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Afraid your baby's not getting enough fresh air? Simply place it in a wiry basket precariously dangled from your high-rise apartment window. A nanny "supervises" a baby in a tenement building, 1937. (Fox Photos/Getty Images/Courtesy of LIFE)

Totally Random And Useless Inventions

by Claire O'Neill
Dec 9, 2010 — See vintage photos of totally useless inventions from LIFE magazine's archives.

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Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer, do. Would you like to smoke a cigarette in this romantic holder built for two?Image circa 1955 What ever happened to illuminated tires? And more importantly, what compelled this woman to adjust her stockings awkwardly in front of an illuminated tire? To prevent her makeup from running and her hair from getting wet, an actress demonstrates the "new" shower hood, which probably had the effect of steaming her makeup right off. Thanks to Hollywood inventor Joe Gilpin, you can now surf fully clothed! Inventor Hugo Gernsback demonstrates "TV Glasses" for television on the go. Take that, iPhone. A cigarette holder built for two, circa 1955

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Claire O'Neill

Thursday is random day. At least it is today, on this blog. So here are some random and useless — and in some cases downright preposterous — inventions that LIFE has curated from its archives. There are plenty more where these came from, including but certainly not limited to a curved gun barrel and a cigarette umbrella. Happy almost-Friday!

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