Just a quick and simple one...

I was at the funfair last night with my little niece, anyway that's a little irrelevant because she didn't want to go on the dogems but I did, so I did. I'm not sure if most people call these dodgems or bumper cars, but you know the things at fairs with an electric grid on the roof.

Any way, I think that I must have been the only person over the age of 13 in the whole place, and i quickly noticed two things... i. They must put a lot less power into these things nowadays, I remember when I was a kid that you really got thrown around, and especially if you got a full lap or so without getting hit you could build up a good enough speed to really whack someone.

ii. All the pesky kids were ganging up on me, the scamps. One was even lobbing chips at me as he passed.

I swore to myself that I would return with a battery power pack and transformer, to give myself the power necessary to really show them what for...

I assume that It's a pretty high voltage, relatively low power kind of set up, and the pack would only need to last for 10 mins or so. I'm not sure though, would I be able to do this without bleeding all of my power back into the grid?>?????
-- goatfaceKilla, May 06 2002

Three things:
1. This is a good idea as grown-up dodgems would be excellent. All the advantages of go-karting but without any of the boy-racer competitiveness.
2. The inspiration behind this idea may get is tagged as a "rant" (see the help section). If you alter the text slightly, you'll be quite safe.
3. (I'm not proud of this but...) When I was younger, long before the wu-nameliser, my associates and I decided to give each other Wu-Tang names. We also named a girl who was "of equine features" HorseFaceKilla. Are you related to her?
-- calum, May 06 2002


I think the lack of speed and ability to get thrown around is because you're older now. I found out today that the dodgems are a lot slower than they used to be when I was little, but I put it down to nostalgia clouding up my memory.
-- kaz, May 06 2002


"...but I put it down to nostalgia clouding up my memory."

Or liability laws and insurance clouding up everything.
-- bristolz, May 06 2002


HorseFaceKilla? And there I was, labouring under the misapprehension that you were a nice boy, calum.

Oh no, hang on, you're a *lawyer*, aren't you..... D'oh, my mistake.
-- salachair, May 07 2002


salachair, remember that lawyers have feelings too.
this is what makes kicking them worthwhile....
-- mymus, May 07 2002


The best trick is to get on the inside of them and nudge them off into the odd stationary car (usually left at the end of the "main straight") which means big impact for them, minimal for you. Or you can get the dodgem going backwards, makes the impact easier to withstand.

I love dodgems me.
-- LardyBloke, May 07 2002



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