RyeBlog

Mercedes likes to tout their new radar- assisted braking as the cutting-edge of car technology. They are so confident in this, that they arranged to do a demonstration on live TV.

The scenario was this: 3 Mercedes S-class vehicles are driving in a line. First one brakes. The next two slam right into the back of the first one. Woops.

The Mercedes engineers said that the problem was due to the steel tunnel that the test was done in. Apparently that confused the radar.
Mercedes pile-up at safety demonstration

As a kid, the fun you have is bound by your ideas. Popular Mechanics has known this for a long time. In 1913, they published a book called “The Boy Mechanic” to help young kids around the world (correction: to help young boys around the US) have fun killing themselves playing with things.

Thanks to our friends at Project Gutenberg, you can now read the entire book for free. Project Gutenberg is devoted to providing access to out-of-print and out-of-copyright text to everyone for free. (Kind of like that Google Books project you’ve been hearing so much about, but these guys aren’t going to turn around and try to take over the world.)
Along with the full transcription of the book, they felt the need to include this disclaimer, which I feel is the best introduction possible:

These projects involve items such as gunpowder, acetylene, hydrogen, lead, mercury, sulfuric acid, nitric acid, cadmium, potassium sulfate, potassium cyanide, potassium ferrocyanide, copper sulfate, and hydrochloric acid. Several involve the construction of hazardous electrical devices. Please view these as snapshots of culture and attitude, not as suggestions for contemporary activity.

Wow. It was like a mainstream Anarchist Cookbook! (if you don’t know what that is, you missed out on some reckless can’t-yet-be-tried-as-an-adult fun)
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