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On a cold morning on January 25, 1947 at the U.S. Patent Office, Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr. and Estle Ray Mann submitted an invention that is now recognized as one of the earliest examples of the video game - the "Cathode Ray Tube Amusement Device". Described it as a game of skill where a player sits or lies in front of a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) mounted in a closet, the analog device was inspired by a radar commonly used in the second World War to control missiles. Using knobs to adjust speed and trajectory, a plane was represented by a single point and the scores were assigned by hand! Read More
SkyJump Las Vegas: 855-foot 'controlled free-fall' at 40mph
02:33 April 21, 2010
If you've ever been to Las Vegas you'll probably be familiar with Stratosphere, the 1,149-foot-tall hotel and casino that towers above the famous Strip. If you're the adventurous type, you'd also know there's some fun to be had at the top in the form of three hair-raising amusement rides. Now there's a fourth. Claiming the title of the world's highest commercial decelerated descent, the SkyJump takes thrill-seekers on an 855-foot "controlled free-fall" at 40mph - think base jumping, but with a safety wire. Read More
The computer-controlled Climbstation vertical treadmill
By Jack Martin
01:34 July 11, 2009
Now here's one of those ideas that leaps out at you with its commercial potential. Climbing offers extreme exercise with a nuclear fun factor and teaches fundamental coordination skills but it can be dangerous and scary with the heights involved, and besides, a climbing wall requires a serious commitment to locate and build. The computer-controlled ClimbStation is like an intelligent vertical treadmill for climbers, so it provides real climbing without the need for a safety harness because you never got more than a metre off the ground. ClimbStation hydraulically tilts between +15 degrees and minus 39 degrees, the holds are interchangeable, and the most significant thing about the ClimbStation is that it can be transported with a normal car trailer, making it an ideal relocatable owner-operator or amusement attraction. Read More
