From a scan of a 1930s Popular Science which had such a nice cover illustration I had to include it:
All that is needed to attach the device to the windshield is to moisten the small vacuum cup fastener and press it firmly against the inside of the windshield, setting the candle in an upright position under the windshield wiper. The flame should be about a quarter of an inch away from the glass, and the candle may be adjusted to this distance by merely bending the metal holder. A shield keeps light out of the driver’s eyes.
Can you imagine trying to sell a product today that involved fire in a moving vehicle? I wonder how well it worked. I’d expect it would get soot all over the glass.
CANDLE KEEPS ICE FROM FORMING ON WINDSHIELD (Dec, 1930) [Modern Mechanix]
Not for application whilst refilling one’s automobile with petroleum distillate!
I used to keep thermal candles in my old car to thaw the windshield in the winter, as the car’s heater fan was broken. The other option would have been to drive around for ~10 minutes in the blind, so I chose to look strange for a couple of minutes in the morning instead.
“Can you imagine trying to sell a product today that involved fire in a moving vehicle?”
Never had a car with an ashtray?
@Tubman – there’s a pretty big difference between an open flame and a hot coil
Screw the candle, I want that damn car! Fedora dude’s kickin’ it down like the Dukes of Hazzard by way of Buckminster Fuller.
He’s heading towards-The FUTURE!