Gizmodo: insanity

Strangely, The Man In This Electrifying Photo Is Not Dead Today

Jack Loftus — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 15:00:00 EDT

Meet Peter Terren. Inspired by the The Thinker, he set out to recreate that classic sculpture using electricity, wire caging, a conductive foil suit, and a death wish. Can't forget the death wish.

Now, we've seen Terren and Tesla Down Under's work before here at Gizmodo, most notably when he put his son in a car and zapped it with electricity.

This little project, however, put him in the hot seat. Note the electricity shooting out of his sneaker.

Lucky for us all, Terren meticulously documented the entire project with photos and safety-related commentary ("The wig is not ideal and really needs a haircut. I couldn't light it with sparks so fire risk seems low").

Terren also outfitted some of the tests with a pentagram boundary, which had nothing to do with Tesla coils or electricity, of course, but certainly heightened the sense of batshit insanity surrounding this little venture. [Tesla Down Under via Neatorama]

The Sashimi Tabernacle Choir, aka the Fish Volvo, aka The Most Annoying Thing Ever

Sean Fallon — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 16:00:00 EST

Meet crazy inventor Richard Carter. Where most people look at singing novelty fish and say "get that damn thing away from me," Carter saw something magnificent—and the Sashimi Tabernacle Choir was born.

The choir consists of at least 200 singing fish attached to an old Volvo and juiced up with five miles of wire, five 6-volt golf cart batteries, a screw drive mechanism using 12v DC reversible motor, a scratch-made lifting frame and a Linux server controlling the show. [Sashimi Tabernacle Choir via Geeks are Sexy vie Geek Dad]

Two Guys Jumped Off the Burj Dubai and Lived to Tell About It

Adam Frucci — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 14:00:00 EST

Oh, wow. Apparently, in May, a Brit and a Frenchman snuck on to the under-construction Burj Dubai and BASE jumped from it at 650 meters up. Now, there's video available of their infiltration, jump and subsequent escape. The footage from up top and the jump is just incredible stuff. I wish I had the cajones to do something like this. Although my favorite part of the video may be the footnote at the end; wait for it, it's worth it. [Current via Neatorama]

007-Gadget-Filled Superyacht For Sale, One Insane Owner: Saddam

Kit Eaton — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 05:33:06 EST

For a cheap-at-half-the-price sum of just $30million you could be the owner of the Basra Breeze—a 270-foot superyacht that Bond himself, or perhaps, more fittingly, a Bond-style supervillain would be proud of. Why? Because as well as your standard superyacht golden faucets, the Breeze has a helicopter landing deck, and a bullet-proof atrium.

Better yet there's even an escape pod accessed by a ship-wide secret passageway, and a place to install your collection of surface-air missiles. I'm certain I've seen both of those in Bond movies.

Plus you'd have the pleasure of owning a ship with the dubious cachet of once belonging to Middle-Eastern dictator, Saddam Hussein himself. The Iraqi government's the vendor, but if you're in the market for it, you'd better have no sense of style: apparently the interior decor is as crazy as the moustachioed-one himself was. [Photo: Luxist. DangerRoom]

Dubai Taking More Cues From Failed Movies By Sinking Money Into Floating Islands in the Shape of Letters

Jason Chen — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 20:45:00 EDT

Just when we thought Dubai couldn't make more absurd architectural decisions, they go and commission a Dutch dude to make floating islands in the shape of Arabic letters that spell out a part of a poem. This floater of an idea has been tried before, albeit on a smaller scale with cruise ship terminals, mosques and a beach. What's the point of this other than to push the insanity envelope even further? The ability to rise up or down depending on how sea levels are going in the next few decades (they're going up). [NPR]

10 Insane Wii Weapons

Benny Goldman — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 17:50:50 EST

Laser beams, battle axes, shotguns and more, no weapon is too crazy for CTA Digital's Wii accessories. Check out the gallery to see them all.
Thanks to Wilson for the awesome pics!

Spock-Ear Plastic Surgery Mod is Not Logical

Charlie White — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 09:22:30 EDT

Ever thought of getting yourself a permanent pair of Star Trek Vulcan ears? A day trip to the plastic surgeon can get that done for you. This body modification is said to enhance the music listening experience, but then, you have to go around looking like Spock to enjoy that questionable benefit.

Done under local anesthesia, the plastic surgeon uses existing ear cartilage and skin to extend the top of the ear, and after three to four weeks, it's healed up enough for you to convincingly start telling people to live long and prosper. But what if your new ears make music sound worse? There's no word on how difficult it is to reverse the surgery. Maybe there's a way to test out the effect before you take the plunge. Hey, all the hepcats in New York are doing it, so it must be cool. [Plasmetic]

Gphone Hype Drives Google Stock to Over $700, Makes It Fifth Most Valuable Company in US

Matt Buchanan — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 15:50:35 EDT

Whatever Google might announce in two weeks, they're certainly reaping the benefits already: Hype over their mobile plans has shoved their stock price to over $700 a share, an eightfold increase since its IPO three years ago. The $20 its stock has shot up in the last couple of days has pushed its market value to $217 billion, according to Henry Blodget of Slate and Silicon Valley Insider, making it the fifth most valuable company in the country. That means it trails only Exxon Mobil, GE, Microsoft and AT&T, stomping out Proctor & Gamble, Bank of American and Citigroup. Bits nicely packages what's so compelling about the whole thing:

What has been amazing to watch is that investors keep bidding up the share price and the company responds by earning so much money as to bring each new dream back into the not-preposterous range.

[Yahoo!/Infoworld, Bits, Flickr]

Video of a WWII-era Airplane Landing on a Busy Highway

Adam Frucci — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 11:30:03 EDT

Boy, here's something you don't want to see while driving to grandma's house. It's a WWII-era airplane making an emergency landing on a busy Wisconsin highway, and the entire thing was caught on police video. The 1943 plane was on its way to an air show when it got engine trouble. The pilot, who has huge, huge balls, decided he would make an emergency landing on a highway full of cars. No one was injured, and the only damage to the plane was to the wings, as the plane clipped some signs during the landing. Sweet merciful crap, that is crazy. Hit the jump for video.

[NBC10 via Spulch]

Virtual Hallucination Headgear Is, Uh, Crazy

Matt Buchanan — Mon, 21 May 2007 17:10:18 EDT

Virtual Hallucinations is an earphone-and-goggle training device for cops, paramedics and social workers which builds empathy with the mentally ill by putting them through the same experiences. It pretty much does what it says: simulates either schizophrenia or a really bad acid trip.

The first scenario puts you on a bus being attacked by predatory birds where people disappear and reappear, all while voices sinisterly tell you "He's taking you to the FBI!" Scenario two plants you at a pharmacy where the pharmacist hands you poison instead of meds, while people glare at you. (Kinda reminds me of Duane Reade.) – Matt Buchanan

Virtual Hallucinating Device Drives Police Insane for a Day [Wired via Fark]