John Muir, naturalist and maker of odd inventions?

The new Ken Burns documentary on America's National Parks has brought a renewed interest to the lives of the early conservationists such as John Muir.

The Sierra Club have added a new page to their website that describes a relatively unknown side of John Muir - his inventive side: Was John Muir a Mad Scientist?

His inventions included an alarm clock that knocks the leg out from under the bed, and his mechanical study desk, pictured, that "would automatically light his lamp and fire, open the right book to study, and then change books after half an hour.

FYI - if you want to watch the PBS documentary online it looks like it will only be available until October 9th and a new show is being added each day. The first two are up now.