Vote for John T. Unger's recycled-tire paddles!
John T. Unger -- an artist and longtime Collision Detection reader -- is masterful at taking castaway scrap materials and turning them into art. I while back I blogged about his gorgeous Great Bowl of Fire, a flame-cut firepit made out of a recycled tank. Recently John created another nifty project: A series of spanking paddles made out discarded truck tires. They've been an enormous hit online (though personally I'd be scared senseless to have someone coming at me with one of these things, heh.)
Anyway, the Treehugger blog has decided to hold a contest for "Weird Eco Habits", the mandate of which they describe thusly:
We know TreeHugger readers have habits some might view as "weird". Whether it is watering your plants with condensation from a dehumidifier, finding driving techniques for getting the most mpg out of a Prius, or even going so far as to turn a chest freezer into an ultra-efficient fridge to save energy, some of us tend to go the extra mile. We think it is about time you got rewarded for these "weird" habits.
They picked John's paddles as one of the year's most surreal environmentally-friendly projects, and he's currently leading the race. But it's close, and voting ends Tuesday -- so if you like these paddles, hie thee to the voting page and make your voice heard!
Posted by Clive Thompson at December 11, 2005 09:12 PM
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As ever, Thanks, Clive!
Long term, I think my goal seems to have become taking the world title for sustainable products with an edge. It's kind of an open frontier...
Posted by: johntunger at December 11, 2005 10:50 PM
Totally! I've got my fingers crossed for you, sir.
Posted by: Clive at December 11, 2005 11:42 PM
Wow, it has been so neck + neck today. HELP! Go Vote, people!
I honestly don't care about the prizes, but I do think my gear is much weirder than a chicken coop. In Pilsen, the Chicago neighborhood where I used to live, urban livestock was fairly common. At least once a year someone's goat would get out of a backyard pen and cause havock in the streets... Have you ever noticed how much a car looks like a nice mountain to climb around and leap on? Well, me neither, but it's so *obvious* to a goat! Heh.
The weirdest thing about this contest is how much like an Ebay auction it is. I think everyone emailed a few friends at first. Then, with only two people in a strong lead, it got competitive: we posted to our blogs, and asked others to step in and help the cause. Then, with a few days to go, voting and competition died down. It seemed wise to hold back and let the other guy get a sense of false security and then swoop in at the end with everything we had. We'll know tomorrow...
Posted by: johntunger at December 12, 2005 5:17 PM
What do you use this paddle for? Rowing a boat? hitting someone? a accelerator peddle? Some dude's wife beater? Oh yeah, them wife beater can decrease their sins by using something enviromental friendly instead.
Posted by: nova9 at December 13, 2005 1:21 PM
Heh. I think the paddles would be used in a rather more consensual situation.
Though it would also make one hell of a canoe oar, eh?
Posted by: Clive at December 13, 2005 2:51 PM
Nova9: As Clive says, they're intended for consenting couples... as for whether the environmental angle is a turn on for the kinky set, well, it's more a matter of my own design prerequisites. I was looking for a way to use trash rubber and happened to come up with something that works very well for what it does. I'll be posting a design statement on the tirepaddle blog later this week that may clear this up for you, if you really wondered. If you want the simple answer, think of all the trees I'm saving! ;-)
Posted by: johntunger at December 13, 2005 11:11 PM
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As ever, Thanks, Clive!
Long term, I think my goal seems to have become taking the world title for sustainable products with an edge. It's kind of an open frontier...
Posted by: johntunger![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.collisiondetection.net/nav-commenters.gif)
at December 11, 2005 10:50 PM
Totally! I've got my fingers crossed for you, sir.
Posted by: Clive![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.collisiondetection.net/nav-commenters.gif)
at December 11, 2005 11:42 PM
Wow, it has been so neck + neck today. HELP! Go Vote, people!
I honestly don't care about the prizes, but I do think my gear is much weirder than a chicken coop. In Pilsen, the Chicago neighborhood where I used to live, urban livestock was fairly common. At least once a year someone's goat would get out of a backyard pen and cause havock in the streets... Have you ever noticed how much a car looks like a nice mountain to climb around and leap on? Well, me neither, but it's so *obvious* to a goat! Heh.
The weirdest thing about this contest is how much like an Ebay auction it is. I think everyone emailed a few friends at first. Then, with only two people in a strong lead, it got competitive: we posted to our blogs, and asked others to step in and help the cause. Then, with a few days to go, voting and competition died down. It seemed wise to hold back and let the other guy get a sense of false security and then swoop in at the end with everything we had. We'll know tomorrow...
Posted by: johntunger![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.collisiondetection.net/nav-commenters.gif)
at December 12, 2005 5:17 PM
What do you use this paddle for? Rowing a boat? hitting someone? a accelerator peddle? Some dude's wife beater? Oh yeah, them wife beater can decrease their sins by using something enviromental friendly instead.
Posted by: nova9![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.collisiondetection.net/nav-commenters.gif)
at December 13, 2005 1:21 PM
Heh. I think the paddles would be used in a rather more consensual situation.
Though it would also make one hell of a canoe oar, eh?
Posted by: Clive![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.collisiondetection.net/nav-commenters.gif)
at December 13, 2005 2:51 PM
Nova9: As Clive says, they're intended for consenting couples... as for whether the environmental angle is a turn on for the kinky set, well, it's more a matter of my own design prerequisites. I was looking for a way to use trash rubber and happened to come up with something that works very well for what it does. I'll be posting a design statement on the tirepaddle blog later this week that may clear this up for you, if you really wondered. If you want the simple answer, think of all the trees I'm saving! ;-)
Posted by: johntunger![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.collisiondetection.net/nav-commenters.gif)
at December 13, 2005 11:11 PM