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How Did This Man Outrun a Motorcycle on a Bike?!

Posted on May 4, 2021March 27, 2023 by Patrick McCarthy

Jet-Powered Bicycle

What do you get when you cross a jet engine with a bicycle? A jet-powered bicycle, of course!

Complete with a red bull can fuel tank in the water bottle cage, the jerry-rigged bike looks like an artistic masterpiece, or a disaster waiting to happen.

Its designers are working on the Xwing project, which will fly a jet-powered aerobatic carbon fiber skydiving wing. So by comparison, the jet-powered bicycle is arguably a walk in the park.

Wanting to test out the jet engine parameters – its startup time, shutdown time, how it behaves at high speeds, and more – the designers decided to test it out on a moving object: a bicycle. Testing on a lab bench just wasn’t enough. So they created the jet-powered bicycle.

This ridiculous contraption goes up to around fifty miles per hour. By the way, the bike has front suspension, as you can see here:

Jet-Powered Snowmobile

A group in Sweden has assembled a jet-powered snowmobile. The device uses a pulse jet, providing a whopping 380 pounds of thrust. That’s a far cry from the space shuttle at 1.2 million pounds of thrust or SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy at 5 million, but still pretty good for a snowmobile.

In this chaotic video, masked men scurry about the ice to ignite the jet engine. The vehicle reaches a top speed of around 110 miles per hour. That’s faster than most people drive on the Autobahn.

Pulse jets are a type of jet engine that, like their name suggests, deliver propulsion in pulses. This makes them simpler than some other jet engines, without the requirements for moving parts and air input. However, this same simplicity makes them less efficient than highly engineered jet engines for other applications. A Swede was arguably the inventor of the pulse jet engine, so this wacky snowmobile continues a story that now goes back over a hundred years.

Incidentally, Robert Goddard, the pioneer of space rockets, created a pulse jet engine in 1931 and installed it on a bicycle – long before there was YouTube.

Jet-Powered Go Kart

Colin Fuerze has built a jet-propelled go-kart. The Jet-Kart, which he fairly dubs “The most MENTAL kart EVER,” reaches an impressive top speed of over 60 miles per hour. You could ride this go-kart on the interstate highways!

He drives the Jet-Kart on an airstrip and exhausts the runway at the end, so maybe he could even go faster.

The kart appears to be composed of a few slim structural tubes, and several gigantic jet engines. Running on diesel and gas, it has a couple of large fuel tanks strapped on board. In the video, Colin hilariously wears a suit and tie.

While driving, the jets appear to glow with visible radiation. After the high-speed run, the vehicle belches plumes of smoke and fire.

Jet-Powered Longboard

A cool young guy has invented the “jet longboard 2.0,” a jet-propelled skateboard.

It uses electric ducted fans, a kind of jet engine that uses electricity stored in batteries to create high-speed streams of air. The design offers high thrust-to-weight ratios, making it efficient, especially for small craft.

He put the batteries in a carbon fiber container. The jet-board uses an Arduino electronic control unit. He even made a 3D printed enclosure for the speed control device – and a kill switch to stop the jet-powered skateboard in case its rider falls off.

The inventor previously created a cool hand-held bar with a couple of jet engines, which you could hold onto as it pulled you on any set of wheels – a precursor to the jet-powered skateboard.

With only one of the twin jets running, and at half power, the first test ride was already too fast to handle. Who knows what top speed is achievable?

Jet-Powered Human

It’s about time. Finally, someone went out and built a workable jetpack. Now, how much longer until these are on store shelves?

British inventor Richard Browning flew his own device, reaching a top speed of 32 miles per hour. That’s fast enough to fly over city streets!

Browning earned a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records. He set the record for fastest flight of a jetpack, over a distance of at least 100 meters (328 feet).

The Brit flew over a lake (Lagoona Park in Reading), in front of a small crowd. He used six kerosene jets, spread out in a sweet formation over his upper body.

“The human mind and body is an amazing construct,” Browning said in a TED talk. “And what if you augmented that wonderful machine with just the right technology?”

He envisions a future in which you can fly up and down the beach, then land on an accompanying Hercules plane.

https://static.euronews.com/articles/402595/1280x720_402595.jpg

6 Unbelievable Duct Tape Hacks for Camping

Posted on April 13, 2021March 27, 2023 by Brittany Lockheart

You never know what you need until you realize, 200 miles away, that you don’t have it. And if you don’t have it, you have to figure out how to get it. Or make it. And while 1-click ordering and free shipping via drone is technologically imminent, the delivery address fields are still not configured to accommodate; ‘Big-Oak-Tree-By-The-Stream, The Wilderness’. Whether you are a solo backpacker or a family of car campers, duct tape is the ultimate all-season ‘swiss army knife’ camping accessory (but you’re still going to need an actual Swiss Army Knife).

911; What’s Your Emergency?

In the event that you didn’t pack a first aid kit, you are pretty much guaranteed to be playing wilderness doctor. Fortunately, duct tape works well on both extremes of the injury continuum. Make a stretcher for your friend who just broke both legs falling into a ravine, a crutch if it was only one leg, or a splint and sling if it was just an arm. If their only complaint is chafing and blisters, it works really well as bandage protection, and can also be used to silence any further whining.

2. Don’t Let The Bed Bugs Bite

One of the initiation rites for sleeping outdoors is waking up the next morning (or several times throughout the night) damp, covered in insect bites, and possibly even a nocturnal spray from a scavenging skunk. Unfortunately, branches, rocks and prickly bushes are kryptonite to canvas. Fortunately, a little duct tape first aid can seal up any rips and holes in your tent (or sleeping bag), keeping the less miraculous parts of mother nature right where you want them. And if you didn’t splurge on a fancy tent, it’s even easier to increase the square footage (although probably not re-sale value) by adding on an enclosed porch using tape, a tarp and trash bags.

3. Sleep Number Strategies

Studies say that sleeping in the fresh air is supposed to be better for you. However, camping can also mean disrupted sleep as a result of a tree root to the kidney all night long, as well as being in close, non-sound proofed proximity to other people’s snoring styles (resist the impulse to duct tape over your tent buddy’s mouth during their REM cycle). If you really prefer not to listen to someone snoring 2 feet away, either resign yourself to becoming a lifetime Holiday Inn rewards member, or start stockpiling duct tape. Fortunately relief is approximately 3 rolls away. All it takes is a couple of well placed oak trees, some rope, two sturdy poles, and you can weave your very own tempurpedic hammock.

4. Custom Camping Couture

Unless it’s a nudist resort, there is nothing worse than realizing you forgot to pack a key piece of clothing (underwear, socks, flip flops for those sketchy campground showers…). The water repelling properties make duct tape ideal for fashioning a pair of shower sandals using just the lid of a styrofoam beer cooler for the soles. But if you do happen to forget underwear, you’re probably better off going commando than experimenting with a Duct Tape It Yourself pair.

5. The Winter Beer Run

Winter camping means never having to worry about warm beer- as long as you can get to it. Twist a couple of empties in two and duct tape them (snaggly side down), to the soles of your shoes. Beer can crampons ensure that your beverage, rather than your backside, is what sits on the ice.

6. The Selfie Struggle is Real

Cant quite line up the angle or composition for an epic Instagram post of your silhouette, inside the tent, during sunset? Duct tape means you can turn your hiking poles into a tripod that can compete with any of those overpriced ones you see in the mall at Sharper Image.

While duct tape can’t turn water into wine, straw into gold, or improve a relationship with your mother, it could technically cover a receding hairline, and provide impressive camping stories to use the next time you’re talking to an attractive stranger at the bar.

Creating Your Own Survival Kit from Things Around the House

Posted on April 13, 2021March 27, 2023 by Brittany Lockheart

In this day and age, it is a wise move to have a survival kit stashed around your house just in case. While there probably won’t be a zombie apocalypse anytime in the near future, there are a hundred reasons why you still might need such a kit. Keeping one handy just means you are well-prepared and ready for emergencies. Like Ben Franklin said, “If you fail to prepare, then you prepare to fail.”

There are many expensive survival kits you can purchase online or in stores that are ready to go, but you can save quite a bit of money by putting one together yourself. Plus, you can customize it to your exact needs: consider the survival scenarios that are most likely to occur in your geographic region, store a month’s supply of a special medication you require, or select food options to your personal taste.

In fact, you just might have everything you need for a survival kit in your house right now! You wouldn’t even have to go out and buy anything, just walk around your house and gather some items. Below is a list that could help you out in your preparation for constructing your own private survival kit.

A Duffel Bag or Backpack
We all have an old duffel bag lying around the house from our trips to the gym that we don’t use anymore. Perhaps you have a backpack from you or your kids’ school days just sitting in the closet. Both these storage items are perfect to contain your survival kit. Blow off all the dust and shake out all the cobwebs. Your survival kit is about to take off.

You could get one of these babies for $200+, or you could pull most of the same stuff out of your garage. Image source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/137782069829388992/

Medical Supplies
Having basic medical supplies in your survival kit is a good step in preparing for what could go wrong. Take some band-aids, rubbing alcohol, tweezers, a towel, ibuprofen, Tylenol, and anything else you believe could come in handy. It is always a good habit to store these in small plastic bags, especially anything that is liquid. You don’t want loose items floating around in your duffel bag. Keep everything as tidy as you can so you can locate it quickly in a pinch. Also, packing a bit of toilet paper might be a very good thing.

Food and Drinks
You want to be sure to pick food items that can last for at least a year to store in your bag. There are probably cans of fruits and vegetables in the back of your pantry that you have forgotten all about that would be perfect for a survival kit. Be sure to pack a can opener as well otherwise you might be beating yourself up later on.

Beef jerky can last a long time and provide you with much-needed protein. Also, a perfect addition to your survival kit would be protein powder. Just being able to mix it with bottled water could provide you with an instant meal replacement.

Cash
Right or wrong, cash is king in our world today. Having a few hundred dollars on hand in your survival kit will give you a bit of spending money if there is an emergency.

Knife or Gun
Unfortunately, bad things happen in this world (they might already be happening if you’re utilizing this kit!). If you don’t have some sort of weapon in your survival kit, then you are putting yourself and your family at risk of being victims. Even if you don’t believe in guns, one could save your life someday in an emergency. Just because you don’t like them doesn’t mean that other unsavory characters won’t be packing.

Matches or a Lighter
You probably have extra lighters laying around your house right at this moment. Throw a few those into your survival kit. In addition, having a few candles and a flashlight could be beneficial down the road as well.

Extra Clothes and Blankets
We all have a closet full of clothes that we seldom wear. Throw in some of these into your survival kit. If there is an emergency, you don’t want to be stuck wearing the same dirty clothes each day. Additionally, depending on where you live, extreme temperatures could become a very real threat to your survival.

Create a Bag for Each Member of the Family
Don’t just think ahead for yourself. Having enough food and water for everyone is essential for surviving, so make sure you have enough in your kits to last you awhile. Prepare an individual kit for every member of the family. Of course, with kids, you may not want to include weapons into their bag, but they may have ideas about other things they can store in there. I’m willing to bet they’d enjoy creating their own, and parents can use the opportunity to initiate a “thinking ahead and being prepared” lesson in a hands-on, more-fun manner.

Ultimate Tactical Jeep is the Ultimate Off-Road Adventure

Posted on April 13, 2021March 27, 2023 by Brittany Lockheart

SAS Tactical Jeep operating in North Africa during the Second World War
Photo Via: Long Range Desert Group Preservation Society

The bad ass four-wheeling adventure idea was born out of necessity in the North African desert during the Second World War. Equipping Jeeps with machine guns so troops could harass German airfields and encampments. The rugged, highly mobile Jeep made it possible to shoot and scoot without getting one’s ass shot off by some very ticked off Wehrmacht. These Rat Patrols, as they came to be known, were so successful, they were given their own television show in the 1960s. (Catch the action at FanTV).

The Rat Patrols might be gone, but the Tactical Jeep lives on. Today’s Tactical Jeep isn’t just rigged with machine guns, it’s a got a hell of a lot more power under the hood, some sophisticated dash-mounted GPS navigation and self-driving capabilities, and yeah, it’s got some hefty firepower too. According to Tactical-Life.com, a tactical ride is both a rugged and reliable specially equipped Jeep utilized by law enforcement, security contractors, military outfits, and of course, private citizens who can’t get enough of their weekend warier lifestyle.

The Tactical, or Tac, Jeep has got to operate on both paved and off-road conditions. It’s got to have four-wheel drive or all-wheel drive, automatic and/or manual transmission (the 2012 Wrangler yours truly drives operates with a hybrid auto/manual tranny), and enough ground clearance to negotiate logs, boulders, dead bodies, pieces of blown up debris, and more. It’s also got to have the right tires. Not mudders, but a set of 35-inch Goodyear Wrangler Duratrack tires will definitely do the trick.

Modern day Tactical Jeep taking on the dunes
Photo Via: realworldsurvivor.com

If you’re operating in a war zone or maybe Border Patrol, you’ll want to equip your Tac Jeep with life-preserving features like run-flat tires, bullet-resistant glass, and body armor, both on the side panels and on the underside to ward off those pesky IEDs. As for the engine? A gasoline-powered 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 air-cooled engine will suffice, although in special instances, some Jeeps can be equipped with a diesel engine. The point here is not comfort, but speed, rugged reliability, safety, and mobility.

Should you decide to build your own Tac Jeep, the amount of add-on features seems limited only to your imagination. A 10,000 pound capacity winch attached to a Garvin G2 front bumper is a good idea just in case the mud gets too deep and you need to get pulled out. The rear bumper can be outfitted with a swing-away combination spare tire/tool/gas (Geri) can system, while a roof rack that allows for the hardtop roof panels to be removed is a must. A 2-inch lift suspension kit can be mounted to the swing-away carrier or mounted to the front hood. You’ll also want to install a snorkel and extra Geri cans on the side panels for additional water and gasoline.

Okay, so I know what you’re thinking. All this fancy gadgetry is all well and good, but what about firepower? Well, unlike the Rat Patrols of old, or those tactical Jeeps currently roaming the outskirts of Syria and Iraq, Johnny Q Public Citizen can’t very well get away with mounting a .50 cal or a rapid-fire Minigun to his roll bar. Or can he?

Custom built 21st Century “Rat Patrol” Tactical Jeep with Airsoft Minigun mount.
Photo Via: www.fourwheeler.com

FourWheeler Network reports on a Utah Jeep enthusiast who not only transformed his 2011 3.8L V-6 Wrangler into a Tactical Jeep, he mounted a P3 Airsoft Minigun to the rack. Said to be based on the GE Vulcan Minigun in operation around the world’s hot spots today, the Airsoft version is capable of firing 50 rounds (biodegradable plastic BBs) per second. That Airsoft Minigun is not a toy, considering it was able to obliterate a junkyard television set at fifty paces, which means it’s also dangerous enough to make hamburger out of a grown man’s backside.

The homegrown Tactical Jeep doesn’t limit itself to just a single Minigun however. Mounted to its side panels via Kydex holsters are two ACR Airsoft rifles. One can also mount pistol holders to the vehicle’s center console. What’s so great about these Airsoft modifications? If the End of Days (or World War III for that matter) should come upon us, the Airsoft weapons can be substituted with the real thing.

Building your own version of the ultimate Tactical Jeep can obviously be a lot of fun. All that’s required is time, passion, some cash, and a whole lot of blood, sweat, and tears. But what if you don’t have the time to devote to such a project? You can, of course, purchase the ultimate tactical Jeep. In fact, if you have a spare couple hundred K lying around, you can drive one off the lot today.

The ultimate bulletproof Tactical Jeep for the ‘burbs and beyond.
Photo Via: Gearjunkie.com

Meet the ultimate Tactical Jeep. GearJunkie recently reported that this Tactical Urban Vehicle is the brainchild of Rezvani Motors in Irvine, Calif. Nicknamed the Tank, it looks like something from out of a sci-fi movie, but under the hood, it is pure Jeep Wrangler. The base model features a 3.6L V6 engine and on-demand 4X4 capability. It’s got a leather interior, Extreme Off-Road capable 37 in. tires, and you can feel safe driving the kids to school surrounded by its Kevlar armor and bulletproof glass. You can even order a night vision upgrade. What’s more, if you want to part with a few more bucks, you can power up the engine with a 6.4L V8 motor that pumps out 500 horsepower. No wonder they call it the Tank.

Whether your goal is a fire-arm equipped tactical Jeep that will keep you safe on the battleground like the Rat Patrol of old, a custom tactical build that will provide you with thrills and spills in the outback all weekend long, or just a bad ass Tank of a 4X4 for driving around the badlands of West Hollywood, the Tactical Jeep just might be the ultimate adventure ride.

–Vincent Zandri

How to Make a Knife Out of Aluminum Foil

Posted on April 13, 2021March 27, 2023 by Patrick McCarthy

Need a knife, but all you have is a roll of aluminum foil? Don’t worry, here’s how to forge one!

The basic procedure is to apply mechanical pressure to shape the blade, and heat it to alter its properties. The heat makes the metal flow so that you can compress it into a new shape, which it then holds better after cooling. Aluminum is a highly malleable metal, as you may have noticed from how easily you can bend aluminum foil. However, this also means that the edge will dull quickly, one reason why you don’t see a lot of aluminum knives at the store.

These steps are based on a Japenese YouTuber. A link to the video is included at the bottom of this post. Enjoy!

1. Gather Supplies.

2. Gradually pull out the foil, rolling it into a new wad outside of its box. The wad should be quite hefty, about half a roll. Rip off the wad for future use. (0:21)

3. Remove the remaining roll of aluminum foil from the box. This will become your knife. (0:22)

4. Hammer the fresh roll of aluminum foil flat, striking it repeatedly against an anvil. It should now resemble a rectangle the length of the original roll. (0:28)

5. Drive out the inner cardboard tube, using the handle of a mallet to loosen it, then a pair of pliers to pull it out from the aluminum foil. (0:45)

6. Flatten the foil more, again hammering it against an anvil. (1:08)

7. Heat the flat bar of foil on a gas stove. Set the burner on low, and heat one end of the bar. (1:32)

8. Hammer the heated end. Use a pair of pliers to hold the foil. Aluminum conducts heat. (1:43)

9. Flip the foil over and hammer it flat on the other side (1:59)

10. Cool the pliers in a wet cloth. (2:03)

11. Return the foil to the burner. (2:05)

12. Continue hammering the bar of foil flat. (2:09)

13. Hammer further on the foil until it is a flat, hard, compact bar. At this point it should have enough rigidity that you can hit the aluminum foil and it rebounds solidly, instead of squashing. You now have a solid bar of aluminum – the body of the blade! (2:36)

14. Take a knife with a shape that you want to copy. Place it on top of your flat bar of aluminum foil. Use a permanent marker to trace the outline of the original knife on your aluminum foil. (2:52)

15. Secure your aluminum foil bar in a vise. Use a jigsaw to cut out the shape that you traced on the flat aluminum foil bar. (3:02)

16. Lubricate the jigsaw as necessary. Cutting an aluminum knife is hard work! (3:22)

17. Place your new knife form in the vise. (3:58)

18. File down the edges of your knife form. (4:00)

19. Use a whetstone #150 to create the surface of your knife tang. (4:12)

20. Heat your knife over a gas burner, set on high. (4:30)

21. Chisel midway to separate the block of aluminum into two, lengthwise. (4:44)

22. Hammer one half further until it is extremely flat. At this point it should roughly resemble a knife. (4:56)

23. Sand down your knife blade. (5:27)

24. Use whetstone #150 to carve a bevel in your knife. (5:40)

25. Use whetstone #400 to refine the knife bevel. (5:53)

26. Use whetstone #1000 to give your knife a sharp edge. Cool the whetstone repeatedly with precise amounts of water. Higher number whetstones have finer surfaces, producing more contact with the knife and more heat, and requiring more cooling. (6:00)

27. Use whetstone #2000 to polish your knife edge. (6:33)

28. Use whetstone #6000, then #8000, then #12000, then #30000, for progressive rounds of final sharpening. (7:02)

29. On a block of wood, trace the outline of your tang with a marker. This will become your knife handle. (7:53)

30. Place the wood block in a vise, and saw out the shape. Then saw the handle in two lengthwise, so that you can place the handle on both sides of your tang. Sand down the handle wood, and brush away the debris. (7:58)

31. Draw two points on your knife tang. These will become the attachment points for your handle. Drill out holes in these points, using a wood board to receive the excess drilling. File the knife smooth where you drilled out the holes. (8:25)