Worried about the lack of exercise you get whilst sitting at your desk all day? In the belief that rodent recreational habits may hold the solution, Artist Robb Godshaw has published instructions for building his Hamster Wheel Standing Desk.
Godshaw's design uses a wheel with an 80-in (203-cm) diameter supported by a 24-in (61-cm) wide base. The wheel rests upon four skateboard wheels, which allows it to turn fluidly as the user walks or runs inside it. Godshaw admits that the desk part of the design was actually separate. "We already had a standing desk that fits through the wheel, so it was just a matter of avoiding interference and leaving enough room for a human," he explains.
The wheel is constructed from four sheets of three-quarter inch plywood, the four skateboard wheels, two pipes, 240 wood screws and a pint of glue. According to Godshaw, the wheel was designed in a few hours using Autodesk (Godshaw is an Autodesk employee) and the whole project took 24 hours to complete.
Although the Hamster Wheel Standing Desk is a satirical take on desk-based exercise equipment, the lack of exercise individuals get whilst sat at a desk every is regarded as a significant health risk. Indeed, there are a number of products available aimed at allowing people to exercise whilst at work, including the Cubii elliptical trainer that can slide under a desk and the OfficeGym workout chair attachment.
The video below shows the Hamster Wheel Standing Desk in use. There's also a video available that shows the construction process.
Source: Instructables
Having said all of that, one of these in every A&E in the UK for triage nurses to stick fat diabetics into every time they came in after a hypo - save us a bloody fortune . . . . .
Did we not see the word "satirical" in the text? Oh, sorry - forgot