Though work safe, this video is the machine lover’s fantasy at its most symbolically archetypal. A pale Italian beauty, biting her lip and trying not to tremble (for that would mean death), is slowly undressed, garment by garment, by a gentleman driving a six metric ton excavator with supernatural precision. In case that sentence wasn’t clear enough: he undresses her with the excavator scoop. Simply incredible.
Undressing a woman with an excavator? [Liveleak]
Watching the operator remove the model’s hat by pinching the crown is incredibly scary. That excavator could crush her skull without a pause.
Shudder….
Agreed, removing her hat was the scariest part. The rest was just eye-candy gravy. Tim Taylor is gnashing his teeth with jealousy right now.
At first glance, I read the headline as, “Six ton ELEVATOR strips a woman…”. Which brings up a whole new set of mental images.
By the way, the show is the Italian version of the popular German (and European) TV show “Wetten, das…?”, based on people betting they can perform special feats…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wetten,_dass..%3F
The show host describes the women as a “stunt-woman”, so she is a little bit more than a model and she should have be used to dangerous activities. In any case, pretty impressive.
If the operator slipped the machine would have killed her without applause as well.
I’m a little disappointed with Liveleak that the supremely talented operator and brave young lady are not credited by name. It’s a common (get it?) courtesy…
The working end of that excavator seems to be modified a little. It has some padding and I think I saw some sort of tactile sensors.
Boy she looks scared at first. Did they not rehearse this? She seems to know how to position herself at each point, so the lip biting routine might be part of the act.
Next week: We use a jackhammer to fill a cavity.
Someone get that guy a mecha! We have found the chosen one!
As with most such, this is very carefully structured and rehearsed. The clothing was chosen to allow the gal to fine-tune the contact point — which, you’ll notice, was always on the side away from the audience for a better show.
The hat is, indeed, the most impressive part since she can’t see that one and help with it. I would presume the hat was sitting higher than it may have appeared and that she had a good 2-3 inches of clearance below the grip point, and that the operator knew exactly where that line was and how far down the hat he could come while still having a safe buffer. (I’m sure he also knew her height to within a small fraction of an inch, and may have had the bucket’s height pre-gauged for that.) The biggest hazard might have been catching her hair during that move.
There may also have been straingauges or other safety backups on the machine. Heck, it may have been modified so it had no hydraulic force closing it at all and perhaps even some springs to take the weight of the bucket. As with any other kind of show, the important thing is the perception, not the reality.
It’s a show. But it’s a nice stunt. And, yes, some crane operators do have the precise control needed to do this sort of thing legitimately; it’s amazing how far body image and kinesthetic sense can be stretched.
It’s a lot less impressive when you see the unedited take, complete with the assistant hosing the blood and brains off the scoop after the first five unsuccessful attempts.
Oh Internets, You so crazy…
Recently I saw a similar level of precision at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation where they were using excavators to dig up old barrels of radioactive waste. They’d remove the dirt covering the barrels a tiny layer at a time to prevent any damage. The operator said in all the time they’d been cleaning up the waste they’d never dinged or damaged a barrel, but I suppose the incentive to be careful is extremely high.
This is just creepy.
Well, I just developed an expensive new fetish.
What do you all think, cheaper to rent the excavator or buy it?
I’d be really impressed if he unhooked her bra.
Wow, and I thought they only did this sort of thing on Japanese television…
The presenter says that “10 years ago this was not possible”. I’m not sure if he’s referring to stripping a woman on TV or to the precision of the machine… But if it’s the latter, then by all means I saw a contest 30 years ago between two crane operators transferring eggs from one carton to the other. None of them broke any.
And I’ve piloted such behemoths with only 5 minutes of training. They are much, much more precise and easier to drive/pilot than a car. The basic rule is: “if you let go of the controls, everything stops in place”. Try that in a car !
TRICK REVEALED (my version at least)
close up of the bucket/clamp thing reveals that the tips are rubber/plastic like.
1) the tips are covering metal parts in rubber to help grip clothing.
2) the trick is that the tips are soft rubber (no metal inside. the black color just makes in blendin with the rest of the clamp and look harder.
think of the rubber like those of wind sheild wipers
even when fully closed, the rubber should be able to work around a body part , like neck, hip,etc. without crushing it
Back in the 70′s, I worked with a guy digging out under a house trailer. Between truckloads, he played by removing the dirt between corrugations on a 20′ pipe, under the trailer, at a 20 deg. angle off vertical. Cleaned it off all the way around without damage to the trailer or pipe.
These things can be done, with dedication to the job and care.
I’ll be impressed when he dresses her again.
this is a unbelievble, also check on this
I will be impressed when he give her a hair cut.