A remarkable compendium of wild schemes, mad plans, crazy inventions, and truly glorious disasters
Every phenomenally bad idea seemed like a good idea to someone. How else can you explain the Ford Edsel or the sword pistol—absolutely absurd creations that should have never made it off the drawing board? It Looked Good on Paper gathers together the most flawed plans, half-baked ideas, and downright ridiculous machines throughout history that some second-rate Einstein decided to foist on an unsuspecting populace with the best and most optimistic intentions. Some failed spectacularly. Others fizzled after great expense. One even crashed on Mars. But every one of them at one time must have looked good on paper, including:
With more than thirty-five chapters full of incredibly insipid inventions, both infamous and obscure, It Looked Good on Paper is a mind-boggling, endlessly entertaining collection of fascinating failures.
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Bill Fawcett is the author and editor of more than a dozen books, including You Did What?, It Seemed Like a Good Idea . . . , How to Lose a Battle, and You Said What? He lives in Illinois.
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Book Description Paperback or Softback. Condition: New. It Looked Good on Paper: Bizarre Inventions, Design Disasters, and Engineering Follies. Book. Seller Inventory # BBS-9780061358432
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. A remarkable compendium of wild schemes, mad plans, crazy inventions, and truly glorious disastersEvery phenomenally bad idea seemed like a good idea to someone. How else can you explain the Ford Edsel or the sword pistolabsolutely absurd creations that should have never made it off the drawing board It Looked Good on Paper gathers together the most flawed plans, half-baked ideas, and downright ridiculous machines throughout history that some second-rate Einstein decided to foist on an unsuspecting populace with the best and most optimistic intentions. Some failed spectacularly. Others fizzled after great expense. One even crashed on Mars. But every one of them at one time must have looked good on paper, including:The lead water pipes of RomeThe Tacoma Narrows Bridgebuilt to collapseThe Hubble telescopethe $2 billion scientific marvel that couldn't seeThe Spruce GooseHoward Hughes's airborne atrocity: big, expensive, slow, unstable, and made of woodWith more than thirty-five chapters full of incredibly insipid inventions, both infamous and obscure, It Looked Good on Paper is a mind-boggling, endlessly entertaining collection of fascinating failures. Includes military, scientific, commercial, and infrastructure disasters such as: The Lead water pipes of Rome; Tacoma Narrows Bridge Collapse; Edison's electrical folly; Betamax; Concorde crash; Hubble - A $2 billion telescope that didn't work; the Mars probe failures due to simple math mistakes; Cold Fusion; and, Ford Pinto. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780061358432
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