Archive for the 'Stupid Pram Tricks' Category

Object Lesson

Published on April 8, 2010 in Stupid Pram Tricks. 0 Comments

Little Olive demonstrates:

The tiny hands say it all. Repeat after us: Your pushchair is not a baggage cart. At least, not if it’s carrying a child as well.

Olive appears to have been only mildly rumpled, and her father, the infamous Sacha Baron Cohen, and mother, actress Ilsa Fisher, responded quickly and attentively. For those who keep track, all three were reported to have been in Paris for the marriage of the Olive’s parents following their six-year engagement. (There’s a baggage tag on the Maclaren; home is England.)

Source: Mail Online (photo, and incident, reported on March 23, 2010. We’re slow on the celebrity uptake around here.)

Motorpram

Published on January 19, 2010 in Stupid Pram Tricks. 0 Comments

Cindy Rutherford is the proprietor of Century Motorcycles, but she apparently has another favorite mode of transportation:

cr-mod This picture’s from Bikernet’s report on the 34th El Camino Motorcycle Show (2009, in Torrance, CA), but apparently Cindy and her pram get out quite a bit. Shaun Strahm, of Myron’s mopeds, reports (2007) that

Every Fathers Day for the last 35 years fun loving owner Cindy Rutherford has had an open house, bike show and luncheon with live music and a 100 vintage motorcycles on display. This year she was dressed as a baby in bloomers and bonnet and was driving around in a motorized antique baby carriage. All we could do was stare in disbelief and amazement.

The blog MC Art has a picture of Cindy in full bonnet (also at El Camino, 2008):

cr-inprm In the top picture, you can see that this pram has undergone significant chassis mods. It’s obvious that this buggy can handle well over 35 pounds with ease. I see the battery pack under the body, but what I really want to know is how the steering is rigged, and if Cindy’s using a rudder or a wheel. And how many miles she gets to a single charge.

Normally, I’d complain about the body being mounted backwards, but in this case, the occupant had better be able to see without the encumbrance of a hood in the way.

It seems wrong to file this under “Stupid Pram Tricks” since Cindy is clearly a professional, and her electric pram is no one-trick pony, but, as a pram purist, I just can’t file it anywhere else. I admit, though, to being in awe, not just because this vehicle apparently works well, but also because it’s getting a workout in the real world. Who could fail to be impressed?

Performance Art

Published on October 16, 2009 in Stupid Pram Tricks. 0 Comments

This is a totally awful thing to do with any pram, much less a beautiful vintage transporter:

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You’ll need to watch the film to get the full effect.

I’m going to assume here that no pristine prams were injured during the making of this film, and that, somehow, this lovely vehicle had previously sustained a terrible injury to the bed. Otherwise, I’d want to smack these guys.

The Racer’s Edge

Published on June 2, 2009 in Pram Tech and Stupid Pram Tricks. 0 Comments

Can’t tame that passion for speed? You need one of these:

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That’s right — it’s a scooter-and-stroller all in one. A few quick kicks, a few pedestrians tossed aside, and you’re at your destination in no time.

That picture’s from The Daily Mail. It’s from the Roller Buggy press kit. Note that Roller Buggy prudently failed to put an actual child into the scooter for this demo shot.

If there were any reason at all for this device to exist, it would actually be pretty cool. Apparently the transformation from stroller to scooter involves simply pulling the platform out from under the stroller and flipping the seat. Remove the seat completely, and you’ve got the scooter alone. Of course, even folded flat, the thing looks huge, but there you have it:

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It’s allegedly for kids from age 1 1/2 and up, but the Daily Mail article shows a car seat attached, so if you wanted to scramble your infant, it’s theoretically possible.

Wired’s Gadget Lab wrote about this buggy in 2007, but I’m guessing it’s dead in the water since I can’t find any place to buy one now. Our loss, but probably a plus for infant and pedestrian longevity.

Roller Buggy triptych from Wired’s blog; the Roller Buggy/PIXSTUDIOwebsite’s here, but it’s so awful I couldn’t bring myself to plow through it.

You Have More Room For Groceries If You First Remove The Kid

Published on May 22, 2009 in Stupid Pram Tricks. 0 Comments

grocfl

Source: The Inimitable FAIL BLOG

Starts With “S”, But The Word Is Not “Stroller”

Published on May 13, 2009 in Stupid Pram Tricks. 0 Comments

. . . and it isn’t “Segway” either. Now, we love us some things with wheels, and Segways are cool under some circumstances. I’ve always wanted to take a Segway tour in a new city, for example. That could be way cool, right?

Conversely, a Segway might make things more difficult. Say, if you were pushing your precious little dumpling’s stroller across a four-lane road, could only use one hand on the stroller, and had only one hand left over to control the Segway. Or, if, say, you also had to lean way, way over to reach the stroller handle, while at the same time keeping your rear pushed in the opposite direction as a counterbalance:

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Nice work, Mom. I’m hoping it was enough of a pain that you’re using the Segway solo now.

Wait a minute — that’s not a Graco, is it? Please, please tell me that stroller is at least a Chicco! What kind of person buys a $5,000 Segway to push a Graco? Or even a Chicco? We’re not talking about just a matter of taste here. If you’re going to commit this kind of stupidity, you at least ought to have the sense to buy yourself some decent suspension and some nice, air-filled tires to put under that baby.

This photo’s been all over the Internet, but I think I tracked it to its source: seattlest.