Add a propeller to your car if gas prices start to rise

by Jamie Rhein on

Okay. First of all, I really don’t know if a propeller on your car will help with fuel economy–actually, it might make fuel economy worse, but you have to admit it’s a funky idea. My buddy, Greg Phelps, one of the art car gurus in Columbus, sent along this link to Dark Roasted Blend, a website devoted to “weird and wonderful things.” In December there was a post on cars with propellers.

As it turns out, the idea goes way back. In the 1900s, the military designed cars with propellers on them. One of them, the Sizaire-Berwick Wind Wagon was an armored vehicle. It looks like it would do some real damage to a chicken that happened to get in its way.

According to the post, propeller driven cars start out slow, but can get up to 170 mph. One of the drawbacks, besides the fact that the propellers look like an accident waiting to happen, a shredder on wheels, is that cars with propellers are a bit loud. Just what neighbors would like to hear early in the morning, I’m sure.

If you’re looking for a way to finance a trip, I wonder if some company would be interested in a bit of advertising. You could get one of those magnetic car signs, slap it on the side of the car and hit the road. Might be fun.

The Dark Roasted Blend post is filled with photographs and descriptions. I loved the vintage ones the best. With the snow still falling across much of the U.S., here’s a post I wrote last March about Greg’s art car. It fits the occassion. You’ll see what I mean.

Bishop’s Castle: You have to see it to believe it

by Jamie Rhein on

Here at Gadling, we love suggestions that come our way from readers. As much as we travel, we can only go to so many places–unless you’re Jerry or Grant, and then the question is, when are these guys ever home?

Bishop’s Castle came our way through Bill Volk who used to write home improvement/construction type posts for DIYLife. He follows Gadling faithfully–or so I hear. Considering that Volk seems like he could build a castle himself, I can see why this building caught his attention. Built single-handedly by Jim Bishop out of stone and iron over the past 40 years, the castle, located near Rye-Bullah, Colorado, is still a work in progress. Nonetheless, it has become a roadside attraction that people drive out of their way to see.

Funky doesn’t begin to describe it. Bishop, who has used 1000 tons of rock so far, and is still adding details, describes his efforts as a “monument to hardworking people.” I’ll say.

His hard work has finally gained him status as an official Colorado tourist attraction. In the article Volk sent our way, Bishop was still getting snubbed. People who go see his castle are welcome to tour at will, although, there is a guest book adults must sign to absolve Bishop of any mishaps. Climb around at will, but don’t blame him if you fall.

Perhaps when Bishop’s finished with this astonishing piece of handiwork, or even before, he ought to contact Jonathan Borofsky, the artist who makes Hammering Man sculptures as tributes to hardworking folks. One of Borofsky’s kinetic sculptures would fit right in.

If you go here, you can cross one of the 101 Places You Gotta See Before Your 12 off the list. RoadsideAmerica.com describes Bishop’s Castle as being “in the middle of nowhere.”