Amazing Stories, August 1927 — page 79: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

HICKS’ INVENTIONS with a KICK By Henry Hugh Simmons — The Automatic Apartment Author of “Hicks’ Self-Serving Dining Table.” The foot-clamp swung over, lovingly taking hold of the pro- fessor’s throat and gently but firmly holding down his head . .. The entire company stood assembled around where the . fully to pull the professor out to manipulate the switchboard. professor was having the shine of his life. by the legs, while Smith tried help- another tried N minutes ago I had been on the point of throwing Hicks down the stairs, and here I was walking down the street | with him, talking—or rather he was started to buck, and we were bombarded with every hot and cold food from mockturtle soup to Limburg- er cheese and soused in every kind of liquid from iced tea to red hot tomato sauce, with my clothes ruined, not to speak of my injured dignity, I could most talented he is the talker on this side of the Atlantic. He’s got that personal magnetism or something and he can just handle you like a kid. He can handle me that way, that’s sure, When you remember that epi- sode of the Automatic Dining Table, maybe you will agree with me that I had plenty of cause for wanting to do mayhem to Hicks. When I thought how the confounded thing doing the talking. He always does,— ( HERE is the second series of “Hicks’ Inventions with a Kick,” the first having appeared in our April, 1927 issue. While this story is written in a light vein, it should be remembered that many devices of this kind are apt to turn out realities sometime in the future. Some years ago, the Editor of this publication, during a friendly gathering ventured the opinion that he could wash the dishes and dry them without even getting his hands wet, whereupon the company proceeded to the kitchen and the Editor, by attaching a plain rubber hose to the hot water faucet, washed the dishes simply by play- ing a stream of hot water on them, after which they were lifted out and put in a tray, where the heat dried them. Af the time, this caused a great deal of merriment, yet a device of this kind is now actually on the market, and ts being sold at about $5.00, which proves that even the most ridiculous invention may turn out to be practical. nt ne ceudtiihnietennatiimmndiantaiinmnadiiadamensedtiameteddl have... Well, no matter. Here I was walking by Hicks’ side and listening to his conversation, bound for his home to inspect another one of his auto- matic inventions. I was even offering him one of my best cigars! “The reason I came to see you first,” Hicks was saying, “is because I know you are capable of judg- ing a thing objectively. Few people can. Not one icomicbookszcom <>