DailyDirt: Unusual Human-Powered Transportation

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Walking is such a boring way to travel for some folks. All kinds of gadgets to help people move faster with less effort have been tried, and some products (like skateboards and roller blades) have survived an initial fad to become somewhat useful means of transport. But some things haven't quite proven their worth beyond being fleetingly-popular toys. It doesn't hurt to keep trying to come up with better ways to get around, so here are just a few other examples of things designed to move people.

• The German-designed FLIZ is a modern take on the velocipede -- and it looks pretty dorky. Riders of this bike are hanging from a harness, and they "pedal" by simply walking... so there's not that much mechanical advantage. [url]
• Normally, kids on skateboards go down the handrails of stairs, but a skateboard design called the Stair Rover tackles stairs head on. But the Stair Rover probably solves a problem that few people really wanted to fix.... [url]
• The pogo stick isn't exactly a means of transportation, but it's become an extreme sport. The Guinness Book of World Records has recorded the highest jump at 9 feet 6 inches (over a bar). [url]

If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post.

Filed Under: bike, fliz, pogo, skateboards, stair rover, toys, transportation