AggieDave 6 #1 January 15, 2003 Once again, from the "I couldn't make this stuff up even if I did a lot of drugs" department. They think this will create tourism. Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=573&u=/nm/20030114/od_nm/lavalamp_dc&ncid= QuoteCan a Giant Lava Lamp Save the Town? Tue Jan 14, 9:20 AM ET Add Oddly Enough - Reuters to My Yahoo! SOAP LAKE, Wash. (Reuters) - Build a giant lava lamp and they will come? Reuters Photo Worried that visitors don't stop at Soap Lake any more even though its medicinal waters reputedly can cure anything from sheep parasites to snake bite, civic leaders are seriously considering trying to revive the tourist trade with a psychedelic blast from the past: a towering 60-foot-high lava lamp in the center of downtown, complete with viewing platform. After all, look what the Eiffel Tower did for Paris and the Space Needle for Seattle. "Whether it will ever be finalized, I don't know, but a lot of people are interested in it," Mayor Ken Lee told Reuters by telephone. "I'm for anything that will bring tourism back into our city." Soap Lake in eastern Washington state has been shrinking since the 1930s, when a devastating drought and the Great Depression nearly erased it from the map. The massive Grand Coulee Dam project nearby brought highways and irrigation channels that kept some businesses alive through the 1960s. But now two-thirds of its 1,700 inhabitants live in subsidized low-income housing. With little help available from the town, the lava lamp's champion, architect Brent Blake, is shopping the idea to big glass makers and philanthropists. The price tag, still as nebulous as the goo that would drift around in the lamp, could reach several million dollars. Microsoft Corp. co-founder and billionaire Paul Allen could make an ideal benefactor, though Blake has yet to speak with him. Among many projects, Allen built a rock 'n' roll museum in an unusual colored-blob building next to Seattle's Space Needle. "There's nothing difficult about building this thing, except for the glass vessel, which is basically a giant pop bottle," Blake said. There is also no guarantee that drivers will stop for lunch or shopping in nearly deserted downtown Soap Lake. But the glistening hippie throwback would certainly get their attention. "I just thought: how can we stop the cars driving by on the highway? Then I drew a lava lamp and just thought, this was really cool," Blake said. So cool it even has its own Web site: http;//www.giantlavalamp.com. --"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gawain 0 #2 January 15, 2003 Only in the Northwest. It's like the weirdest of many worlds in some ways...hippies in BMWs, Birkenstok clad women wired on coffee... it's a metaphysical conflict. That's part of the appeal, and the laid back atmosphere when I lived in Portland (a very cool little city BTW), but the other edge is it's easy to lose a grip on reality with the rest of the world. So I try and I scream and I beg and I sigh Just to prove I'm alive, and it's alright 'Cause tonight there's a way I'll make light of my treacherous life Make light! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ernokaikkonen 0 #3 January 15, 2003 I can see it now: ---- SOAP LAKE, Wash. (Reuters) - Tourist attraction destroyed in a splash - 12 killed by boiling goo The newly installed tourist attraction in Soap Lake, Washington, a 60-foot lava lamp, collapsed due to a fault in its design. Twelve bystanders were killed when they were hit by falling debris, were drowned in hot goo, and caught in traffic accidents caused by the event. Mayor Ken Lee was unavailable for a comment, and the whereabouts of the man responsible for the lamp's design, architect Brent Blake, were unknown. Local police is investigating the incident. ---- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
blewaway5 0 #4 January 15, 2003 All I can think is that those people on the observation deck would be some crispy folk. I know how hot my lava lamp could get, and it wasn't big even compared to some other lava lamps, let a lone a sixty footer. Of course, I can think of a few instances when it might be cool to sit back and watch that thing go, too Truman Sparks for President Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jose 0 #5 January 15, 2003 I bet a group of kids are as we speak, planning their BB Gun assault. At that age, it would be WAAAAY to appealing to see that goo everywhere. Hell, I might even go down there and do it myself. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
blewaway5 0 #6 January 15, 2003 Ya know, I'm feeling really remiss for not having already had that thought Truman Sparks for President Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wlie 0 #7 January 15, 2003 It has to be. Where else does your vote not count?A brand spanking new baseball stadium after it's been voted down twice. No wonder the folks from Spokane hate us!I'm sure our fearless governor would point the finger on OJ if he could. My other ride is the relative wind. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mountainman 0 #8 January 16, 2003 Has anyone thought this yet? BEER LIGHT !!! You could see that from jumprun. LOLhttp://www.brandonandlaura.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BoobieCootie 0 #9 January 16, 2003 That's great idea!We could definitely use that to mark our target this Saturday for a night jump on the first full moon of the year. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
riddler 0 #10 January 17, 2003 If I wanna see a 60-foot lava lamp, I'll use my own LSD, thank you very much.Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
