Fax Newspaper
These days, people have Twitter and Facebook to get their news. Long ago, you had to buy the news from someone on the street. In between these two circuits though was the fax machine newspaper. It was marketed as convenient, but a trip to the store usually ended up being quicker and cheaper than waiting for a fax to come through.
Pedestrian Shield
When people were driving around cars even more recklessly than modern standards, there were tons of pedestrian deaths. So, to combat these fatalities, inventors crafted something that looked like a shield to ward off such destruction. It, unsurprisingly, did not work at all, but slowing down and being cautious always works.