By David Ponce
Over the months, we’ve seen and covered a surprising number of contraptions that increase your chances of being forcibly removed from the gene pool. Hell, it’s practically a running theme. We think that the reckless pursuit of a quick adrenaline fix is great, and we’re in love with pretty much each and every such device. In this article, we’ll try to cover the ones that stand out the most; some of them have already killed, others are an accident waiting to happen.
Of course, no list is ever perfect, and if you know of any others, please leave us a comment.
1. Tim Picken’s Rocket Powered Bicycle
This bicycle straps a rocket to its back, and is able to go from 0 to 60 in about 5 seconds. Powered entirely from tar (!), the rocket produces 200 pounds of thrust. It’s made by one Tom Picken, and it?s of course a home-made project, having taken the man all of 1,250 hours and around $750 to complete.
[Original Article] AND [PopSci Source]
2. The Power Boots
These boots, made by a Russian scientist called Viktor Gordeyev, use biofuels, such as biodiesel, vegetable oil, SVO, waste vegetable oil (WVO) and 12 inch pistons to propel their wearer up to 25mph and take strides of up to 12 feet. Apparently, they are being marketed to police and delivery services, and should be sold in England, at some point, for ?1,500.
[Original Article (With Videos)]
3. The GEN H-4 Personal Helicopter
Some credit needs to be given to the Japanese for their creativity… no matter how disturbing it may seem to us at times. Every now and then, they’ll even come up with something a crazy American might want to jump into. Like this, the GEN H-4 Personal copter. It uses two counter-rotating helices, so it doesn’t need a tail rotor. The 125cc engine cranks out a hopefully-sufficient 8 horses, and the device will supposedly take you around at 90 km (56 miles) per hour. It’s being sold for 3.6M yen, which is about $31,000.
[Original Article] AND [Company Website]
4. The Jet-Powered Go-Kart
As you can imagine, strapping a rocket onto any means of locomotion usually earns you a spot on the deathwish list. In this case, we have a go-kart with a MK101 Solent Gas Turbine Starter that produces 70bhp and 140.1bft torque. It’s made by a company called Jetkart and it cost them about ?55,000 to custom build.
[Original Article] AND [The Jetkart Website]
5. Ron Patrick’s Jet-Powered Scooter
This particular entry shouldn’t really be here, because it’s not completely functional yet. If it was made by anyone other than Ron Patrick (of Jet-Powered Beetle fame), it wouldn’t be there, as it’s not much more than a scooter with two jet engines sitting by its side. He decided to build it when his wife mentioned she’d like her Honda Metropolitan scooter to go faster than 40mph. And even though it’s not working yet, we’re certain that once it is, his wife will feel like she got a little more than she bargained for.
[Original Article] AND [Ron Patrick’s Site]
6. The Wego Kite Tube
The Kite Tube, from Wego, is a killer. Literally. And when it doesn’t kill, it seems to have a knack for bending, twisting, bruising and otherwise maiming anything that climbs aboard.
It’s just an inflatable tube, which is pulled from a powered motorboat. But, the shape of the tube allows it to become airborne once it reaches a certain speed. As you can imagine, most people don’t stick to the recommended limit, and deadly hilarity usually ensues. If you visit the original article this was posted on, you’ll be able to sift through almost 150 comments of people detailing their painful encounters with the product.
It’s been withdrawn from the market, but if you look hard enough, you’re likely to find one willing to sell you theirs.
[Original Article] AND [Product Page]
7. Buggy Rolling
Buggy rolling is allegedly a new x-sport. It consists of wearing a special suit covered with wheels, and putting yourself on a slope. You can then speed down lying on your back, front… even on your behind. Initially a design project investigating the displacement of the human center of gravity using various support points, it has morphed into a new style of free-skating.
