Real-Life Weirdness

[Anaraxes]

Originally Posted by L.J.Steele

When straws are outlawed...

Clearly, we need some common-sense straw control laws. No one needs a straw for self-defense.

I propose requiring that all straws be made from thin, flimsy plastic for safety, and can only be used in a drink once. To help enforcement, they should be sealed in individual paper wrappers that the user can tear off just before they insert the straw in a drink. That way, it's easy to tell at a glance if the straw has been used before, even if you're not holding it. No beveled ends are allowed, with a possible exception for extra-tiny straws that can be used to puncture seals on kids' juice boxes. Even these straws are also required to be single-use and disposable. Manufacturers must attach one to every box to help encourage getting rid of the previously used ones.

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by L.J.Steele

When straws are outlawed...

Traveler arrested with "vampire straw" at Boston airport. (Seems to be a titanium straw with a beveled edge which can theoretically be used as a weapon) Lacking a grip, I'm not sure how decent a weapon it could be.

https://www.police1.com/bizarre/arti...ST_EMAIL_ID%5D

To be fair, such "vampire straws" are specifically marketed as self-defense weapons, so it's not so much "This could theoretically be used as a weapon" as it is "This is a weapon." It's not likely to be a terribly effective weapon, and good luck actually hijacking a plane with it post-9/11.

As for the lack of a proper grip, I'd expect it would work fine in an icepick grip with your thumb over the flat end (it's also got some texturing where you'd grip it to prevent slippage). Again, though, it's not likely to be a very effective weapon.

[L.J.Steele]

Originally Posted by Varyon

To be fair, such "vampire straws" are specifically marketed as self-defense weapons, so it's not so much "This could theoretically be used as a weapon" as it is "This is a weapon." It's not likely to be a terribly effective weapon, and good luck actually hijacking a plane with it post-9/11.

As for the lack of a proper grip, I'd expect it would work fine in an icepick grip with your thumb over the flat end (it's also got some texturing where you'd grip it to prevent slippage). Again, though, it's not likely to be a very effective weapon.

Having seen "tactical" applied to nearly everything imaginable just to jack up the price, I'm dubious about this thing's claim to be a weapon within any reasonable definition of the term.

[L.J.Steele]

This is a PC plan -- Portland (Ore) area youth takes date to prom in a WWII tank, escorted by a kilted Darth Vader on a unicycle playing bagpipes.

https://ksltv.com/545840/washington-...ands-unipiper/

[adm]

That's a Honey of a ride.

[cptbutton]

Something bad has happened to the Angel with the Word of Pasta:

'Mission Impastable:' New Jersey Town Finds 500 Pounds of Pasta Dumped in the Woods

Calling it “Mission Impasteable,” Jochnowitz posted photos of the scene on social media, saying 500 pounds of pasta had been dumped in the woods. Her photos quickly went viral and shed light on a bigger problem the town has–an absence of bulk trash pickup. She said the pasta had been left there for several days before she received a call to help clean it up, telling CNBC News, “That’s kind of funny, humorous, everything else.” She continued, “Because we don’t have pick-up, we have dumps. The funny dump this time was pasta.”

[Anders]

Need a treasure for your After the End campaign?

1.4 billion lbs. of cheese sits in a cave in Missouri.

[Dr. Beckenstein]

Extra Arms Advantage becomes real - Japanese Company develops "backpack" with attachable, AI-controlled robotic arms:

https://interestingengineering.com/i...lled-by-humans

I am sure nothing will go wrong.

[Irish Wolf]

Originally Posted by Dr. Beckenstein

Extra Arms Advantage becomes real - Japanese Company develops "backpack" with attachable, AI-controlled robotic arms:

https://interestingengineering.com/i...lled-by-humans

I am sure nothing will go wrong.

As long as nobody starts using them to control an open-air fusion reactor, things should be fine... :)

More seriously, I think the end of the article is right - their true future is in prosthetics for people with entirely missing arms, or with nerve damage to the point that standard prosthetics for partial arms won't work.

[Anaraxes]

Originally Posted by Dr. Beckenstein

Extra Arms Advantage becomes real - Japanese Company develops "backpack" with attachable, AI-controlled robotic arms

Nah, it's "Jonah Hex". "Doc Hex" just doesn't work.