通りすがり

スカイダイビングでも物足りないというスピード狂には、胸にジェットエンジンを縛りつけて空に飛び出すという手もある。それが、オレゴン州メドフォード在住の芸術家で家具職人でもあるBob Maddox氏がかつて実行したことだ。Maddox氏はその後、ジェットエンジンを自転車に取り付けるほうが少しは安全かも、と思い直した。

Maddox氏はこれまで7年間、パルスジェット・エンジンに取り組んでいる。同氏は最近、昔風のクルーザーバイシクル[日本ではビーチクルーザーとも呼ばれる]にジェットエンジンをボルト付けして、eBayで販売し始めた。そして、Maddox氏が自ら乗っている動画は、ブログ界で大きな話題になっている。

時速120kmで爆走、パルスジェット・エンジン付き自転車 | WIRED VISION
YouTube - jet bike,75 MPH Maddox new pulsejets on ebay

時速 120km で爆走することも可能 (本人による試乗では 80km/h くらいでビビッてやめた) なパルスジェット・エンジン付き自転車が eBay に出品されていますよと言うお話。

パルスジェット・エンジンを抱いてスカイダイビングってのもスゴイですね。

Placed at the lobby of the Radisson SAS Hotel in Berlin, the 25 meters high AquaDom is the largest cylindrical aquarium ever built. Filled with about 900,000 liters of seawater, it contains some 2600 fish of 56 species.

Combined with a vast amount of sandblasted glass, the giant AquaDom gives a transparent-like feeling to the lobby. Guests and visitors are able to travel through the aquarium in a glass-enclosed elevator to reach a sightseeing point and restaurant under the glass roof. Two full-time divers are responsible for the care and feeding of the fish and maintenance of the aquarium.

Fogonazos: AquaDom, the world’s largest cylindrical aquarium

筒状の水槽の中では最大の水槽 AquaDom (高さ25m)が、ベルリンのラディソンSASホテルのロビーにありますよと言うお話。

およそ90万リットルの海水で満たされ、56種・2600匹の魚が展示されているとのこと。

If you thought USB Humping Dog was funny, this second generation is even funnier! Watch this USB Exercise Dog as he relentlessly rips his abs to perfection! You can actually see his wash-board like ripped abs! The world would be a very dull place if it wasn’t for the inventors out there with enough time on their hands to come up with something so stratospherically pointless as this USB Dogs. Well you’ve got to do something with your USB ports, so you might as well have a laugh with them. Pop this muscle pup into your PC’s USB port and watch as he starts high-speed-pumping on your machine, yes really. This pint size second version or our worryingly popular USB Dog series may not be the next best thing since sliced… USB Humping Dog, but it’s whole lot funnier.

USB Exercise Dog - USB Humping Dog - WowZzers!

一世を風靡した USB Humping Dog の第二弾として発売されたUSBポートに挿すと腹筋運動を繰り返す犬のお話。

おバカですね。

A Chinese man has built a cage for his car to stop thieves kidnapping parts and demanding ransom money.

Mr Zhang, of Jilin city, says his car’s computerised engine management system was stolen twice.

“Each time I found a note clipped under the wiper, with phone and bank-account numbers,” he said.

Each time, Zhang had to wire 500 yuan (£35) to get the part back, reports City Evenings.

He has now built a cage to keep his car safe outside his home.

A police spokesman urged car owners not to pay ransom money to thieves and to contact the authorities instead.

Ananova - Man builds cage for car

吉林省在住のチャンさんが車を檻に入れましたよというお話。
彼は車のCPUを２度盗まれ、そのたびに500元(7,533円)の出費を強いられたとの事。

車庫ではダメだったんでしょうか？

A US designer is working on the world’s first wooden supercar.

Joe Harmon, 27, started the project with other students at North Carolina State University to see whether it was possible to build a performance car out of wood.

Their creation - the Splinter - should be completed later this year and they believe it should be capable of speeds in excess of 240mph.

Mr Harmon said: “Wood is a truly amazing material to work with. It has a higher strength-to-weight ratio than aluminium or steel, and it possesses a versatility that makes many different types of construction techniques possible.

Ananova - Wooden supercar

アメリカのデザイナー Joe Harmon(27) が提案する木製のスーパーカーのお話。

公道を走行可能な木製車なら日本にはすでにありますが、こいつはスーパーカーだけあって 240mph(386km/h) を目指しているらしいですよ。