This bizarre new take on the Strandbeest bicycle isn’t going to get you from point A to point B much faster than a casual stroll, but it’s fun to watch, with the rear mechanical mechanism ‘walking’ in spider-like motions. Borrowing from the wind-powered kinetic sculptures pioneered by Dutch artist and engineer Theo Jansen, this new creation by Californian collective Carv is half bike, half beast with a front wheel, three functional legs and over 450 handmade components. The designers started with a simple blueprint of Theo Jansen’s rod-linking technique, which he describes as “skeletons which are able to walk on the wind.”

It took Carv a whole seven months to develop and build the bike, with the assembly of the rods alone taking three days. Whereas Jansen’s walking sculptures use sails and wind to generate movement, the bike uses pedal power. The designers used a single-speed bike from Walmart as the base and added the rear linkage. Get the technical details here.

An earlier version of the ‘walking bicycle’ by Hanno Smits also uses pedal power, but takes out both wheels, opting for a full walking mechanism that seems to navigate a little more smoothly. The Panterragaffe, a third version, is a two-person pedal-powered walking machine conceived as a public performance piece.

It’s hard to deny that Jansen’s original sculptures are just plain cooler and more interesting, though, no matter how many hybrid knock-offs people try to make. Still tempted to try it, or just want to know more about how they work? Jansen sells a few books as well as DVDs and miniature ‘beasts’ on the Strandbeest website.

There are no batteries or power cords needed to propel this steam train and a series of other mechanical models, which come in kits of laser-cut plywood so you can assemble them yourself. UGEARS might just be the ultimate gift to inspire future engineers, with its creators aiming to gin up curiosity about about all of the gears, pistons and wheels that make things work.

We’ve become so used to playing games on electronic touch screens, the inner workings of our gadgets out of sight, that we might just lose touch with the mechanics that have been in use for centuries, the creators say. “UGEARS realized the idea of modular mechanical models in which everything is real. It’s absolutely fascinating to see the true mechanical miracle coming to life in your hands giving you a glorious feeling of creation.”

Available models include a steam locomotive with a rubber band engine and rail stand, a tractor, a harvester, a mechanical theater and a working safe. Each kit comes with a set of plywood boards with precisely cut-out parts and detailed step-by-step instructions – you supply the rubber bands. No glue is necessary to assemble the parts. A special version of the locomotive is available for just a few more days on the UGEARS Kickstarter, where you can also check out lots more videos of the products in action.

Auto body repair requires extensive training and expensive tooling these days, setting classic independent auto body shops squarely on the road to ruins.

Automotive innovations such as aluminum body panels and self-cleaning paint are cutting-edge today but they’ll be commonplace tomorrow, so if you’re thinking of taking the family ride down to (insert folksy name here) Auto Body next time you dent a door, fuggeddaboutit! End result: hundreds of abandoned auto body shops across the nation, from big cities to tiny towns like Keeler, California (population 66).

Post No Bills

Indeed, neighborhood auto body shops are fading away… and so are their signs. Flickr user suism1 captured the rough and weathered “labelscar” above on January 13th of 2010.

Unclean Sweep

“I doubt the Liberty Broom Works or the Kustom Paint & Body Shop have been at this location for quite a while,” comments Barbara Hullett of Hullett Photography about the gritty abandoned edifice above. Located in Liberty, North Carolina, the curious conjunction of defunct businesses begs the question: which one was abandoned first, the broom works or the body shop?

Them’s The Brakes

Small auto body and car repair shops of a certain age typically share a similar style and structure – cheap, practical, and plenty of garage doors. Though modern quick-lube and oil change shops are often built on this type of plan, it’s rare that one of the chain stores takes over a closed or abandoned body shop. Flickr user Justin Wolfe managed to find two similar-looking abandoned auto body shops within a stone’s throw of each other in Newport News, Virginia, on September 20th of 2013.

Import Expired

Owners of Ferrari, Porsche, Aston Martin and other exotic foreign makes must be scratching their heads, wiping their monocles and driving veddy cawefuwy since the Cutler Import Body Shop threw in the grimy, oil-stained towel. The Grandview Heights, Ohio establishment was captured in all its letter-shedding glory on February 7th, 2009 by Flickr user brew127.

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Fender Bender Menders 15 Abandoned Auto Body Shops