Simple freckle prevention device isn't

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"The device is simplicity itself. A small steam engine supplies the power which keeps a perforated iron screen revolving so that the sun does not strike any particular spot long enough to cause a freckle."

Or, you know, you could just use an umbrella.

Reader bunaen ran across this old newspaper clipping in a box of family memorabilia dating to around 1917. He thinks it's from the Redondo Beach Daily Breeze. I love the way it pairs a ludicrous gadget concept with breathless reporting that wouldn't be remotely out of place in modern times. All of this has happened before, and all of this will happen again, eh?

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I'm afraid my nose surpasses the freckle limit for cuteness. If only I had listened to the Smile's staff of scientists.

Want a bit more blasting from the past? Bunaen has a whole Flickr set full of photos and clippings culled from the same boxes he found this in. It includes some shots from old Hollywood, where Bunaen's dad was a musician for the movie studios. Oh, the swell things that turn up in the BoingBoing Flickr Pool!