Gizmodo: zip line

Commuting To Work Via Zipline In Sichuan Province

John Mahoney — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 18:40:00 EST

It sounds like a dream, but the circumstances here are not quite so fantastical—those that must cross a collapsed bridge to get to work have been using a zip line since last year's earthquake.

[WSJ - photo: San Lang/European Pressphoto Agency]

Google's New Zip Line Yet Another Reason to Hate Your Office

Adam Frucci — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 15:15:00 EDT

They built a new building at Google's Mountain View campus, but it happened to be separated from the building with the cafeteria in it by a ravine. While the logical solution would be to build a bridge, not at Google. No, they built a zip line. The insurance this company has must be great.

Unfortunately, the city of Mountain View didn't like the idea as much as those crazy Googlers. When the folks responsible for building the zip line (as well as a really rickety looking beam of a "bridge") came back from a weekend, both were gone. The man is always trying to keep those who work for a gigantic corporation down!

I'd build a zip line in my office, but there's not enough of a slope between my bedroom and kitchen. [Google Blog]

Happy Landing Zipline Rescues You (And Child) From Exploding Buildings

Mark Wilson — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 14:00:00 EDT

The picture is funny, but the invention is actually legitimately neat. The Alongo Happy Landing Escaper is a wire system that mounts to an emergency exit or beefy window frame, deploys mechanically (without a need for electricity) and allows riders up to 400 pounds to slowly descend from a high rise building safely while wearing just a modest safety harness.

We're assuming that without someone on the ground, the wire drops straight down without an anchor, but the bundled Alongo Hook tempers speeds automatically so you don't just plummet to your death. The only humorous point (beyond these splendid action pictures) is that the system is set for users to carry the child, without any additional harness for little ones. In other words, hold on tight during your 20-floor descent. Because playing Batman is probably harder than it looks. [Alongo]

1200-Feet High Zip Line the School Bus for Colombian Kids

AddyDugdale — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 06:16:16 EDT

There's a South African zip line that claims to be the highest one in the world. But how about this one that takes Colombian kids from their hillside village to school? Well, faced with one minute of eyeball-spinning terror 1200 feet above the jungle, or a two-and-a-half hour hike, which one would you take? [Spluch]