Bart Simpson’s Megaphone Prank Recreated IRL

Remember that episode of The Simpsons where Bart finds all of those megaphones and breaks all of the windows in Springfield? Well, Kevin Kohler, better known as The Backyard Scientist has recreated the prank. Will it explode all of Homer’s beers in the fridge? Again?

Kevin lined up all 10 megaphones and screamed through them, just like Bart Simpson did in the episode. But did he recreate Bart’s shock wave throughout the city of Springfield? I won’t spoil it for you, but probably not. And nearby beers were safe.

He does create a feedback loop that was crazy loud though, and applies some science to figure out if speaking through 10 megaphones is any louder than speaking through a single megaphone. Now that he’s got all of these megaphones, I’d love to see some more experiments that use them.

[via Laughing Squid]

Ronaldo Disguises as Homeless Guy to Promote his new Headphone Brand


Cristiano Ronaldo just needs a beard, sunglasses and a wig and nobody in Spain's capital recognizes him. Not even when he shows off his skills on the soccer ball. Cristiano Ronaldo did that stunt to...

Sony SHAKE-5 Stereo Ready to Rattle Windows with 2400 Watts of Power

Do you like to crank your music up to 11? Are you the type of person who doesn’t care about their neighbors? Or do you live in a single-family home on a large lot? Either way, Sony’s latest stereo system should fit the bill.

sony shake 5 1

The new Sony SHAKE-5 stereo system may be a “mini” system, but it’s backed by an ear-shattering 2,400 watts of power.  This thing is guaranteed to turn your house into a nightclub – and quite possibly bring the police to your front door. Each speaker is a 3-way setup, with a 13.8″ woofer, 7.9″ mid-range and a 1″ horn tweeter. Power is divided across four 600 watt amps.

sony shake 5 2

In addition to its massive sound output, the SHAKE-5 offers a multi-colored LED lightshow built into the middle of its large subwoofers to help you complete the disco effect. It also offers several “DJ” effects, including a mode called “BASS BAZUCA” which is supposed to crank the low-end even louder. In addition to AM, FM, CD and USB sources, it also offers built-in Bluetooth connectivity for wireless music playback, and NFC sensing for devices that support it. It’s also got a microphone input should you want to play DJ.

The SHAKE-5 will be available in the U.S. later this month for $999(USD).

[via Sony Blog]

Guy Builds Own Air Raid Siren, Neighbors Probably Not Too Happy

Builder Matthias Wandel is known for his awesome moving marble contraptions, which certainly can make some noise. But now, he’s gone and taken his DIY skills and applied them to a much louder noisemaker – his own air raid siren.

air raid siren

He built it by attaching a pair of spinning wood disks with specially-curved air channels, and then attaching them to a powerful blower motor. These are lined up with a set of matching holes, which cause air currents to intermittently blow out and create the familiar, whiny sound of a siren.

air raid siren build

While Matthias’ siren doesn’t even have a horn on the front of it, it’s still quite loud. In fact, it’s so loud that he has to take it out to the country to test it out in this video clip:

I can only imagine how much louder this thing would get if he attached a giant horn to this thing. You can check out the full build process over on Matthias’ website, Woodgears. And promise me you won’t build one of your own if you live anywhere near me.


Bicycle Upgraded with Train Horns Sure to Clear the Way

Ever find yourself on your bike, only to be cut off by some jerk who doesn’t think bikes belong on the road? Or maybe you’re slowed down by some peds hogging the bike path. While you could try and ring your little bicycle bell or squeeze your meek little horn, you’re much more likely to get their attention with the horns they use on a train or an 18-wheeler. That’s exactly what DIYer Chad Thoren (aka “The Chadster“) did with his bike.

train horn bike

The Chadster outfitted his bike with a large dual-trumpet horn from a train, connected up to a tank filled with compressed air. He says this produces much louder results than you get by just hooking up the horns to an air compressor, so I can only imagine how loud it really is. The video clip below gives you a sense of it, but I’m guessing that in person, it’s much more startling.

The rather simple build requires a cruiser in order to provide a large rack for holding the compressed air cylinder, along with some hose, bungee cords and duct tape. Chad provides instructions on how to build your own over on Instructables, but recommends that you only use it to give pedestrians a scare (and maybe a heart attack,) and not riding in vehicular traffic. Personally, the bigger problem I see is that the rider of the bike probably needs to wear earplugs when riding if they don’t want to go deaf.