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Personal Periscope

 A More Advantageous View of Your Surroundings
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I was sitting in the office this afternoon, perched in a dominating position above the Ouse Valley, watching the rain and hail sweep in across the Sussex Downs, when it occurred to me that everyone should have such a view so that they could change their course and avoid incoming inclement weather. With a personal (very tall) periscope, panicky attempts to unfurl your umbrella in the teeth of a howling gale should become a thing of the past. Of course, style considerations dictate that your personal periscope be concealed beneath an exceedingly tall hat (possibly using Deelyboppers for counter-balancing).
—DrBob, Feb 27 2002

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       Or just have extreme telescopic shoes, cut out the middle man.?
—arora, Feb 27 2002
   

       Would have to be retractable. Why not just wireless so you can get as much (or as little) height as you need? We'd have to ban them at concerts and theatre events...........
—rbl, Feb 27 2002
   

       I get the impression, that with on-line delivery service for food, and all other events broadcasted we could quickly get to the point of never having to interact with another human being. My thought was a wireless personal periscope that is self propelled to go as high as necessary. Voyeurs would have a field day.
—rbl, Feb 28 2002
   

       *closes vertical blinds*
—thumbwax, Feb 28 2002
   

       I'd like to see this implemented with enormous springs on the soles of your shoes.
—mcscotland, Feb 28 2002
   

       I thought you meant that everyone should have a view of the Ouse Valley. That would require me having a periscope 1,400 feet long (assuming I've remembered O-level maths correctly after 30 years).
—angel, Feb 28 2002
   

       A personal solar powered flying camera, perhaps, with a microwave link to the screen on your pda.
—neelandan, Feb 28 2002
   

       true angel, but worth the effort and expense.

The wireless and webcam solutions do have advantages in that the weight of the headgear would be considerably reduced and retractability would be enhanced, however you'd have the same problem that all portable electric appliances have. When your batteries run down, you're stuffed! A periscope has no such problem and is also more environmentally friendly (unless you're a low flying bird).

The telescopic/spring-heeled boots solution would require everyone to wear enormous footwear in order to contain the mechanism, so I'm quite keen on adding that to the ensemble. The combination hat and boots outfit should have us all looking like characters from Yellow Submarine (so that gives us a marketting angle for boosting sales!).
—DrBob, Feb 28 2002
   

       This would be great for use in caves, so you'd know when it's safe to come out!
—beauxeault, Feb 28 2002
   

       It wouldn't work as well in built up areas though Steve.
—DrBob, Feb 28 2002
   

       i think that, as far as knowing the weather, you might try just listening to the radio. the stations i listen to seem to tell you every five minutes what's happening outside. this would seem to be a really neat recreational item. however, as has already been pointed out, it would probably be used by voyeurs for nefarious purposes. i'm having a lot of trouble picturing a practical version of this idea.
—efarns, Feb 28 2002
   
      
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