If you’ve ever wanted to cosplay as the Sydney Opera House on a rainy day, YouTuber The Q has got an idea for you. To fix the problem of having to actually hold an umbrella, he built wearable rain protection out of PVC plastic. The hands-free umbrella (more like helmet) ends up looking a bit like an all-white Sonic the Hedgehog. Or some sort of beetle with a segmented body. We’re not sure anyone would wear it. Or even if it effectively functions to keep the rain off of you. But it’s certainly an interesting idea.
Unlike some other maker videos, there’s not an equipment list with this one. So if you do want to make this for yourself, further investigation will be necessary. The step by step build is montaged nicely though. He heats up the PVC to bend each of the five segments into the right shape. There’s string connecting them so they won’t gape open to let chilly water drip through. He cuts apart something that looks like an air vent to form arm holes and then connects everything.
When modeling the final version of the hands-free umbrella (in the rain, of course), it looks like he can’t really put his arms down all the way. Or maybe he just likes a hero pose. Other great projects from The Q include a giant folding knife, a bicycle with circular saw blades instead of wheels, and DIY wings. There’s even a build to make it look like you’re sitting on an invisible chair. So really, this is one of the more potentially practical builds.
And because I now have Rihanna’s song “Umbrella” in my head, I’m going to go watch Tom Holland on Lip Sync Battle. You should too.
Melissa is Nerdist’s science & technology staff writer. She also moderates “science of” panels at conventions and co-hosts Star Warsologies, a podcast about science and Star Wars. Follow her on Twitter @melissatruth.
