Trivia Junction

A Compendium of trivia I find interesting
...for the curious

The future, Your own private oxygen bar

Greenhouse helmet
U.S. Patent No. 4,605,000

Everyone knows that green plants produce oxygen, a byproduct of photosynthesis. In an ever-more polluted world (see Brain Sweat), it might be nice to breathe deep this pure, fresh oxygen.

The Greenhouse helmet, patented in 1986, was one such approach. It consisted of a sealed plastic dome with tiny interior shelves at ear-level upon which you could rest a couple of small, potted plants.

The idea was that you'd breathe the oxygen put out by the plants. Alas, the inventors apparently overestimated the amount of oxygen put out by individual plants. If the helmet had ever actually gone into production, wearers would quickly have fainted from a lack of breathable air.

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