White Elephant Technology : 50 Crazy Inventions That Should Never Have Been Built, and What We Can Learn from Them
Language: English
Published by History Press Apr 2024, 2024
- Hardcover
- New
Seller: AHA-BUCH GmbH, Einbeck, GermanyAHA-BUCH GmbH
AbeBooks seller since August 14, 2006
Condition: New
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Add to basketItem description from seller
Neuware - A humorous look back over 50 inventions that should never have been built! The majority of commercial ventures might end in failure, but the world would be a poorer place without invention. This is the story of 50 truly remarkable inventions, from personal helicopters to 'swimming' tanks; from flying aircraft carriers (that kept crashing) to a pedal-powered blimp you could barely steer; from an aerial rowing boat you couldn't navigate to a portable nuclear weapon that killed the men who fired it. these inventions were not only misguided, but demonstrate their inventors' remarkable gift for out-of-the-box thinking nobody ever asked for. Most importantly, every single one was built, field tested, and worked (more or less) as planned, even when their inventor died in the test phase. Full of surprises, this is a fun and fast-paced journey through the world of WETech that will make you shake your head in wonder. What in the world were they thinking.
Seller Inventory # 9781803990149
- Title
- White Elephant Technology : 50 Crazy Inventions That Should Never Have Been Built, and What We Can Learn from Them
- Author
- John J Geoghegan
- Publisher
- History Press Apr 2024
- Publication year
- 2024
- Condition
- Neu
- Binding
- Buch
- Language
- English
- ISBN 10
- 1803990147
- ISBN 13
- 9781803990149
- Item weight
- 616 grams
- Dimensions
- 236x162x23 mm
What exactly is White Elephant Technology?
White Elephant Technology is any unusual invention past or present that fails in the marketplace despite its innovative nature. From jeeps that fly to tanks that shouldn’t; from a wave-powered boat that took over three months to reach its destination to a jet-powered train that shook itself apart, White Elephant Technology showcases each inventor’s talent for creating something nobody asked for. Importantly, none of these inventions are speculative. Each one was built, field tested and worked more or less as planned (except when it killed its creator).
Although success is highly prized, failure has a lot to teach us, especially when you realise it’s the rule and not the exception. Still, no one has undertaken a survey of failed inventions despite history being littered with them … until now. White Elephant Technology corrects this oversight in an entertaining, respectful and occasionally humorous manner, proving that failure is not only as fascinating as success but is also the purest expression of the human condition.
"Synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
About the Author
JOHN J. GEOGHEGAN is a journalist, author, and editor who specializes in reporting on White Elephant Technology. His articles have appeared in the New York Times Science section, WIRED, Popular Science, and the Smithsonian’s Air & Space magazine, and he has featured in a number of interviews and documentaries. He has previously written When Giants Ruled the Sky for The History Press, and Operation Storm: Japan’s Top Secret Submarines and Their Plan to Change the Course of WWII (Crown, 2013), both on WETech inventions. He lives in California.
"About the title" may belong to another edition of this title.
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