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Some people have no sense at all. According to Reuters, a 20-year-old guy was arrested in Amsterdam for hitching a ride—by hanging off the back of the car, flying along on his inline-skates.
According to police, the man was doing up to 90 kilometers per hour (56 mph). He was detained for endangering traffic.
If he had wanted a safer ride at those speeds, he should have used a trusty MagnaPoon.
In his classic 1992 novel Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson writes about a very determined pizza driver—the Deliverator—and another professional who is determined to steal a ride—the Kourier.
The Deliverator, in his distracted state, has allowed himself to get pooned. As in harpooned... Ten feet behind him, the owner of this cursed device is surfing, taking him for a ride, skateboarding along like a water skier behind a boat... A Kourier from RadiKS, Radikal Kourier Systems. Like a bicycle messenger, but a hundred times more irritating because they don't pedal under their own power—they just latch on and slow you down. (Read details about Neal Stephenson's MagnaPoon car harpoon
Come to think of it, he might even have been able to do without the car if he had a pair of Motosk8s—Next Best Thing To Tele-Motor-Coasters. Original article here; thanks to Stan for pointing this one out.
Bill Christensen catalogues the inventions, technology and ideas of science fiction writers at his website, Technovelgy. He is a contributor to Live Science.
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