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Physics Students Build Drivable Couch 89

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the cookie-wierdness-that-makes-college-fun dept.
Radish03 writes "Some of my fellow members of The Society of Physics Students at Purdue University have, in an effort to preserve our beloved, antique couch, motorized it. The blue vinyl couch, named Mojo, was spotted driving around the Purdue campus on Thursday. Mojo, which has been extensively reupholstered with duct tape, features headlights, a glove box, and a radio and sound system will be added soon. Mojo has recently received sponsorship from Duck Tape and after appearing in several local newspapers, is in on the road to New York and set to appear Monday morning on Good Morning America. There are also a few pictures and videos of the couch in action."
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Physics Students Build Drivable Couch More

Physics Students Build Drivable Couch

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  • Well, what else (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 04, 2006 @04:49PM (#14643027)
    Are physics students going to do with a couch? Make-out? Have sex? Hahahaha!

  • Arg (Score:4, Funny)

    by GigsVT ( 208848 ) on Saturday February 04, 2006 @04:50PM (#14643035) Journal
    They need a sponsorship from Kodak to get a competant photographer.

    Those pictures look like they were taken by a drunk 5 year old.

  • so. fucking. old. (Score:3, Informative)

    by RomulusNR ( 29439 ) on Saturday February 04, 2006 @04:53PM (#14643044) Homepage
    like how many motorized couches have there been in geek history?
    burning man [pifflesquit.com]
    mit [mit.edu]
    alabama-huntsville [uah.edu]
    • Not to mention, gasoline-powered toys are not in fashion these days. I find the couch bike [bikeforest.com] much more fun and enviro-friendly.
    • But this one is sponsored by Duck tape.

    • Re:so. fucking. old. (Score:1, Offtopic)

      by tres ( 151637 )

      christ man, lighten up.

      it's not like anyone is trying to pretend that this is the first time it's been done.

      if it's so. fucking. old. then move on--there's nothing to see here. Let the kids have fun and get on to stuff that doesn't tire you so.

      Don't take this personal--because you and I both know I don't know a thing about you--but your post makes you sound like one of those bitter old men who can't stand to see kids having fun either a) because they can't do it anymore, or b) because they never had the cha
      • No, my post is that it's not noteworthy, and posting everyone who makes a motorized couch these days would be like posting everyone who ran a BBS in the 80s. It's no longer novel.

        Make a flying couch, or couch BASE jumping, or even the couch bike someone else posted, that would at least be remotely novel. But after a while Stupid Couch Tricks will get old overall.
    • Be sure not to forget the desk in Maxwell Smart, The Nude Bomb.

  • huh? (Score:5, Funny)

    by MustardMan ( 52102 ) on Saturday February 04, 2006 @04:58PM (#14643058)
    As someone who was once a physics student... how the hell do physics undergrads have the time for this stuff? If you have time to do things that are fun, your physics program isn't hard enough ;)

    • Re:huh? (Score:3, Funny)

      by Radish03 ( 248960 )
      Many of those involved are in applied ;-P

    • Re:huh? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Jazzer_Techie ( 800432 ) on Saturday February 04, 2006 @05:12PM (#14643107)
      As a physics major at MIT, I think I'm qualified to comment on this one. Technically, you probably don't have the time to do this kind of thing. However, by sacrificing sleep and working diligently, you make time for crazy projects. If you don't take time to have at least one fun, non-academic project/activity you will go crazy. It's well worth the time for self-preservation alone.

      • Re:huh? (Score:3, Informative)

        by Thatmushroom ( 447396 )
        We are also blessed with the advantage of numbers. Because the club is very diverse with regards to people's individual talents, people often mix up what they're involved with so that they don't get burnt out.
      • mmm.

        I'm actually surprised that given purdue's huge engineering population, this came out of the physics department instead...

        And yeah. Being a physics major is no fun...

        • Re:huh? (Score:3, Insightful)

          by Spock the Baptist ( 455355 )

          Being a physics major is no fun...

          I beg to differ...

          I had a great deal of fun as a physics major.

          Of course once you get your baccalaureate, and advanced degrees;
          you get to have the real fun when people ask what your occupation is.

          Avg. Joe: So what do you do for a living?

          Physics Dude: I'm a physicist.

          Avg. Joe: (Incredulous look) For real???

          Physics Dude: Yep, afraid so.

          Avg. Joe: (Look of awe and astonishment!) I barely passed high school physics...

          Majoring in physics won't bring you love, but it will bring y

    • Is a drivable couch physics, or art? Because I suspect those guys are going to switch their major to "Art" sometime soon.
    • As someone who is a physics undergrad ... I don't know, maybe they don't sleep. Or don't hand in assignments. I am not willing to do either so I had better get back to my PDE's assignment.
      • My solution to finding time has been to cut out /. and sites like it. I'm pretty sure I haven't been here in over a year, and I'll stop checking it after this story fades away. It's amazing how much time one recovers in doing that.
    • Why do you have to take a full credit load of classes? Why not just one or two a semester? I've never understood the desire to stress out and make life miserable by taking more classes than can comfortably be handled. Sure, you may get to finish your degree quicker, yet what will it cost you?

      Personally, I'm on year three of my two year associate's degree. It will have taken me four years total when I complete my degree at my current pace. However, I've only taken 6-9 credit hours per semester. As a result,
      • Personally, I'm on year three of my two year associate's degree.

        And that's why you don't understand why you need to take a full credit load of classes. Figure in an average undergraduate school, it will take four years to get a BS in physics, if you're taking a full course load. However, to do most things in academia in physics, you'll need a PhD. You can figure on four to five years for that. Of course, if you're planning to eventually go for a tenure-track position in the field, you can't do this fres
        • While your post seems like an obvious observation I missed, it is not. I was well aware of that. I'm making the point that I think it's unreasonable for someone to be able to achieve full academic honors with a full credit load, a full time job, and be able to have a decent life. I would rather finish my PhD nearly middle aged then have a nervous breakdown or die earlier due to the stress that stole years from my life. If that's the benefit of finishing education early, no thanks!
    • I just checked my amazon buying history and noticed that i found the time to read more than 150 SciFi/fantasy books during my undergrad time.

      I guess there IS more than enough time left to waste for one thing or another...

  • Sorry to Troll (Score:4, Insightful)

    by XBL ( 305578 ) on Saturday February 04, 2006 @04:59PM (#14643066)
    This has been done before, as a previous post links. NOT an original idea. Also, I'd be more impressed if this thing was electric. Driving around with a 2-cycle lawnmower engine doesn't sound very... high tech or comfortable. Whatever... hope they enjoy their geeky short-term fame which is not deserved.

    • Re:Sorry to Troll (Score:5, Insightful)

      by mughi ( 32874 ) on Saturday February 04, 2006 @05:18PM (#14643126)
      This has been done before, as a previous post links. NOT an original idea.

      True. But there is one that one bit that makes this somewhat more geek-worthy. They actually got sponsorship from the Duck tape people [duckproducts.com] themselves. Not bad for a little week's hack.

    • This has been done before, as a previous post links. NOT an original idea.
      So? It's not like they're trying to patent it or anything.....

    • Re:Sorry to Troll (Score:1, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Gas power not cool enough? I was thinking the exact opposite. I've built my share of things powered by electric motors, and transfering power from an electric motor to the wheels and being able to do fine speed control is easy compared to making a geared mechanical transmission for a gas engine. Transmissions are non-trivial. I'd say a very small number of people can explain how an automatic transmission and a torque converter work, even in the geek community

  • nice couch, but..... (Score:3, Funny)

    by ChrisGilliard ( 913445 ) <christopher.gilliard@nOSpAM.gmail.com> on Saturday February 04, 2006 @05:05PM (#14643088) Homepage
    What's with the hat?

  • Must be the tractor transmission... (Score:3, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 04, 2006 @05:08PM (#14643094)
    The couch travels at about walking speed and can carry three people in the front and pull three more with a small trailer on the back.


    Awesome work, guys: I can't even get my lawnmower to cut grass.
  • It's been done a thousand times, each more tedious than the last.

  • Call us back when.... (Score:4, Funny)

    by Dachannien ( 617929 ) on Saturday February 04, 2006 @05:25PM (#14643152)
    I'd be impressed if they managed to get the thing to be street legal and then got license plates for it.

    Police Officer: "Dispatch, I need you to run a plate for me."
    Dispatch: "Go ahead."
    Police Officer: "Adam Charlie Robert, Six Three Three Zero. It's a blue 1983 Barca."
    Dispatch: "Reported stolen 27 January '06."
    Police Officer: "I'm in pursuit. Send me some backup."

    Moments later....

    Police Officer: "TC! TC! 10-52! Oh, the humanity!!"

  • Anybody else remember the electric couch in Mr. M's house in William Pene du Bois's book The 21 Balloons?
  • ...and they can't resize a picture. Sheesh. Let the slashdot effect teach 'em a lesson.
  • Did they come up with any new non-reversible geometry while they were working on this?
  • ha ha

    very funny. I know for a FACT that they are breaking the law. after reviewing all the applicable seat belt laws in the NATION trying to get out of my own f#$%ing $90 ticket... a peace officer will make their afternoon a rotten day in hell^H^H^H heck if he catches them.

  • ...And more specificly, Lafayette!!! This couch is the biggest thing that this town has done in a long time for the locals, now Cletus doesnt have to get his ass off the couch and fetch another beer, he can take the couch with him!

    I can bash Purdue/Lafayette, I live here...

  • "from the cookie-wierdness-that-makes-college-fun dept."

    I think this is about Kooks... not Cooks... or Cookies.

    Remember those crazy college days? Ahhh man, all those cookies...! Weird, strange cookies, too!

  • Man, when I saw this on BattleBots ten years ago, driven by the makers of Biohazard, I was unimpressed, because I'd seen it on a nifty 50s horror sci fi mess as a kid. Would that I remembered what that was, so that I could call this fifty years old, instead of ten...

  • the beuty is in the eyes of the beholder (Score:5, Funny)

    by wikinerd ( 809585 ) on Saturday February 04, 2006 @07:04PM (#14643463) Journal
    • physics nerd: we have a drivable couch!!!
    • chemistry nerd: how can I make it to explode?
    • business marketroid: how can I squeeze money out of it?
    • mathematician: how long would it take to travel to Portland with the couch at half speed?
    • lawyer: where is the license plate?
    • insurance agent: you need to buy an insurance, Sir; this couch is prone to accidents!
    • tourism agent: looks like it could become a new tourist attraction, let's print some tickets
    • Eric S Raymond: Let's open source it!
    • Richard Stallman: I will create a copylefted version, GNC (GNU's not coach)
    • computer geek: doc, does it run GNU/Linux?
    • troll: not new, others did it in the past, nothing to see here
    • photographer: you should have hired me sir, your pix suck
    • RIAA: We have the copyright, you are screwed
    • government: Let's regulate it, so that we can tax it easier
    • urban planner: This will cause further traffic congestion, and people will sleep on their drivable coaches while on the road
    • network expert: Imagine a beowulf cluster made of those...
    • American: Can I sell it on ebay?
    • British: I am sure the inventor must have been British, let's knight them
    • Canadian: eh!
    • Ballmer: Developers! developers! developers! er...
    • 133t5p34k3r: n34t!
  • Pfft.. Conan's had a drivable desk for the better part of a decade, and he doesn't stop to brag about it. Heck, it can even heal bullet wounds in those it transports. I guess this goes to prove that a Harvard American History degree pretty much supersedes every other form of education.
  • I always thought that Harley Davidsons were drivable couches.
    • Kind of funny that you mention that. I saw a similar couch on the news maybe a year ago on a local Milwaukee station (home of Harley). I can't remember all the details on it, but I believe the guys who built it make custom motorcycles and built a motorized loveseat just for fun. They drive it around to local bars and give patrons rides, mostly women since that was one of their reasons for building it.
  • They probably have some cool new energy technology under that couch. They're Physics students, they're not dumb.

    What other way can you test out a cool new prototype vehicle technology in plain view of everyone?

  • Prior art can be claimed by a young Ms. Gail of Kansas, United States.

    Diagram [impawards.com]

    And her device featured "off-road" capabilities as well.
  • I was overtaken by a double bed on the M3 in 2001.

    But it wasn't the four poster variant. [cummfybanana.com]

  • This looks like a good followup (from different people, of course) for the Couch Bike [bikeforest.com].
  • The loveseat, nicknamed MoJo, has been a fixture in the lounge of the physics building for 15 years and was beginning to fall apart, SPS treasurer Abraham Spinelli said.

    Hey, I helped BUY that couch 15 years ago... actually I think it was 16 or 17 (it was 1989 or 1990). We put in new carpet as well. The Purdue SPS started making lots of money once we started selling soda pop, and that's what enabled us to make so many renovations to the lounge. I was SPS Secretary for a while. I must have spent 12 hour

    • It's wonderful to hear from someone else from Purdue SPS, especially someone with a history with the couch. I'm guessing you're the one that emailed Abe? He mentioned briefly what you sent him, and you sound like you know a think or two about our history :) If you're still in the area, you should stop by and see what we've done with the place this year. And some of us still spend 12+ hours a day there pretty often and, every now and then, the night there.

      Mike Fink
      "Stock Master"
      • No, it wasn't me who emailed Abe, but I'd love to know who did and get in touch with them. :) I haven't had any luck tracking down old SPS folks; the Purdue Alumni Association has been no help, and there's limited data on Classmates.com. Anyway, feel free to have Abe email me as well; I won't respond right away but I'll try to get in touch later this week.

        I do hope to come back to Purdue someday, and when I do I will certainly stop by the lounge to see the old place. :)

        Bruce

  • And at my college... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by skogs ( 628589 ) on Sunday February 05, 2006 @04:18PM (#14646864) Journal
    Instead of letting some moronic students suck bandwidth...we would have gotten expelled. Seriously, go to a 'normal' university with rules and such where 'free thinking' is not so purvasive and you get in trouble for things like this.

    While I do think its a waste of time, I also think it was worth it for the entertainment value to the people involved...whether it should be newsworthy that some nimrods put a couch on top of their mower or not...

    wow. This is sad. Can't wait till these guys get into the real world and try to get jobs...what have you done? ...err...well I went to MIT...but really I'm most proud of my extracurriculars...reallY? did you help the homeless or solve the problems of some inner city children? ... no I built a couch that could go down the sidewalk, jee I loved that couch...

    • Well, i wont bother to refute your statement, as i dont deal with morons.

      But i couldnt stop laughing when i went to the homepage your profile links to...
      Christian counterstrike server, but with no evil swearing... just killing people by pumping them full of lead (which isnt bad at all)...
      Dont you feel at least a _bit_ stupid doing somethimg like that?
  • Yawn...saw it at Burningman two years ago.

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