The more I explore the Hooniverse the more I realise that you can literally race anything. Barstools? Yep. Recliners? Of course! Lawnmowers? Sure, lawnmower racing has been around for years. Setting landspeed records on a fully functional lawnmower? Now that is something different.
Back in July of ’06, a feller by the name of Bob Cleveland set the record for worlds fastest lawnmower at 80.75 mph. Project Runningblade aims to beat that, and by a large margin. 100 mph is their target number. Not an easy feat by any stretch of the imagination. Especially once you consider that the lawnmower has to be built by a recognized manufacturer, using mostly lawnmower parts and actually be capable of cutting grass on the day of the challenge.
After undergoing heart surgery, Stephen Volkins spent some time in the hospital recovering, and it was during this time that he decided to make his dream a reality. And to quote a hoon, “I decided that having successfully got through this life-saving surgery, I should do something spectacular with the new lease of life I’ve been given. Climbing Everest is too much like hard work, but taking Bob Cleveland’s record for Britain is mad, bad, and slightly dangerous – in other words, perfect!”
Oh, you crazy Britts! You are a true Hoon Mr. Volkins.
In addition to breaking the record, the Team are also committed to raise money for the two charities they support – Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children and Wessex Heartbeat.
For your viewing pleasure, here is Bob Cleveland’s on his record-breaking mower:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWmozLhuuXo[/youtube]
Source: Project Running Blade, Gizmag, fastmachines
Project Runningblade
About
-
"Whar'd all thet sawlt come frum, anyhayw?"
I mean this in the nicest way, Americans, but there's just no way to sound like an expert on anything with that accent. If I had a dentist or brain surgeon with that accent, I'd run the fuck away. "Whut we gon' do is open y'all up, 'n' poke aroun' in thar with a poin'y stick."-
I'm not going to argue that. To be fair though if it wasn't for our Southerners the Hooniverse would be a lot less interesting.
-
You make an excellent point. They're rather like our Newfies. They're a bit special, but we love them, and keep them around because they're so bloody funny.
-
One of the most well-read and intelligent people I know is a Newfie. I can only assume that he's the exception that proves the rule.
-
Oh not at all. Most of the Newfs I know are not only intelligent, but have a remarkably quick wit as well. There seems to be a certain cultural priority on humour and clever banter that is exclusive to the NFLD/Labrador region. Combine that with a tendency towards self-deprecation and mix in an amusing accent, and it's not hard to see where the stereotype comes from. And the Newfies love to play it up. "Oh, bye, I ain't be de shmartest wan, but bye I be de knowin whar me boots be at when I'm layin me head down wit a lassie wit de gol' on de finger ye know I'm sayin?"
-
I was just discussing Newfie accents on reddit yesterday. Interesting stuff. Although no one seemed to appreciate my joke:
Q: What do you call a /b/tard from Newfoundland?
A: A Newfag! -
Quite – I was over there recently and there is a giant cultural heritage.
Plus being unemployed all the time means you can read alot! Zing, newf joke.
(I know some very smart newf drs, lawyers, educators, masters students, etc… who'd laugh @ that, then hit me).
-
-
-
-
-
They all talk like that around me so I guess I'm screwed.
-
Huh? Most people I run into around here have news anchor accents.
-
I have the news anchor accent… l have lived on both coasts almost 50/50 now. Though when drinking with my Boston buddies, that accent can come out a bit… thankfully, the same is not true when hanging with mah brahs in orange county…
-
-
-
Southerners are very easily underestimated because of this. While I'm a first generation native Californian, I come from a looooong line of south-of-the-Mason-Dixon-line dwellers (first ancestor fled Jolly Old England in 1637), so I've got a pretty good understanding of Southern Culture. Honestly, some of the most astute people I've ever met were from the South. Culturally, they seem to foster Common Sense better than other parts of the US – this is just my oberservation, mind you. In other parts of the country, it's not hard to determine whether someone's an idiot. In the South, it's hard for a Yankee a to differentiate a stereotypically stupid redneck from a smart Good Ol' Boy. Therein lies the rub; you never know which you're dealing with before it's too late and you've been "served" with down-home civility.
-
Absolutely. And, for the record, there was no implication there that Southerners were somehow less intelligent. I don't know anything about their educational system as it compares to the North, or the PacNW, or wherever. My only point is that they certainly don't SOUND intelligent. Even someone with a PhD, and the leading academic in their field has a hard time sounding intellectual with a southern accent.
-
Knowing you as I do (this sounds strange since we've never physically met), I didn't for a moment thought you were making any such implication. Mine was more of a warning to others to beware. Sort of like the rabbit in Holy Grail, a Southerner's wit/intelligence can eviscerate someone who thinks they're dealing with a "hillbilly."
-
-
My company's headquarters are in Tullahoma, TN. You wanna hear some good ol' boys, middle Tennessee is the place to find them. They are also wicked smart, down to earth, and probably the friendliest people I've ever known. Now, if only I could convince them that tea isn't naturally sweet and that nobody knows what "it's comin' a gully washer" means, we'd be in business.
-
I totally agree. I lived in Memphis for three years for my first job out of grad school. Some of the nicest people I've ever met. That they had the Best BBQ in the WORLD (Corky's and Rendezvous; especially Corky's – trust me, you MUST eat there if you're ever in town) and the best Blues clubs ever was icing on the cake.
-
I should learn a southern accent as I may be moving from Toledo to Knoxville 🙁
-
I can barely contain my laughter whenever I talk to some engineers who grew up in the south. I really can't even think straight sometimes. It's just too easy. I know, I am a douche. Just keep picturing an engineer trying to explain how to setup a moonshine still.
I blame my up bringing. -
You work for a whiskey manufacturer don't you? Jack Daniels is nearby but George Dickel is based in Tullahoma. They use a wind tunnel at AEDC to get just the right shape to the bottles. They send you to Florida for months at a time to do research on the effects of zero-g and the distillation process. Hence your obsession with brefass scotch.
-
-
-
On the other hand, there's, Bud a.k.a. Duke: You seeee thishere moly' grease? Ain't worth a f*****ck when it comes to chains and debris. We've run fancy greases, used oyl, but Bud, lemmetellya best thing we found for chain life is a little bit'a Dial dish soap.
/Arkansas off -
If you left cars to yankee's we all be driving hybrids and woefully underpowered econoboxes… Like AVEOS.
-
RWD, solid-axle, sturdy-bumpered almost-midsizes are just fine by me, sah. Even if they are dog-slow.
What if I hollow out my cat? Will that make ya feel better?
-
-
As a Michigander — meaning i sound like a Canadian, so much so that i've had to produce my passport to prove to people that i am, in fact, from the US — i couldn't agree more. On the other hand, i now live in the U.P. and yous know dat we talk kinda funny up here, eh? When dat der Sarah Palin was on da TV, i dought ta meself, "Gee, she sounds just like dat checker down at da IGA in Ishperming. Even knows a ting er two bout mooses." But i don't like her dat much cause she acts like Alaska is God's country der and yous all know dat 906 is God's area code, eh.
-
I'm a troll, and I have a good friend from the UP (Ironwood). Yeah, it's special folk up there farming their rocks and riding snowmobiles after having a 30-pack.
-
I'm a trooper (a troll who's become a yooper). Quiet up here, and since it's always a recession we haven't even really noticed all the horror that everyone else seems to be enduring. You say "riding snowmobiles after having a 30-pack" as if there's some other way to ride snowmobiles…hmm.
-
-
I do love the UP. Love the people, love the area, love the lack of cops. It never disappoints me, and I've been going UP there at least 2 times a year or so for about 8-10 years now.
My current GF's folk have a cabin near the pictured rocks national park. Amazing area, especially in fall.-
Really, it's hard not to love the UP…that is, me too. Not always an easy place to make a living, but you do what you have to in order to make it work.
The lack of cops and the plethora of twisty-turnies can be great, great fun. Hell, even the cops you do run into have a whole different attitude than the ones down state. I got pulled over (and it was an accident, i was slowing down when the lights flashed) doing 20 over on Thanksgiving weekend. Friendly conversation and a five over ticket for my trouble…i probably wouldn't have been pulled over at all if i hadn't been driving a rental with Wisconsin plates.
I'm in Marquette, so close enough to make Pictured Rocks and Grand Island a nice Sunday excursion…on the other hand, i've got beautiful beach about a block from the house so sometimes Sunday excursions are just in the neighborhood.
-
-
Hey! My numbers are back. And it's at 69! This just made my afternoon.
-
Oh god, are my number back up. I have been working furiously on them since I was an infant in the hooniverse. When they went away, I felt sad. Like this 🙁
That was for deathaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaair
-
My bad, I did not see that the list of replies was so long that it looked like a whole page of comments
That was for deathaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaair
That was for deathaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaair
That was for deathaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaair
That was for deathaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaair
Have you ever thought about including a little bit more than just your articles? I mean, what you say is valuable and all. Nevertheless just imagine if you added some great photos or video clips to give your posts more, “pop”! Your content is excellent but with images and video clips, this blog could undeniably be one of the best in its field. Good blog!
Leave a Reply