In Australia we have very little water. In summer it is illegal to throw it about frivolusly. i think a fountain that pumps Jelly Beans would be a good answer to this nagging problem
-- Irontoad, Sep 15 2008

Marble Falls Marble_20Falls
It also operates with jellybeans. [Amos Kito, Sep 18 2008]

confetti?
-- po, Sep 15 2008


//In Australia we have very little water//
Don't be ridiculous - you're surrounded by the stuff.
Quit yer whinging.
-- coprocephalous, Sep 15 2008


I think this would be great for parties but bad for parks, but I will bun anyway (+). How does it work? I guess you vacuum up the beans with a tube and have them gain enough momentum to fly free at the top. Do jelly beans crack? I guess you could have a padded LZ with a funnel to drop them back for the return shot. You should definitely make this for party rental. Kids would go nuts.
-- MisterQED, Sep 15 2008


nuts indeed. Macadamia would work best. What you need is a very low sheer progressive cavity pump. The result would be more like a jelly bean volcano. I like the idea of plunging my hands into an endless whirlpool of tactile beads. I think that a fountain filled with hard plastic lentils would be optimum for me. You could even play in it.
-- WcW, Sep 15 2008


I can speak from experience that sufficent air pressure (about 150 PSI, in this case) can project a gum drop across a small river (maybe 20-30 meters?). A properly designed gravity chute feeding into an air jet could definitely work. I'd recommend a slightly lower air pressure if there's going to be anyone around. At maximum air pressure, even marshmallows were able to cause a bruise.
-- MechE, Sep 15 2008


How about a money fountian and you pour little dollops of water in it for good luck??

But, seriously, +

Except for the fact that I can't decide what to throw into the JBF for good luck. Bunnies?
-- daseva, Sep 15 2008


Hygiene would be a big concern. Suggest constant gamma irradiation of the fountain.
-- vincevincevince, Sep 18 2008


This would be epic with play-pen balls. You could filter/pump them very easily as they are all the same size/shape, and probably have pretty good flow characteristics.

That way you could still jump in the fountain, and not get covered with jellybean goop. [+]
-- swimr, Sep 18 2008


Sweet.
-- skinflaps, Sep 18 2008


Thanks for the feedback folks. As for the technical details i imagine a rotating screw centre with a dimpled surface to catch the beans. proggressive drop offs would be shalow enogh to stop the beans cracking. Public ones would have to be encased in perspex. but enteprising vendors might take advantage of the hungry crowds.
-- Irontoad, Sep 19 2008


sounds awesome! Might become a bit sticky after a while though. But encased in some perspex it would look so cool and not damage people.
-- penguin_tummy, Sep 20 2008


+ why not?
-- xandram, Jan 31 2021



random, halfbakery