Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
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Watermaze

  (+111, -3)(+111, -3)(+111, -3)
(+111, -3)
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A maze where the 'walls' are made from sheets of falling water, piped overhead. You can cheat, but you'll get wet doing it! The cool thing would be you'll see vague shapes of people on the other side of the water, and maybe occasionally (on hot days) an arm would emerge from the cascade.
simonj, Apr 01 2004

(?) Wooz http://www.mysolano...actdetail&Act_ID=40
Watch out for cost issues, I hear it was a bizzilion dollars to build. [Worldgineer, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 21 2004]

Maize Maze http://www.maizemaze.com/
For children? [Mr Burns, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

(???) [ivanhoe]'s link as a link http://www.hever-ca...k/images/main_6.jpg
[scubadooper, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

(??) And Here Ya Go http://www.cubethemovie.com/
Its the movie website. Um.. yeah. [countzero, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

Wembley Stadium http://newsimg.bbc....5611_wembley416.jpg
Imagine a couple of these arches, only smaller perhaps, rising up out of a leafy park, to suspend the watermaze piping system. [calum, Nov 18 2004, last modified Apr 20 2009]

indoor water curtain http://www.watersho...te/watercurtain.php
Could use these indoor water curtains to build it [gtoal, Feb 27 2006]

Laminar water jets http://www.wetdesig...ent/tower/tower.htm
laminar flow jets aimed into a recepticle would keep you dry [gtoal, Feb 27 2006]

dry water tunnel http://www.waterwor...nal.com/rainbow.htm
Small example of dry water feature. Just add more jets. [gtoal, Feb 27 2006]

The Hever Castle link from below (via archive.org) http://web.archive..../default.asp?ID=190
The maze is the thing in the banner at the top. Not quite the same idea as here. [gtoal, Aug 02 2007]

Found this photo of what looks like an actual (small) watermaze http://www.flickr.c...-72157600556085334/
Has anyone else noticed that practically all the links on this ace idea are broken or have expired somehow? [theleopard, May 28 2008]

water-sheet shower curtain water-sheet_20shower_20curtain#1220058071
[xaviergisz, Aug 30 2008]

Watermaze review http://www.findingb...ry-september-ideas/
[simonj, Sep 10 2009]

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       great!   

       I hate getting my head wet, shit...
po, Apr 01 2004
  

       Would certainly be an attarction for water parks.
[po] this is about water not sewage, so you won't get shit on your head.
kbecker, Apr 01 2004
  

       I love it!
seedy em, Apr 01 2004
  

       simply amazing...
RayfordSteele, Apr 01 2004
  

       Cool - I want one!
DrCurry, Apr 01 2004
  

       Excellent ! With lights placed in and around the maze, might make a great night feature also.
cromagnon, Apr 01 2004
  

       Gotta have a Mermitaur.   

       The maze could be programmed to change, by activating different pipes. ++
Ling, Apr 02 2004
  

       A cheapie version would be fountain walls from rows of nozzles.
FarmerJohn, Apr 02 2004
  

       One can only imagine the possibilities for frolicing with bikini-clad young laides through the maze, occasionally hopping through the walls of water...   

       Well, damn near any locale is good for that, but still.
Eugene, Apr 02 2004
  

       Well, in French laide means ugly. Probably the opposite of what Eugene was imagining.
Katisha, Apr 02 2004
  

       Surrounded by cool mist and white noise... I like this idea much much more than a hedge maze. +
DonBirnam, Apr 02 2004
  

       There's an umbrella hidden somewhere in the maze.
phundug, Apr 02 2004
  

       And a drinking fountain.
yabba do yabba dabba, Apr 02 2004
  

       If you stopped all the water all of a sudden, I'd love to see the looks on everyone's face as they looked around :)
phundug, Apr 02 2004
  

       what would be the effect if the liquid were beer? <hic>
po, Apr 02 2004
  

       No one would leave.
Mr Burns, Apr 02 2004
  

       There used to be a giant maze in Northern California where you'd pay admission, then try to find your way through. I remember wandering around in 100+F weather on black pavement, misrerably hot and thirsty. They had emergency exits, but I wanted to finish the maze. This idea would have kept them in business longer than the few years they lasted.
Worldgineer, Apr 02 2004
  

       be sure to put in a loo or two.
ato_de, Apr 02 2004
  

       world, was it the kind of maze that if you kept your right hand to the wall at all times you eventually found the exit?
po, Apr 02 2004
  

       Aren't they all?
Worldgineer, Apr 02 2004
  

       no, I don't think they are. get back to you on that!
po, Apr 02 2004
  

       You're right. Thinking it through, it depends on how many paths run through it. Consider a typical city as a maze - staying on the right-hand sidewalk will keep you on your block forever. I don't know if it was that kind of maze (wishing now for a Wooz map).
Worldgineer, Apr 02 2004
  

       Any maze that has only one exit on the same level can be solved by always following the left or right wall/water. If the aim is to get to the centre and out again, or where the exit involves a bridge/tunnel from the centre then those following the walls are doomed to walk forever. I hope this water maze doesn't have a tunnel exit:- I'm not too good at swiming any distance underwater where I cant surface....
afrocelt, Apr 02 2004
  

       [Ling] I think you have a good point about the programmable system. Overall an excellent idea.
nomadic_wonderer, Apr 02 2004
  

       To [ato de],your right. I don't wonder around in your toilet, don't pee in my maze. Talk about a suprised look when the water shuts off!
Spare parts, Jul 03 2004
  

       There's got to be a water park out there that will bake this one. A few hundred meters of tubing (stainless steele if you want it to look sexy) some plexiglass some mirrors, it's got to be relatively cheap compared to their other attractions.
scubadooper, Aug 10 2004
  

       What misanthrope minused this masterpiece?
phundug, Aug 10 2004
  

       minused???
scubadooper, Aug 10 2004
  

       - ed. not me
po, Aug 10 2004
  

       The autoboner strikes again.
spacemoggy, Aug 11 2004
  

       Ah, 'minus-ed' I was reading it 'min-used'   

       P.S. not me
scubadooper, Aug 11 2004
  

       Nor me, hence the bun up top.
skinflaps, Aug 11 2004
  

       (sort of) baked at Hever Castle in Kent   

       http://www.hever-castle.co.uk/images/main_6.jpg   

       still a good idea (and I remember getting wet doing it)
ivanhoe, Aug 11 2004
  

       I like it   

       add swivel points and drill holes to make things spin. I did this once with pvc (a spinning square) and it worked pretty good. The little ones were kind of scared of the spinning stuff at first.
Around TUIT, Aug 11 2004
  

       Nice,
You could also program the walls to move around (if they are jets), to make it more interesting. (+)
energy guy, Aug 11 2004
  

       This isnt extremely related but its still fun. I recommend checking out the movie "Cube". Its a maze related horror movie.
countzero, Aug 11 2004
  

       I'm imagining that the system of pipes to transport and drop the water is suspended from wires, which are attached to a frame, somewhat like the new Wembley, only smaller. I think for this idea to be as amazing as possible, there should be no non-water structural elements within the maze. Natural sunlight, yes.
calum, Nov 18 2004
  

       Just re-read this and couldn't find my comments on what an ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC IDEA this is. A crash thing maybe? Anyway, to reiterate, here's a croissant.   

       Also, can we have a complete grid of pipes with remote controlled valves at each intersection so that the maze can be reprogrammed on the fly.
wagster, Nov 18 2004
  

       //The maze could be programmed to change, by activating different pipes.//
Yes.
//You could also program the walls to move around (if they are jets), to make it more interesting//
Fancy that, but I think I got the idea.
//Also, can we have a complete grid of pipes with remote controlled valves at each intersection so that the maze can be reprogrammed on the fly.//
Goddamit, I said YES already.
<waits for following anno with baited breath>
Ling, Nov 19 2004
  

       Anyone smell bait? I think you need to add some chlorine to this.
Worldgineer, Nov 19 2004
  

       "You are in a maze of splishy little passages, all alike..."
ian_mackereth, Nov 19 2004
  

       I am very annoyed that this, my greatest idea, has only 16 buns since the crash. It used to be in the top 25! :(
simonj, Dec 16 2004
  

       If you reach the exit, and your clothes are completly dry, then you get a certificate. If you get lost and/or bored you can always walk straight out, providing you don't mind getting wet.
Minimal, Mar 01 2006
  

       I'm drowning in anticipation of this actually being built.
DesertFox, Mar 01 2006
  

       Genius, and simple to do.
shinobi, Mar 02 2006
  

       [+] Brilliant. Your bun is on the other side of this water wall.
K o R, Sep 26 2006
  

       I love it! I'd give you my 2 buns but i can't. You can have 1 though!   

       Supposing that the water jets were layed out in an overhead grid, you could easily change the maze on the fly. Every week, every day, every hour.   

       You can even replace the water with real pigs blood for a holloween special! It would look great with lights, how the blood eerily glows! Watch out for vampires!
twitch, Aug 02 2007
  

       Or Vodka, perhaps?
simonj, Oct 29 2007
  

       69 dude!
theleopard, Oct 30 2007
  

       70. Any advance on 70?
jtp, Oct 30 2007
  

       69 dude!
theleopard, Oct 30 2007
  

       Weirdo
jtp, Oct 30 2007
  

       I'm surprised that I'm the first to bone this idea; I'll have you know that, in some parts of the world people kill each other for clean drinking water. I'm projecting this type of behavior might happen in my part of the world in the next 7 years or so if we don't make a serious effort to conserve it. Water is just not that abundent in drought stricken areas and to waste it like this would be considered unwise.
quantum_flux, Nov 03 2007
  

       It goes without saying that the water would be re-circulated. And besides, water is the most abundant commodity on the planet... Who's to say that we can't use seawater in the Watermaze?
simonj, Nov 03 2007
  

       Good point, [simonj], and good idea. I recall a fountain in Westlake Park in downtown Seattle that has a short walkway through it--I'd love a watermaze. [+]
baconbrain, Nov 03 2007
  

       quantum_flux, I respect that you declared your reason, but to decide an idea is not good because it uses water is a little strange. With that logic, all ideas with swimming pools, pirates, dams, lakes, baths and showers would surely need to be boned, too.
Ling, Nov 04 2007
  

       That's pretty crappy reasoning for boning this idea, who on earth would think it prudent to make this where water is scarce?   

       You might as well bone every idea to do with space "Because I'm down here on earth, so I can't use it".
fridge duck, Jan 22 2008
  

       Yes, and it's so melodramatically preachey as well.
theleopard, Jan 22 2008
  

       (wonders if there's an Inadequacy Man post in the culture:Supervillain section)
Worldgineer, Jan 22 2008
  

       nice link [theleopard], an inverted Watermaze!
simonj, Jul 30 2008
  

       I was going to suggest you could do this with water jets at floor level. That way, there is no aboveground maze infrastructure at all.   

       I propose a new method of crowd control in public areas, say a line up for something in a town square, etc. Just have the entire square "wired for water" with a grid pattern of nozzles in the ground. Program your boundaries, cue lines, etc beforehand and just turn it on when needed.   

       A good drainiage, filtration and re-treatment system could make this reasonably water-efficient.
Custardguts, Jul 30 2008
  

       NIce find [theleopard]   

       This would not be tough to do. It would be fun. I think many young participants would run around through the walls at at high speed and so risk crashing into each other.   

       One could have walls in motion: moving fountains, on / off walls where you would have to time it.
bungston, Apr 20 2009
  

       Indoors, with a good recirculation system and a dehumidifier on the exit and this would use essentially no water.

  

       Plus, just because some places are short on drinking water doesn't mean everywhere is. And since you can't get the water from one to the other (without spending more energy than it would take to desalinate it from the nearest ocean, anyway) why not use it where you can. Otherwise no one can go see the grand canyon, because there are places that don't have neat terrain features.
MechE, Sep 10 2009
  

       You woudn't want to descriminate would you?
xxobot, Mar 04 2010
  

       //wouldn't want to des(sic)criminate...?//
coming from the person that posted "Generational House-Submarine"... ???
  

       Specific to this Idea, the water needs only be rough-filtered so "worst case" scenario, ie: no natural bodies of water nearby, it's in between purification stages of the area's drinking water system. In areas where it's run off the "drinking water mains", of *course* it'd be recycled(medium-filtered, pH-balanced and chlorinated) until it hits a certain turbidity level, just like all water-features.   

       I'm not sure drinking water is ever wasted in the manner you seem to be envisioning, even in rich Middle-Eastern countries.
FlyingToaster, Mar 04 2010
  


 

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