Before everyone get’s their panties in a bunch, this was purely a design exercise and not a product meant to be sold to the general public. It’s kind of a fascinating train wreck to watch. It looks like a successful design of a skateboard you can ride down stairs, at least in a less jarring fashion than you could anyway. However, I’m not sure how much of that is due to the Frankenstein truck modifications and how much is due to the flexibility and longer wheelbase of the board. PoChih Lai is the guy who designed and made it. Whatever your opinion is on this exercise, you have to give him credit for actually fabricating this contraptions instead of just presenting it as a bunch of CAD renders. In fact, he constructed several different iterations just to get to this point! Buy one? No, but I’d like to try it.

[Source: Dezeen] – Thanks to Colin for the tip.

Gotta give that to them. Funny thing is, it’s not much of a spot, just a sidewalk outside a church.

– Thanks to Kevin Decker for the photo.

Spotted at the Gap in Portland. Skateboard as fashion prop, but amusingly, someone stuck a big inventory sticker on the bottom of the board because they didn’t think it would be on display that way. Also funny, sandals on the mannequin. Some guys like Vans, some guys like Nike, others get the best performance from a pair of sandals.

– Thanks to Steve B for the photos.

When I saw this on eBay I knew I had to have it. I have never seen this before. Sure, I have seen other ski trainers made from skateboard parts, but I can remember seeing ads for those things back in the day. The Ski Skate is something that just doesn’t show up anywhere on the Interwebs™. Maybe it does, but I haven’t been able to strain through all the pages of more current non-related athletic gear with the same name. The patent was filed in 1974. I have to imagine it took a few years to bring this to market. The trucks have multiple mounting hole patterns in a style that definitely points to the 70’s, and the injection molded plastic reached it’s peak in the mid to late 70’s – (or 010’s if you look around today) and the wheels and trucks certainly have a 70’s vibe to them. They do appear on the Skircle, after all. So it’s a pretty safe assumption that this is from the mid to late 70’s. The bearings are sealed though. I don’t know when that became commonplace. If anyone has any information on this, please come forth. I’m still waiting to hear back from the original owner. It actually rides nicely, and is sturdier than you might imagine. A few of the bearings have seized up, so it’s really slow, even on an incline. Now get ready for way too many pictures. The sun was setting and it creates some hot spots on the edges as well as making the sidewalk look the surface of the moon, but I couldn’t wait to take pictures. Enjoy, and thanks to Matthijs for letting me know about this. UPDATE: See Part 2

“Badass skateboarding” from Playboy, which is neither badass or anything other than embarrassing for all parties involved. One girl appears to know how to skate, while the other two have “action” scenes that look like they were shot at speeds approaching 2mph. Entirely safe for work video after the jump, although the domain name may be blacklisted. Highlight of the video is actual vintage equipment.

– Thanks to Eric Cherry for the tip.

I totally forgot about these cartoons. Trippy animations from the 60’s (ran through the early 80’s) with a religious message, made by the Southern Baptist Radio and Television Commission. Super progressive animation and the subject matter make for an interesting juxtaposition. Here’s part of an episode with a skateboard playing a pivotal role. I don’t remember this from back in the day. I don’t remember any individual episodes of Jot the Dot, actually. I say “part” of an episode because there is an implied ass-beating that isn’t shown, and it ends abruptly.

– Thanks to Nick Dawson for the tip.

You know, mellon grabs, and also “Wear a helmet to protect you mellon!” As seen somewhere in North Carolina, (Imported from South Carolina!) Apparently the Coosaw Watermellon rides a skateboard and a surfboard. No visuals on the Coosaw Farms web site. No merch or anything. You guys are missing out on… well, OK. Probably only one sale. What is shipping to Oregon?

Bellingham, WA skater Ted Wetzel (seen here on S&A) visited Vancouver B.C. for a session and had his dogs stolen from the back of his 2001 Ford Ranger. B.C. Readers help him out if you can. Both dogs require daily dosages of meds.

UPDATE: Dogs have been located.

This one seen at a Lego store in Chicagoland. It’s not life sized but it’s not too shabby.

– Thanks to Kilwag’s own mom for this photo.

I’m surprised it has taken this long for Tech Deck to release longboard style fingerboards. Actually, I could have sworn they had a limited release of some already. This time they are upping the ante by introducing more longboard-centric models like pintails and drop boards. They even go out of the way to show the flex. Finglonger not required. Video after the jump.

– Thanks to Greg Baller for the tip.