|
Think it's impossible
to walk on water? Read about one college competition
that'll prove you wrong.
Competition
Puts An End to the "Walk On Water" Myth
By Feona Sharhran
Huff
March 2001
The CollegeBound Network NewsClick -- Imagine
walking on a solid surface with shoes that stand
taller than you do (my guess is that you're over
four feet, right?!). You probably wouldn't even
be able to lift your leg, huh? Now, let's just
say that you've been asked to walk with these
shoes on water. Water?!
Someone's playing a cruel
trick, you say. Nobody can walk on water with
regular shoes, let alone shoes that exceed your
height, you continue. Never rule out the impossible,
especially when it comes to the engineering students
at the University of San Diego, San Diego, CA.
For the past 10 years, they've
been proving that the unthinkable can be done.
As a matter of fact, the university recently held
its annual 'Walk On Water' competition on campus
at the university's Sports Center olympic-size
swimming pool. Engineering
students, from high schools, universities and
colleges throughout San Diego, were invited to
the competition to test their design skills, ingenuity,
and speed.
Each participating high
school and college team had to put their creative
juices to work by designing "human-powered"
bouyancy shoes to cross the surface of the swimming
pool. But there were strict rules for the shoes.
They couldn't be longer than eight feet and the
shoes had to be independent of each other. In
other words, they couldn't be attached -- which
would otherwise help the students walk with greater
ease. Plus, students couldn't use an item that
was already created. For example, they couldn't
use a surfboard, then remodel it. Nope... it had
to be original!
Although it's a team competition,
the members have to appoint a 'shoe pilot,' or
a person designated to wear the shoes and walk
on the water. "It was fun when I participated
in the event during my freshman year," recalls
senior Rasheed Behroozina, student branch president
of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic
Engineering, and coordinator for the competition.
"The shoes my team created were just too
heavy. We used PVC pipes, which is the plastic
piping used to transport water. We had the buoyancy,
but it was hard to manueuver. Our 'shoe pilot'
only got about a quarter of the distance. But
a lot of other people fell."
According to Rasheed, the
50-plus college freshmen and 60-plus high students
who participated in the event were not only charged
with creating a shoe that would enable them to
tread the waters, but they had to do so with speed.
"It's about who can get to the other side
the fastest, too," he explains.
Now, that's what we call
fancy footwork!
|
|
