pedalsubmarine1

Making a pedal-powered submarine was previously thought impossible because of the amount of exertion required (one person furiously pedalling would only generate enough energy to travel at speeds of around one-twelfth of walking speed).  A Russian company called Marine Innovative Technologies Ltd (MIT) has overcome this limitation using the Coanda effect, which describes the tendency of a fluid jet to be attracted to a nearby surface.  If you’ve ever run water over the back of a spoon and watched it curve around the bottom half, you’ve seen the Coanda effect. [Correction: nevermind, I'm a moron.]  What?  Like I’m the only one who brings a spoon into the bathtub.  It’s my lucky bathtub spoon.  Telegraph reports:

A pedal-powered submarine capable of diving up to 30 metres has been developed by a Russian company. The craft can be powered by two people with no specialist training and moves at about walking pace [2-3 knots]. The pedallers sit side by side in the craft, most of which is made from a special acrylic glass. Apart from two sets of pedals, controls are limited to a steering wheel and a few buttons to make operating the submarine as simple as possible. The sub [...] is expected to cost £50,000 pounds [~$81,000 US] although prices could drop to around £15,000 [~$24,000 US] for bulk buyers. MIT expect to sell to private buyers as well as companies hiring out the subs to tourists in popular resorts. At 11ft long and 6ft 6in wide it is possible to transport the craft on the back of a car trailer.

So this is being sold as something to rent to tourists, it seems. Am I supposed to exercise on vacation now?  Aw hail nah.  Hook a moped motor to this and let me drukenly ram it into other subs to see if I can make them drop their emergency ballast and go hurtling towards the surface, while the ballast lands safely on some rare fish or whatever.  Now that’s a vacation.

[Pictures via gizmag]