Air Heads

God I love Europeans. Nowhere else on earth will you find people so obsessed with style they can even make bike crashes sexy.

In past posts I have celebrated the Italians, the Swiss and the Belgians. This particular post celebrates the ingenious and always stylish Swedes, who have come up with this nifty airbag for your head, which, when not deployed, is cleverly disguised as a hipster scarf.

This  TOTALLY explains (not Team) Leee-o-pard Trek’s natty outfits at their recent coming out party.

Here’s how it works:
– you fall down or get hit by a car
– a sensor consisting of gyroscopes and accelerometers triggers helium to inflate the airbag
– your fancy man-scarf explodes, encompassing your head in marshmallow goodness, thus protecting your valuable noggin and cool Euro hairstyle

It’s a thesis project. Mmmmkay?

Someone did mention the added advantage that if you fall off a bridge on the way home, you won’t drown, no matter how drunk you are. Good to know.

I must note that my good friend and fellow blogger Evan sent me this little tidbit, and was as bewildered and amused as I was. Evan is a designer and wanna-be bike traveller like me and is trying to convince me that owning a bike shop-cum-café would be a good idea. Perhaps even as good as an inflating hipster scarf noggin airbag. Maybe if I lived in Europe…