--- title: Facetious Inventions for 1940s Housewives description: A 1947 issue of LIFE featured a series of useless inventions for housewives, made by a brush company during WWII. canonical: https://time.com/3654154/these-inventions-are-weirder-than-anything-youll-find-at-ces-this-year/ author: Eliza Berman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-01-07T14:33:24.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:06:25.474Z og:title: There’s a Reason These Inventions for 1940s Housewives Never Caught on og:description: A 1947 issue of LIFE featured a series of useless inventions for housewives, made by a brush company during WWII. og:url: https://time.com/3654154/these-inventions-are-weirder-than-anything-youll-find-at-ces-this-year/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdf3117506d0756ed/69877827e53aba82984d6d54/150105-housewife-inventions-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1601 og:image:height: 901 og:image:alt: Speaking of Pictures: Housewife Brushes og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: There’s a Reason These Inventions for 1940s Housewives Never Caught on twitter:description: A 1947 issue of LIFE featured a series of useless inventions for housewives, made by a brush company during WWII. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdf3117506d0756ed/69877827e53aba82984d6d54/150105-housewife-inventions-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # These Inventions Are Weirder Than Anything You'll Find at CES This Year > Sponsored content. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription.  by [Eliza Berman](https://time.com/author/eliza-berman/)  ## Eliza Berman Berman is a senior editor at TIME. Jan 7, 2015 2:33 PM UTC  Caption from LIFE. New back brush lets bather see just what she is up to. Caption from LIFE. New back brush lets bather see just what she is up to. Allan Grant—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  by [Eliza Berman](https://time.com/author/eliza-berman/)  ## Eliza Berman Berman is a senior editor at TIME. Jan 7, 2015 2:33 PM UTC This week’s Consumer Electronics Show has introduced such modern marvels as a [Bluetooth-connected pacifier](http://time.com/3655911/bluetooth-pacifier/) and a [Wi-Fi-connected washing machine](http://time.com/3656217/lg-twin-wash-system/). But dial the clock back six decades, and manufacturing and innovation were directed toward the singular purpose of winning the war—futuristic gadgets could wait. One company forged ahead, though, determined to keep creativity among its top priorities. Facing a decrease in demand during the war years, the Los Angeles Brush Manufacturing Corporation created a catalog full of facetious inventions, simply “to take their minds off the ugly fact that they had no brushes to sell.” In a photo shoot by Allan Grant [published in LIFE in 1947](http://books.google.com/books?id=WkgEAAAAMBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=twopage&q&f=false), actress Olga San Juan and comedian Billy de Wolfe took those inventions—a series of brushes of questionable utility—for a test drive. Among the crop of gimmicks were a toothbrush with its bristles replaced by actual teeth, a fingernail brush made of nails meant for a wall, and a broom with a contraption that allows the sweeper to easily sweep dirt under a rug. Not pictured, but specially featured in the company’s catalog: “a special ‘brush off’ brush attached to a mallet for getting rid of too-persistent brush salesmen.” _Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter at_ [_@LizabethRonk_](https://twitter.com/LizabethRonk)_._ _Read next:_ [_These Are the Most Ingenious Gadgets From CES 2015_](http://www.time.com/3653602/ces-gadgets/?xid=time%5Freadnext)  Caption from LIFE. New back brush lets bather see just what she is up to. Allan Grant—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Comedian Billy de Wolfe with useful brushes for housewives. Allan Grant—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Brushes on feet allow housewife to read while scrubbing floor. Allan Grant—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Useful brush lifts rug so dirt can be swept under it. Allan Grant—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Comedian Billy de Wolfe with actress Olga San Juan demonstrating nail brush. Allan Grant—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Actress Olga San Juan demonstrating nail brush. Allan Grant—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Cutaway broom here demonstrated by Paramount actress Olga San Juan quickly sweeps two-steps at a time. Allan Grant—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Shovel-brush, used by Comedian Billy de Wolfe, is artfully designed to sweep and scoop in one simple motion. Allan Grant—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Dribble attachment assures a much neater job because it catches dirt that dribbles off the main brush. Allan Grant—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Comedian Billy de Wolfe with tooth brush. Allan Grant—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Comedian Billy de Wolfe and actress Olga San Juan with tooth brush. Allan Grant—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Actress Olga San Juan and comedian Billy de Wolfe having fun with housewife brushes. 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