>I've been developing an interest in yestertech recently; steam engines,
>air wells, flying wings, etcetera. Specifically I'm looking for devices
>that were supposed to be "the next big thing" but that never really
>caught on.
>
>I'm thinking of putting together some sort of museum exhibit celebrating
>ignored and forgotten devices, schemes and plans.
Well, they're not past "next big things", but the Atlantic has an amusing
paragraph each month on some bizarre expiring patent.