"Suffragette sleeps in a bathtub."  From Popular Mechanics, 1911.

Here's a precursor to Pee Wee Herman's trick furniture.  The headline is from Popular Mechanics, 1931.

You've heard of a long summer, but here's one that lasted seven months.  (That said, the summer in Malta lasts eight months.)  From Colin Clout's Calendar: The Record of a Summer. April-October, by Grant Allen, 1883.

You knew that "Pastry is like a religion to the French" (Joanne Chang).  But here's "A 'layer cake' temple found among Aztec ruins."  From Popular Mechanics, 1931.

You can upgrade the trap to catch hogs, hold them tightly, and whisper sweet nothings, but it will void the warranty.  From Popular Mechanics, 1920.

Here's a precursor to the "sky" part of Skype.  "Long-distance weather seen in polar trips."  From Popular Mechanics, 1930.

""Man-made star guides flyers.  Civilization is constantly reaching back into the centuries for old ideas to meet modern needs."  From Popular Mechanics, 1930.

It was determined in 1855 that Australia was a mistake.

"Noiseless city is predicted within ten years."  From 1931.  The naiveté would be quaint were Popular Mechanics not so excruciatingly, sickeningly smug about the religion it makes of Big Science.

This sounds like a precursor to the popular polar bear campaign, but it's coke with a lower-case c.  From Popular Mechanics, 1921.

"Twin thermometers reveal why one is uncomfortable."  From Popular Mechanics, 1921.

They didn't mention how these dishes will shrink in the wash (but, as a side effect, they're good for portion control).  "Dishes that will not break made of cotton."  From Popular Mechanics, 1930.

Just shoot me -- "'Mercy' bullet brings sleep instead of death."  From Popular Mechanics, 1930.

This sort of embarrassing hubris spans the centuries.  There are no "new" types of prehistoric Indians in Texas, only types new to the so-called discoverer who is merely extraordinarly behind the times.  From Popular Mechanics, 1931.

Here's one of the few headlines in Popular Mechanics that we've actually believed.  "Artists in butterfly wings do their work backward."  From 1929.

"Hoop-skirt parachute for airmen."  From Popular Mechanics, 1911.

"Electric knife is used to restore lost sanity."  From Popular Mechanics, 1927.

Here's an ad that actually promotes Stendhal Syndrome, a psychosomatic disorder in which you hallucinate that you are within a work of art.  The text reads, "Are you inside or outside this picture?  Something to think about!"  From Popular Mechanics, 1930.

Here's a surprising bit of occultism in the world of Big Science.  We daren't ask why, but scientists pointed a tadpole's head at a plant to see if it would encourage growth.  And it did.  The so-called scientific explanation was that invisible radiations from the tadpole's head made it happen.  (We aren't making this up.)  What's hilarious is that Big Science's explanation is along the lines of what Big Magic thinks is going on.  And so this item goes in our very, very slim file of articles in Popular Mechanics that we actually believe.  From 1931.

From Peter David's Sir Apropos of Nothing, 2001.