W: What’s so funny? I can’t concentrate on my
work if you keep laughing loudly like that.
M: I’m sorry. It’s just that I’m reading this article in
Science Today magazine about some of the
unusual things that people have invented. These
inventions are incredible!
W: OK, tell me about some of these inventions, and
let’s see if I think they’re as funny as you do.
M: All right. The first one is a ladder for spiders, “a
thin, flexible, rubber strip which attaches to the
top edge of the bath.”
W: Ha ha! I wonder how long it took someone to
invent that.
M: Another inventor has designed a portable seat
that you wear on a belt around your waist. In
this picture it looks like a big plastic cushion.
W: Well, that is very unusual. But who would want
to walk around with a portable plastic seat
hanging from their waist all the time?
M: Another unusual invention is this one. Look, it’s
a car plate that indicates whether the driver is a
man or a woman by using different colors on
either side. There’s one color for males and one
for females.
W: What’s the point of that invention?
M: The inventor says that other road users will
change the way they behave. They will become
more polite if they know a woman is driving, so
there will be fewer car accidents.
W: Ha! Do you really think that will happen? That’s
completely unbelievable!