The 50 Worst Inventions

The flying car isn't purely science fiction. In the 1940s, inventors managed to fly a car from California to Ohio, although the model never took off because of cost and technical limitations. But in 1973, an inventor named Henry Smolinski tried to succeed where others failed by strapping the wings and tail from a Cessna aircraft to, of all cars, a Ford Pinto. During a test flight in California, the Pinto broke free, plummeting to earth and killing Smolinski and his passenger. Some things are better left to the movies.