A visual encyclopedia
of the inventions
that never made it
Why don’t we have this today?
Some were too early. Some too expensive. Some too strange. And some simply arrived in a world that wasn’t ready for them. And many other reasons but a common outcome: they never quite found their place in our world.
The Black Book brings together 180+ extraordinary inventions that history left behind. Carefully researched, illustrated, and collected in one remarkable volume. It is a celebration of human ingenuity and a reminder that curiosity, imagination, experimentation and optimism have no limits.
That never happened: conceived, developed and designed to work, but failed for some reasons
Hand-drawn under the creative direction of Lev Kaplan, with a team of 12+ illustrators
That never happened: conceived, developed and designed to work, but failed for some reasons
The Black Book is co-created with Noah Charney, best-selling Pulitzer-nominated author of 30+ books, professor at Yale University, Brown University, American University of Rome and University of Ljubljana.
An artifact from an alternate history of invention: mechanical dials, coded symbols, and a central lightbulb rendered like a mysterious piece of engineering machinery.
Fact-checked by engineers
Hand-drawn illustrations
Co-authored with Pulitzer-nominated author
(4.72)
140
reviews
The Black Book
The Ultimate Guide to Alternative Inventions
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We pay close attention to the details because quality shouldn’t end when production does. And if your book arrives damaged? We’ll make it right. Simply contact our team with photos of the damage and your order details.
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Carefully made. Carefully packed. Protected on its way to you.
A hand-illustrated book, co-created with Noah Charney, dedicated to inventions that never became part of everyday life. Some arrived before the world was ready for them, and others simply lacked the context, support, or funding needed to succeed.
Rather than viewing these ideas as failures, the book reconsiders them as fully realized alternative paths of human ingenuity. Through original illustrations and carefully researched stories, it brings forgotten concepts back into focus, showing the creativity, ambition, and vision behind each one.
Are the inventions real?
Yes. Every invention featured in the book is based on a real concept, patent, prototype, or historical project. The illustrations reinterpret these ideas while remaining grounded in their historical context.
Is the book suitable as a gift?
Yes. Its combination of original artwork and unusual subject matter makes it a distinctive gift for readers, designers, inventors, and history enthusiasts.
Where can I track my delivery?
You can track your delivery progress using the tracking page on our website. Input your tracking code to access the information.
What are the dimensions?
Weight: 4.41lb / 2.00 kg
Size: 9.0 x 2.0 x 13.4 in / 23 x 4.9 x 34 cm
What is the ISBN?
979-8-999-34034-4
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140
reviews
Fact-checked by engineers
Hand-drawn illustrations
Co-authored with Pulitzer-nominated author
What people are saying
about the black book
Twelve worlds of
Alternative inventions
Choose a chapter and take a closer look at the inventions inside
Land transport
From the Monowheel to rocket boots: alternative ways to move across the world
Aviation
Bell Rocket Belt · Hydrogen Airship · Avrocar
Space
Space Elevator · Space fountain · Sea Dragon
Water world
Liquid Breathing · Underwater Habitat · Marine Cities
Architecture
Dymaxion House · Arcology · Walking City
Household
Reading Devices · Kitchen Contraptions · Bathroom
Style
Crinoline · Electric Brush · Anti-rain Devices
Safety and health
Safety Coffin · Fire Safety · Self-Defense Gadgets
Know-how
Stirling Engine · Tesla Tower · Self-Healing Concrete
IT and telecom
Analytical Engine · Mechanical Memory · Photophone
Military
Walking Truck · Bizarre Tanks · Acoustic Locators
Entertainment
Musical Instruments · Automatons · Game Controllers
A machine that dunks your doughnut for you. (Russell E. Oakes heritage: an American advertising man and amateur inventor)
A concern about dirty sleeves turned into a machine designed to keep breakfast at a safe distance.
HOW WAS THAT SUPPOSED TO WORK?
A mechanical arm grips the doughnut, lowers it neatly into your coffee, then swivels it back toward your mouth for a bite.
WHY DON'T WE HAVE ONE?
Elegant in theory. Slightly absurd in practice. Holding a doughnut turned out to be considerably easier.
A tiny fortress protecting you from butter. (Russell E. Oakes heritage: an American advertising man and amateur inventor)
A protective dome of plastic ribs positioned between your arm and the dangerous breakfast spread.
HOW WAS THAT SUPPOSED TO WORK?
The curved shield sat beside the butter dish, physically separating your sleeve from the knife, butter and anything else threatening your clothes.
WHY DON'T WE HAVE ONE?
Most people decided rolling up their sleeves was easier.
A toaster that fires breakfast across the room. (Russell E. Oakes heritage: an American advertising man and amateur inventor)
Simply making toast rise wasn't dramatic enough.
HOW WAS THAT SUPPOSED TO WORK?
The toaster sat at an angle and used powerful springs to propel finished slices away from the machine instead of gently lifting them upward.
WARNING: Accuracy was not guaranteed.
WHY DON'T WE HAVE ONE?
Breakfast is generally better when you don't have to catch it.
A house made almost entirely of plastic.
In 1957, Monsanto unveiled its House of the Future at Disneyland: a futuristic home built from prefabricated plastic modules and designed to look as though it were floating above the ground.
HOW WAS THAT SUPPOSED TO WORK?
The house was built around a central core containing the kitchen, bathrooms, utilities and furnace. Four molded-plastic wings extended outward in a cross-shaped cantilever, supported by a central pedestal hidden beneath the structure.
WHY DON'T WE HAVE ONE?
Plastic turned out to be less practical and less futuristic than it looked. It could discolor, warp and become brittle with age, while the house itself was expensive to produce.
A 160-kilometre inflatable tower.
Soviet engineer Georgy Pokrovsky imagined reaching space with an enormous helium-filled cone rising 160 km above Earth.
HOW WAS THAT SUPPOSED TO WORK?
The structure would have been filled with helium and stretched from an astonishing 100 km wide at its base to around 390 m across at the top. Inside it, hydrogen-filled aerostats would rise through the helium envelope, carrying telescopes, satellites and other payloads toward space.
WHY DON'T WE HAVE ONE?
We still don't have a material that is simultaneously strong enough and light enough for the job.
A mechanical duck that ate, digested, and pooped.
In 1734, French inventor Jacques Vaucanson created a life-sized gilded automaton that flapped its wings, drank water, ate grain from your hand and appeared to digest it before excreting the result.
HOW WAS THAT SUPPOSED TO WORK?
Inside the duck was an intricate system of bellows, cams, tubes and levers powered by clockwork. But the digestion was an illusion: the grain disappeared into a hidden compartment, while preloaded material was expelled separately at exactly the right moment.
WHY DON'T WE HAVE ONE?
Well, the duck never actually digested anything. The duck ultimately imitated life rather than reproducing it. The original was later lost in a nineteenth-century fire.
5 years of real research.
0% made-up facts.
Behind every story in The Black Book is a trail of research: we dug through archives, technical documents, specialist databases and museum collections: we looked for evidence that the invention actually existed. Share it with confidence. Surprise your friends. Impress your colleagues. Start an argument over dinner.
in libraries around the world
by specials, professionals, sciencists, artist and each other
from other disciplines
Dr. Noah charney
Best-selling Pulitzer-nominated author of 30+ books, professor at Yale University, Brown University, American University of Rome and University of Ljubljana.
The Black Book began with Noah Charney. He dreamed up the concept and shaped its content, word by word.
Pulitzer Prize Nominee, Author of 30+ books
Professor at Yale and at the Smithsonian
TV Presenter and Award-Winning Podcaster
Find out
more about collaboration
Traditionally
hand-drawn 0% AI
involvement
Technical research turned into visual stories you can actually get lost in
Made by humans
Meet the artists behind The Black Book
It felt like homework in a fun way
It was an amazing time, bringing something technical that could have been to life. The challenge of being constrained by limited references and not being allowed to deviate too far from the specifications felt like homework in a fun way.
Knowing they were actually made
Knowing they were actually made
I already enjoy drawing and designing my own machinery and inventions. Drawing for The Black Book felt very comfortable, and at the same time engaging from knowing they were actually made, or planned to be made.
Keeping my inner historian in check
It was dangerously easy to lose entire afternoons down research rabbit holes just trying to verify a panel line or camouflage scheme. I discipline myself to step away from the historical data and put the stylus to work, pouring that fascination directly into the artwork.
The book is full of little surprises.
There are Easter eggs hidden throughout the book. Can you spot them all?
There are more inside
The Black Book
The Ultimate Guide to Alternative Inventions
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The Black Book
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The Ultimate Guide to Alternative Inventions
Behind the scenes
Created with engineers
This book was created together with professional engineers. It draws on patent archives and first-hand engineering experience.
Well-researched content
Every invention in this book is real, every claim is checked, and every story is sourced. The facts are as surprising as the machines themselves.
Hand-drawn illustrations
Every image you see in the book was created by hand, from the first pencil line to the final print. Just intention and hundreds of hours of work that make each spread worth stopping at.
