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The 50-Foot Mechanical Spider Awakens
Posted by Mark Wilson at 7:20 AM on September 6, 2008
The 50-foot robot spider known as "La Princesse" has awakened from hibernation to explore the streets of Liverpool. This £1.5m beast is supposed to aid tourism and spur the local economy—which will just mean that La Princesse has more goodies to eat. We're not quite sure what strange marching bands and snow have to do with taming giant arthropods on a rampage, but we're not ones to judge the miracles of science. [BBC]
The 50-foot robot spider known as "La Princesse" has awakened from hibernation to explore the streets of Liverpool. This £1.5m beast is supposed to aid tourism and spur the local economy—which will just mean that La Princesse has more goodies to eat. We're not quite sure what strange marching bands and snow have to do with taming giant arthropods on a rampage, but we're not ones to judge the miracles of science. [
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
Rhainor
Posted 7:52 AM 6/9/08
Meh. Call me when it's self-contained and actually supported and propelled by its legs.
Rhainor
Whirl
Posted 7:49 AM 6/9/08
Guy playing the Flute Rocks!
Whirl
dambo29
Posted 7:47 AM 6/9/08
Ok folks... yeah I was also a bit disappointed it seems to be on a flat bed, but the thing is still pretty fucking cool. Am I alone on this one?
dambo29
bxstrb
Posted 7:47 AM 6/9/08
Boooo!!!! Fail!
bxstrb
Mr.SithNinja
Posted 7:47 AM 6/9/08
@BiZarRroBALlmeR: Make sure you pee on it first. Let it know who's boss...
Mr.SithNinja
Mr.SithNinja
Posted 7:46 AM 6/9/08
@BiZarRroBALlmeR: Make you pee on it first. Let it know who's boss...
Mr.SithNinja
Git Em SteveDave is starlost
Posted 7:45 AM 6/9/08
Here are some more picts for everyone: [www.lamachine.co.uk]
Git Em SteveDave is starlost
nitromic
Posted 7:44 AM 6/9/08
Lame, its like a Disney attraction.
nitromic
nightsky
Posted 7:44 AM 6/9/08
Yes, very dissapointed in the no crushing part. I think the flute player should have been first.
nightsky
nuggetz
Posted 7:43 AM 6/9/08
What a piece of shit. How's about making it walk on it's effin debut?
nuggetz
FThorn
Posted 7:42 AM 6/9/08
Have you seen the Nemo show at Disney?
FThorn
BiZarRroBALlmeR
Posted 7:42 AM 6/9/08
I shall build a 1000 foot high toilet and flush the beast.
BiZarRroBALlmeR
Y2KGTP
Posted 7:39 AM 6/9/08
Aren't the people controlling the spider, supposed to be inside the spider, or at least hidden from view?
It's like watching superman fly with wires attached.
Y2KGTP
SockMonkey
Posted 7:38 AM 6/9/08
Is it me, or did that look like Woz playing the flute?
SockMonkey
kahri
Posted 7:34 AM 6/9/08
didn't they also make a huge Jayson Taylor robot last year? that did exactly what this thing does, um move a little?
kahri
badhatharry
Posted 7:32 AM 6/9/08
This thing is meant to increase tourism? Yeah, I want to go holiday in Huge Fucking Spider Land. That is, if there are no flights to wherever it is King Kong is from.
badhatharry
RG_Shrike
Posted 7:31 AM 6/9/08
ummmm kay.
RG_Shrike
dbx
Posted 7:30 AM 6/9/08
disappointment is that the legs aren't actually ambulatory. The whole contraption is suspended on a crane by wire and the legs just animate for show...
dbx
Kaveh
Posted 7:30 AM 6/9/08
Huh?
Kaveh
bpapa9013
Posted 7:30 AM 6/9/08
Is is just me or does it look like it is actually on a truck? I seriously doubt that those legs are actually supporting it...
Whata jip.
It's not a "50-Foot Mechanical Spider"
its a "0-foot anamatronic piece of bull-shit on a flatbed..."
bpapa9013
marc_wtih_a_c
Posted 7:28 AM 6/9/08
next stop burning man...that's going to be a long swim.
marc_wtih_a_c
UncleArgyll
Posted 7:25 AM 6/9/08
Little disappointed. I was hoping the guy with the umbrella would get crushed...
UncleArgyll
Kaiser-Machead on the Edge
Posted 7:24 AM 6/9/08
So, Industrial Light and Magic DID lie to us.
Kaiser-Machead on the Edge
Totalfixation
Posted 7:23 AM 6/9/08
what is the purpose for this contraption?
Totalfixation
vgart
Posted 7:23 AM 6/9/08
is that snow?
vgart
Aoi
Posted 8:08 AM 6/9/08
I was pretty disappointed to find out that the legs don't actually support it. It would have been pretty cool if they did, even if there are like 10 people controlling it.
Aoi
Pablos102030
Posted 8:07 AM 6/9/08
@vgart: It's the ashes of burnt dreams, forgotten in a fog of destruction. YES, MY SWEET, SWEET ARACHNID! CRUSH THE SOULS OF THOSE WHO WEEP!
Pablos102030
ravedown
Posted 8:07 AM 6/9/08
Like a food-stamp version of cirque du puree'... i mean the dreamy new age flute music...ugghh, i hate phony letdowns where half the public thinks its cool when really it's just hyped crap...you know like cris angel.
ravedown
duuktoprock
Posted 8:06 AM 6/9/08
I've seen more impressive stuff at the rose bowl parade... made of flowers!
And they spent how much on this?!
What a joke.
duuktoprock
RE-L
Posted 7:54 AM 6/9/08
Ah damn, little bit of a disappointment. The music, snow and spider being carried kinda made it look like a float on a parade. Meh.
RE-L
chonnes
Posted 7:54 AM 6/9/08
I thought this thing was supposed to scale the exterior walls of a building?!! What a major "meh".
chonnes
michelinman85
Posted 7:54 AM 6/9/08
OK that is really really creepy. It would've been more entertaining if like it squashed that dude instead of touched his umbrella...
michelinman85
robinandtami
Posted 8:28 AM 6/9/08
@dambo29: Yeah dude... you are totally alone.
This thing is just like the decoder ring that spells out "drink more Ovaltine."
robinandtami
aec007
Posted 8:26 AM 6/9/08
Send it to NY... it's be run down by cabbies in no time flat.
aec007
camel109
Posted 8:22 AM 6/9/08
Knowing scousers, it will be stolen before the night is out
camel109
AdmNaismith
Posted 8:21 AM 6/9/08
The concept is cool. The execution is a bit lame.
As a tourist attraction, it's pretty 'meh', right down there with giant balls of string and foil.
It feels more like a county fair attraction that will be dismantled in a month.
AdmNaismith
Simpsons-Movie-ruled
Posted 8:12 AM 6/9/08
BOO!!!!
Simpsons-Movie-ruled
ripfire
Posted 8:45 AM 6/9/08
Now if they bring that to L.A., we'll have time to bombard it with flowers in time for New Year's.
ripfire
EBone
Posted 8:44 AM 6/9/08
Frakkin' England - is it really snowing there in September?
EBone
Mqmq4190
Posted 8:41 AM 6/9/08
THE AIR...SMELLS LIKE...FAILURE!!!
Mqmq4190
hedges1968
Posted 8:38 AM 6/9/08
Was better when it was stationary on the building.
hedges1968
Sockatume
Posted 9:07 AM 6/9/08
It's French.
Sockatume
djchaser
Posted 9:02 AM 6/9/08
And here I was waiting for my acid trip from burning man to wear off. Typical British engineering, though, awesome looking at first, then clunky as hell, a la Morgan or Triumph.
djchaser
VakeroRokero
Posted 9:16 AM 6/9/08
hey, at least it will attract a ton of japanese otakus...
VakeroRokero
MyPetFly
Posted 10:32 AM 6/9/08
"foot mechanical foot" Odd, huh?
MyPetFly
MyPetFly
Posted 10:32 AM 6/9/08
"...and here comes the 2,500 foot mechanical foot..."
MyPetFly
shamoononon has a hebetudinous dog
Posted 10:28 AM 6/9/08
@DTownIndy: Oh yeah? Just don't ask badhatharry for tips on how to handle her.
shamoononon has a hebetudinous dog
golferal
Posted 10:27 AM 6/9/08
@badhatharry: If Giz had a COTD, this would be it.
On a different subject, god that weather looks like it sucks balls.
golferal
Tenno
Posted 10:20 AM 6/9/08
The first insult is calling a 50 foot spider 'Princess' instead of Araknonoth or Shelob.... hell even 'Old Cob' would have been acceptable...
Plus, this slow beast is doubly insulting next to that killer dinosaur they have walking around the halls of the national museum, and that's like one person.
Tenno
DTownIndy
Posted 10:06 AM 6/9/08
Fifty foot spider? Blaaaaa!!!!
Give me a fifty foot women!!!
:)
DTownIndy
SockMonkey
Posted 10:03 AM 6/9/08
Haven't they ever seen the movie "Wild, Wild West" with Will Smith? That would have tipped them off to the epic fail they were designing.
SockMonkey
collider
Posted 9:55 AM 6/9/08
@hedges1968: Agreed!
collider
merebito
Posted 9:53 AM 6/9/08
It's all fun and games until someone straps some rocket propelled grenades to this thing and a laser that can cut steel.
merebito
MyPetFly
Posted 10:39 AM 6/9/08
That's not snow, it's bug spray.
MyPetFly
tamoko
Posted 11:20 AM 6/9/08
That's not snow, it's spider dandruff.
tamoko
notwhoyouthink
Posted 11:30 AM 6/9/08
I accept the fact that robots might take over the world and exterminate the human race, but to they have to be robotic spiders?
notwhoyouthink
rdarwin
Posted 11:51 AM 6/9/08
Ok so if a giant spider is walking around in Liverpool, isn't that when superman is supposed to come around and save us. Come on this is all those hidden super heros chance!
rdarwin
strider_mt2k
Posted 11:48 AM 6/9/08
Science!
strider_mt2k
Aturayd
Posted 12:02 PM 6/9/08
Its a Spiderbot Monkeylord! All it needs is a microwave beam on top.
Oh yeah.. most of you use macs and dont know what game thats from.
Aturayd
potty81
Posted 12:35 PM 6/9/08
no wonder its rubbish....its made by a french guy..lol....and no it aint snowing here in england.
qoute..'Knowing scousers, it will be stolen before the night is out'
nah...it will be missing its legs and be on some bricks...hahaha
potty81
Shadowlayer
Posted 12:25 PM 6/9/08
Quick! someone call Gordon Freeman!
Shadowlayer
RoboChop
Posted 1:12 PM 6/9/08
snow is so 90's
RoboChop
MastaFalse
Posted 1:35 PM 6/9/08
Wow. If only it moved like a spider.
MastaFalse
Crowbot
Posted 3:31 PM 6/9/08
Disappointing
Crowbot
alex5389
Posted 4:03 PM 6/9/08
@badhatharry: wasn't KK from the congo?
alex5389
nevin
Posted 4:02 PM 6/9/08
@potty81: Way to be a prick there. If this was in, say, Brixton, or Baltimore, would there be black people comments too?
Gobshite.
nevin
kitsuneconundrum
Posted 4:10 PM 6/9/08
disappointing, at least have it support its own weight
kitsuneconundrum
Pablos102030
Posted 5:58 PM 6/9/08
@alex5389: I thought it was like skull island or some shit
Pablos102030
LocustWhored
Posted 9:03 PM 6/9/08
second most dissapointing giant mechanical spider this week.
LocustWhored
strider_mt2k
Posted 9:25 PM 6/9/08
@LocustWhored: lol
Dear Giant Mechanical Spiders, Ltd.,
It's not that we're angry, so much as dissapointed...
We really thought the Giant Mechanical Spiders were going to pull it together this year and start going to that trade school we talked about over vacation.
The problem is that they just keep wasting time dawdling around destroying stuff and snowing downtown, not even bothering to shamble back home over the debris until 3 or 4 in the morning.
The Giant Mechanical Spiders did so well at that job fair we attended and really showed some mechanical aptitude pulling the treads off of that tank.
I just hope that the Giant Mechanical Spiders come out of this soon and start getting their lives together. It's not like another giant pig will come along for them to spin advertising for. (that usually only happens in books, but the BACON!)
Please see the informative brochures we've included and we hope to see you and the Giant Mechanical Spiders at the upcoming Fall square-off against Army.
Sincerely,
The Town.
strider_mt2k
ichi1
Posted 9:56 PM 6/9/08
@bpapa9013: nope it really is a mechanical spider i saw it climb building
ichi1
ViperBorg
Posted 12:30 AM 7/9/08
@vgart: Yes.
ViperBorg
pschroeter
Posted 4:35 AM 7/9/08
Wow, I think it is a tachikoma from Ghost in the Shell. They are friendly and cute, but watch out for the machine guns and cannon if you piss it off.
pschroeter
CutePuppyz
Posted 4:37 AM 7/9/08
uber slow....
CutePuppyz
Klappstuhl
Posted 5:09 AM 7/9/08
THe reaction from some of those people reminded me of the scene in Ghosbusters 2 with the statue of liberty.
Klappstuhl
jimmyJAKE!
Posted 7:38 AM 7/9/08
wild wild west.
jimmyJAKE!
Technogamer1992
Posted 8:58 AM 7/9/08
whys everyone making a big fuss over a giant spider in liverpool???
i mean....its not the first time theyve had giant insects is it... remeber the beatles?
no-one laughing....??...no?
i'll get my coat.. *leaves*
(dont bother pointing otu that spiders arent insects.. i know theyre arachnids)
Technogamer1992
potty81
Posted 11:04 AM 7/9/08
@nevin....oohhh..I touched a nerve there.....hahahahaha...everyone knows that u cant drive around liverpool with ur arm hanging out of the window....ur watch will be nicked...lol:)
potty81
GadgetPlay
Posted 7:28 PM 7/9/08
God, I hate Robot Spiders. On a side note, the legs do look quite tasty. (Puts on bib and starts melting 600 sticks of butter...)
@strider_mt2k: Definitely some of your best work, which is really saying something.
GadgetPlay
NagChampa
Posted 11:32 AM 8/9/08
Right on. I guess.
NagChampa
chumleyex
Posted 12:52 AM 9/9/08
Giant robot spider and musical instruments. That is just F#$%#$$ weird
chumleyex
reddingofish
Posted 2:29 AM 9/9/08
I don't get it.
reddingofish
yankees177
Posted 2:41 AM 9/9/08
@Shadowlayer: At least I liked your Half Life reference!
yankees177
cablio
Posted 7:34 AM 6/9/08
September is too early for snow in UK, I believe.
Funny and sad is that if someone in USA gets tapped on the umbrella by a giant spider, they'll sue the company for every penny they've got.
cablio
cablio
Posted 7:31 AM 6/9/08
I don't think it's snowing over there. September is too early.
Very interesting thing is that if in USA somebody gets tapped on the umbrella by a giant spider, they'll sue the company for every penny they've got.
cablio
misterburglund
Posted 11:22 AM 6/9/08
That's the stupidest thing I've ever seen.
misterburglund
Kayonesoft
Posted 8:10 AM 6/9/08
Epic disappointment.
Kayonesoft