Science: Bed, Pipe, Propeller

Last week news of a remarkable invention came out of Seattle. The invention: an air-conditioned bed, adjustable for godlike slumber in winter as well as in summer.

The bed's frame is a sheet-metal box, its "mattress" a cushion of air enclosed by the frame and a sheet of fabric stretched across its top. The fabric is treated so that it is almost, but not quite, impermeable to air. Thus the air in the cushion, though supporting the sleeper, slowly escapes from the bed and envelops him. The mattress does not collapse because more air is delivered to the bed from pressure...

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