London's new bomb-proof trash cans will survive the apocalypse, keep you updated on stock prices

London will be the first city to test out new bomb-proof garbage cans, which are also going to multitask as recycling bins with LCDs that stream travel info and news. Security concerns (AKA fear of terrorists dropping bombs in them) have kept rubbish bins out of subway stations and many of the city's streets since the mid-80's, causing frustration among citizens, not to mention what amounts to forced littering. The new cans, developed by British company Media Metrica, weigh one ton each, and were tested in the lifeless deserts of New Mexico for five years to ensure they are completely, totally indestructible, can absorb heat from explosives, prevent shrapnel spread, and extinguish "fireballs." Eh. Put 'em in New York City -- someone will surely figure out how to utterly destroy them in 24 hours or less.

[lowdef @ Oct 31st 2008 4:08PM]

WOOOOWWW. huge fucking waste of money.

[KAIKAI @ Oct 31st 2008 4:10PM]

*cough cough* iraq

[who? @ Oct 31st 2008 4:18PM]

lol

[KAIKAI @ Oct 31st 2008 4:52PM]

ieye
what happens when the battery dies
or doesnt hold a charge nemore ??

[John @ Oct 31st 2008 5:23PM]

@iEye

Surely not like these right?

http://www.appledefects.com/images/meltedpb.jpg

http://www.macuser.com/images/2007/09/meltedipod.jpg

[Ray @ Oct 31st 2008 6:08PM]

Waste of money or not, im at peace knowing that when the world ends, i'll still be able to toss my non biodegradables in the wrong place.

[Phate @ Oct 31st 2008 6:16PM]

@ Ieye : not to feed the troll or anything, but apple buys their batteries from sony. Whoops.

[Haikibutsu @ Nov 1st 2008 12:12AM]

iEye, you are a retard, did you not realize that MacBook Pros were also affected...

Oh, and there are no reports I can think of of a Sony phone blowing up, but I have heard of a few iPods go up in flames.

This coming from a MacBook owner and an iPod owner. One with a sense of realism, and one who is buying an HP off newegg since his MacBook is dying from, actually, a very rare defect...

[dallaskink.com @ Nov 1st 2008 4:36PM]

I am insane now.

[Dan Fruzzetti @ Oct 31st 2008 4:08PM]

If we can hack anything and change its utility, then we can destroy anything too. Now that people are reading about them as 'indestructible' it will be seen as a challenge by many youths with too much time and un-focused creativity on their hands.

[Da Tank @ Oct 31st 2008 4:33PM]

Hey! I have just enough time and plan on completely focusing my creativity on this challenge!

[Forrest @ Oct 31st 2008 4:58PM]

I once tried to completely destroy a Tonka truck when I was a kid. Four hours of throwing it as hard as I could against sidewalks, trees, and cinder-block basement walls and I gave up.

Sorry, but a bunch of hooligans with bats aren't gonna do much to one of these guys...at least not before they draw a lot of attention. Maybe they can destroy the LCD, but it'll probably still hold garbage. Or your average Engadget comment...there's no verifiable difference between the two.

[gyung @ Oct 31st 2008 6:59PM]

It doesn't look like the Titanic

[ZenStyleJunglist @ Oct 31st 2008 4:10PM]

Hmmmm... Maybe you can survive an A-Bomb in one? But the residents of the Capital Wastelands will say otherwise me thinks.

[who? @ Oct 31st 2008 4:21PM]

Hey, they didn't have to go through all this trouble- Indiana Jones made it through a nuke a refrigerator.


But seriously, wouldn't the radiation will still get you (at least, when you finally get out)?

[Mavric @ Oct 31st 2008 9:54PM]

well, the refrigerators from the era that the movie indiana jones was set in were often lead lined so you could do the very thing Jonsey did: weather a nuke out inside and have a prayer of surviving if you were near the edge of the blast. as for radiation poisoning, you get radiated over a period of time, it builds up in your system to a lethal amount. hence, depending on how close to the epicenter you are you may have a few hours to get out before receiving a lethal dose. these new cans would have to have a lead lining to be radiation proof, which, judging by its weight, is very possible... yikes, 1 ton....

[Marcus @ Nov 1st 2008 11:23AM]

I do believe that Indiana Jones proved that all you need is a fridge....

[xtole @ Oct 31st 2008 4:11PM]

Nice looking background, minus the kid and can.

[Abuzar Baloach @ Oct 31st 2008 4:22PM]

Google image search.

http://hellgate.incgamers.com/gallery/data/509/1london-2000.jpg

[EricC @ Oct 31st 2008 4:32PM]

This one's a bit more true to the image Engadget used:

http://hellgate.incgamers.com/gallery/data/509/london-hq-sunny.jpg

[bart @ Oct 31st 2008 4:57PM]

yeah, I was wondering when did they get it ?? (the background photo, not the kid).

[Abuzar Baloach @ Oct 31st 2008 8:07PM]

From Hell Gate London.

[r3loaded @ Nov 1st 2008 6:55AM]

Hang on, the Thames turns almost 90 degrees after Big Ben and Houses of Parliament. So there's no way you could have a photo looking down the river and have Big Ben, St. Paul's cathedral and Tower Bridge in the same shot.

Hellgate London fails.

[Aftershock @ Nov 20th 2008 1:16AM]

Actually, London fails.

[KGB @ Oct 31st 2008 4:11PM]

I wouldn't so much worry about people destroying them, but more about people stealing them and taking them home.

[KillaChaos @ Oct 31st 2008 4:13PM]

"weigh one ton each"

[BJ is Gooder @ Oct 31st 2008 4:13PM]

"The new cans, developed by British company Media Metrica, weigh one ton each,"

Good luck trying to roll that thing away on your skateboard.

[Esat Dedezade @ Oct 31st 2008 4:14PM]

It weighs 1 tonne!

[force @ Oct 31st 2008 4:15PM]

yes, great observation...cause everyone can just lift up trashcans weighing a ton and take them home.

[Esat Dedezade @ Oct 31st 2008 4:16PM]

So, after carefully collaborating the data I think we can all agree that the aforementioned trash can's weight is approximately equivalent to one tonne.

[Patriks7 @ Oct 31st 2008 4:21PM]

I'll just call Chuck Norris and he will carry them alone for me..

[lolec @ Oct 31st 2008 4:36PM]

I dont think the trash cans would weight less than a ton. Im just guessing tough

[Chris Are @ Oct 31st 2008 4:46PM]

ONE TON ONE TON ONE TON!!!!

It only takes one people.

[Benson @ Oct 31st 2008 4:53PM]

So you guys don't think we need to worry about wanton theft?

[Forrest @ Oct 31st 2008 5:00PM]

Benson, I hate you.

Also, get me a soda, and my slippers.

[EricC @ Oct 31st 2008 6:10PM]

@ Benson: I'm more concerned about wonton theft. Stay away from my Chinese food!

[Tony @ Oct 31st 2008 7:33PM]

Did anyone mention that these things weigh one ton yet?

[Johan S @ Oct 31st 2008 4:19PM]

Hmm, I think these guys made the vending machine at work that eats my dollar and then doesn't fully drop the bag of chips.

[who? @ Oct 31st 2008 4:23PM]

The vending machine at my school took my $5 bill and didn't do anything at all... Still waiting on my refund.

[DirtyVegas @ Oct 31st 2008 4:21PM]

Guess where Indy's hiding, the next time a nuke goes off...

[KAIKAI @ Oct 31st 2008 4:22PM]

.........another refrigerator ??

[who? @ Oct 31st 2008 4:25PM]

In an alien spaceship from another dimension that was part of an ancient temple?

[da Tank @ Oct 31st 2008 4:36PM]

Off topic but did anyone see the South Park episode where Indy was getting raped? it was AWESOME!

[James Barsby @ Oct 31st 2008 4:30PM]

Is that the new G2 phone? It looks slimmer than the old one...

[Mark @ Oct 31st 2008 4:32PM]

This is a joke, right? Like a terrorist is gonna throw his bomb in a bomb-proof trash can. They may be crazy, but they're not stupid.

[arkweld @ Oct 31st 2008 4:36PM]

I think you've missed the point here. People need garbage bins and up until now they were all removed from highly trafficked locations because in the past they've been used to hold bombs.

Now you get somewhere to dump your king size slushy when you are out instead of carrying it everywhere.

Of course bomb-proof is fine for explosive devices ... not so much for gas based bombs.

[Don @ Oct 31st 2008 4:57PM]

So people NOT putting bombs into the trash cans is a bad thing?

[Mark @ Oct 31st 2008 10:20PM]

My point is that this is a ridiculous over-reaction. If they want to plant a bomb they will find a place. You can't bomb-proof the whole world. This won't discourage them and regular trash cans won't encourage them.

[Dylan @ Nov 2nd 2008 6:44AM]

Why make it easier for anyone with bad intentions? Putting these there will make it harder for anyone to put a bomb in a place no one would suspect.

[evplasmaman @ Oct 31st 2008 4:36PM]

Mr indestructible trash can meet Mr termite...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEmHJORTlqk