Super-umbrella contracts to avoid inadvertent umbrella-related homicide

Devin Coldewey

Devin Coldewey is a Seattle-based writer and photographer. He has written for the TechCrunch network since 2007. Some posts he’d like you to read: The Dangers of Externalizing Knowledge | Generation i | Surveillant Society | Choose Two | Frame Wars | The User’s Manifesto | Our Great Sin His personal website is coldewey.cc. → Learn More

Thursday, June 11th, 2009


In Seattle, umbrella culture is vibrant — as you might imagine. People have big umbrellas, small umbrellas, black umbrellas, colored umbrellas, clear umbrellas, cane umbrellas, micro-umbrellas, and bumbershoots. You also have umbrella-haters who boycott umbrella use and simply dash from awning to dripping awning.

So there’s a lot of umbrella etiquette on a rainy day downtown, and while this partially-retractable umbrella concept might complicate your umbrella experience, on the whole it’s probably a good idea. I’ve seen good men die from umbrella wounds, and I myself bear scars from these monstrous, twirling razor-wheels.

umbrella

I’m surprised the concept hasn’t been tried before, although I’m worried that the added complexity might contribute to frequent umbrella breakage (although the strings look like they’ll help it stay right-side-in). It also looks a little too much like a jellyfish or a metroid for my liking.

[via Urlesque and BBG]

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