DailyDirt: Human-Powered Transportation

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Mon, Oct 24th 2011 5:00pm — Michael Ho

Fred Flintstone got around in his foot-powered car, and if it weren't for the really heavy brontosaurus ribs, Fred could keep his wheels on the ground all the time. Transportation technology may have gotten a bit better these days, and here are a few more examples (non-fictional) of people-powered vehicles.

If you like recumbent bikes, the Velomobile is a nice little vehicle that hides all your pedaling efforts from view -- and it even has an option for electric motor assistance. But it's not really a viable "second car" for a lot of folks (it also costs about $8500). [url]
The Aquaskipper has an interesting motion for propelling its riders along calm waters. Hopping to stay afloat might not be the coolest way to get around, but the bouncing will definitely attract some attention. [url]
A human-powered monorail could be a fun form of transportation... But there's no passing other riders! [url]
To discover other interesting transportation-related content, check out what's currently floating around the StumbleUpon universe. [url]

By the way, StumbleUpon can recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.

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Filed Under: aquaskipper, human power, monorail, recumbent bikes, transportation, velomobile

12 Comments

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Anonymous Coward, 24 Oct 2011 @ 5:11pm

The Flintstones did it first
Long before history even:

http://www.greenpacks.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/the-flintstones-arrested.jpg
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Anonymous Coward, 24 Oct 2011 @ 6:59pm

How long ago was the bicycle invented?
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Anonymous Coward, 24 Oct 2011 @ 7:07pm

Re: The Flintstones did it first
OK, he talks about how much we spend on fuel going to nearby locations and how much we can save by using this cycle. But one shouldn't simply assume that energy is free just because it's human energy. Though perhaps more efficient, human energy costs too. You must eat, right? If you're using x amount of energy, what does it matter if it's fossil fuel or food energy.
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Anonymous Coward, 24 Oct 2011 @ 7:09pm

Re: Re: The Flintstones did it first
Traveling is going to cost you more in energy regardless, because you still have to put energy into transporting yourself, be it walking or driving or cycling.
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Keith_Emperor_of_Penguins (profile), 24 Oct 2011 @ 7:21pm

Re: Re: The Flintstones did it first
It matters when it comes to emissions, which I believe his point was. Food and people are recyclable, fossil fuels aren't.
That's why it is more efficient to take the bus, it can transport more people for longer distances. Trains too. Now take a car, it wastes more energy but for fewer people benefiting from the pollution that happens anyway.
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Michael Ho (profile), 24 Oct 2011 @ 7:24pm

Re:
hmm. depends on how you define "bicycle" -- if you mean a thing with two wheels that a person could ride -- around the late 1700s. But if you mean something that had pedals.. then it's more like the mid-1800s.

http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blbicycle.htm
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Anonymous Coward, 24 Oct 2011 @ 7:30pm

Re: Re: Re: The Flintstones did it first
People put out emissions too, but I know what he meant.
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Keith_Emperor_of_Penguins (profile), 24 Oct 2011 @ 7:36pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: The Flintstones did it first
Yes, those are new emissions, but you're forgetting the old emissions that were already in the atmosphere but got frozen in time in the form of fossil fuels like coal and oil. The fact is, add those and the current natural emissions combined, and you get a far larger number then has existed on Earth in a very, very, very long time. That is the problem we face when we talk about pollution, we are creating far too much of old and new pollution.
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Anonymous Coward, 25 Oct 2011 @ 12:28am

I am disappointed that there have been no comments about the bikini-clad babes bouncing around yet.
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Butcherer79 (profile), 25 Oct 2011 @ 2:41am

If only there was human powered transportation which didn't involve the above mentioned technology ("bicycles" for one), or as I like to refer to it, witchcraft.
This could be WAY out there, but what if we could move by simply placing one of our feet in front of the other, then move the other foot in front of the first (forward) foot and repeat until destination reached?

It'll never catch on, too complicated I expect - I'll work on refining it...
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Rekrul, 25 Oct 2011 @ 9:37am

The Velomobile had me wanting one, until I heard the price!
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Anonymous Coward, 25 Oct 2011 @ 2:13pm

Re:
Hahaha yeah, makes me want to get one of those just for that reason.
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