By MARK MEMMOTT | NPR – The two-way
Reuters today catches up on a story that’s been getting some traction in recent weeks:
An Israeli inventor has come up with a way to make a bicycle almost entirely out of cardboard — and so inexpensively that he thinks retailers would only need to charge about $20 for one.
The inventor, Izhar Gafni, believes the bike could be a boon to the world’s most traffic-congested cities and help people in remote parts of the Third World get from place to place. He’s reached a deal to start mass production in a few months, Gafni tells Reuters.
How did he do it? As Reuters says, “once the shape has been formed and cut, the cardboard is treated with a secret concoction made of organic materials to give it its waterproof and fireproof qualities. In the final stage, it is coated with lacquer paint for appearance.”
Israeli inventor and his cardboard bicycle. Baz Ratner /Reuters /Landov
In a related web search, note this a previous 2008 example of another inventor’s cardboard bike.
