Innovation Fail: Sometimes it just doesn’t work.

Every successful invention has had a number of failures in its wake. Some failures are more spectacular than others. We are collecting the more well-known innovation failures here. If you have suggestions, send them to us via Twitter @oninnovations.

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Vibrate the fat away!

Why sweat when you don't have to? That was the thinking back in the 1940s and '50s, when vibrator belts were the exercise device of choice. How did they fail? They didn't burn any fat. In this photo, a woman demonstrates the vibratory exercise belt, which can be raised or lowered by using a T-handle, on Nov. 30, 1946.

/ Associated Press

How not to fly

Some innovation failures are more tragic than others. The dirigible, or zeppelin, was the most popular mode of air transportation for 30 years. It all ended with the Hindenberg. In this photo, the German dirigible floats over New York City on the afternoon of May 6, 1937, as it heads for Lakehurst, N.J., to complete the 21st crossing from Germany to the United States. Later that evening, the hydrogen-filled airship burst into flames when attempting to land. Thirty-six people died in the crash.

/ AP

Did you go with Yugo?

Stop us if you've heard this one: What do you call a Yugo that breaks down after 100 miles? An overachiever. The Soviet-era car has appeared on, and topped, a number of "worst car" lists, including Time magazine's 50 worst cars of all time. This photo shows the production line of Serbia's Zastava car plant in Kragujevac on Nov. 9, 2008. The last Yugos, once a pride of former Yugoslav car industry, came down from the assembly lines after almost thirty years.

Aleksandar Stankovic / AFP/Getty Images

Up, up and away?

If you've ever seen the cartoon "The Jetsons," your craving for a consumer-level jet pack is something you learn to live with. While jet packs have been used successfully for short periods of time, a consumer-level product has never been realized. In this photo, Bill Suiter, also known as "Rocket Man," soars with the help of a jet pack during the welcoming of nations at the opening ceremonies of the 1984 Summer Olympics in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on July 28, 1984.

Rusty Kennedy / AP

Here today and here yesterday: The electric car

There is a renewed interest in the electric car, with nearly every major car manufacturer producing one. But General Motors' introduction of the EV1 in the late '90s is widely touted as a failure, since the car's battery could not be easily mass produced and the car was too expensive to construct, among other problems. In this photo, GM Chairman John F. Smith holds a press conference on Jan. 4, 1998, to announce plans to start production of the EV1 electric passenger car, right, later that year, making GM the first major automaker in modern times to market specifically designed electric vehicles to the public.

Hal Garb / AFP/Getty Images

Remember the Wendy's SuperBar

Wendy's wasn't always just about hamburgers and french fries. The fast food chain once offered a salad and hot food bar that included Mexican and Italian fare. The SuperBar gave customers an opportunity to "create your own meal," according to advertising. But the SuperBar, which lasted roughly 10 years, was too expensive for the fast food chain to sustain.

Scott Olson / Getty Images

Before there was Google+...

Google Buzz, one of Google's first forays into social media, lacked the necessary privacy protections when it launched. Google quickly scaled back the product, but not before it was widely panned by tech reviewers worldwide. Google has since launched the more successful social media platform Google+. In this photo, Google co-founder Sergey Brin participates in a panel discussion to unveil Google Buzz in Mountain View, Calif. of Feb. 9, 2010.

Robert Galbraith / Reuters

How not to make an energy drink

Students at northern New Jersey's Ramapo College were hospitalized because of the effects of Four Loko -- a drink that contained caffeine, other common energy-drink ingredients and as much alcohol as four beers.

Paul Sakuma / AP

It's "free iced coffee day," but not for you.

On May 11, 2010, Dunkin' Donuts launched their "free iced coffee day" promotion. But there was a catch: Only 14 locations of the franchise's hundreds nationwide were offering it, even though the promotion was marketed nationally. The company received a flurry of negative comments on its Facebook page. In this photo, a pedestrian walks by a Dunkin' Donuts Inc. store in Midtown Manhattan.

Ramin Talaie / Getty Images

FEATURED PHOTO GALLERIES

epa03708924 Franziska (C) wears a helmet and carries a shield during the recreation of The Battle of the Teutoburg Museum in Bramsche, Germany, 20 May 2013. The everyday life of Romans and the Germanic people is depicted at Museum Park Kalkriese during the Romans and Germanic people days. EPA/Friso Gentsch

Photos of the day

Battle of Teutoburg Forest reenactment, Mars Curiosity rover drilling, massive tornado strikes Moore, Oklahoma and more.

A Burrowing owl tries to perch on a protective rope in a public park in Cooper City, Fla. Monday, May 20, 2013 as rain falls. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)

Animal views

Fun and fascinating creatures around the world.

ANNAPOLIS, MD - MAY 20: The Herndon Monument Climb is the traditional culmination of plebe year at the United States Naval Academy. The plebes climb to the top of the lard-covered 21 foot high monument and remove the 'dixie cup' hat at the top replacing it with an upperclassman's hat. After completing this, the freshmen are called 'fourth class midshipmen.' This class completed the task in 1 hour 32 minutes and 43 seconds. The hat was placed by Patrick Lien from Orlando. (Photo by Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post)

The Herndon Climb

The Herndon Monument climb is the traditional culmination of plebe year at the U.S. Naval Academy.

This combination of Associated Press photos shows left, a neighborhood in Moore, Okla., in ruins on Tuesday, May 4, 1999, after a tornado flattened many houses and buildings in central Oklahoma, and right, flattened houses in Moore on Monday, May 20, 2013. Monday's powerful tornado in suburban Oklahoma City loosely followed the path of a killer twister that slammed the region in May 1999. (AP Photo)

Okla. tornado loosely followed path of 1999 twister

Monday’s powerful tornado in suburban Oklahoma City loosely followed the path of a killer twister that slammed the area in May 1999.

Lea Bessinger salvages a picture of Jesus as she and her son Josh Bessinger sort through the rubble of the elder Bessinger's tornado-ravaged home Tuesday, May 21, 2013, in Moore, Okla. A huge tornado roared through the Oklahoma City suburb Monday, flattening an entire neighborhoods and destroying an elementary school with a direct blow as children and teachers huddled against winds. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Tornado near Oklahoma City causes more damage

Rescue workers are searching for survivors after a twister carved a long path of destruction in a suburb of Oklahoma City. It was part of the...

FILE - In this undated publicity file photo, members of the Doors, from left, John Densmore, Robbie Krieger, Ray Manzarek and Jim Morrison, pose for a portrait. Manzarek, the keyboardist who was a founding member of The Doors, has died at 74. Publicist Heidi Robinson-Fitzgerald says in a news release that Manzarek died Monday, May 20, 2013, at the RoMed Clinic in Rosenheim, Germany, surrounded by his family. (AP Photo, File)

Ray Manzarek, founding member of the Doors, dies at 74

Manzarek co-founded the Doors after meeting then-poet Jim Morrison in California. The band went on to become one of the most successful rock-and-roll...

US actress Rosario Dawson smiles on May 20, 2013 as she arrives for the screening of the film 'Wara No Tate' (Shield of Straw) presented in Competition at the 66th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes. Cannes, one of the world's top film festivals, opened on May 15 and will climax on May 26 with awards selected by a jury headed this year by Hollywood legend Steven Spielberg. AFP PHOTO / ALBERTO PIZZOLIALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP/Getty Images

Eye on entertainment

Rosario Dawson, Alec Baldwin, Michael Douglas, Matt Damon, Bow Wow, Amy Poehler and more.

A man walks on sulphur and mineral salt formations near Dallol in the Danakil Depression, northern Ethiopia April 22, 2013. The Danakil Depression in Ethiopia is one of the hottest and harshest environments on earth, with an average annual temperature of 94 degrees Fahrenheit (34.4 Celsius). For centuries, merchants have travelled there with caravans of camels to collect salt from the surface of the vast desert basin. The mineral is extracted and shaped into slabs, then loaded onto the animals before being transported back across the desert so that it can be sold around the country. Picture taken April 22, 2013. REUTERS/Siegfried Modola (ETHIOPIA - Tags: BUSINESS SOCIETY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

ATTENTION EDITORS: PICTURE 2 OF 30 FOR PACKAGE 'ETHIOPIA'S ANCIENT SALT TRAIL'
SEARCH 'DANAKIL DEPRESSION' FOR ALL

Ethiopia’s salt trail

For centuries, merchants have traveled to Ethiopia’s Danakil Depression with caravans of camels to collect salt from the surface of the vast desert basin. The mineral is extracted...

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