Piano Stairs! (Not everyone thinks they're a good idea.) Also see "The Deepest Trash Can". Both videos are from Volkswagon Sweden, whose new English-language website, TheFunTheory is still under construction. But here's the Swedish-language version.
posted by zarq on Oct 9, 2009 - 26 comments

Guy takes a picture of himself every day... as he walks across China. (slyt)
posted by shii on Aug 1, 2009 - 39 comments

Here is the post. Here is the post. Here is the perfect post.
How does such a number function? What kind of thing is it?
We will look into that. We will investigate that.
posted by StopMakingSense on Nov 2, 2008 - 63 comments

Hooray for New York City! They just had their first (of three) car-free days along a long stretch of Manhattan roadway: it's the Summer Streets program. How refreshing! [more inside]
posted by flapjax at midnite on Aug 10, 2008 - 26 comments

Too much traffic? Can't find parking? Choking on smog? Worried about climate change? Gas prices too high, but you still have to drive? Send your city planner a link to the Online Encyclopedia of Transportation Demand Management strategies. [more inside]
posted by salvia on May 8, 2008 - 7 comments

You Walk Wrong. "It took 4 million years of evolution to perfect the human foot. But we’re wrecking it with every step we take." [Via]
posted by homunculus on Apr 22, 2008 - 102 comments

UK native Karl Bushby has been walking around the world since 1998. No, literally: walking. around. the. world. It hasn't been without its trials, of course (resolution). He isn't expected home until 2012.
posted by desjardins on Nov 3, 2007 - 19 comments

Why New Yorkers Last Longer. Interestingly, urban theorists believe it is not just the tightly packed nature of the city but also its social and economic density that has life-giving properties. When you’re jammed, sardinelike, up against your neighbors, it’s not hard to find a community of people who support you—friends or ethnic peers—and this strongly correlates with better health and a longer life. [New York Magazine article]
posted by nickyskye on Aug 15, 2007 - 75 comments

Walk Score helps people find walkable places to live. Walk Score calculates the walkability of an address by locating nearby stores, restaurants, schools, parks, etc.
posted by chunking express on Jul 23, 2007 - 71 comments

Joggers decked out in short shorts and iPods running alongside the road are common, but have you ever seen someone running backward? Backward running has been growing in popularity for years in many countries across the world where competitive races vary in length from sprints to marathons. This very different form of exercise is reputed to have many health benefits, despite the very obvious dangers of not being able to see where one is going. Think you can beat the current world records for backward running? If so, then this is the person you're going to need to try and beat...
posted by Effigy2000 on May 12, 2007 - 11 comments

Ever wondered what Art Garfunkel does when he's not walking across one continent or another? No? Well he'd like to tell you anyway. He reads. A lot.
posted by Partial Law on Jan 20, 2007 - 40 comments

When you drive on local streets you can be a Wingman for Grandma. Help make Grandma safer when she goes out for a walk. Drive the speed limit on local streets. Help set the pace for your community. Small increases in vehicle speed increase the threat to pedestrians. By helping to calm your local streets you can make it safer and more pleasant for you and your family.
posted by meddeviceengineer on Jan 7, 2007 - 68 comments

"Bathed in fire, flood, love and turmoil And While London Burns is a compelling collision of thriller, opera and guided walk."
posted by headlessness on Dec 8, 2006 - 9 comments

Walk It is a website for planning walking journeys. It gives you a map and directions for the best route, and info on distance, walking time, calorie burn and even CO₂ potentially saved by avoiding the car, taxi or bus. London only, at present, alas.
posted by nthdegx on Nov 7, 2006 - 21 comments

An inquiry into living while walking the roads of America, Mexico, and beyond
posted by MetaMonkey on Aug 17, 2006 - 16 comments

Alan Waddell intends to walk every street in every suburb in Sydney. He has completed 192 suburbs so far. He is 91.
posted by tellurian on Apr 6, 2006 - 13 comments

Walking to Yosemite from San Francisco, just like John Muir.
posted by xowie on Apr 3, 2006 - 6 comments

Jesus Boots perfected! NYT: In the last 150 years, Americans have patented about 100 water-walking inventions. The first, in 1858, was by H. R. Rowlands, who lived in Boston, not far from where Mr. Rosen resides, in Newton, Mass. Most of the subsequent patents, Mr. Rosen said, are iterations of that same idea. "Unfortunately," Mr. Rosen observed, "none of them actually work."
posted by skallas on Aug 3, 2004 - 13 comments

Walking DNA Scientists have created a microscopic walking robot using only the building blocks of life. The robot’s DNA legs move along a DNA footpath, taking a nanostroll in a bath of a liquid called a "nondenaturing buffer", which stops the DNA from falling apart.
posted by mcgraw on May 6, 2004 - 10 comments

This is how they treat a man
This man has been arrested yet again for his ongoing attempt to walk the length of Britain naked. Is he right to be arrested, or should he be allowed to continue?
posted by johnny novak on Nov 29, 2003 - 16 comments

Mind the Gap... Karl Bushby braved the infamous and road-less Darien Gap in 2001 and is now trying to smuggle love into the Great White North. All while on one loooong walk from southern Chile to Kingston-upon-Hull, England.
posted by hellinskira on Jul 25, 2003 - 5 comments

"We're walking from Chicago to San Francisco. Many have responded with, "You guys are stupid!" Some, on the other hand, have said, "Wow, that's cool!" Either way, we hope you'll keep coming back to see what will happen next in our walking adventures."
Current mileage, photo galleries, and journal entries abound -- and really, when was the last time you walked 627 miles (inside of 60 days)?
posted by wells on Jul 24, 2003 - 20 comments

Walking Things is an environment that generates small, walking computational organisms. "Each walking thing is built up from totally random conditions. Appearance, behavior, and walking characteristics are all assigned from a range enabling effective, functional mobility. Click on a walking thing to permutate its characteristics".

Just one of the very many wonderful (open source) creations at levitated.net (more bugs with bling here). Kick off your shoes, fill your coffee cup or wine glass, and dip in.
posted by taz on Jul 2, 2003 - 12 comments

Dancing dog, schmancing dog. Walking dogs is where it's at (you'll see). A dog tale deserving of a 'standing' ovation. I still say, dogs rule! [video link under the last image on the left]
posted by Witty on Jun 25, 2003 - 11 comments

Newsfilter: Maryland Gov. vetoes 9-year-old's bill to designate walking as Maryland's official state excercise. "Saying walking has no specific ties to Maryland, Gov. Robert Ehrlich announced Wednesday that he vetoed the bill because 'it serves no public purpose.' Supporters questioned that logic Thursday, especially after learning Ehrlich signed another state symbol bill - [also] sponsored by elementary school pupils - proclaiming the thoroughbred as the state horse."
posted by Joey Michaels on May 27, 2003 - 20 comments

Invasion of the mall walkers? (NY Times) New Yorkers may well have seen this story about sidewalk etiquette on the front page of the metro section today, but I wonder 1) if other cities experience the same phenomenon and 2) if other New Yorkers have noticed this marked increase in sudden stoppers and other sidewalk amateurs.
posted by lackutrol on Jul 16, 2002 - 42 comments

WalkingTom getting back on the road Tom is a guy who started to walk across the US in 1997, and who started to log his journey on the Web in 98. In 2000, he took a year's break to get married, but in a few days he's finally getting back to finishing his journey. What travelogues have you been addicted to? Are there any good current ones?
posted by wackybrit on Sep 25, 2001 - 8 comments