Gizmodo: isolation

'Generic Escape Capsule' May Be the Saddest Thing I've Ever Seen

Adam Frucci — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 11:30:00 EST

Sometimes, when life's getting you down, you just need to hole yourself up in a modified wardrobe, sitting on a chair with a hole cut in the seat for you to poop through.

The wardrobe, designed by Australian artist Adam Norton, features everything you need to live, from the aforementioned toilet chair to a cooking setup, bookshelf and even a periscope to see if anyone from the outside world is coming to get you.

I'm just going to keep telling myself that this is just an art project and that no one would actually hide in it for an extended period of time. I just have to.

[Treehugger via Make]

Ovei is $100,000 Isolation Chamber for Gadgety Privacy

Kit Eaton — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 06:01:00 EDT

Sometimes you just want to shut the world out and tackle the next level of your fave game, don't you? The Ovei isolation pod, launched this week in the UK, will let you do just that. For the sum of $100,000. And before you fall about laughing, that cash will get you a unique capsule, designed by Lee McCormack and made by Mclaren Applied Technologies (the Formula 1 guys, yes). It's custom-built exactly how you want: media center, gaming rig, interior and exterior...the sort of bespoke stuff you'd expect for 100 grand. The rest of us will have to settle for the traditional laptop-under the duvet, earphones jammed-in isolation when the house is too noisy. [PocketLint via Born Rich]

Isolation Tank Makes You Hallucinate, Get One Free, Become a Nutcase

Jesus Diaz — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 06:30:40 EST

"Comedian" Joe Rogan has got himself a new 7-foot tall isolation tank, and he is giving away his old one. This was created after the 1980s movie Altered States, in which the protagonist—played by William Hurt in his first role—uses it to get in touch with "ultimate reality." Isolation tanks deprive you of your physical senses and, according to Rogan, they make you have hallucinations with no secondary effects or addiction. Sounds weird? Yes. That's why we got deeper into this whole altered states thing.

While Rogan says it doesn't create addiction, he seems quite enthusiastic about it and the psychedelic experiences he claims the tank puts you through. Enthusiastic enough to have created a new, larger version, a soundproof 11-feet tall box filled with 11 inches of water and 800 pounds of dissolved salt.

The salt makes you extremely buoyant, and combined with the a 93.5 degrees F water temperature—the same of the skin—lying on the water makes you feel like there's no end to your body. You don't feel anything and, 15 minutes after you are in, he says you will start having weird visions and pseudo-astral trips. And although he has a machine pumping pure oxygen into the chamber ("it's good for the brain," he says), according to Rogan the crazy effects come to you without any kind of drugs.

Hookai.

In the movie Altered States, however, William Hurt's character uses more than pure oxygen. Taking hallucinogenic drugs to get back to a "primordial state" and discover the origin of life, he almost destroys himself after going through a monkey and a giant amoeba, only to get rescued back into human form by his wife at the last moment. Looking at this picture, Rogan seems to be getting into the monkey stage now.

All this can be yours for free, dear reader, straight from a guy who doesn't believe that humans landed in the moon, September 11's WTC 7 was imploded and JFK's assassination was a conspiracy. Contrary to rumors, however, the free tank doesn't come with a tinfoil hat. You'll have to do one yourself. [Joe Rogan —Thanks to Brian Reichle, who made the video and send it to us]

Peekaboo Isolation Chamber Chair

Jason Chen — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 16:11:56 EDT

Showing shades of the Cone of Silence, the Isolation Chamber Chair is a design concept that lets you shut out the world so you can concentrate on your game of Tetris or your incoming text message from your sweetie.

In a time when we are pulling down existing barriers to promote encounters and a sense op community, a new need for separation is soon created.

Would you believe that you'll look like a dork as you're helplessly strapped in while someone steals your wallet? – Jason Chen

Peekabo [Stefan Borselius via Neatorama]