At last, it is Christmas season again, and it is of course customary to decorate the interior space with a nice Christmas tree, hang baubles and garlands all over it and place presents underneath.
Choosing the most beautiful tree in the shop and properly decorating it is a true form of art that most have pleasure to share with family, friends and social media! Multicoloured baubles, shiny and luminous garlands, candles, home-made figurines… whether you stick to the tradition or chose more fashionable accessories, it is up to your taste and imagination.
However, we would like to present you an invention found on our worldwide patent databases and (most unfairly) fallen into oblivion: the well-named “Christmas tree vibrator”.
Delivered in September 1950 to a US citizen named Leo R. Smith, this patent aims to make your Christmas decoration even more unique by adding an unexpected touch of magic. Indeed, this invention takes the form of a small vibrating device that can be fixed to your Christmas tree for “effecting a slight two-dimensional vibration” (at least that’s what is claimed in the patent), without interfering with the decorations. The apparatus can be clipped to trunks of any size, and the intensity of vibrations can be adjusted to own personal taste.
According to the respectable inventor, the movement of branches and decorations in the tree produces a pleasant, delicate whisper (however, we presume the most powerful mode is not recommended to beginners, as the claimed magic is at risk of being ruined by the sound of the glass ornaments crashing on the ground). Would such a wonder exist today (probably with a Bluetooth link and remote control via a mobile app), you’d certainly be able to enjoy it by yourself or surprise your dear and loving partner with it, especially in the dark (some agree it can also be useful to repel a too intrusive mother-in-law). In any case, for the safety of your beloved tree, be careful to not activate it in front of the cat!
True connoisseurs of Franco-Belgian comic strip may wonder if this invention was not the source of inspiration for a famous gag staring Gaston Lagaffe, the declared inventor of the motorized revolving tree foot intended to “allow everybody to admire the side of the tree which otherwise remains hidden against the wall”.
