This week, Manchester University unveiled research that could give buildings an addeddefense against their arch-nemesis, earthquakes. Thetechnique involves cloaking buildings in pressurized rubber, which would effectivelyshield the building from an earthquake’s shock waves. This would leave thebuilding’s concrete undamaged as the rubber absorbs the tremors, like the floor matat a gym when the earth drops its metaphorical dumbbells after a set of militarypresses.It sounds like not-quite-movie-grade science fiction, but expectgovernments around the world to be taking a hard look at this study.This mightalso account for the popularity of this story today, with some media outlets mistakenlycalling the proposed building defense an “invisibility cloak.” Let’scall it like it is -- it’s a building condom. While rubberizing our swaying concretephalluses can help, Bono was keen to point out that we can further aid theanti-destruction cause by circumcising our large structures -- à la Space Needleand CN Tower. Continue Reading

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