This is not one of my most interesting ideas, but I think it might actually be useful. If not useful, then at least marketable.

The idea came to me as my wife and I were trying to tend to the garden with infant daughter in tow. Of course, this is no easy feat when you have your arms full of offspring, and letting her crawl around in the grass just seemed so damned uncivilized.

Then it hit me - Why not a large, clear acrylic hampster ball? It would have to be ventilated, of course, and some sort of neoprene lining would be good for traction. It would be relatively sanitary, safe, and entertaining for all - the perfect solution!
-- justaguy, May 19 2005

Time for your bath, my little beauty........ http://www.pbs.org/...es/bathysphere.jpeg
[normzone, May 19 2005]

and if not marketable, then...?

Just kidding. Bun.
-- moomintroll, May 19 2005


...and yet no bun.
-- justaguy, May 19 2005


Don't tell me - for bathing the carpet-crawler, you're going to use a bathysphere.
-- normzone, May 19 2005


The ventilation holes double as water inlets.
(it's not funny unless it's punny)
-- justaguy, May 19 2005


...sorry. Wandered off to Google, thinking, 'this must exist', but the closest I could find is something called a hydrazorb. There. Bunned now.
-- moomintroll, May 19 2005


//letting her crawl around in the grass just seemed so damned uncivilized//oh, be uncivilised for once, damn it.

baby meanders towards a hill, the leeside, going down, gathers speed, starts to roll southwards, hits a motorway at full speed, rolls to a halt in fast lane...
-- po, May 19 2005


I guess I should have mentioned that we live on an entirely flat parcel of land enclosed by a fence.
-- justaguy, May 19 2005


just mown down by a jeep.
-- po, May 19 2005


funny, I was only thinking tonight about the sensual properties of new mown grass and how it would probably help sell your house somehow...

oh, let the baby wallow in the grass not some antiseptic plastic bloody ball.
-- po, May 19 2005


[po] What manner of brave new world do you suggest? Infants rolling about willy-nilly in the soil? It'll be pandemonium, I tell you!
-- justaguy, May 19 2005


Surely this is just a "wouldn't it be cool if"? In this case, wouldn't it be cool if there were infant sized hamster balls?
-- kaz, May 19 2005


Basic idea (hamster ball for human) recently baked. I saw an inflatable hamster ball for people (I think their point is to float or something, I don't know). Make one goodly sized for a baby, but the outer circumfirence won't fit through most doors. Protect baby from bumps and bruises, but allow baby frredom of movement. I assume the adult sized balls have some kind of ventilation.
-- PollyNo9, Jan 19 2006


I stumbled into this one just now. A solution I baked: large open top coleman cooler. It is roomy inside and baby can pull up on the edge to keep an eye on things. No dog poop or bees on the inside. Plus on a hot day a little hose water on the inside and you have a instant splash pond.
-- bungston, Aug 01 2008



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