Gyro-Hat (1926)

“I was able to place the end of one toe on the point of one picket, and thus balanced, wave the other leg in the air . . . When Walsingham pulled my hand I inclined gently toward him until I was at right angles to the picket fence, with my feet still on top of the picket; and when he released my hand, I slowly swung upright again.” – Amazing Stories Volume 1 Number 3.

Couple watching a man in a top hat walking at a 90-degree angle from the ground.

Source: “An Experiment in Gyro-Hats” by Ellis Parker Butler. Wikisource, public domain.