September 01, 2004

How to build a rocket car (without knowing too much about rocketry and safety) and get away with it. Warning: Somebody's stupid-young-days long long tale.
posted by Zemat 20 years ago
  • Is this the JATO-Impala urban legend which turned out not to be an urban legend? And it turned out some guys did make a rocket car, only on a bit of railway track, and manage not to get killed? Cos that's a classic bit of a yarn, & well worth remembering, just for its summation of our species' inherent nature: crazy-genius monkey-rocket death-seducers.
  • http://www.snopes.com/autos/dream/jato.asp excerpt: There are two fatal problems with the JATO story. First, anybody who understood the extreme forces involved well enough to attach a JATO unit to a car so that it would keep the car going in a straight line (rather than immediately spinning around) would not do it in the first place. Second, the Arizona Highway Patrol has a phone number. A call to them will confirm they've both heard the story and no, it's not true. Sorry, fellas. Arizona Highway Patrol page regarding the alleged incident
  • Previous discussion on rocket/jet powered goodies.
  • Just more proof that snopes is full of shit. The amount of times I've written corrective emails to the mickelsons defies number.
  • The amount of times I've written corrective emails to the mickelsons defies number. I can send you a calculator if you need one.
  • No, just money will do fine.
  • Only if you're going to buy yourself a calculator.