Giant Lava Lamp

January 14, 2003 2:47 PM

Giant lava lamp to save town. Theme structures built for cities throughout the world are constructed to draw attention and tourists. As someone said, “never underestimate the power of awe.” Paris has the Eiffel Tower, Seattle has the Space Needle and Soap Lake has the worlds largest Lava Lamp! Give them credit for dreaming...
posted by Coop (27 comments total)

Metafilter: when Yahoo's Most Popular just isn't enough...
posted by interrobang at 2:53 PM on January 14, 2003

Forget lava lamps, check out these headlights!



Apologies.
posted by dhoyt at 2:57 PM on January 14, 2003

The idea is somehow incomplete......maybe they should pair the humongous lava lamp up with the world's largest bong!
posted by troutfishing at 3:01 PM on January 14, 2003

I would go there. I mean, come on people. It's the WORLD'S LARGEST LAVA LAMP! Does it need explaining?
posted by jonson at 3:04 PM on January 14, 2003

Anyone have any idea whether a lava lamp will scale to that big a size? The artist portrays these big globs the size of a car, but wouldn't the globs be the same size as in a regular lava lamp. Might not look as cool, just a cloud of little globs.
posted by bobo123 at 3:07 PM on January 14, 2003

Behold, the power of cheese.
posted by Dillenger69 at 3:10 PM on January 14, 2003

Also, they've changed the town's motto to: Duuuuuuude...oh man...dude.
posted by Ty Webb at 3:13 PM on January 14, 2003

How much energy would it take to keep something that big hot enough to make the lava lamp effect work? My guess would be way too much.
posted by Space Coyote at 3:14 PM on January 14, 2003

I'm going to agree with bobo, i don't think this would scale up unless you can somehow manage to keep the temperture gradient the same as in a lava lamp. Additionally you'd have to keep the base one uniform temperature and i don't think safety wise it would be too smart keeping the tourists next to that. Also you'd have one hell of a environmental disaster waiting to happen. All the same though, i'd like to see it in action.
posted by NGnerd at 3:15 PM on January 14, 2003

Perhaps if they had some sort of "hand twin" museum?
posted by blue_beetle at 3:18 PM on January 14, 2003

I can't be the only person who thinks this sounds like something out of a Simpsons episode.
posted by wanderingmind at 3:19 PM on January 14, 2003

Someone else once said, perhaps a bit more aptly, "Nobody ever lost money underestimating human stupidity."
posted by IshmaelGraves at 3:22 PM on January 14, 2003

If they pull it off, I can't wait to see them complaining about all the ravers that show up.
posted by 2sheets at 6:58 PM on January 14, 2003

MONORAIL!
posted by quonsar at 7:00 PM on January 14, 2003

And where there are ravers, there are raverchix. And where there are raverchix, shortly thus follows jonson.
posted by jonson at 7:00 PM on January 14, 2003

"Giant Lava Lamp To Save Town" is precisely the kind of post lead-in that I live for. If they build it, I will come. No, not that kind of come...the kind of come that means arrive at a destination.

I think this idea rocks. Although if they build it exactly like shown in this picture, it's going to get hit by an awful lot of cars.

blue_beetle, I think you should be on the planning committee.
posted by iconomy at 7:02 PM on January 14, 2003

I'll come too. No, not that kind of come... the kind of come that means ejaculate sperm when sexually fantasizing about a giant lava lamp. You insoluble bitch, we'll rock the principles of heat absorbtion and dissipation of fluids all night long.
posted by Stan Chin at 7:12 PM on January 14, 2003

It's a pretty funny idea, but it might work. It does read like a joke, tho. The pictures are certainly funny.

Iconomy, "No, not that kind of come...the kind of come that means arrive at a destination." Aren't they in essence the same thing?
posted by ashbury at 7:12 PM on January 14, 2003

If this was the 1940s, and a town needed saving, Mickey Rooney would just turn to Judy Garland and yell,

"Say, I know! Let's put on a play!"
posted by iconomy at 7:27 PM on January 14, 2003

The region is one of the last areas of the earth to have had a massive flow of lava.

I can think of a few towns that might take issue with this claim...
posted by pzarquon at 10:24 PM on January 14, 2003

The region is one of the last areas of the earth to have had a massive flow of lava.

I can think of a few towns that might take issue with this claim...
posted by pzarquon at 10:24 PM on January 14, 2003

I doubt it, iconomy; Soap Lake is a dead little ex-resort town in the middle of nowhere, eastern Washington. It's actually a charming little place, if you squint enough to miss all the empty lots and so-faded-it's-almost-gone look, but bustling with traffic it certainly isn't. You'd have trouble filling the streets even if you got every vehicle in town moving at once.

And yes, the lake really is made of soap. When the wind blows hard enough it foams up.
posted by Mars Saxman at 10:31 PM on January 14, 2003

And yes, the lake really is made of soap. When the wind blows hard enough it foams up.

What makes people think some giant lava lamp is going to top a huge foamy lake?
posted by backOfYourMind at 3:56 AM on January 15, 2003

I like that the foundation will be called "SoLa LaLa", which sounds like a song.

I'm amused by this attempt to elevate the project above mere novelty:
The lava lamp theme is a perfect fit for Soap Lake, Blake said. "It has a healing quality to it," Blake said, citing reports he's read that the lamps have been known to have a calming effect on children with Attention Deficit Disorder and similar problems. "And that sort of ties it in with the healing history and healing quality of Soap Lake." The unique minerals in Soap Lake once drew tourists who sought out the supposed therapeutic powers of the water.

posted by O9scar at 7:58 AM on January 15, 2003

And what happens when glass prison breaks, freeing giant blobs hungry for revenge? What then? Need I remind you all that Steve McQueen is DEAD?! Oh humanity, will you never learn?
posted by picea at 8:18 AM on January 15, 2003

Remember when your lava lamp would get too hot and slow down, eventually making a huge angry mass of wax?

What about the middle of summer?
posted by agregoli at 11:03 AM on January 15, 2003

Christ Stan, I am going to be laughing at that one all night!

The DOT is never going to approive this!
posted by Dick Paris at 1:45 PM on January 15, 2003