The world of patents can be a very strange place. Putting an idea on paper isn't exactly crazy, but some inventors simply had no limits to their "creativity." Take the case of patent 1,591,905, granted to Oscar C. Williams of San Diego in 1926. At first glance, it's a toy turtle, with articulated head and tail. However, the 'plus' of this turtle was that it could be loaded with flies to "generate" movement....
Being a person technically caught between two generations, I've lived through the phase of building my own toys and driving my parents crazy to take me to the store to buy them. Of course, they all ended up in pieces, but they didn't last long either. In essence, each toy represents its era, and I was a witness to the first examples of "made in China superdisposable" toys.
What happened in the past? Well, we've seen cases like the Rocket Shoes, spring-loaded shoes from the '60s that simulated a moon walk and guaranteed broken ankles, and some banned toys that set pants on fire or bombarded kids with radiation, but today we're traveling back to 1926 to meet Oscar C. Williams' toy turtle.
A Turtle Powered by Insects
Yes, a turtle with a wooden or metal body, while its head and tail were made of very light cork. Why? Because the idea was that something inside could move them... and that something was flies or other insects. The owner of this turtle had the mission of capturing two or three specimens, inserting them through several holes in the turtle, and enjoying the supposed movement of the tail, legs, and head caused by the insects trying to escape.
In other words, if the insect of the moment didn't find its way out, the turtle became a mini torture chamber. The patent for the device was filed in March 1922, granted four years later, and finally expired today, December 28.
Access the patent: Click here
