10 YEARS AGO — AUGUST 19, 1999
A suitable hanger: A redesigned hanger addresses the way people get dressed. Traditional suit hangers store pants inside the jacket. But people put the pants on first and take them off last. The Pants Out hanger from Advanced Hanger LLC, Lake Forest, Calif., stores pants outside the jacket, so people don’t have to remove the jacket and throw it over a chair while putting on the pants. The shoulders and pant arm are extra large to let clothes hang naturally. Hangers can be piggy backed, with one hanging below the next, to save closet space.
30 YEARS AGO — AUGUST 23, 1979
Recreation – Fun is Big Business: MACHINE DESIGN takes a look at changes over the past 50 years in recreational products. The massive, complex industry exists because of technology. Recreational products, from outboard motors to bowling pins, are highly engineered and made from carefully selected materials by sophisticated production techniques. Technology is responsible for some of the changes in lifestyle that have helped expand the market. Although not “recreation” in themselves, transportation and communication involve technologies that have had much to do with establishing access to and setting tastes for the nation’s preferences in leisure activities.
50 YEARS AGO — AUGUST 20, 1959
Synthetic travel smooths out suspension problems: Bounce, pitch, and roll, recorded on tape and played into an analog computer, help GM engineers solve equations in ride motion without using prototype cars or proving grounds. A standard auto body minus wheels and suspension replaces the regular car. Tires and suspension are programmed into the computer, which reacts in real time to the makebelieve road effects. Car speed varies according to tape speed — controlled by the brakes and accelerator.
