A British inventor, Jem Stansfield, has been labelled the "Human Fly" after impersonating Spiderman by scaling a school wall using suction from two Tesco vacuum cleaners.
By Andrew Hough
Published: 7:30AM GMT 16 Feb 2010
Jem Stansfield climbs a wall at the school with his device made from two vacuum cleaners he bought in Tesco. Photo: EDDIE MITCHELL
The 39 year-old scientist, an aeronautics graduate, amazed onlookers when he climbed up the side of Hove Park School, East Sussex this week.
The 12-stone scientist, who presents the BBC science show "Bang Goes the Theory", climbed 30ft up to the top of the wall and later retrieved a lost shuttlecock on his way back down.
His feat, part of the Brighton Science Festival Programme, used modified motors from the household appliances, which worked like giant suckerpads that allowed him to climb the wall with relative ease.
Mr Stansfield, who has a workshop in nearby Portslade where he creates his gadgets, completed his stunt without a safety helmet.
"I came across the idea for the vacuum cleaners when I was doing a challenge to make superhuman powers out of junk. I worked out the vacuum cleaners could support my weight," he said.
"I attached pads roughly the size of tea trays to the nozzle and realised they pressed tightly against the wall and could hold me."
Mr Stansfield, who climbed 120 feet up BBC Television Centre last year, hopes his wacky creations will inspire future scientists to think outside the box.
"I hope activities like this teach children that if you understand the world around you, you can make it work for you," he said.
"Normal boring day-to-day objects can do exciting things for you."
Festival organiser Richard Robinson told the crowd he could only laugh.
"We didn't think it would ever work, then we turn around and he was climbing a wall," he said.
According to his BBC biography, before becoming a television presenter he created special effects for movies such as Lost in Space and Van Helsing while also "producing jaw-dropping exhibits for the Science Museum and Royal Observatory".
He has invented the world's first air-powered motorbike while also winning a New Scientist prize for boots that can walk on water.
Mr Stansfield's next stunt will involve driving a car powered only by coffee beans from London to Manchester.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/news...-suctions.html
Wed Feb 17, 2010 9:33 am
