Gizmodo Australia » shocks

Mercury In-Line Skates Let You Glide On a Shock-Absorbed Cushion Of Air

Sean Fallon — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 21:20:00 +0000

Designed for ~~Ronald McDonald~~ optimum comfort, these Mercury in-line skates feature a shock system to minimise vibration, a removable calf plate and an air cushioned interior for an optimum fit.

The result would be less wear-and-tear on the joints, better ankle support and a ride so smooth that it is almost like true ice skating. I haven’t attempted in-line skating since the mid 90’s, but I would be willing to strap into some of these if they ever went into production (with a different colour scheme of course). [Pouyan Mokhtarani via Tuvie via DVICE]

Prototype Remote-Activated Wrist Stun-Device Shocks You For Aeroplane Security

Jason Chen — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 18:20:00 +0000

This story from the Washington Times seems more ridiculous than ridiculously awesome, but the base of it is that some official in the Department of Homeland Security has “expressed great interest” in a wrist bracelet that can be remotely activated to stun the wearer. It works by taking the place of a boarding pass, which you then wear on your wrist so the flight attendants can know who you are, where you are, and even shock you if you’re misbehaving. What makes this thing completely absurd is the diagram after the jump. A man threatens a crew member with a knife. The crew member shocks the man into submission, then SHOCKS EVERYONE ELSE as punishment for sitting passively by while he was being threatened.

Update: Sorry, that last panel looks like a Photoshop. You fooled us, guy with rudimentary knowledge of the human anatomy!

[Washington Times via Consumerist]

Kid Brings Camera Taser to School, Almost Gets Tased by Cops

Matt Buchanan — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 17:30:14 +0000

Remember that camera modded to shock anyone who used it? Some genius thought it would be absolutely hilarious to use it at school. (Okay, it would be.) Anyway! The mischievous little bastard didn’t even get the chance to zap the schoolyard bully before the cops swooped in and busted his arse, though they deprived us of ironic hilarity by not tasing him. Instead, they slapped him with possession of a dangerous weapon on school grounds, attempted assault and breach of peace. So try this at home, not at school, kids. [WCBS via Geekologie]

Microsoft Sued, Zune Owner Claims Ear Damage

Benny Goldman — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 20:34:52 +0000

A man who allegedly received an electric shock from his Zune headphones has filed a lawsuit against Microsoft. Joel Geddis received the shock in November of 2006, and since then he has suffered “blood and fluid leakage from (his) ear canal” and “incessant ringing and discomfort”. This news comes days after iPod classic owners reported similar incidents since a new firmware update. Update: Joel has written us to clarify his claim.

Correction Request: Microsoft Sued, Zune Owner Claims Ear Damage Microsoft Zune Injuries Mon, Feb 4, 2008 at 4:14 PM To: bennyg@gizmodo.com Hi Benny,
I read your article and notice that you didn’t mention the blast of noise that happened the very same instant as the shock. The coupling of these two device malfunctions are a key part of the claim. Would you mind updating the post?

The actual claim can be found here: www.microsoftzuneinjuries.com

Regards,

Joel

Thanks for the update, but we’re not sure what the domain name is getting at — as far as we know, this guy’s lawsuit is based solely on the headphone injury, but perhaps it will one day expand to represent victims of any and all bodily harm encountered while trying to join the Social. Geddis’ attorneys hope to make this a class-action case, but first they’ll have to find more Zune owners who have experienced this problem. Finding a niche that narrow sounds like a tall order to us. [Zune Injuries via Gadget Lab]

Make a “Fun” Stun Gun for Under 10 Bucks

Matt Buchanan — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 19:20:53 +0000

I found the skull-poundingly monotonous drum beat combined with a complete lack of voiceover and “oh my, you’re dumb, home viewer” finger-pointing a teensy bit annoying. But! It’s super easy to follow and it looks simple enough to build your own ghetto stun gun, so much so that I might whip my own up to put my four-year-old cousin in place when she’s bothering me by acting like a small child. [Metacafe]

Amazing Gravity-Defying Beta Gel Cushions 72-Foot Egg Drop

Charlie White — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 12:42:22 +0000

Geltec Corporation has been working on its shock-absorbing gel, and now has improved upon its Alpha Gel with this Beta Gel, shown here protecting an egg from its untimely demise as it plummets from a dizzying height of just over 72 feet. Remarkable. It just seems to defy the laws of physics. We want some of this stuff installed in our walking shoes for the next trade show. We also got quite a kick out of the frantic enthusiasm of these Japanese TV personalities. [Japan Probe]

Student Makes Barbie an Electric Chair for Science Fair Project

Addy Dugdale — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 10:08:00 +0000

Middle school student Jessyratfink (not her real name) came up with an innovative &mdash and utterly brazilliant &mdash project for her science fair: an electric chair for Barbie. You can find out just how she did it on the Instructables website, but there’s a small gallery below of her handiwork.

Anyone want to make me one for Hello Kitty? [Instructables]

Shiny Shiny Gets Hands-on With the Shocking Taser Guns

Jason Chen — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 16:37:12 +0000

The lasses over at Shiny Shiny took the shocking taser gun and brought them out for a little fun—at each other’s expense. Not to spoil the fun, but Zara and Katie throw out their usually composed British demeanors and zap out all their latent workplace aggression in the span of 30 seconds. Susi from Shiny Shiny says this is their best video ever, which we’d definitely agree with if Susi herself had been in it and it were a three-way shockfest. [Shiny Shiny via I Want One of Those]

Wallet Sized Stun Gun Good for Zapping Muggers

Brian Lam — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 23:13:17 +0000

This stun gun, dubbed the small fry, could easily pass for a wallet in a dark alley. I’d imagine it could be used in a mugging where instead of handing over your wallet, you hand over 1,000,000 volts.

It manages both its tiny size (its the smallest on the market) with its powerful punch (the company claims the highest volts of any comparable system) by losing the 9v batteries that most tasers use for what I’d guess is a nicad or lithium battery. That also means you can recharge the little bugger. Not bad for $80. I wonder if there’s a way to turn an old iPod’s lipoly battery into something like this with a capacitor? [PersonalSecurity via Red Ferret]

Shocking Pac-Man Helps Scientists with Fear Studies

Addy Dugdale — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 21:50:09 +0000

A version of Pac-Man that administers electric shocks to gamers has been shedding light on how the human brain reacts to danger. Researchers at the Wellcome Trust Center for Neuroimaging at UCL found that the closer the gamers got to danger, the more impulsive was their response. “In effect, the less free will you will have,” explained the study leader, Dean Mobbs.Volunteers were asked to try and outrun a virtual predator who was stalking them round a maze. If he caught up with them, Bzzzzzt! they were given a shock to the hand.

If the ghostie was far away, players used the prefrontal cortex region of the brain, which deals with complex planning tasks. If the ghostie got up close and personal with Pac-Man, brain activity shifted to the periaqueductal gray, a more primitive area which governs quick-response survival mechanisms, such as fight, flight or freeze.

The research will be used to help scientists better understand anxiety disorders, such as panic attacks. [Guardian Unlimited]