Recycling newspapers as umbrellas
With more than a whiff of the Halfbakery about it, the Naked UnBrella or EcoBrolly appears to be a way of turning a newspaper into an emergency umbrella. It starts off as an 8cm plastic tube, and with a bit of unfolding of ribs and stretchers (I checked) you have something that might well keep a bit of a shower off.
Follow the link (link deleted at request of the designer) to Yanko Design to see how it works. Rap a plastic bag around the paper first and I'm pretty sure you'd have a tolerably good umbrella - at least as good as those £5 ones I buy whenever it rains and promptly either lose or find has been destroyed by a slight breeze.
(From time to time I like to point out that while my ultimate employer, Associated Newspapers, happens to operate a number of newspapers including Metro this is my personal blog and my happening to be amused by something shouldn't be taken as anyone else here endorsing it. This is one of those times.)
Why on earth would the designer not want the link? (It's all over the web anyway.) More importantly: when will we be able to buy them?
Posted by: awrc | July 08, 2008 at 08:08 AM
I gather they're trying to get the thing into production and have realised belatedly that their IP will be easier to protect if it isn't all over the Internet. Alas...
Posted by: Seamus McCauley | July 08, 2008 at 09:08 AM