New Ideas

GOODS & SERVICES

Commuter Cycle. A mile-a-minute bike was brought out by Bianchi, Italy's oldest bikemaker, who hopes to sell it to commuters in the U.S. to ride to the railroad station. Bianchi's new "World Champion" has ten gears operated by a hand shift, weighs only 23 lbs. (v. an average 47 lbs. for standard U.S. bikes) and has hit 60 m.p.h. ridden by Italian bike-racing Champion Fausto Coppi. Ordinary pedal pushers, says Bianchi, can do 50 m.p.h. without trouble. Price in Italy: $75. Price in U.S.: about $135.

Farmer's Friend. An experimental free-piston tractor, which promises to give U.S. farmers more power per dollar than any tractor currently on the market, was shown by Ford Motor Co. Ford's "Typhoon" is powered by the same turbine-like free-piston engine (TIME, Nov. 14, 1955) already being tested in trucks and boats, has the advantage of low fuel cost, simpler construction (no crankshaft, no spark plugs), less vibration and no need for early-morning warmups. The company hopes to put a free-piston tractor on the market within the next few years.

Iceless Icebox. For shipping freshly killed poultry and other perishable goods at low cost, an iceless icebox has been developed by Aluminum Co. of America and Stone Container Corp. The carton uses reflecting aluminum foil on the outside to keep products cool in shipment, no matter how hot it gets inside trucks or trains. It is big enough to hold twelve chickens or 50 lbs. of other goods, will keep them at 45DEG to 48DEG for eleven hours or longer in temperatures as high as 103DEG.

Garden Weeder. A new weed killer developed by Monsanto Chemical Co. eliminates hand hoeing in vegetable patches. "Vegadex" destroys annual grasses and broad-leaf weeds without damaging crops, has been found safe for everything from corn to garden beets. Chemical may also be used safely in some tree and plant nurseries where hand weeding costs run as high as $100 per acre annually. Price per gallon: $13.50.

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