Thinking Outside the Stall

If you want an example of how difficult it is to jump the curve with product innovation, look no further than Uriah Smith's 1899 concept car called the Horsey Horseless.

I think this was an early example of "thinking outside the stall".

Basically this contraption is a horseless carriage, complete with horse's head. The world's first hood ornament was designed so that the car wouldn't upset traditional horse powered carriage traffic and was also made hollow, to enable fuel storage.

There is no truth to the rumour that Uriah Smith's descendants were behind the design of the Ford Pinto.

I think this is a great example of how difficult it has always been to develop game changing technology. Regardless of the century, the problem with inventing the future is that we're grounded in the present.