In 1996, Phillip Weicker and Duncan Forster were engineering undergraduates at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada.
The pair lived at a student house with a number of other guys. One of the subletters at the house skipped out on his rent and abandoned his 1982 Chevy Malibu at the house.
The rest of the guys at the house were discussing what to do with the car over a keg. They didn’t want to pay someone to haul it off so they decided they were going to cut the roof off and turn it into a fully-functional and drivable hot tub car.
The next day, people started showing up with tools, and before long, they had built themselves a 1982 hot tub edition Malibu.
The car was also one of the prize exhibits at the Canadian International Auto Show in 2001. While there, Weicker and Forster were approached by the Southern California Timing Association (SCTA), the official group in charge of keeping land-speed records.
They invited the duo to the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah later that year, telling them that if they ran the course, the SCTA would grant them the land speed record for the “World’s Fastest Hot Tub”.
Unfortunately, time was beginning to take its toll on the Malibu. The students were creative and resourceful, but the hot tub car had not been designed to last long-term.
By 2004, time and “undergraduate plumbing” had destroyed the car’s chassis, and it was unable to make the trip to Utah, denying Weicker and Forster their record.
After a number of false starts, the duo was finally able to put together a good team of engineers in 2008 while living on the West Coast. They purchased a 1969 Cadillac Deville to build their new hot tub car.
For the last six years, the team has been preparing the vehicle, working closely with the SCTA to make sure it abides by their strict safety standards. Now, it’s almost ready for its moment in the spotlight.
The first speed records were set at the Bonneville Salt Flats back in 1914- this year marks the 100th anniversary of that historic event.
You can check out the Carpool Deville’s Kickstarter page to learn more about the project and/or help fund it. Though the campaign has already hit its goal of $10,000, some of the excess donations will be used to help pay for current McMaster students to attend the event, “because really, this is about the future”.
“Separate from the mold using compressed air.
Grace Ciao is a 22-year old business student and artist from Singapore. Rather than paints, pencils or ink, however, Grace uses flower pedals as her medium. She claims that she stumbled upon the idea on accident, after trying to preserve a flower given to her by a boy.
Grace also does watercolor illustrations. You can see more of her artwork on her website, www.graceciao.com.
This Ridiculously Awesome Hoverbike Will Go On Sale In 2017!
The mission statement on Aerofex’s website says that their goal is to “democratize flight”. To accomplish that goal, the California-based company has designed a line of crafts that fuse the ducted rotor design of hovercrafts with the easy maneuverability of a motorcycle or ATV.
The vehicle, known as the Aero-X, is able to travel at speeds of 45 mph while hovering up to 3.7 meters (12.1 feet) above the ground, allowing riders to travel with speed and comfort over rougher, unpaved terrain.
De Roche is referring to the phenomenon that sometimes occurs with open rotor vehicles like helicopters: when a pilot pushes the thrust forward to accelerate, the aerodynamics of the spinning rotor causes the craft to pitch slightly left as well.
The Aero-X was able to solve this problem, creating a craft that can be easily maneuvered using motorcycle-like handlebars. A “knee-bar” detects which direction the pilot leans in: leaning forward moves the craft forward and leaning back slows it down.
The video below shows early tests of the Aero-X prototype.
While the product is still in the development stages, De Roche predicts that the version that hits markets in 2017 will be able to carry over 300 pounds and run for around 75 minutes on a full tank of gas.
The price tag is set at $85,000, and if you’re willing to thrown down $5,000 right now you can reserve one.
Here are a few concept images of what the Aero-X will look like when development is complete. Click an image to enlarge.
Read more from Discovery News here.
Bradley Hart is an American artist with an extremely unique and creative technique for creating his works of art, using syringes filled with acrylic paint and custom computer algorithms as well as a few other homemade tools.
Hart allows the excess paint to drip down the back side of the canvas; this paint is then removed upon completion of the work, creating an awesome surreal impression of the original image.
You can view more of Bradley Hart’s work as well as purchase it on his website here.
Justin Gershenson-Gates describes himself as the grandson of a railroad man and the son of a gearhead. Justin, however, turned into a world-class artist.
You can see more of Justin’s work (and purchase some if you’d like) from his website here.