It turns out we are not the only generation fascinated by observing our neighbors, famous people or just plain strangers. Here are some photos of clever piece of spy gear that people used to observe activities on the street they lived on, and all this took place around 100 years ago. Ok, let’s check them out:

Spy mirror without mirrors

This is really worn out, nothing but metal frame left, but that has actually hold up quite well, don’t you think? Well, local blacksmiths can still whip up such an item in a day, so don’t expect all of them to be several decades old.

White is new black

This one is fully functional and I noticed there was old lady sitting in this window, managed to take the photo even I kept feeling I was being watched. Yes, innocent white really is new sinister black.

Soldier

In this house lives a soldier. Who else would position these reconnaissance gear so strategically? Sitting in the corner and keeping an eye to both streets.

Too bad this tool works in city surroundings only, as it uses normal mirrors. What about a version with lenses? I bet that city folks loved to sit by the window and drink coffee while looking outside to see who are walking by. Can you see how it worked?

For the longest time I thought that mobile log cabin is the most convenient of all log cabins. I tried to dig out info where to find them, which companies are making them, how to convert trailer into a trailer log siding home etc. No more! Now I want a floatable log cabin.

I just happened to surf to Floating Cabins site and found the product in all its ingenuity. Well, technically there is nothing special in floating log homes they just combine many good features that interest me. They are obviously floatable, because if they weren’t that site name would be Sunk Cabins dot com, eh? They are also movable so one could start a day by lakeside and end it at mountain top. Best of all, they are log homes, I guess, since the website doesn’t provide any technical information. Only thing left for me to do in this situation is to write to them and ask for details. I’ll see if I can get an interview from them.