 to 30,000 dollars.  That’s pretty cheap considering its previous owner.  There’s nothing special about the 14-carat gold watch in design, but it’s got Einstein’s name on it. That alone should attract many interested buyers.

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Back in the day when the Nintendo Wii was first released, there were a whole bunch of broken TVs thanks to Wiimotes thrown in fits of anger at the ‘cheating’ computer character in the game. Philips has a recently revealed patent that shows a gaming system which not only encourages, but demands that you toss around your peripherals. (more…)

The iPod Touch is great for people who want an iPhone-like interface, but what about those of us who love the original “iPod Classic” look and feel, but want some sort of modern advancement? Jobs and Co. are on it, with a recently revealed patent showing a revamp of the scroll wheel system.

The scroll wheel thankfully remains present in the patent, though takes a lesson from its touchy-feely counterparts, integrating a touch pad which provides a visual feedback with light when it’s touched, depending on the function you are using. The patent discusses different ways that light can be used to provide an interactive interface. Pretty interesting stuff for us iPod freaks. — Andrew Dobrow

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Nasal aspirators are in no way described as fun. They are traditionally made of rubber and used by over-zealous parents to forcibly remove snot from infant’s noses. A patent for a Portable Nasal Mucus Remover unveils a aspirator that looks more like a torture device than a medical tool.

Geared more towards children removing their snot independently, the Mucus Removing Gun teaches kids the finer things in life. Like how to stick a gun in your face and pull the trigger to remove your problems. Yeah, we REALLY see this one taking off. — Andrew Dobrow

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A recently revealed patent shows an idea for a very, hmm, how to say this politely… a very “interesting” and “unique” device. The patent describes a product titled “User-Operated Amusement Apparatus for Kicking the User’s Buttocks.” Notice the word, “amusement”.

You operate the device by pushing a row apparatus that resembles the operation of a coal mining cart, while a windmill style set of feet repeatedly kicks your ass. What the fuck? — Andrew Dobrow

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If you’ve ever played around with one of those online “death calculators”, you know that knowing your own death date isn’t exactly a stress reliever. Not knowing when you’re gonna go is even more nerve wracking. A recent patent reveals this idea for a Life Expectancy Timepiece, which is surely the insurance company’s dream.

Relying on the same actuarial tables your insurance company users to come up with life insurance premiums, the watch works on the basis of asking the user about their “overall health of the individual, whether a person smokes cigarettes, consumes excessive alcohol, and genetic factors such as family histories of known diseases and recorded life spans”. We, as immortals, find no use for such meager tools of the trade. We’ll stick to our Time Watch, since we have lots and lots of that to spare. — Andrew Dobrow

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While searching around recent patents I came across this interesting looking LG device patent which was released on October 2nd. The design looks to have a slider standard keypad, with a vertical candy bar like form. The front of the phone sort of resembles the LG enV, yet it does’t seem as though it has a clamshell QWERTY keypad. The camera lens seems pretty large though. Maybe a nice camera / multimedia phone? Could it be a new LG Shine-like device? (more…)

A newly released patent reveals a new handheld device from Nokia which comes with a removable QWERTY keypad. The patent describes a UMPC device with dual touchscreens and a keyboard that sits on top of one of the screens until it is needed.

They keyboard will slide out when needed for texting or web surfing. When the keyboard is removed, the second display adds on to the first display as one large interface. This patent reveals what might possibly be one cool smart phone. — Andrew Dobrow

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Home entertainment wizard Bose has a few tricks left up their sleeves, as can be seen from this recently released patent. Bose wants to use electroacoustical transducer technology to integrate a 5.1 surround sound system right into your seat.

The system would also allow for cellular devices to be embedded directly into your chair. The patent descirbes the product, “…an audio system includes an audio signal source having a plurality of audio channel signals including a surround channel signal; a seat having a seat back; an electroacoustical transducer mounted in the seat back; and electronic circuitry coupling the audio signal source and the electroacoustical transducer for transmitting the surround channel signal to the electroacoustical transducer.” — Andrew Dobrow

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