Dali’s Ovocipede (Apr, 1960)
Filed under: Just Weird — @ 1:22 am
Source: Popular Mechanics ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Apr, 1960
Buy on Ebay
Source: Popular Mechanics ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Apr, 1960
Buy on Ebay
Dali’s Ovocipede
Looking like something dreamed up by Salvador Dali (it was), the ovocipede is a transparent plastic sphere that is propelled by the occupant, who runs along on the inside track like a squirrel in an old-fashioned squirrel wheel. The famous painter claims that the “vehicle” can be rolled over land, water, ice, or snow—the operator stands and holds the two hand bars on the axis, or can sit on the seat to coast. Steering is managed by shifting the weight along the axis in the direction of the turn. The driver turns around to reverse.
“The Simpsons” already did it.
Well, maybe not *already*.
Comment by nlpnt — December 27, 2007 @ 9:13 am
Naturally, it has to be transparent so the rider can see where to go.
After rolling down paved streets for a while, it won’t be transparent any more.
Comment by Rick Auricchio — December 27, 2007 @ 9:34 pm
Naturally, it has to be transparent so the rider can see where to go.
After rolling down paved streets for a while, it won’t be transparent any more.
Did anyone say “brakes?”
Comment by Rick Auricchio — December 27, 2007 @ 9:34 pm
From a Dali page:
Dalà once landed in New York dressed in a golden space suit, inside a transparent sphere. This was his famous invention, the ‘Ovocipede’ (presented in Paris in 1959), which, according to DalÃ, was a new means of locomotion based on “the fantasies provoked by the intra-uterine paradises.â€
I’m guessing he fantasized about Ben-Wa balls…
Comment by Stannous — December 28, 2007 @ 2:14 am
Cool, a human-sized hamster ball.
Comment by Orv — December 28, 2007 @ 11:22 am
imagine how nice it feels to move around with it!
Comment by monz — February 9, 2008 @ 12:50 pm