US helichopper spots an entire intact house floating miles out at sea....

[ElsewheresDaughter]

I just wonder if they went back and checked to see if their was anyone inside alive.

[Uben]

1. You sure that's not a house boat?

Gotta admit, it does look like one!

[Poll_Blind]

2. Just wait till it washes up on an Oregon beach!

PB

[rfranklin]

3. Did they have pontoons in the basement?

I can't understand how that thing is floating.

[LiberalEsto]

4. 3 BR, 2 bath, extensive ocean views nt

[godai]

They have an earthquake proof house which sits on rubber.

The way that looks, it might be one of them. As sensors detect an eathquake, the entire house is raised, by air, on a rubber bladder, minimizing damage. That wouldn't stop a tsunami, however.

[FBaggins]

6. How does that work with the plumbing?

What an interesting idea.

[Javaman]

8. Endless supply of water but the salt corrosion is hellish. nt

[FBaggins]

9. Lol... I meant how does it work with the way the house was designed.

If you have a home that's designed to pump itself up on air bladders in the event of an earthquake... you need to have some pretty creative plumbing and wiring as part of the design.

[LiberalFighter]

11. The key is bladders. More than one. That would allow space for plumbing.

[FBaggins]

17. It's not space that concerns me... it's the "moving up and down" part.

Most plumbing isn't very flexible.

Of course, I haven't lived in an earthquake zone since before I started doing DIY projects. Maybe they have something flexible/expendable.

OTOH, I guess a stinky mess is preferable to intact plumbing with a crumbled home sitting on it.

[LiberalFighter]

19. Maybe they use flexible hose for their bidets?

[godai]

28. It's only raised maybe 1/2 inch.n/t

[ixion]

5. a tribute to it's construction

in my opinion.

[ReggieVeggie]

13. absolutely

still can't figure out why it's afloat

[ixion]

23. an air bubble trapped against a (nearly) air-tight roof, is one bet... however someone mentioned

having a large rubber bladder as an anti-earthquake device, and that could help, too, if it's there.

[Javaman]

7. 10 or 20 thousand years from now...

Alien Phil: so Alien Bob, how do you think this house got all the way out here in what used to be an ocean?

Alien Bob: Well, like they say on our home world, location, location, location.

[tammywammy]

20. It's the future Atlantis

:)

[ChoppinBroccoli]

10. Just Like "Up" Except On Water

Is there a little old man and a boy scout inside?

[mimitabby]

16. YEAH :-)

[bullwinkle428]

12. I was shocked to see how many houses were essentially intact,

once the tsunami carried them some distance from their original location!

[Generic Other]

15. Lots of Japanese houses use a post and lintel system

different earthquake resistant building designs. Like boats! Amazing huh?

[slackmaster]

18. I've been impressed by the quality of the lumber in the rubble piles

Well cured, straight-grained lumber without any serious visible defects.

The Japanese use the best materials they can get, and they can afford pretty good stuff.

[localroger]

24. Much of it looted from the 3rd world, alas

Japan is a very rich nation and when they they want high quality lumber, someone will be willing to log a first growth forest somewhere to get it for them.

[slackmaster]

25. I was afraid that was the case.

Thanks.

:argh:

[Alcibiades]

29. Much of it comes from the US

The US is the top lumber exporter, and Japan is the #3 importer, so it makes sense that much of it comes from the US. American sawmills have catered to the Japanese market for years, milling wood to their specifications. We're still not the top supplier of lumber to Japan: that honor goes to Canada, and has for years.

[localroger]

32. By pure quantity, yes

But they have an insatiable demand for exotic woods too which are only found in first-growth forests, and that demand is being supplied by clear-cutting in places like Madagascar. (My wife is an avid birder and has seen much of this firsthand.)

[Generic Other]

33. Ours is straight old timbers from the family farm

Hundred of year old beams, dark and polished. No third world country.

[Alcibiades]

35. Oh

I had thought we were talking about the wood they use to frame their houses. My bad.

[Lucky 13]

14. I saw a clip of Shep Smith (FOX) interviewing a naval officer about this.

That the picture was taken from an Aircraft carrier and that there is a MASSIVE debris field in the ocean that is so big, they are actually moving ships to be on the west side of the island to prevent damage to the ships.

It's a mad world.

[bullwinkle428]

21. NPR reported they were coming from the west to avoid potential

radioactive fallout... :(

[Lucky 13]

30. Interesting. The Naval officer cited the massive debris field.

Either way, our men and women are in harms way. I fear for them.

[Fuzz]

22. Wild

[Maru Kitteh]

26. That is crazy.

[Fire Walk With Me]

27. Talk about living off the grid.

[hootinholler]

31. Oh Luuuuceeee!

Where's Ricky?

-Hoot

[hunter]

34. I'm astonished by the quality of some Japanese construction I've seen.

I'm not sure the U.S. west coast will fare as well when it's our turn.

[Liberal_in_LA]

36. I hope the owners got out before the Tsunami