{"product_id":"white-elephant-technology-50-crazy-inventions-that-should-never-have-been-built-and-what-we-can-learn-from-them-9781803990149","title":"White Elephant Technology: 50 Crazy Inventions That Should Never Have Been Built, and What We Can Learn from Them","description":"\u003cb\u003eA humorous look back over 50 inventions that should never have been built!\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e The majority of commercial ventures might end in failure, but the world would be a poorer place without invention. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e 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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e 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?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eJOHN J. GEOGHEGAN\u003c\/b\u003e is a journalist, author, and editor who specializes in reporting on White Elephant Technology. His articles have appeared in the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e Science section, \u003ci\u003e WIRED, Popular Science\u003c\/i\u003e, and the Smithsonian's \u003ci\u003eAir \u0026amp; Space\u003c\/i\u003e magazine, and he has featured in a number of interviews and documentaries. He has previously written \u003ci\u003eWhen Giants Ruled the Sky\u003c\/i\u003e for The History Press, and\u003ci\u003e Operation Storm: Japan's Top Secret Submarines and Their Plan to Change the Course of WWII \u003c\/i\u003e(Crown, 2013), both on WETech inventions. He lives in Novato, California. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"History Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50651847196946,"sku":"9781803990149","price":30.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_4b64b48c-f199-45bd-bd87-ad7c6f29fbba.jpg?v=1733310844","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/white-elephant-technology-50-crazy-inventions-that-should-never-have-been-built-and-what-we-can-learn-from-them-9781803990149","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}