RUBBER (Not
THAT one) is the story of Robert, an inanimate tire that has been abandoned in the desert, and suddenly and inexplicably comes to life. As Robert roams the bleak landscape, he discovers that he possesses terrifying telepathic powers that give him the ability to destroy anything he wishes without having to move. At first content to prey on small desert creatures and various discarded objects, his attention soon turns to humans, especially a beautiful and mysterious woman who crosses his path.
[more inside]
posted by Knigel
on Jan 19, 2011 -
17 comments
A good rant about "delusional advertising" but if you have 10 minutes to TOTALLY waste, click on the "PLAY" button for Pirelli's amazing(ly silly) short film featuring The Malkovich as a priest using four tires and a cross to fight a demonic Naomi Campbell over the soul of a sports car.
posted by wendell
on May 8, 2006 -
55 comments
In 1844,
Charles Goodyear invented
vulcanized rubber. In 1845,
Robert William Thomson invented and patented the first vulcanized pneumatic tire, although his design was too costly to be practical.
John Dunlop patented his own design for pneumatic bicycle tires in 1888, and this design was less expensive to produce than Thomson’s, and was widely adopted.
André Michelin attempted to make the first pneumatic automobile tire in 1895. Although his initial design was not successful, he persevered, and the company he formed with his brother Edouard flourished. And although the tire has continued to evolve, its basic form -- that of a torus filled with pressurized air -- has remained unchanged for 160 years.
While pneumatic tires provide a ride that is both comfortable and safe, the fact that they are filled with air creates some obvious problems. But what if you could make a tire that had the ride characteristics of a pneumatic but was not, strictly speaking, a pneumatic tire? In an interesting attempt to "reinvent the wheel," Michelin has developed an airless tire they are calling the "Tweel". This
press release has the standard yadda yadda you would expect with any new product announcement, but
these pictures on a third party site demonstrate what a radical idea the "tire without air" really is.
posted by mosk
on Nov 8, 2005 -
37 comments
Bibendum (AKA The Michelin Man), or how an anthropomorphic pile of tires became one of the world's most recognizable corporate symbols.
posted by MrBaliHai
on Apr 13, 2003 -
19 comments
Michelin plans to embed trackable microchips in tires. The US tire manufacturer has begun testing
electronic transponders that are "strictly for identification and tracking. " Congress passed the
TREAD Act (Transportation, Recall, Enhancement, Accountability and Documentation) in response to the massive recall of Firestone tires on Ford Explorers and requires tire makers to more closely track their tires. Is this a legitimate use of technology, or does it present another opportunity to erode privacy? [
Via /.]
posted by maniactown
on Jan 22, 2003 -
24 comments
