Today’s Sign of the Apocalypse: The Butt-Steered “Personal Mobility Device”

Image courtesy of Honda

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Honda is introducing a new “personal mobility device” that saves people not only from the horror of walking, but also from using their hands to steer. The latest marvel of human innovation, the Uni-Cub is designed to be steered with your butt:

Designed to mimic the speed and height of walking, the Uni-Cub’s lithium batteries power a trick wheel that can move any direction. Using sensors on the seats, riders simply shift their weight in the direction they wish to travel — there’s also a smartphone control app — and the unit rides high so that the riders have eye contact with people not cool enough to glide around the office up to 3.7 miles on a charge.

If this were intended for people with disabilities that make them unable to walk, that might be one thing. But the ad features perfectly mobile people using these futuristic unicycles to move around their office building. Sometimes, real life gets a little too much like Wall-E.

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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