The Patent Room Here at Picks, we salute the madcap inventor, the wild-eyed professor, and the gleeful geek with a get-rich-quick gleam in his eye. So it should come as no surprise that we peeked behind the door of the Patent Room with great anticipation. We weren't disappointed. This site pays tribute to the dreams and labors of early-20th-century industrial designers through drawings culled from the U.S. Patent Office archives. We particularly loved the architectural marvels: the corn cob diner, the refreshment stand flanked by two gigantic ice-cream cones, a gas station's swooping googie design. From the Official Rex Mars Planet Patrol Atomic Pistol to a 1957 amphibious automobile, from a boy Bunny Tot doll to a self-righting signal torch, these images run the gamut from lovely to ludicrous. But they all shine with an entrepreneurial gloss that manages to be entirely charming. (in Design Arts)
