PopularMechanics082017

8 http://www.popularmechanics.co.za _ AUGUST 2017

Time machine

IT MADE PERFECT SENSE AT THE TIME

It might look ridiculous in today’s era of remote moni-

toring, but once upon a time using the telephone to

check your heart rate was the best in long-distance

medical care. Heart patients would get a warning of any trouble

from an electrocardiogram recorder, then call up a doctor to

listen to their heartbeat via the telephone. PM

In this issue we talk super planes, but in ’

we looked at a giant airliner of a different

sort: a plane big enough to house, well... a

house. With four levels and two decks, the airbus A

is to this day the largest commercial assenger airliner.

The A380 design features a stand-alone bar, restaurant

and a duty-free shop.

Making

planes is

no easy

job and in the throes

of the Space Race

and the Cold War

1960s it seems that

many unconventional

materials were being

used to gain an edge

over the opposition.

Everything from cup-

cake tins to tennis

balls was harnessed

as part of the plane-

making process. In

this issue, our Super

Planes feature shows

how far aircraft have

evolved.

Selfie sticks are

not a millennial

invention. They’ve

been around since the late

’30s in the form of a stick,

rather like a fishing rod, set

up to be able to take pictures

from odd angles and capture

perfect selfies. In a perfect

illustration of necessity being

the mother of invention, a

photographer came up with

this idea after falling out of a

tree while attempting to take

a complicated shot.

1939

1962

1972

2001