Comments on: There's a Metaphor here somewhere...

There's a Metaphor here somewhere...

mmahaffie — Fri, 08 Jul 2005 17:30:42 -0800

Right now, a roll downhill in a giant inflatable ball sounds like just the thing (Flash). A wander through Flickr led to a photo of a Zorb. A what!?! A Zorb! Several, in fact. It turns out that Zorbing has been around for some years now. It started in New Zealand and is catching on in the UK. It's not widely known in the US, and as a US person I've been un-blissfully unaware.

By: Artifice_Eternity

Artifice_Eternity — Fri, 08 Jul 2005 17:41:58 -0800

I am not a number, I am a free man!

By: Artifice_Eternity

Artifice_Eternity — Fri, 08 Jul 2005 17:44:25 -0800

This photo is Steve Jobs demonstrating the iZorb at a recent Mac conference.

By: Artifice_Eternity

Artifice_Eternity — Fri, 08 Jul 2005 17:52:35 -0800

*crickets* ...Well, I thought I was funny, anyway.

By: freebird

freebird — Fri, 08 Jul 2005 18:07:05 -0800

You are number 14980.

By: TwelveTwo

TwelveTwo — Fri, 08 Jul 2005 18:14:01 -0800

I'm TwelveTwo.

By: loquacious

loquacious — Fri, 08 Jul 2005 18:19:29 -0800

I always wanted to try this. I wonder how it handles boulders and cliffs? I had an idea like this a long time ago, but instead of a big plastic ball I wanted to bolt together a bunch of used tires in a big (say, 50 foot) geodesic sphere and suspend myself in a full harness with bungee cords holding it in the center, then get pushed off a pile of boulders, or a steep hill or something. My ball of doom wouldn't float on water, though.

By: briank

briank — Fri, 08 Jul 2005 18:26:35 -0800

As the Wikipedia article mentions, Zorbing was prominently featured on an episode of "The Amazing Race" as one of the "roadblocks" they had to perform. It looked like fun.

By: Tlogmer

Tlogmer — Fri, 08 Jul 2005 18:29:55 -0800

Finally, a sport that seems appropriately futuristic. We have 60 GB mp3 players, goddamnit.

By: JHarris

JHarris — Fri, 08 Jul 2005 19:21:30 -0800

Nuh-NAAAAAAH... na-na-na-na-nah, na-nah, na-na, NAH, na-na, naaaaahh....

By: ROU_Xenophobe

ROU_Xenophobe — Fri, 08 Jul 2005 19:29:06 -0800

Where extreme sports are developed for everybody not just those crazy kids who want to ride tornados. [familyguy]Can't it be both?[/familyguy] Seems a good way to ride a tornado to me! Or at the very least you could be enzorbed and then flung by a trebuchet.

By: nev

nev — Fri, 08 Jul 2005 20:28:21 -0800

Two of my friends did it in New Zealand while I stood around taking pictures (I'm a wuss). Apparently the biggest hazard is getting motion sickness while you're in it. Think "spin cycle."

By: BlackLeotardFront

BlackLeotardFront — Fri, 08 Jul 2005 20:45:33 -0800

You can find zorbs as far back as Jackie Chan's Operation Condor. He goes off a cliff in one.

By: Mach5

Mach5 — Fri, 08 Jul 2005 21:45:07 -0800

They did this on MTV's the Road Rules, and yes, I know I am a loser.

By: Busithoth

Busithoth — Fri, 08 Jul 2005 21:56:06 -0800

BlackLeotardFront took my reference for this post. But it's nice to know what the hell Jackie was doing in that. I was hoping he didn't invent the damned thing.

By: loquacious

loquacious — Fri, 08 Jul 2005 22:12:08 -0800

Having rolled down hills in or on a large number of circular objects, I'd have to say getting sick all over yourself in this thing would be a real hazard. I think the worst was the afternoon my brother and I spent rolling each other around in a fiber drum that turned out to have once contained onion or garlic powder or something. I didn't throw up but I sure wish I did. *gets dizzy and green thinking about it, lays down*

By: ericb

ericb — Fri, 08 Jul 2005 22:23:58 -0800

Featured prominently in Peter Gabriel's Growing Up Live DVD.

By: ericb

ericb — Fri, 08 Jul 2005 22:33:09 -0800

Peter Gabriel - Zorb - "Growing Up" Tour.

By: zsazsa

zsazsa — Fri, 08 Jul 2005 22:46:27 -0800

JHarris took my reference. First thing I thought of.

By: doogyrev

doogyrev — Fri, 08 Jul 2005 23:11:46 -0800

concur it is fun. This is one of the thing I had on my "to do list" when I got to Kiwiland. Was well worth it. There's a great option to include water inside the zorb too incase anyone want to know what the inside of a washing machine must feel like !

By: Goofyy

Goofyy — Fri, 08 Jul 2005 23:43:03 -0800

I recall a Seagrams advert from decades ago. It was a man in what looked like a giant plastic bag, on water. Always thought that looked very interesting, and I wonder about zorbing across a lake. Not strapped down, but walking the ball like a hamster...unless the wind blows, I suppose :-)) Visually, that photo of Peter is awesome.

By: shoepal

shoepal — Fri, 08 Jul 2005 23:55:50 -0800

Totally wanted to do it when I was in NZ, but didn't. Long story. Glad to hear it might be spreading to these fair shores.

By: bugmuncher

bugmuncher — Sat, 09 Jul 2005 04:40:17 -0800

Now, about Operation Condor and Jackie Chan: is it really a genuine Zorb® giant plastic ball, or was it something made by an impostor?

By: spock

spock — Sat, 09 Jul 2005 06:53:32 -0800

Metafilter: Now only one year behind Monkeyfilter

By: meehawl

meehawl — Sat, 09 Jul 2005 07:06:18 -0800

Perps in Mega City One used to encase themselves in spray-on breathable "Boing" bubbles and throw themselves off the top of skyscrapers in Judge Dredd, back in the early 1980s and bounce for hours. Now that sounds like fun. The Prodigy used these "Zorns" extensively in their stage shows in the early-mid 90s. We have 60 GB mp3 players I have a 100 GB mp3 player. Nod bad for a four-year-old player. I gather you can go up to 120GB on that model, but then the disk controller craps out. Which is a pity, because Seagate just announced a 160GB mini drive.

By: filmgeek

filmgeek — Sat, 09 Jul 2005 07:13:06 -0800

I put a Hamster in one of those things, y'know, except smaller (I was maybe 10?). My brother and I were at the top of the stairs...with the cats....and the poor little hamster went flying down the stairs. All this little hamster throw-up inside.

By: JHarris

JHarris — Sat, 09 Jul 2005 08:15:29 -0800

Sorry zsazsa, but I knew I had to get to it quick or someone would beat me to it. My, Earth really is full of things!

By: abez

abez — Sat, 09 Jul 2005 13:38:03 -0800

A cheap alternative is to get an inner tube, a long sleeved shirt and jeans, then roll down the hill (watch out for rocks).

By: handee

handee — Sun, 10 Jul 2005 08:06:36 -0800

I'd like to be able to tell you all about my zorbing experiences as I got a trip on a zorb for my birthday (December) with Red Letter Days. Despite my informing them in March which days I could make they've yet to come up with a date and show no signs of being able to -- so maybe I'll pop back and tell you all sometime in 2008.