Jun 26 2008 World's Largest Pool: No, Not The Ocean
Although it might as well be. The San Alfonso del Mar is a 1,013 meter, 19-acre pool on the central coast of Chile. It holds 66 million gallons of filtered sea-water and even has a 115-foot deep end (making it even deeper than yesterday's pool). Although I think we can all agree this is actually less of a pool and more of a man-made lake. I have a rule: if you can boat on it, it's not a pool. But that's just me. As you can see, the pool is just a stone's throw from the beach, which begs the question, "Did you not see that massive natural pool right there before you built this thing?" Regardless, it took approximately five years and $2 billion to complete. Maintenance costs are estimated to be about $4 million a year -- and that's just to retrieve floaters!
Hit the jump for several more pictures of the ridiculousness.
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Jun 25 2008 World's Deepest Pool Lacks A High Dive
The world's deepest swimming pool (108 feet) resides in Brussels, Belgium and serves as "multi-purpose diving instruction, recreational, and film production facility."
The pool itself consists of a submerged structure with flat platforms at various depth levels. The pool has two large flat-bottomed areas at depth levels of 5m (16 ft) and 10m (32 ft), and a large circular pit descending to a depth of 33m (108 ft). It is filled with 2,500,000 liters of non-chlorinated, highly filtered spring water maintained at 30°C (86°F) and contains several simulated underwater caves at the 10m depth level. There are numerous underwater windows that allow outside visitors to look into the pools at various depths.
While that's cool and all, where the hell is the high dive? You can't have a pool that deep and not have a high dive, it's blasphemous. I mean, WTF? Oh well, I'm still gonna sink my girlfriend's body in the deep end.
Hit the jump off for a bunch more pictures.
Jun 16 2008 Knife Injects Compressed Gas Into Stabee
The best I can tell the WASP Knife has nothing to do with white Protestants. Nope, it has to do with stabbing something and then releasing 24g of compressed gas into the wound and exploding their organs (VIDEO demo after the jump).
Since World War II, the military has seen much of its soldiers equipment go through many radical changes and technological advances. The knife has gone unchanged until now. Our soldiers deserve the most advanced equipment that is available to them. A simple knife is okay, but when it comes down to the last line of defense, you want something that will get the job done. Introducing the WASP Injection Knife. This easy-to-use, easy-to-reload weapon delivers up to a 24g shot of compressed gas at 800 PSI on land or underwater.
What the? I read on some message board that it was useful if you're attacked by a shark, as the compressed gas would screw with its ability to remain at depth and swim correctly. But besides that it just sounds like a dangerous freaking knife. The company's website is currently down claiming they are "in negotiations to sell it strictly on the non-civilian market" so I don't know if this website selling them for $389 is legit or not. Regardless, that knife scares the hell out of me. Almost as much as my freshman roommate in college did. I'd hear a strange noise at night and flip the light on to find he'd been sharpening a knife in the dark. And that, my friends, is when I started dating an ugly chick to sleep in her room.
Worthwhile VIDEO of the thing being demonstrated, after the jump.
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May 12 2008 Sure, Why Not?: Get Buried Underwater
Some people are happy being cremated and spending eternity in an urn on the fireplace mantel that the grandkids get all freaked out about. Others are happy with a traditional burial 6 feet under -- but some, some take it a step further and want to rest 45 feet under. Enter the Neptune Memorial Reef, near Miami. The artificial reef opened this last fall, and is an underwater cemetery. The first phase consists of gates, pathways, plaques, and benches, and can hold up to 850 people's remains.
The ashes are mixed with cement designed for underwater use and fitted into a mold, which a diver then places and secures into the reef. A copper and bronze plaque is installed with the person's name, date of birth and death. There is also a line for a message.
The cement mixer treatment starts at $995 for their most modestly priced receptacle, and goes all the way to $6,495 if you want to be incorporated into something wicked like a lion statue. The hope is that eventually the reef will cover 16 acres and hold the burnt remains of up to 125,000 people.
"This is simply as good as it gets," said Gary Levine, a diver who conceived the reef and is now a shareholder in the company that owns it.
Whoa there Gary, whoa there. First off, that is not as good as it gets. Having your remains shot into outerspace in a rocketship is as good as it gets. And secondly, it's a little hard to trust anyone who has "conceived a reef". Now I've conceived children before, but never a reef. As a rule I keep my conceiver away from anything sharp like coral. Cut up your junk real bad.
Several more pictures (including a lion) after the jump.
Mar 10 2008 Live Underwater: Dive Tanks Recycle Oxygen
The Poseidon Mk IV Discovery is a dive tank that recycles oxygen, so you can stay underwater long enough to fall in love with a mermaid and produce mutant children. Awesome, I know. Just don't go settling for a manatee like I did. The system works through the use of C02 scrubbers and oxygen cells powered via lithium-ion battery. Unfortunately the unit does not protect divers from the bends. Or the runs. Which, in my case, are a serious problem.
Mk IV Discovery rebreather recycles oxygen for longer diving [dvice]
Feb 15 2008 The Video To Prove It: RinSpeed sQuba Car Is Real, Not Just Concept Art. OMG, OMG!!
Many of you may remember the Rinspeed sQuba car posted a few months ago. It's a zero emission vehicle that runs off a rechargeable lithium-ion battery and can dive underwater. All we had back then were a couple of concept art pics, but now there's a video! Sure it's a ridiculously horrible James Bond parody with a mediocre Bond girl, but it shows the car in action -- underwater! It's definitely worth checking out. It's a 5:00 minute video, but the car doesn't go under until about 2:30, so feel free to skip there. And also, skip to my lou, my darlin'. Or, if that isn't your scene, you can skip out on your next bar tab. And if a bouncer happens to catch you just tell him the Geekologie writer told you to -- then tase that mother!
A long, long, long, long description of the vehicle and company after the jump.
Aug 15 2007 Waterproof iPod Case
Tired of shark fighting with no tunes? The iS2 brings the dream to life, allowing users to dive to unheard of depths (almost to the bottom of the deep end, 10 ft.) while your iPod shuffle remains safe and dry. The thing doesn't come with waterproof earphones though, so you're on your own with that one. I still need one though. After all, nothing says "I am a lover of music" more than listening to the classics while getting laid in your kiddy pool as neighbors drive by honking.
Waterproof iPod Case [OhGizmo]
