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Boy Builds Wall-Climbing Machine Using Recycled Vacuums
Joe McIntosh writes "Hibiki Kono just might be a boy genius. The 13-year-old decided he wanted to climb vertical surfaces like his hero, Spiderman. So, he used two 1,400-watt recycled vacuum cleaners and a little bit of elbow grease to make a machine that allows him to scale walls. Kono has been scaling the walls of his UK school and has told the media that he hopes his invention will help window washers eliminate clumsy ladders from their daily routine."
and mother likes it because it cleans the wall on the way up.
Table-ized A.I.
Because didn't Adam fall down a lot on his during the Mythbusters attempt?
Support FSF: Stop thinking with your wallet, and think with your imagination. (cc/non-commercial)
Can't speak for other countries, but over here we don't use ladders anymore. Instead we simply have a stick large enough to reach the 3rd(4th) floor from the ground ;-)
People replying to my sig annoy me. That's why I change it all the time.
You'll love those "clumsy" ladders when someone trips on your power cord...
Window washers may also want to carry around a UPS on their backs.
DRM: Terminator crops for your mind!
Window washers rejoice! You can now use a piece of technology susceptible to power failure, surges, blown fuses, and seized motors, instead of the centuries old, proven technology that you've been using for years. Imagine how much safer you'll be clinging to a wall by a noisy machine rather than a clumsy ladder.
When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
This again? The kid is doing nothing more than ripping off the BBC TV show "Bang Goes the Theory", that did this last year: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1qoINo2MPM
There I got my "incredulous weird things that people would think only existed in fairy-land" boost for today. Hearing about little things like this is what keeps my motivation up - makes me feel like I can actually accomplish the things I want to accomplish.
Emotions! In your brain!
If he was not such a wimp, he would have gotten a bite from a radio active or genetically engineered spider.
Wasn't he the one screaming while he ran down the hall when they tried to give him vaccinations in school when he was 5 year old? Oh, no that was me.
Fight Spammers!
Jem Stansfield on Bang Goes The Theory did this last season.
How is he being allowed to do this on the side of his school? To get a pair of safety scissors in a UK school there are like 60 health and safety requirements that need to be met... somehow I think scaling the side of a school building with hoovers might violate the H&S laws.
This was on the local news channel a couple of days ago! (BBC South East or Meridian, can't remember which). He wasn't allowed to go higher than a few feet and there was a crash-mat below him due to H&S.
The kid should have been roped off for this stunt, not kind of sort of assisted by the naughty vicar there. Even though there was padding a fall with all that gear on could have resulted in injuries. Roping off on the other hand is perfectly safe. Tough for the vicar. That's my Elmer the Safety Elephant for today.
I'm sure a similar wall climbing gadget was described in a Dick Francis novel many years ago....that one was battery operated however, and before the days of Lithium Ion batteries.
Did you see that unimpressed tall girl at 1:12? Reminds me of the homecoming competition games in Revenge of the Nerds.
Perfect for sneaking back into your mom's upstairs basement after a late night of LARPing...
I guess as long as there's no liquid nitrogen in no bottles, then this kid's experiments and his mom are OK.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rappeling
Should use solar and batteries.
He also needs vacuum power for his feet.
http://www.sensorsone.co.uk/news/26/Measuring-vacuum-pressure-with-negative-gauge-or-absolute-pressure-ranges.html
Research he might be able to apply to improve his device.
Go peter parker!
http://luminosity.livejournal.com http://www.zazzle.com/unixarcade*
Off topic? Seriously? Some people really have no sense of wonder.
This reminds me of Cmdr Keen...
All that is needed is a risk assessment that is proportional in scope and expertise to the risk involved. (I have had H&S responsibility in more than one company.) The risk in this case is small compared to everyday risks run by 13 year olds. The only reason that schools overreact is their fear of parents who are looking for an opportunity to sue. Unlike the US, these parents almost always lose, and the ones that win get very little in damages. The word is slowly getting round: these cases are heard by junior judges in the UK, and British judges are not as venial as US juries,
From scarped cliff or quarried stone she cries "A thousand types are gone, I care for nothing, no not one."
This makes him look like Doctor Octopus, Spider-Man's arch-enemy.
Still, if somebody can figure out a battery pack that doesn't weigh a ton, this could be useful for firefighters.
I don't know about where you are, but I work in a Chicago suburb, and every once in a while I look out my window and see a guy sitting on what looks like a playground swing washing the windows.
I work on the 6th floor of an 8 story building.
There's also a big scaffolding rig that they can drop down the side, but I assume it's a lot more work to get that setup and move it around the building, so for window washing, they get the guy sitting on the board.
(He is wearing some sort of harness with another cable going up to the roof, so I guess it's comparatively safe.)
The preferred solution is to not have a problem.
Here's a fact: That boy has a perfect "blow job" mouth.