obert Krulwich’s blog ran an image of James C. Boyle’s odd nineteenth-century invention known as the Saluting Device, which was an automated system that would tip men’s hats for them, no hands necessary. It never caught on. An excerpt from the 1896 patent:

“Be it known, that I, James C. Boyle, of Spokane, in the county of Spokane and State of Washington, have invented a new and improved Saluting Device, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to a novel device for automatically effecting polite salutations by the elevation and rotation of the hat on the head of the saluting party when said person bows to the person or persons saluted, the actuation of the hat being produced by mechanism therein and without the use of hands in any manner.”