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I thought this rotating house was impossible.

I thought this rotating house was impossible. on HackerTube: recommended by 4 Hacker News commenters across 3 separate months, 2023–2024.

Tom Scott

explainer · evergreen

Open on YouTube

Tom Scott visits a rotating house near San Diego and explains how electricity, gas and water keep working on the rotating part. It includes a 3D render of the utility connection system.

Why Hacker News recommends it

HN likes the clear animation of how slip rings and piping let a house rotate.

people recommended it
4
separate months
3
strong recommendations
0
discussed on HN
2023–2024
“Tom Scott did a video last year that has a great 3D render of the system”
— alargemoose, Feb 2024, in “Rotating house goes up for sale in New Zealand”

What HN commenters said

4 Hacker News comments link this video. Each one links back to its thread.

dabluecabooseFeb 2024Recommends

Unsure about this particular house in NZ, but there's one in California that Tom Scott did a video on with a very good animation of how its electricity/water/sewage slip ring works: ▶ this video

in “Rotating house goes up for sale in New Zealand” · View on HN

alargemooseFeb 2024Recommends

It’s not the same rotating house, but Tom Scott did a video last year that has a great 3D render of the system that designer used to facilitate their build! ▶ this video

in “Rotating house goes up for sale in New Zealand” · View on HN

isaidthisOct 2023Recommends

The owner of a custom rotating house in California cited a similar reason for moving. The video is worth watching but here is the relevant section: "I've had 18 heart procedures. My wife is in perfect health. The odds of me outliving her are zero...We're moving back to Coronado. This is a complex house, even though I think it's simple! For her to try and teach somebody else how to run everything and do everything would be difficult if something happened to me. So we're just kind of jumping ahead." ▶ this video

in “The Midwit Smart Home” · View on HN

jpalomakiAug 2023Recommends

The part where it shows how the electricity and piping works was pretty interesting. Skip to ~3:00 to see this [1] Patent shown in the video [2]. [1] ▶ this video [2] [link]

in “I thought this rotating house was impossible [video]” · View on HN

Topics & tags

Civil engineering & constructionMechanical & precision engineeringrotating houseslip ringutilitiestom scottengineering