Blow, blow, thou winter wind, thou art not so unkind as man’s inability to fish in thee! In northern, colder climes, fish, as we all know, tend to freeze right in place and take nutrients in through their skin because they have their pores open all the time. But what if you want to go catch some of those fish? Robofisher has the answer.
This service allows you to rent time on a fishing rig out on an unfrozen lake in Central Europe. Like other live video services located in Central Europe, you’re essentially paying for the vicarious thrill of watching the live interaction of a robot with a living thing. The robot drops the line, grabs a fish, and the wee fish is then returned to the lake for another go. You can watch everything happen live and enjoy the thrill of pulling a well-muscled fish arced in a rictus of fight from the briny depths.
Created by a Romanian fellow named Alexei Popusoi, the service offers a 20% discount to disabled fisherfolk and allows you to use the rod and reel for 10 minutes for $10. While this seems a bit expensive, “50% of people manage to catch 1 fish in 10 minutes.” Beer and tall tales not included.
The site, to be clear, is quite inadvertently funny and I find the concept of a robot that helps you sit in front of your computer and fish clever if a bit confusing. However, I wonder just how many people will want to spend $10 for ten minutes of looking at water and/or a fish. To each, as they say, their own.