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The Perpetual Slinky Escalator

It's pretty neat until you realize that from the Slinky's point of view, it's a human attempt to create a Sisyphean hell for all Slinkykind. Matthias Wandel's eternal Slinky escalator amuses us to no end and horrifies any Slinky that watches it.


(Video Link)

Wandel made his escalator with a looped wood chain of steps. He tried to use an electric drill to automate the task. But after failing to get the right speed, he opted for a simpler and more effective hand crank. Just turn at the right speed and the Slinky will never stop its labor.

-via Gizmodo


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"It's pretty neat until you realize that from the Slinky's point of view, it's a human attempt to create a Sisyphean hell for all Slinkykind"

Slinkys don't have a point of view. They're neither autonomous or self-aware.
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Matthias Wandel's "Woodgears.ca" site is worth visiting for his wonderful machines and other designs. He created a binary memory system using marbles and wooden toggles that is perhaps the best explanation of how binary memory works. Many of his projects are downloadable as SketchUp models, so you can build them yourself.
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I always figured that's where they got the idea? Anyway, what about those little round things in tide pools? I always enjoyed poking them and watching them scrunch up. And those are hardly the only organisms which exhibit such behavior.
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I'm pretty sure the idea came from the polychaetes, a class of annelid worms. Yes, they're animals and worms.

As whiterabbit said, I think it's based on "Christmas tree worms" (Spirobranchus giganteus). Here a video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVJcBRqzr8Y
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There are also tube worms that do the same thing in coral reefs. But as almost every one else has said, corals aren't plants.

Cola: tide pools where? There are lots of different critters in different tide pools all over the world.
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Pandora envy sweeeps the nation! That is really cool though, makes you think the creators of the film had based the plants on this exact species.
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Zava, tide pools in Oregon. I'm pretty sure these critters are common in this climate. I can't seem to find the species, though. It's some kind of anemone. It looks like a little green mouth with fuzzy lips and it scrunches up and closes when you touch it into a little brown lump.
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Everything on Pandora was based (in most parts) on stuff you find on Earth. I don't know why people are so surprised to find similar stuff here...
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