Oct 9 2009 Yeah, But Can It Fly?: Amphibious WaterCar Does 60MPH On Both Land And Sea
The $200,000 WaterCar is the lovechild of a Corvette that fell in love with a cigarette boat. But, like having sex with a mermaid, everyone will tell you it was just a manatee.
Get a Corvette engine, rig it up with a Dominator Jet drive, and then strap it into a floating car, and you get the WaterCar Python, the fastest and highest-performing amphibious vehicle in the world. If zipping over the water at a top speed of 60mph doesn't float your boat, it'll accelerate on land at a neck-snapping 0-to-60 speed of a mere 4.5 seconds.
Call me old fashioned, but I like all my vehicles single-purpose. If it drives on the road, I don't want it in the ocean or sky. I mean, that's just more stuff to go wrong. And wrong, my friends, is the opposite of right. And two Wrights made an airplane. ZING! Thanks for that one, dad.
Hit the jump for several more shots and a video of the thing in action (worthwhile stuff starts at 0:50).
Continue Reading " Yeah, But Can It Fly?: Amphibious WaterCar Does 60MPH On Both Land And Sea "
Jan 30 2009 Yes Please!: Water Powered Jetpacks
I want one. Yesterday. Ooh, and a firetruck to power it. That way when I have children I can tell them, "Children, in the golden age before you were born daddy used to ride a water-powered jetpack to the liquor store. Now he drives a minivan. Someday you will understand the sacrifices he's made for you. And also, be daddy's designated driver.
Thanks to Digital Mulch, landscaping the interwebs for over 10 years.
Oct 10 2008 Sure, Why Not?: A Giant Guitar Boat
Like the saying goes, "when the going gets tough, the tough build a giant freaking guitar boat and cruise around in that mother like PUT PUT PUT". Am I right? I'm wrong. Anyway, this is Indie rocker Josh Pyke taking a fully functional guitar boat for a spin in the music video for his song "Make You Happy". I tried to find the video and couldn't, but apparently the dude's got some musical skills. But no boating ones. He crashed into a dock and spilled a ton of notes. You know, notes -- like musical notes. Because it's a guitar. Fine, somebody come AIDS me in the face, I deserve it.
Giant guitar is a seaworthy motorboat [dvice]
Sep 26 2008 Wait, What?: An Underwater Lake
So apparently there are lakes of super-saline water at the bottom of the ocean.
During the Jurassic period the waters here were shallow and became cut off from the ocean. The area soon dried out, leaving a thick layer of salt and other minerals up to 8km thick. When ocean water returned after the region rifted apart, the super-saline layer at the bottom of the Gulf became an underwater lake. Now brine, which is continually released from a rift in the ocean floor, feeds the lake.
Now I know what you're thinking -- there has got to be magic involved. But you're wrong, my friend. This is pure sorcery.
Hit the jump for a longer David Attenborough clip about the lakes.
Aug 29 2008 Is This A Swedish Sea Monster?
I dunno, it kind of looks like a rectangle humping a tapeworm.
A group of filmmakers claim to have successfully captured Sweden's legendary Great Lake Sea Monster (Storsjöodjuret), which is said to lurk in the waters of the Storsjön outside Östersund in northern Sweden.
"It clearly shows that it's warm and is made up of cells, otherwise our cameras wouldn't indicate red, so it can be a sea snake or some other kind of sea animal," said a female member of the film crew to Sveriges Television news in Jämtland.The effort to find the monster has generated a great deal of interest, with the American television network NBC planning to document the hunt.
Boy are they in for a surprise. You see, the Great Lake Sea Monster is actually SPOILER ALERT: my penis. I guess he wasn't joking when he said he was packing the balls and moving to Sweden. Wait, then what's....
UPDATE: An ear of baby corn.
Hit the jump for a video news report in Swedish.
Aug 25 2008 The AirKick Gets You High, Wet
If you live in Germany you can rent an AirKick for an undisclosed amount of bratwurst. The human catapult (not to be confused with a human trebuchet) is capable of launching thrill-seekers 26 feet to a watery landing.
The participant sits in a specially constructed seat at the back end of the catapult arm and 3,2,1...Liftoff. He sets the device in motion himself by pushing a button. Approximately 60 liters of water are then forced through a rocket nozzle under the seat.
Awesome! I'm having them send one over here for testing, I'll report back.
UPDATE: Greetings from the ER! Not for use in the mall parking lot.
AirKick Human Water Catapult [ballerhouse]
via
AirKick human catapult slam-dunks brave riders [dvice]
Thanks Eric and Pat, but you could have warned me you know.
Jul 30 2008 Epic Failure Awesomeness: Lake Launch
If she was going for a triple backflip, she failed. Epically.
Epic Blob Jump Proves That Fun and Adventure Aren't Without Consequences [gizmodo]
Thanks Kujo, did you see the look on her face at the end? Ouch.
Jul 23 2008 RC Fishing Boat Does The Work For You
Ha, did my boss just catch me playing Solomon's Key on FireNes (note: version 1.1 is out so it may work now for those of you that were having problems) when I was supposed to be making a spreadsheet? Yes, yes he did. Anyway, some Japanese company is selling an RC fishing boat called KAMOME. It does all the work for you, so it's not even like you're fishing anymore, it's like you're driving an RC fishing boat. The 24 pound boat comes with a sonar system for spotting fish, GPS capabilities, and can catch fish up to about 4.5 pounds. The radio controller has a 5" LCD that displays the sonar and other ship data and has a range of about 1/3 of a mile. Unfortunately the damn thing costs over $5,000. So now instead of boring your friends with the story about "the one that got away", you can tell them the one about the Geekologie Writer sinking your $5,000 RC fishing boat.
JAPAN: Radio Controlled Fishing Boat [hobbymedia]
Thanks Francesco, now lets torpedo that sucker, just for the halibut.
Jul 21 2008 World's Longest Homemade Waterslide?
Cutting the grass, drinking beer, and watching chicks run by the house in short shorts while I yell "PEW PEW PEW!" from my bedroom window -- it's what summertime is all about. Oh, and waterslides! This is a 100-yard waterslide (allegedly the world's largest homemade slide but I feel like I've seen another video somewhere of a super-duper slide that was even longer and had banked turns and stuff) that ends in a lake. Ah, summer watersports, gotta love 'em. But not the kind you perform in the shower and then have to break up with your girlfriend because you can't look at her in the same way again. Not that kind.
World's Largest Homemade Waterslide [break]
Thanks Julian, now let's build one twice as long and invite twice as many chicks than the guys in this video did.
Jun 27 2008 Half RV, Half Houseboat, All Totally Awesome
Cool Amphibious Manufacturers International retrofits RV's to make them amphibious. You just drive the massive mother into a lake, and presto, houseboat for the weekend. I want one badly but they cost anywhere between $850,000 - $1.2 million, putting them about $850,000 - $1.2 million out of my price range. Oh well, I guess I can always steal the neighbor's RV and drive it into the lake. It might float. Some sugar in the gas tank should do the trick. Check out a link to the company's website after the jump -- they even make an amphibious SUV and sports car. Neat shit. Certainly brings new meaning the the phrase, "I drove my RV into a lake", doesn't it?
Friend: What did you get into this weekend?
Me: You know, the usual -- I drove my RV into the lake.
Friend: HA! No seriously.
Me: I'm being serious, it's amphibious.
Friend: Man, if you're just gonna lie--
Me: Fine asshole, I had sex with some chick from outerspace.
Friend: No way! Do they really have three tits?
Hit the jump for some more shots and a link to their pictureful website.
Oh, and have a great weekend!
Continue Reading " Half RV, Half Houseboat, All Totally Awesome "
Feb 19 2008 Aquaskipper Looks Iffy But Could Be Fun
Aquaskipper is not Barbie's little sister donning a wetsuit, but rather a water vehicle capable of backbreaking speeds up to 17 mph. The 26 lb device is powered entirely by your body movement, which requires you to kind of awkwardly hump the device to get it to go. It looks like fun doesn't it? I'm going to see if I can find a video to post.
Okay I found a video. It makes it look not as much fun as I was hoping. Way less fun as a matter of fact. Oh, and the video is from 2006 so it's OLD. LAME. FRIST! I win. What sort of prize do I get? A black eye and a testicular roundhouse huh? Sweet.
Video after the jump.
Continue Reading " Aquaskipper Looks Iffy But Could Be Fun "
Oct 22 2007 Flying Boat Doesn't Fly High, Is Still Cool
Rudy Heeman, a New Zealand inventor, has developed a flying boat. It's a similar concept to this thing, but doesn't fly to crazy heights. Which is sweet, since you won't need a pilot's license to fly it. Rudy is still finalizing the design, so there's no word on price yet. All I know is that I want one. I'm going to use my kiddy pool to get airborne, then fly that bitch to the liquor store. I'm tired of riding the lawnmower everywhere.
Flying Boat Invention Almost Ready For Lift-Off [therawfeed]
Sep 10 2007 Flying Boat A Hit With Drug Smugglers
The Brio flying boat is just that -- a boat that flies! It goes up to 44 mph and can fly over 100 miles with a full load. Making it perfect for offshore drug smuggling. The kit costs $10,000 and comes with everything except the engine (so basically an inflatable boat and hang glider). You get to choose your own motor, which is fine with me, because I'm thinking jet engine. No word on altitude tests, but based on that first picture, I'd say it gets almost high enough to kill you if you fall.
A picture and a long video after the jump, but you'll get the idea after a minute.
Aug 22 2007 Man Builds Water Chopper
Jim Garlitz, a man who runs a pizza shop in Maryland, has combined a Yamaha Virago motorcycle with an outboard engine to create, uh, this thing, the water chopper. Capable of doing 37 mph, it looks like it was invented long ago and called the jetski. It also looks like I wouldn't want to get on it. Unless I was using it as a pirating vessel to rob all the stupid tourists that rent those floating big wheel bikes at the beach. Yarr, your money and your jewels! I <3 booty.
Man Builds Water Chopper [ubergizmo]
