This site is a celebration of what happens when big ideas go bad. It puts the spotlight on inventions that just didn’t work out.
As the introduction to the site says, it contains “Examples of the perverse genius of inventors who refused to let their thinking be intimidated by the laws of nature, remaining optimistic in the face of repeated failures.”
When you land on the main page of this straightforward site, you’ll see links to galleries highlighting different types of unworkable inventions.
Among my favorites, Perpetual Futility, which explores the history of perpetual motion machines. There are even instructions on how to build your own fake perpetual motion machine.
The site also delves into the physics behind why many of these inventions were a complete flop and even looks at unworkable gadgets as art.
The detailed plans available for many of these ideas show that their creators worked hard if not smart and certainly deserve to be remembered.
Click to check out these failed experiments: