This will be a most attractive gift item…

But first…
Dulltown, UK: Today’s silly sounding word is ‘oblong’.
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What’s that fusty smell? Where is it coming from?…
Oh, it must be that old junk shop book, The 1954 Gadgets Annual, lying there on the table. Oh, hang on, it doesn’t seem to be the book itself that smells, it’s one or two of the ideas in it…
No no, just my little joke dear reader, the book is actually a fascinating glimpse into the world of Britain back in the 1950s, a time when money was short and people had to make-do and mend just as they did only a few years earlier in the dark days of WWII.

This is of course the title page, the book itself is far too drab looking to warrant a picture. There are three or four items on each page, about half of them are accompanied by a nice little drawing which shows the gadget and sometimes illustrates how it can be made.
Let’s quickly flick through these yellowing well-thumbed pages and sample some items which might attract the attention of the 1950s handyman or handy-lady:
A Non-Mechanical Agitator, A Neat Teapot Lid Locking Device, A Celery-Stick Cleaner, A Comfortable Pen Holder, How To Clean Corroded Terminals, A Magnetic Shaver’s Shelf, etc…

‘Madge…’
‘Yes dear?’
‘Have you seen my copy of Gadgets Magazine? I’m sure I heard it come through the letterbox this morning.’
‘Yes, Albert I have it here.’
‘Oh? What are you doing with it?’
‘I was just glancing through it.’
‘Oh? I didn’t think such technical things would be of much interest to you my dear.’
‘I was curious as to why you find it so enthralling, you really do look forward to receiving it – it always seems to cheer you up.’
‘Well, yes, I suppose so…’
‘What about a toothpick holder Albert?’
‘Eh?’
‘Look here, see, it says that they can be most attractive gift items!’
‘Oh, yes… right… perspex, polished wood, metal polish, glue… I think I do have a few old bits of perspex in the shed… It looks like it might be a bit tricky though, perspex can be rather…’
‘Albert.’
‘Yes, dear?’
‘This thing… in this silly magazine…’
‘Yes?’
‘It is one of the ugliest, and most useless things, I have ever seen in my life!’
‘Oh Madge, you are such a minx!… Ho ho ho!… You were deliberately drawing me in! No, it’s not very nice is it? And, do you know, that working perspex can be surprisingly difficult, you have to have the correct type of…’
‘Albert…’
‘Yes dear?’
‘How about making us a neat teapot lid locking device?’
‘Oh! Stop it!… Come here and give me a cuddle… but Madge, be careful, mind you don’t crease my magazine…’