Malcolm Dykes: Unusual Inventions and Lingering Traditions

I just read the account of Hiram Maxim, the man who invented the first automatic machine gun who went deaf from test firing. 

 
As a result, his son invented the first silencer, and a grandson invented the first hearing aids and the first bullet proof vest! 

 
One thing led to another. 

Sometime back while preparing Christmas meal, a lady’s teen daughter watched as her mom cut the ends off a beef roast and then placed it in the oven. 

She asked why she trimmed the roast? 

Her mom said, “I don’t really know, that’s the way my mother taught me to cook it, ask her when she gets here.” 

Later that day the grandmother arrived for the meal and the granddaughter asked her why. 

She replied, “That’s the way my mother taught me. When we go this evening to visit her in the nursing home we can ask her why.” 

While standing by the bedside of the great grandmother in the nursing home, the teen asked her why and the old darling said, “I didn’t have a pot big enough to hold a large roast!”   

 
Most of you don't know the lingering history of men's neckties. 

Today they are just for show, and I have tied one around my neck for over 60 years when wearing a suit 

But the origin of the necktie was not for show but for the drivers of the horseless carriage to wipe the dust and mud from their eyes because there were no glass windshields. 

As time went on, somebody added a colorful cloth around their neck and the fad caught on and never ended unto this present day! 

 
On a recent cold morning my wife and I had a pic taken dressed for church, thus her in a full-length coat and me in a trench coat. 

But why the red tie as our horseless carriage has a glass windshield? 

 
It was just to add some color to the mix as I help carry on the tradition. 

 
LOL 

 
My dress for church or any other special occasion would not be complete without one and always the tie is matched with the suit in color. 

 
The trend began over a hundred years ago and those old timey mud rags can cost you over a hundred bucks today. 

 
Oh, the cost of extravagance! 

 
And here is one for you, try it on for size.. 

 
Ecopod Biodegradable Coffin, 

What’s that? 

Read on. 

 
For environmentally conscious souls, the Ecopod was introduced in 2007. 

 
It’s a biodegradable coffin made of recycled paper. 

 
Because even in the afterlife, we should think green scientists say! 

 
There is no telling what this high-tech generation will come up with next. 
 

I'm now being told to hold off buying a new gas burning vehicle because they will soon be obsolete and replaced by electric powered ones. 

I often day dream of having a helicopter when stuck in a traffic jam and just up and over the hold up! 

 
There is rumor that the Honda Corp. is working on a vehicle that can sprout wings and fly like a small private plane. 

 
I quit saying a long time ago no way. 

 
Because one thing leads to another. 

 
God bless you and God bless America.