10 Weird Devices Invented 100 Years Ago. It Is Hard to Figure Out What Exactly They Were Used For

People living in the past were definitely as creative as we are today. Our ancestors had very rich imagination which enabled them to create various things. Some of them were really useful. Others – terrifyingly weird.

This is just a small collection of old gadgets that look completely useless. However, they had some very practical applications.

Apart from traditional abacus, there was a device called Optimus. It was used for a variety of calculations. The mechanical calculator was invented in Germany, approximately in 1900.

Although it looks like a drinking horn, in fact this cute items was used for something totally different. It used to be a vase to hold flowers inside a car. The flowers were used as air refresher and car interior decoration.

That was simply a toy. Probably girls could use it to wash their favourite dolls’ dresses.

The British had made toasts long before the toaster was invented. This fork was one of the tools to do it. All you had to do was to stick a piece of bread onto the fork and simply roast it over the fire.

This vintage medallion was not only a piece of jewellery, but it was also a tiny perfume container. It looks as if our ancestors could connect beauty and functionality.

One of the strangest items in this gallery is definitely an old pill made of antimony which could be… used several times. For centuries antimony was considered to be an effective laxative. For a reason this material would not be digested and would leave our body unchanged. People received one pill for the whole family, and, most surprisingly, they would pass it down for the next generations.

One of Reddit.com users wrote that he had found this item on the floor in a 19th century house. No, it’s not a murder weapon. In fact, it helped to remove the shell off a hard-boiled egg.

It was popular in 1950’s and 1960’s, when first talent shows were broadcast. The most popular method of judging the participants was applause and screaming from the audience. In order to provide fair evaluation, a machine was developed that objectively measured who was better.

Before the fridge was invented, there was an entire ice industry. In the winter ice was collected from the surface of lakes, next it was put in special glaciers where it was kept all year long and delivered to customers’ locations as ice blocks. The hook in the picture would both divide the block into smaller parts and hold the ice so that the cold surface wouldn’t have to be touched with bare hands.

Do you remember the old-school landline phones? Most young people might have never seen one like that. Our ancestors did know it very well. To dial a number more easily, you could use a special accessory that was put on the tip of a pen or a pencil so that the fingers were not strained. Women didn’t have to worry about their nails drying and could easily call their friends to have a chat.