STRANGE BUT TRUE

What if the greatest inventions in history had a much stranger family tree than anyone remembers?

STRANGE BUT TRUE: THE WEIRD HISTORY OF FAILED INVENTIONS dives into the wonderfully bizarre world of machines, gadgets, vehicles, weapons, household devices, and futuristic ideas that promised to change everything-and then absolutely did not.

Inside, you'll meet steam-powered mechanical men, giant monowheels, propeller cars, amphibious automobiles, flying tanks, rocket-delivered mail, horse-drawn vacuum cleaners, radioactive health products, electric miracle belts, pigeon-guided weapons, ice aircraft carriers, early smart homes, nuclear cars, personal helicopters, and flying cars that have somehow remained "just a few years away" for more than a century.

But these inventions were not always foolish. Many were serious attempts to solve real problems, created by talented engineers working at the edge of what technology could do. Some failed because they were too expensive. Others arrived decades too early. A few worked perfectly well but solved problems nobody actually cared about. And some were so spectacularly impractical that history could only stand back and admire the confidence.

Written in the funny, cheeky style of the Strange But True series, this book explores the forgotten side of technological progress-the prototypes that sank, exploded, rattled, overheated, frightened investors, confused customers, and occasionally helped inspire the inventions we use today.

Because history is not just made by the brilliant ideas that worked.

Sometimes it is made by the brilliant ideas that probably should have stayed on paper.