Oct 14 2009 Build Your Own Roller Coaster Ride At Disney
No this isn't Roller Coaster Tycoon, this is real life! The "Sum of all Thrills" is a new ride at Disney's Epcot Center that allows children to design their own roller coasters and then ride them in a virtual reality environment with the aid of a giant robotic arm. I smell vomit! No, seriously -- I think a cat puked under the bed.
Epcot on Wednesday opened a new attraction called "Sum of All Thrills," which lets kids use computer tablets to design a virtual roller coaster, bobsled track or plane ride. After inputting their designs, kids climb into a robotic carriage that uses virtual-reality technology to help them experience the ride they've created.
"This is really the next generation -- where there's a lot more personalization involved" in the amusement-park experience, said Eric Goodman, Disney's lead project manager on the ride.
Cool. Of course, I question how much customization you'll actually get to do (I want 30 loopty-loops in a row!), or how much you should actually trust a child with anyway (100% of 0). Just saying, I have the feeling a lot of coasters are gonna end with a giant robotic arm slamming you into the ground repeatedly. YOU KIDS WILL NEVER BE IMAGINEERS!
Hit the jump for a better shot of the last thing you'll ever climb inside.
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Apr 14 2009 Gross!: Man Grows Small Fir Tree In Lung
Apparently some guy was huffing pinecones when he accidentally snorted a bud into his lungs, where it grew into a little tree. Please note: man was not actually snorting pinecones, I just made that up for the sake of providing you with the highest quality investigative journalism. Also, I don't know know if you could tell or not, but I made that graphic using Photoshop. Elite skills: I'm full of them. But hopefully, not evergreens.
Artyom Sidorkin, came to a hospital in the city of Izhevsk in Central Russia last week, complaining that he was experiencing chest pain and coughing up blood.
After submitting to an X-ray the doctors saw a lump in the patient's lung. After a biopsying the lump the doctors pulled out a 5 centimeter fir tree branch out of his lung, complete with needles.
Sick! At least he didn't swallow it though. Because one time I swallowed a pumpkin seed and then several months later pissed a jack-o-lantern, complete with cut-out face and candle. Boy did I feel 8 pounds lighter!
Hit the jump for a graphic shot of the tree and partial lung after removal. NOT recommended for lunch viewing.
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Mar 27 2009 Pillow Blanket: I Need One Like, Last Night
The Pillow Blanket is a blanket made out of interconnecting pillows that looks comfy as all hell. I want one. And not just for the pillow fights you and I could have! No, I would throw myself down on that mother after a long night of drinking and puke to my stomach's content. But not choke on it -- I ain't going out like that! Or am I? I probably am.
Hit the jump for a couple more shots.
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Jun 30 2008 Buzzball Could Be Fun, Could Be Pukey
Evento's Buzzball is is a giant ball with a seat in it that's being hailed as a one-person roller coaster.
At the heart of the Buzzball is a dual motor configuration, enabling the pilot to control the motion and direction of travel via left and right control triggers, which provides power to the driving wheels.The amount of power applied to each wheel will determine the direction the Buzzball moves.
Once the Buzzball is in motion the pod maintains an upright position until the pilot turns, causing the pod to rotate inside the ball against the direction of travel, which applies a braking force and the pod to lock with the ball. This causes the pod to rotate with the ball until the weight of the pilot and pod overcomes the inertia forces and causes the Buzzball to change direction.
This is when the fun starts, as the speed will affect the degree of rotation of the pilot and pod from a partial barrel roll to complete and multiple rotations!
Okay, so let me give it to you in layman's terms: You get in this giant freaking ball, pull some levers and shit, and the next thing you know you're puking, and, oh God, drowning in a creek. Now that's what I call a good time.
Hit the jump for a video of the ball in action.
Jun 13 2008 New Roller Coaster Features 97 Degree Drop
The New Fahrenheit roller coaster at Hershey Park in Pennsylvania features a 97 degree drop at the beginning. That's 7 degrees past vertical (see picture: right side, where the track curves back in). At the bottom of the drop riders experience 4 G's and then puke and/or passout. The two minute ride is being billed as the steepest and most severe in the United States and the coaster just opened on May 24th. I'm not riding it. And not because I don't love roller coasters (I do), but because of this quote from Popular Mechanics:
(Talking about the testing of the ride) First, engineers load the trains full of heavy water dummies, to figure out how the cars will behave when they're at capacity. The rules say you need 100 hours of this testing, but engineers at the park said they would run over 1,000 rides before people got on the coaster.
Stop the presses. If the ride is 2 minutes long and you run 1,000 rides, that's, uh, only 33 hours and 20 minutes of testing. You weren't the same engineers that designed the ride are you? You don't say. Say, if you wouldn't mind unstrapping me, I'd like to get the f*** off this thing before I make a little chocolate of my own.
Another picture and the video after the jump.
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Jun 2 2008 Cassette Face Watch Is Alright, I Guess
The AOS Cassette Face Watch costs about $70 and looks like a cassette. It also tells time. No way. Yes way. No way! Yes way! But who needs to tell time anyways? Time is old fashioned and not the sun. I suggest we get rid of time altogether and any hot and spicy female readers send me provocative pictures. Because then, I'm a scientist, time won't be important. I said I'm a scientist yo. This is a real lab coat. Wait, where'd my lab coat go? Okay, well this is an authentic Big Johnson t-shirt. I actually have no idea about worm holes because the bourbon this morning made afternoon delights a no go and I think a rocketship just crash landed on my brain. So get those coming. Also, something about...oh yes, this watch is okay but you know what's better than a cassette watch? No, not a Walkman watch. Well, technologically, that is cooler but not what I was getting at. I was getting at...shit now you made me forget. OH YEAH -- a BOOMBOX watch. A watch that looks like an old school ghetto blaster. Cool huh? I know. You hear that, Tokyoflash? I want one for free when it's made or else the good doctor gets it, do you understandeth what I speak? I need to lie down. Oh my God this pillow is meowing!
Another picture after the jump in case you were dying to know what the watch looks like with a hand casually tucked into your black-jeans pocket.
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Feb 27 2008 Optical Illusion Made Me Lose My Lunch
WARNING:LOOK AWAY OR SCROLL DOWN IF YOU'RE GETTING SICK OR HAVING A SEIZURE.
Walter Anthony creates optical illusions. The one there in the picture is called The Purple Nurple Optical Illusion and it made me puke up a grilled cheese sandwich, some southern style potato salad, two eggs, and a cup of tomato soup.
Anomalous Motion Optical Illusion aka Peripheral Drift Optical Illusion is characterized by anomalous motion that can be observed in peripheral vision. […]Keep in mind that this is a static image. It is not animated in any way. but as your vision moves back and forth the center area seems to be moving toward the center (contracting) and the outer edges seem to be moving away (expanding) from the center. Also worth noting is that if you fixate on a point in the center and don’t move your eyes this anomalous motion will stop.
Wow, it's like I'm 14 again and I just took a couple hits of wicked acid. Except my friends haven't all run away and left me in the middle of the woods to bug out alone and cry for eight hours straight. And let me tell you one thing -- if you think tree spirits and forest gnomes are make believe, you're entirely correct. Or at least they don't come to the rescue when a gang of ogres beats you up for your pants and the whereabouts of some fairy princess.
Walt Anthony
via
The Purple Nurple Optical Illusion [neatorama]
