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Van de Graaff Hat

Beanie with hair raising, lightning bolt shooting properties.
 
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A hat, with a chrome dome for the top, looking a bit like a metallic beanie. A rubber conveyor belt runs down the back serving a bit like a pair of suspenders. The belt can be powered by a small electric motor, or perhaps by some system of cables attached to one's shoes. When active, the beanie shoots lightning bolts and raises the hair of everyone nearby. For accessories to go with this new fashion, I suggest bracelets or earring featuring flourescent lightbulbs. When the generator is active, the field around it will light the bulbs.
Madcat, Aug 26 2003

Steffi Graf http://www.stefanie-graf.com/
[DeathNinja, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

Megavoltage body charger http://amasci.com/hoax.html
Strap-on device uses an air-stream as the "rubber belt." [wbeaty, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

[link]






       No, actually, scratch the beanie part. I want this to look like a mixing bowl over someone's head. Much more insane.
Madcat, Aug 26 2003
  

       With a little antenna coming from the top of the dome.
Madcat, Aug 26 2003
  

       It’s a pretty picture, but...

Maybe this idea should have been for Van der Graaff shoes. The shoe is the real gimmick here; it’s how you gather charge while simultaneously not leaking it off to the environment. Ordinary rubber soled shoes on nylon carpet work really well for this purpose. The combination can delivery a satisfactorily painful shock, occasionally even capable of bringing forth the blue screen of death.

But of course, you want more. You want to deliver lightning bolts from your head. You want actual human death...
pluterday, Aug 26 2003
  

       If by bulbs you mean, electric bulbs, or bubs containing neon: >> wouldn't it be a little hard to position the bulbs so that the electirc potential field envelops them at it's peak? Even if you could sustain it the bulb would probably act as a capacitor in the abscense of a circuit, polarizing the materials electrical behavior without actually causing it to light up. If by bulbs you mean, a piece of flourescent material: >> Why would you need a field of electric potential to power them?   

       In addition, I'm probably looking very stupid but I'll ask: What is a flourescent bulb???
Ossalisc, Aug 26 2003
  

       In addition, I'd like to note that I'm voting for this idea because I like the thought of being able to crash someones computer at will
Ossalisc, Aug 26 2003
  

       BAKED! Somewhat. I actually proposed a body-charger hat to a toy company. Batteries in the hat run a high-volt ion generator and a small fan. The hat spews positive charge into the air, leaving your body negative, so you can "zap" people with your fingertips as desired. Finger-thimbles could be used so your victim feels the shock but you do not. Unfortunately the toy company says that American kids hate pain. Pain-generating toys only sell well in Japan. Bah!   

       Kids these days. When I was a kid we had electric books with shockers inside, or match boxes with wooden snakes that lept out and stabbed your finger with a needle. And "french ticklers", small bent thingies made from a hairpin which when poked against bare flesh, went "snap!" and delivered blinding pain.
wbeaty, Aug 26 2003
  

       I will not hear a bad word about Bill Gates!... except if it is to do with the new GUI in Windows XP... If I was him I'd just buy all the copyrights to Linux and scrap Windows (and all the Linux companies.... [evil laugh])
Ossalisc, Aug 27 2003
  

       This will make my Tesla hat obsolete.
fugazi, Aug 27 2003
  

       "Don't touch that dial! There's static on the radio."
FarmerJohn, Aug 27 2003
  

       This puts me in mind of a character on the cartoon "The Tick", the Carpeted Man, whose entire body was covered in nylon-based carpet. With every motion, he would accumulate static charge, to be directed at evildoers.
friendlyfire, Aug 27 2003
  

       I'm.... shocked.
X2Entendre, Aug 27 2003
  
      
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