There is a lot of old, weird tech out there, but this 1965 patent is for something particularly weird: an "apparatus for facilitating the birth of a child by centrifugal force."

Developed by New York residents George and Charlotte Blonsky, the "rotatable apparatus" would subject "the mother and the fetus to a centrifugal force directed to assist and supplement the efforts of the mother so that such centrifugal force and her efforts act in concert to overcome the action of resisting forces and facilitate the delivery of the child." They wrote:

It is known, that due to natural anatomical conditions, the fetus needs the application of considerable propelling force to enable it to push aside the constricting vaginal walls, to overcome the friction of the uteral and vaginal surfaces and to counteract the atmospheric pressure opposing the emergence of the child. In the case of a woman who has a fully developed muscular system and has had ample physical exertion through the pregnancy, as is common with all more primitive people, nature provides all the necessary equipment and power to have a normal, quick delivery. This is not the case, however, with more civilized women who often do not have the opportunity to develop  the muscles needed in confinement.

It is the primary purpose of the present invention to provide an apparatus which will assist the under-equipped women by creating a gentle, evenly distributed, properly directed, precision-controlled force, that acts in unison with and supplements her own efforts.

Below, some of the drawings of this bizarre machine.