.u..rcHay, October 23, 1975
daily nebraskan
past zon inventions rival today's sa
fetyfeat
Bv Jim Williams
A flood of indignant letters poured in
hen last Thursday's Daily Nebraskan
appeared without "Pit Stop" in its usual
obscure location. : ','.
I'ri pleased to say the column was miss-"
toe only because I was ill-pleased because
now I can stop writing all those indignant
letters.
While bed-ridden, I read a stack of
strange automotive-history books. I was
amazed to discover how much today's
driver owes to geniuses of the past.
On the shoulders of giants
The most remarkable of these was
Abbot Thomassi - Grifo-Bandini, often
called 'The Da Vinci of the Automobile."
And with good reason, for Grifo-Bandini's
notebooks and diaries contain amazingly
accurate sketches showing he invented
almost every device essential to the modern
car-in 1663!
The brilliant 17th-century Italian is
credited as the originator of wheel covers,
power windows, fake woodgrain, the tilt
steering wheel, vinyl roofs, the opera
window and deluxe interior decor;
Like too many inventors, Grifo-Bandidi
couldn't see the importance of his work,
and grew disenchanted. Under his last
drawing (something amazingly like a power
moon roof), he scrawled a phrase that
translates "Enough of this pig manure" and
quit to become a highway robber.
Where would we be today without the
talented Fischer brothers, Don and Danny,
of Minneapolis? Don, known today for his
1924 invention of the locking gas-tank cap,
modestly gives credit for inspiration to
1923y' Wh invented the phon hoss
And how about that great stride in
social justice when The Honorable Rupert
Petty of Mound City, Mo., developed the
first speed trap, in 1916? And the
accomplishment of talented 17-year-olds
Jack van Horn and Julie Yeager, who
installed the first fold-down rear seat in
Jack's dad's Rocket 88 in 1953?
Every driver should be grateful to Ellis
D. Mockman, Professor of Psychedelic
Science at the Free Karma Institute of Los
Angeles, whose 1961 experiments led to
the invention of the Environmental
Protection Agency's gas mileage figures and
the 55 miles per hour speed limit.
Reality intrudes
Ridiculous, right? Well, look at what
some real people are doing to "improve"
our cars.
The September 1974 issue of Car and
Driver mentions Australian Sir Arthur
Gordon Rylah, voted the Excalibur Award
of the National Motor Vehicle Safety
Advisory Council for his contribution to
auto safety-the world's first (and, I hope,
only) mandatory s?at-belt use law.
Then there's home-grown nut Sen.
Charles Percy, who wants to save our lives
by asking car makers to mark speedometers
only to 90 m.p.h. Above that, the senator
wants the red-lettered, warning, "Extreme
Hazard!".
Isn't progress wonderful?
spoils : stesis
Paul Grosscup, fraternity tennis champi
on, beat independent tennis champion
Tom Satele 12-6 to win the all-university
intramural tennis championship.
Grosscup represented Beta Theta Pi in
the double elimination tournament. Allen
Fen, residence hall champion, also played
in the semi-finals of the all-university
tournament.
Anyone interested in the Alumni Crew
Club is asked to write Peter Zandbergen,
club director, at the Crew Boathouse, 1000
N. 16 St., 68588.
Twenty five participants competed in
the Nebraska State Air Pistol team
championship last Saturday at the UNL
rifle range. '
Tom Hasenyager, club president, said
the match served as a good promotional
project for the rifle club and the Physical
Education Dept.
Competitors in the match ranged from
junior shooters (high school age) to profes
sional shooters. One reason for the match,
Hasenyager said that the match gave junior
shooters a, chance to compete in a
registered National Rifle Association match
and receive classification. y '
He said the opportunity given the junior
shooters will help to support the club in
the future.
r
. i r ! v r
)iS WI
Units
Pioneer SX-633 ourprlct- $289.95
reg." $343.65
Pioneer SX 030 our pries- $479.00
reg.- $600.00
scwasners
Discwasher System
Discwasher Dll
Discwasher 18 oi..
our price" $11.00
reg." $15.00
our price" $1.50
reg.- $2.25
our price $11.00
reg.- $15.00
',0k wuiWJWS
mt!
Craig 3144
8-Track Stereo Player
Piug-in quick release mount. Lighted program indicators.
Dual slide controls for leftright volume, balance. Two-step
tone control. TEAM Price 8flg
Auto Stereo
Speakers
Pioneer TS22 our price" $25.00 pr.
reg.- $39.95 pr.
Craig 9421 our price" $35.00 pr.
reg." $49.95 pr.
Pioneer TS-25 our price- $20.00 pr.
reg." $26.95 pr.
Jensen 20-02 . our price" $12.95 ea.
reg." $17.95 ea.
Jensen 10-02 our price" $9.95 ea.
reg." $12.95 ea.
W-...
r
Cartridges
Stanton C31EEE
Shure Miveu
Shure IWSSED
r
'
Shure VIS type
our price" $55.00
reg.- $32.00
. AA
our pricir itfv
reg.- $54.95
our price" $30.00
reg.- $59.95
our price" $70.00
KossKO7270
KomHV41LC
our price" $19.95
reg." $34.85
ourprlct- $40.00
reg." $54.95
Combined Units
980 B.I.C.
WB
W8-20
D-20
M91ED
A Value Of
$231.80
Now Only
$215.00
Dual 1229 Q
VY319
DC 9
M-95ED
A Value Of
$331.80
Now Only
$259.05
Phillips Gaziz
& & Dust Cover
M91ED
A Value Of
$224.45
Now Only
$1C5.Q0
SpeaScers
JDRX2-200 our price- $110.00 pr.
reg - $179.80 pr.
Atlantis 5A our price- $225.00 pr.
' reg," $353.00 pr.
Atlantis 3 our price- $150.00 pr.
. reg,- $119.95 ea.
.. 1 . ' I U ; : ;
Automotive Players ,
Audiovox ID600 our price- $129.95
reg.- $149.85
', Audiovox ID400 our price- $103.00
reg.- $119.95
Team Electronics 21c
13B-00S9
er"jt
HIJK3i3A'G!lGlllim TILL SsOIj
Team Gcrvico 21 ct B "O"
t-. ft "O"
,,-., . iMnummmn a aniiiw i J'LijiLiiwni mwwi niiMiiaeww'i i imim'wuti.i mi'M fh imimw mmn mwi'll i wmmt 11 HiiiwawwrrrTinriiinr ntmm 'Bin nw
i7JT,-.... ...t..j:. . jLJ J-Ji(niiL; Jf! ..num.!, lfM pMiimw:w-ir;rfir nflu -aiii'ir ij.aattajfia&aff ammmM!wi