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“The Electronicked Elephant,” the combination of a cheap automobile and an elephant, Jollier’s Magazine, 1948. George H. Clark Collection (AC0055-0000123)

Hugo Gernsback's Unconventional Inventions

JULY 31, 2018 BY ALISON OSWALD

Hugo Gernsback, the “Father of Science Fiction” was an editor, publisher, author, scientist—and inventor of
fantastical necessities.

Hugo Gernsback (1886-1967), the “Father of Science Fiction,” was an

editor, publisher, author, scientist, and inventor, best known for his
books Ralph 124C 41+ (1911) and Ultimate World (1958), and the
magazines Modern Science (1908) and Amazing Stories (1927), the first
science fiction pulp magazine. Through these publications, he
disseminated his thoughts on new scientific ideas and innovations. In
total, Gernsback edited and published over 50 publications and founded
the radio station WRNY in 1925. A self-proclaimed science prophet, he
also predicted scientific developments—including radar and television.
Among his more than thirty patents are a a combined electric hair brush
and comb (US Patent 1,016,138), 1912; an ear cushion (US Patent
1,514,152), 1927; and a hydraulic fishery (US Patent 2,718,083), 1955.
These and many more of Gernsback’s inventions would feel right home
on the pages of his farcical publication Popular Neckanics Gagazine
(1947), dedicated to “love and solving its great mystery.” 

In Popular Neckanics Gagazine, he wrote, “it was a sad state of affairs

that the great mechanical and electronic engineering minds have been
so remiss in tracing down love and solving its riddle.” Chastising
scientists, he said, “instead they chase of all things, the atom and dissect
and split that, when Love radiation is a far greater devastator than a
million Atom bombs.” Gernsback lamented that he had become Cover of Popular Neckanics Gagazine, December 1947.
George H. Clark Collection (AC0055-0000122-01)
disgusted with science, even though he, too, was a scientist. 
On the lighter side, however, Popular Neckanics Gagazine, which was “requestered in the U.N. Potent Office and Canards” and
cited Houg Sengbrack as the “exitor and rublisher,” highlighted how much Gernsback enjoyed a good play on words. The issue is
filled with inventions and gadgets from robot-steered cars to squirrel sharpeners and is written “so you can’t understand it.” The
Plaslastic Expanso Bag, TinCan-Can, Lamplifier, and Stovepipe Hair Dryer illustrate the ridiculous and yet practical. Who doesn’t
need a bag that can carry groceries and a child? And reusing tin cans is a “green” approach. Gernsback was thinking about
recycling long before it became popular. And the Lamplifier meets so many needs it just amplifies functional.

Plaslastic Expanso Bag, Popular Neckanics Gagazine, December

Lamplifier, Popular Neckanics Gagazine, December 1947. George
1947. George H. Clark Collection (AC0055-0000122-02)
H. Clark Collection (AC0055-0000122-05)
 Stovepipe Hairdryer, Popular Neckanics Gagazine, December
1947. George H. Clark Collection (AC0055-0000122-04) TinCan-Can, Popular Neckanics Gagazine, December 1947. George
H. Clark Collection (AC0055-0000122-03)

Other “tongue in cheek” efforts included Jolliers, the Notional Weakly (1948) dedicated to good old-fashioned merriness,
and Radiocracy (1943), featuring a “topsy-turvy” post-war radio-electronics world," both of which he distributed around Christmas
and New Year. 

The Hugo Gernsback Papers, 1908-1965 are located at Syracuse University Special Collections Research Center and University
Archives, but several Gernsback gems are buried deep within the George H. Clark Collection. Clark (1881–1959), a railroad
telegraph operator and electrical engineer, specialized in radio work. He was also a great collector of all things radio. Not
surprisingly, Clark’s collection contains cartoons, poetry, jokes, and humorous stories about the radio, including three of
Gernsback’s parody magazines.

SOURCES:

﹣ Bachrach, Fabian. "Hugo Gernsback Is Dead at 83; Author, Publisher and Inventor." New York Times, August 20, 1967.
﹣ George H. Clark Radioana Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.
﹣ Novak, Matt. 'Predictions From The Father of Science Fiction." October 4, 2012. Accessed July 31,
2018. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/predictions-from-the-father-of-science-fiction-61256664/.