BGR argues the decade's strangest gadgets can hold their own against wild tech from any era.
BGR points to wearable radios and in-shell egg scramblers as examples of unusual 1970s gadgets. It argues the decade's weirdest devices can stand alongside wild tech from any other era.
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The 1970s sat in an awkward spot between mature analog electronics and the microprocessor boom that would put digital controls into everyday products. BGR's collection of 12 unusual devices captures manufacturers trying to make electronics more personal, portable and convenient, sometimes before the supporting technology was ready.
The Bone Fone, patented in 1977 and released in 1979, wrapped a radio around the wearer's shoulders in a scarf-like tube. Its marketing promised sound transmitted through the skeleton, anticipating today's bone-conduction headphones. A later teardown cited by BGR found ordinary speakers that barely touched the neck, making the name more ambitious than the hardware.
Hewlett-Packard's HP-01 calculator watch was closer to a modern wearable computer. The 1977 device combined a watch with calculator, calendar, alarm, timer and stopwatch functions, and it could use time values in calculations. Its interface exposed the era's limits: 28 tiny face buttons were meant to be operated with a stylus stored in the wristband.
Panasonic turned personal radio into fashion. The Toot-a-Loop could twist open to reveal its tuning dial and could be worn like a bracelet. The spherical Panapet R-70 used a chain and ring for carrying or clipping to clothing. Both were simple mono AM radios, but their bright plastics made portability the main attraction.
Ronco's Inside-the-Shell Egg Scrambler used a needle to pierce an egg and spin the yolk and white together before the shell was cracked. The pitch was less mess and less whisking; BGR says the electric appliance sold roughly 150,000 units at $19.95.
Ron Popeil also marketed the Pocket Fisherman, a collapsible rod designed to live in a glove compartment or backpack. A storage compartment in the handle held small tackle, turning an ordinary fishing rod into an always-ready gadget.
The JVC Videosphere applied the same portability instinct to television. The black-and-white set came in a space-age spherical case, rotated 360 degrees on its base and could run from either wall power or batteries. An optional base added an alarm clock.
Mego's 1978 2-XL looked like a robot but operated as an interactive 8-track player. Special tapes asked questions, and buttons on the front let children choose answers. The unit also played standard 8-track music, making the robot shell an interface for familiar audio hardware.
Mattel's Optigan used optical discs as an analog sample library for an electric organ. A photodiode read 57 audio tracks on each disc, including sounds for the keyboard, chords and rhythms. Spinning the disc faster or slower changed pitch, though BGR says the system's audio quality limited its appeal.
Polaroid's Polavision tried to bring instant development to home movies. Its cassettes developed inside a home player, but each silent recording lasted only about 2.5 minutes and produced grainy images. Tape-based camcorders arrived soon after with fewer compromises.
Cartrivision reached stores in 1972 with another early home-video model: prerecorded tapes that consumers could rent or buy. The player came built into a television, rental cartridges could be played but not rewound, and the system showed only every third frame. It lasted about a year, but it anticipated both video rental and playback restrictions.
The list is strange because so many products paired recognizable goals with awkward machinery. Wearables, portable media, interactive toys and home video all became enormous categories. These versions arrived before miniaturized digital electronics could make the ideas convenient.
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