Curiosities and Ingenuities of the Patent Office. Many of the wild and wacky inventions submitted to the Patent Office, including: Fly Flickers, Horn buffers for Cattle, Mosquito-avoiding umbrella, a four-wheeled vehicle 'pushed' by a horse, pinze-nez-style spectacles, a metal bar to prevent brooding hens from sitting, dog whip with handle to contain powder to stop quarrelling mutts and (of course!) manned torpedoes fired from a single operator submersible vessel.