Three Thousand Pages of 19th Century Technology

January 21, 2010 by kris de decker Filed Under: Books & Reference, History, Obsolete technology

The manufacture of money The “Dictionary of arts, manufactures, and mines containing a clear exposition of their principles and practice” by Andrew Ure (and many others) is a 3,000 page illustrated encyclopedia packed with useful technical and statistical
information relating to industrial development in the nineteenth
century.

The paper version can be yours for a mere € 1,248 (or $ 1,760, including a discount), but the Internet Archive has made the entire seventh edition (published in 1875) available for free: Volume 1 (A-C), Volume 2 (D-I), Volume 3 (J-Z). Some volumes of earlier editions can be found at Google Books.

Illustration on the left: the manufacturing of money (see “Mint”).

Related: The wonders of industry (1873-1877).

Jailhouse Tech

January 14, 2010 by kris de decker Filed Under: Jailhouse technology, Random

jailhouse tech

Kevin Kelly notes an emerging category of street technology which might be called Jailhouse Tech:

“The material constraint of a prison inspire fantastic innovation and re-use of made parts. A lot of the devices made in this manner are crude weapons, but others include eating implements, tattoo instruments, music, and other tools.”

Above you see an electric cooking stove made with wire and brick. Kelly previously linked to Escape Devices, the work of photographer Marc Steinmetz. Also of note is Prisoner Inventions, a 2003 book which includes many drawings,some of them online (review 1 & 2).

Copenhagen is not the Bicycle Capital of the World

January 13, 2010 by kris de decker Filed Under: Bikes, Travel

I am a fan of Copenhagen Cycle Chic, because it combines two of my favourite inventions ever: bicycles and, well, women. However, reader Rogier forwarded me a link to a well-researched post that clearly shows that the popular Danish blog (or rather its sister site Copenhagenize) is exaggerating the success of cycling in Copenhagen. David Hembrow argues that many Dutch cities have much higher cycling rates and that cycling in the Danish capital actually faces some serious obstacles. Related: Cars, out of the way.

Sailing Directly into the Wind

January 12, 2010 by kris de decker Filed Under: Boats, Sailing ships, Travel, Wind Power, Windmills

Sailing into the wind 5

“In the late 90s/early 2000s my interest was in developing boats that can sail directly into the wind. To some, this seems impossible, and they find it hard to accept that it is possible to overcome the wind using the force of the wind itself. This technology has further implications also, it can allow a boat, or a buoy, to remain stationary in the water, unsecured, no matter how hard the wind blows without using any fuel. Having revived the project recently (2008) I am doing further research.”

I cannot help but admire the simplicity of the design. Find all information here.

Wovel Wheeled Snow Shovel

January 12, 2010 by kris de decker Filed Under: Hand tools, Snow-tech

Wovel wheeled snow shovel 2
“Replace the intricate wheel casting with wooden spokes and it’s possible to believe that the Wovel was designed and built a thousand years ago”. Read more.

Post-Oil Automobile Drives on Wood

January 6, 2010 by kris de decker Filed Under: Low-tech cars, Travel

Woodmobile joost conijnJoost Conijn travelled through Europe with a wooden car burning wooden fuel.

Update: “Wood gas vehicles: firewood in the fuel tank“.