Inventions which never saw the light

Some inventions are truly inspired. The bicycle, say, or the ball point pen. And sales of household gizmos are booming, with gadget company Lakeland reporting a 20 per cent increase in sales.

Middle England, it seems, just can't get enough of banana trees and electric omelette makers. But some, however original, don't quite hit the mark. We delved deep into the archives to bring you some of the wackiest and most useless gadgets past and present.

See all the bizarre gadgets here

Save yourself a short, sharp shock in the morning from those satin undies - just what the doctor ordered

Ever craved a bit of peace on a noisy beach? In the Eighties, sun worshippers could opt for this unusual sunbathing experience. The brightly coloured cocktail costs extra

This is the cat's whiskers, an electronic feline interpreter from Japan. Now your moggy can tell you about the mouse hidden under the sofa. This followed hot on the paws of the dog interpreter - the Bowlingual

Cambridge student braves wintry conditions to bare all in a field for student newspaper

Cambridge student Charlotte braved the cold to pose topless and bare-bottomed in the middle of a muddy field for student newspaper Varsity

The outfit wouldn’t be enough to keep her warm during the cold winter term at Cambridge University – but it might raise the temperatures of a few fellows.

In a risque photo shoot, this 20-year-old King’s College undergraduate appears wearing nothing but a strategically-placed woolly scarf.

Another shot shows her sporting a fur hat and stretching a dark jumper over the tops of her thighs to narrowly preserve her modesty, while elsewhere she reveals her bare derriere as she stands in a field wearing only boots and a jacket.　

The brunette insisted the pictures – promoting model and fellow King’s College student Lily Cole’s knitwear label North Circular – had ‘artistic integrity’.

But it remains to be seen whether her college supervisors will agree when they come across the photos in the latest edition of Varsity. One even shows her topless – a first in the university newspaper’s 63-year history.

Charlotte – the Mail Online knows her full name but has agreed not to use it – said: ‘It was good fun and I thought the pictures had real artistic integrity. I had no qualms about doing it. I am happy with my body although I would change a lot of things if I had the power.’

Charlotte, from Exeter, who is in her second-year studying Japanese, said her clinical psychologist father and teacher mother were ‘fine’ with her taking part.

Varsity fashion co-editor Jess Kwong, 24, another student at King’s, said: ‘The pieces are simple and lovely, which is why we kept the photo shoot as simple as possible.’

The shoot entitled Days of Heaven, which is published both in the paper and online, was organised by fashion editor Miss Kwong, who is at King's College with Cole and fashion co-editor Louise Benson.

They had wanted to emulate a shoot supermodel Cole did with German fashion photographer Juergen Teller.

'I've seen earlier fashion shoots in Varsity this term and I think the fashion editors are great photographers, so when they approached me I decided to give it a go,' said Charlotte.

'They showed me the Lily Cole photos from her shoot with Juergen Teller and I liked the idea.

'It was absolutely freezing in the field but they had a big coat on hand.'

It is the first time in Varsity's 63-year history it has ever published such racy photos

Charlotte, who has an older sister, added: 'Jess and Louise are great stylists.'

The shoot was done in fields around Cambridge on a rainy afternoon.

Miss Kwong said: 'Every week we find a designer and source the clothing so this time we decided to speak to Lily about using her label.

'Lily was pleased to let us use some of her pieces. She knows we have done the shoot but she hasn't seen the pictures yet

When not being photographed with very few clothes on, Charlotte is a second-year student studying linguistics at Cambridge's King's College

'The pieces are simple and lovely and we didn't want to distract from them, which is why we have kept the photo shoot as simple as possible.

'It was shot in fields around Cambridge in a remote area one afternoon. It was very cold and it actually started to rain while we were doing the pictures.

Charlotte modelled clothes from the eco knitwear label of supermodel and Cambridge student Lily Cole

'I'm pleased with the result of the shoot and it was a lot of fun.'

The North Circular line uses wool of rescued Wensleydale sheep and employs local grannies to whip them up in to next season's must-have clothes.　

Two years ago independent Cambridge University magazine Vivid caused uproar by printing a raunchy page three picture of a topless student.

The student, from Homerton College, was wearing a black lacy thong, necklace and stockings as she reclined over one of Cambridge's historic bridges.

The blonde-haired beauty had a cigarette in her hand and her legs splayed provocatively as she posed.

Varsity is the oldest of Cambridge University's student newspapers and has been published continuously since 1947.

It appears every Friday and is one of only three fully independent student newspapers in the UK.

Each edition includes a fashion shoot and past pages have included models in punts on the River Cam or in the grounds of the historical colleges.

Ten of the greatest British design classics by SIR JAMES DYSON

From the British submarine to the Mini and Frank Whittle's Gloster E28/39, Sir James Dyson pays homage to his top ten design classics

1. NEW BRITISH SUBMARINE

BAE SYSTEMS

I've been watching the progress of the new fleet of British submarines at Barrow-in-Furness since 1997, when BAE announced they would be making them. They're particularly noteworthy for the development of sonar technology, a milestone in British engineering: a submarine such as HMS Astute (launched in 2007) sitting in the English Channel is able to detect ships leaving New York harbour 3,000 nautical miles away. Behind her enormous exterior is a mass of top secret, world-class engineering. I understand that tens of thousands of rubber-like tiles mask the vessel's sonar signature. Imagine: a 7,400 ton submarine making less 'noise' than a baby dolphin.

Behind the new British submarine's enormous exterior is a mass of top secret, world-class engineering

2. COLOSSUS, THE FIRST COMPUTER

TOMMY FLOWERS

World War II proved Britain's engineering prowess. A marvellous example of necessity breeding invention is found in Colossus: the first programmable, digital computer of the modern age. Colossus was used to break encrypted messages generated by the German Lorenz teleprinter.
Designed by British engineer Tommy Flowers, along with colleagues from the Post O ffice Research Station in London, the machine was used from 1944 at Bletchley Park, home to the famous Enigma code-breakers. It worked by imitating the encryption it was designed to break, determining patterns in the German code.

3. MINI

BMC

First made in 1959, the Mini is a remarkable piece of engineering

Designed for the British Motor Corporation (BMC) by Sir Alec Issigonis, the Mini followed the Suez fuel shortage in 1956 and the quest to outdo the German bubble car boom. Leonard Lord, head of BMC, decreed: 'We must drive them o ff the road by designing a proper miniature car.'
First made in 1959, it's a remarkable piece of engineering. Mounting the engine transversely and nestling the gearbox in the sump fitted the car into a 10x4x4ft cubic space. The suspension used compact rubber cones, not traditional springs, for a more comfortable ride and go-kart-like handling. The door pockets are said to fit a bottle of Gordon's Gin, Issigonis's favoured tipple.

4. CT BRAIN SCANNER

The CT brain scanner was the first machine to give a detailed picture of patients' brains

EMI

The computerised tomography (CT) machine was developed in 1971 by EMI, which ploughed money into research and development following the success of the Beatles, or so the story goes.
It was invented by Godfrey Hounsfield, who won the Nobel prize in 1979. The scanner was the first machine to give a detailed picture of patients' brains, working through 180 angles (each separated by just one degree). EMI's scanner, first installed at Atkinson Morley Hospital, Wimbledon in 1972, was the most significant advance in radiology since the X-ray.

5. ANGLEPOISE LAMP
G CARDWARDINE

The Anglepoise lamp was designed in 1932 by George Cardwardine, who found a new application for a spring he'd developed while working on suspension systems as an automotive engineer. When applied to a lamp, these springs mirrored a human arm, moving easily in every direction, yet remaining rigid when set in the correct position. More than 70 years later it remains a fixture on o ffice desks.

British industrial designer Kenneth Grange has designed a number of modifications to the Anglepoise lamp, staying true to the classic design in expanding the function. I use his Type 75 design, with a circular base and an added swivel ball to adjust the shade angle.

The first jet-propelled aircraft, the Gloster E28/39, took off from RAF Cranwell, using Frank Whittle's engine, it flew fast and low, even outperforming the Spitfires that fought the Battle of Britain months earlier

6 GLOSTER E28/39

FRANK WHITTLE

Frank Whittle's idea for a jet engine was first overlooked, then underestimated, until his engineering genius and sheer perseverance won through. In 1928, aged 21, Whittle wrote his thesis Future Developments In Aircraft Design. He believed 'the turbine had the potential to be the prime mover for jet propulsion'.

Just 13 years later, the first jet-propelled aircraft, the Gloster E28/39, took off from RAF Cranwell. Using Whittle's engine, it flew fast and low, even outperforming the Spitfires that fought the Battle of Britain months earlier. Whittle's idea did away with the complex system of propellers and myriad moving parts. At its core was one moving part: a spinning turbine and compressor. His brilliance changed the world.

In 1953, Joseph Bamford devised the Backhoe Loader - effectively a tractor with a loader attached to the front and an arm and bucket mounted on the back. This was refined further in 1957 with the JCB Mk 1

7.JCB DIGGER

JOSEPH BAMFORD

As the first European manufacturer to apply hydraulic power to loaders and excavators, the machines and design ingenuity of JCB revolutionised construction and agriculture in Britain and all around the world. It's now difficult to find a farm or motorway excavation site without one.
In 1953, Joseph Bamford devised the Backhoe Loader - effectively a tractor with a loader attached to the front and an arm and bucket mounted on the back. This was refined further in 1957 with the JCB Mk 1, the forerunner of the single all-purpose vehicle we know today. He even had electric kettles fitted to all his diggers, so operators wouldn't have to leave the cab for lengthy tea breaks.

8 MOULTON BICYCLE

ALEX MOULTON

The original 1962 Moulton was faster, smaller and more comfortable than conventional models

Having built suspension systems for cars (including the Mini), Alex Moulton has since spent half a century years developing the perfect small-wheeled bike. The original 1962 Moulton was faster, smaller and more comfortable than conventional models, thanks to the half-sized wheels and high-pressure tyres. The aerodynamic drag is lower and riders pedal faster with less eff ort. The frame is a lattice of small tubes, and the canny design is far more robust than conventional diamond frames. My model, made of the same stainless steel tubing as a fighter jet, weighs just 20lb.

9 HOVERCRAFT

CHRISTOPHER COCKERELL

The main obstacle to speedy travel - on land or water - is drag. Others had toyed with the concept for many decades before, but Sir Christopher Cockerell designed the first air-cushion vehicle, or 'hovercraft', in the Fifties. His SRN1 created a sensation when it was launched in 1959. Gas turbine engines powered the lift fans, which sucked in air and forced it down into a space beneath the vessel. The air cushion was contained within a flexible rubberised skirt.
Driven forward by aircraft propellers, the hovercraft was highly manoeuvrable and could reach speeds of 62mph. It is the versatility of the hovercraft that appeals to me most - it can travel across most flat surfaces, making almost anywhere accessible.

10 SCIENCE MUSEUM BRIDGE

WILKINSON EYRE

The glass bridge at the Science Museum is a challenge to conventional notions of design and engineering. Created by architectural engineers Wilkinson Eyre, it shows the limits to which materials can be manipulated. Its glass planks are suspended by a series fine steel wires. Channelling the wires through stress gauges and incorporating sound and fibre-optics makes it interactive - you notice the impact of your steps on the materials. The bridge is an experiment in putting the users at the centre of the design. Some people have commented afterwards that crossing it is like walking on water.