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Pneumatic Snap-Action Mouse Trap Takes Rodent Hunting to Next Level

by JP Mangalindan on December 16, 2009 at 07:55 AM

While some would probably prefer to bring the very wrath of God down upon unsuspecting rodents (see Victor's Multi-Kill Electronic Mouse Trap), others might prefer a more purist method to offing them -- with a high-powered twist.
Jack Easton, managing editor of Telovation.com, tinkered with the concept of the classic mousetrap, which is how his pneumatic version came to be. "Many people have been trying to develop a 'better mousetrap' for years," Easton told Telovation. "So we decided to build one in the literal sense."

Easton's take on the spring-loaded "Little Nipper," originally invented by James Atkinson in 1897, is a 5.5-pound shoebox-sized block of polished aluminum, which uses the tried-and-true BYOB (Bring Your Own Bait) method to lure mice to their doom. Once they're close enough to trigger the motion sensors, an aluminum bar powered by compressed air (which makes it pneumatic) swiftly comes down with a lethal striking force of 40 psi, or 102 pounds. (Check out the demo after the jump to see it in action.)


Unnecessary? Of course. But for those of you with a pesky rodent problem -- or just a penchant for cool new gadgets that pay homage to another era -- Easton's mousetrap is just plain fun to watch. [From: Telovation via: Engadget and Slashgear]

Tags: cesaudio, gadgets, household, invention, mouse trap, mousetrap, rodent, top, weird

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