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Las Vegas Hotel Vdara an Accidental Death Ray

evanism writes "A hotel in Las Vegas is accidentally designed to be a massive parabolic dish that focuses the suns rays into a death ray! Burns hair, plastic and causes pain." It apparently lasts for several minutes during afternoons of bright sunlight, but if you need to perform science on it, you better hurry since they plan to ruin/fix it.

3 of 218 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Death ray by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    It's not a euphemism, it describes exactly what it is. 'Death ray' on the other hand is a dysphemism, coined by bad journalism.

  2. Re:Images by RDW · · Score: 5, Informative

    The article they probably got this story from is a bit more informative - complete with diagram!:

    http://www.lvrj.com/news/vdara-visitor---death-ray--scorched-hair-103777559.html

  3. Re:Same thing happened at Walt Disney Concert Hall by theIsovist · · Score: 4, Informative

    You've given one example, which is a building by Frank Gehry. He's an architect who made his millions by converting software made to develop jet fighters into "architecture". Is it any wonder his buildings attack people?

    I am a practicing architect, so please, let me fill you in. Architects take classes on sun angles and reflected light. Understanding how to make use of and control natural sunlight is a major part of modern architecture. I counter your example with a modern building designed by Steven Holl (a much more impressive architect IMHO). If you note on one of the diagrams, the building has been designed to strategicly filter light into different areas of the school based on certain landmark days. No death rays here.