A Physicist Says He Can Tornado-Proof the Midwest With 1,000-Foot Walls 501
meghan elizabeth writes: Temple physicist Rongjia Tao has a utopian proposal to build three massive, 1,000-foot-high, 165-foot-thick walls around the American Midwest, in order to keep the tornadoes out. Building three unfathomably massive anti-tornado walls would count as the infrastructure project of the decade, if not the century. It would be also be exceedingly expensive. "Building such walls is feasible," Tao says. "They are much easier than constructing a skyscraper. For example, in Philadelphia, the newly completed Comcast building has about 300-meter height. The wall with similar height as the Comcast building should be much easier to be constructed." Update: 06/28 04:14 GMT by T : Note: originally, this story said that Tao was at Drexel rather than Temple -- now corrected
Plus bonus.... (Score:5, Funny)
...kaiju protection.
Comment removed (Score:4, Funny)
Now we know (Score:5, Funny)
Now we know why there are no Tornados in Westeros.
Flat or angled? (Score:4, Funny)
If you can go with a slope and build it as a triangular prism then it is easy to build, like a long pyramid. Jobs, jobs, jobs!
Re:Plus bonus.... (Score:5, Funny)
But vulnerable to Titans.
Re:Your taxes at work (Score:5, Funny)
Okay...I am embarrassed...I WENT to Drexel. A 1000 ft wall AROUND the mid-west?
What happens if somebody decides to fill it with water?
Re:Your taxes at work (Score:5, Funny)
One can only hope.
We'll be overrun by double-wides! (Score:5, Funny)
The only natural predator of trailer homes are tornadoes. Are we prepared for the inevitable population explosion if we defeat tornadoes in the Mid-West? I don't think we'll be able to build Wal-marts fast enough.
Pedestrian (Score:4, Funny)
Construct mighty engines of fearsome complexity and madness-inducing size to redirect the gyronormous aetheric power of these "tornadoes" towards the hated enemy.
Nobody thinks cyclopean these days, that's what's wrong with society.
Did he mention (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Why not windmills instead? (Score:1, Funny)
Yes! Lets make a giant 1000ft tall bird shredder! We might get some food out of it too >:)
Solar Freakin' Walls! (Score:5, Funny)
Stealing our jobs (Score:4, Funny)
They're coming here, stealing our jobs. We need to build a fence to keep them out, and allow warrentless searches of anyone who looks like a tornado. Ironically, to save on costs, most of the wall will actually be built by tornadoes.
Re: better idea (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Your taxes at work (Score:3, Funny)
Re:You know... (Score:5, Funny)
> This idea is so batshit crazy...I think we should do it. I don't even care whether it works as advertised. The Great Wall of China will pale in comparison.
The idea of doing a gigantic project just because it's batshit crazy has an appeal, I grant you.
> This could be our Apollo.
Erm... we already had our Apollo... unless you're talking "our generation", in which case, get off my lawn.
Re:Your taxes at work (Score:5, Funny)
What happens if somebody decides to fill it with water?
"Why have you broken your promise, O Lord?" *many sounds of construction, and animal noises*
I know that joke! (Score:5, Funny)
at the corner where Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin meet, three farmers were talking over the fence. they find a magic lamp, and the Iowa farmer rubs it. out comes the genie, and splits the three wishes between them. the Iowa farmer says, "I would like this place to be green and fertile forever, rich and promising." BANG! the corn is ten feet tall. the Wisconsin farmer says, "Our state is so beautiful, I would like a thousand-foot wall all around it, so we can enjoy these hills, this water, the land forever without interlopers." BANG, fence.
the Minnesota farmer looks at the wall, and says, "Genie, we love our lakes. Fill that fence with water." BANG!
Re: better idea (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Your taxes at work (Score:5, Funny)
One can only hope.
A fine display of liberalism.
Yes, liberalism runs on hope.
Re:Plus bonus.... (Score:5, Funny)
*Pacific Rimshot*