the failed item For those interested in the type of slinky used, here is a picture (modelled by the lovely kalamity kitty)

27.9.03 02:06 Permalink / 5 Comments / comment

Fallen at the first hurdle NOOOOO! I tried it last night when the escalators were mostly empty (and I'd had enough to drink so that I wouldn't be embarassed by the people who did see me) and it was an unmitigated failure. The problem wasn't that the steps were too deep, rather too wide - the slinky would decend the step and land in the middle of the next, then 'slink' again to the edge of the step and stop. Tried it at tottenham court road (on small escalator between main one and northern line platforms), and then, hoping that somehow that escalator was faulty, tried it again on the way out of clapham common station - no change. But atleast I had plenty of support from other travellers, who immediately knew what I was trying to do - they all shared the dream. So does anyone know where I can find a thin-stepped escalator? Perhaps shopping centres are the next place to try?

18.7.03 10:32 Permalink / 31 Comments / comment

The Hypothesis Not long ago I saw an empty cola bottle bouncing down an up escalator. As the bottle bounced down the steps it was also being pushed up by the movement of the mechanism. Although it didn't last too long I did notice that it took a lot longer to get to the bottom than on a conventional staircase. I wondered if it would be possible to get a bottle to fall down an escalator forever, but considered the random nature of its bouncing would make it highly improbable. But then I turned my mind to other things well known for their stair-decending capabilities - slinkys! So was the slinky experiment born: I would make it my life times work to find the perfect slinky/escaltor combination that would allow a slinky to 'slink' forever, moving down the stairs at the exact rate that the escalator raised it. Phase one of the experiment was completed last weekend: aquire slinky. Now I face the next stage - finding an escalator empty enough to test it on without looking like a nut.

15.7.03 11:23 Permalink / comment