Double-amputee New Zealander has mermaid dreams fulfilled
By Laura June 
posted Feb 25th 2009 1:29PM
posted Feb 25th 2009 1:29PM
New Zealander Nadya Vessey -- who lost both of her legs to the knee when she was a child -- has just received a prosthesis that's pretty much unlike anything we've ever seen (outside of Splash). About two years ago, she approached Weta Workshop, who specialize in design and manufacturing of costumes and special effects (and have worked on projects such as The Lord of the Rings trilogy) to see if the company might be interested in making her a working, prostethic mermaid tail. Turns out they were, and they've just completed the final product. The tail, which is composed of wetsuit fabric and plastic molds, with a custom paint job and digitally-imaged effects, enables Nadya to swim quite effectively, apparently, and is an all around sexy piece of machinery. No word on what one of these slick dudes would cost in real life, but we have a feeling we couldn't justify the expense just to tool around in the kiddie pool.
Update: Check out the video after the break!
[Thanks, Pyper]
Further reading:
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Immaculate prosthetic limb concept makes combines fun again We never thought it would it come to this, but damn if that image above doesn't make the idea of having a prosthetic limb attractive. |
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Touch Bionics i-LIMB bionic hand Using electric signals generated by working muscles to control the hand, the device is much like traditional myoelectric prosthetics (the signals are sent from electrodes placed on the skin). See also: Video |
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UK canine equipped with prosthetic paw Although we've certainly come across prosthetics with names similar to that of a fun-loving canine, we don't believe we've ever seen a pup actually become the receipiant of one. |
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Seabobbing: swimming for the lazy Hanging out at the beach is always a lot of fun, but swimming in the ocean is, like, really tiring, so when our friends all decide to go in the water, we usually cop-out by making up some lame excuse about a leg cramp. |
Holy shit, watch out for Eugene Levy!
who is Eugene Levy?
google/wiki please. he is an actor.
All hail Sid Dithers!
I tried to watch the video, I really did, but it took too long to get to the point and my work internet sucks.
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Eugene+Levy
"No word on what one of these slick dudes would cost in real life, but we have a feeling we couldn't justify the expense just to tool around in the kiddie pool."
Plus, is it really worth it to amputate your legs just to play The Little Mermaid?
Merman, Pop. MerMAN.
Unless you wanted another operation before the amputation?
haha...zoolander refrences
She ALREADY was a double amputee
"New Zealander Nadya Vessey -- who lost both of her legs to the knee when she was a child"
pretty sure she didn't ask to lose her legs.
There's nothing quite like tooling around in a kiddie pool.
Hows that edit button coming along?
You just became a "person of interest" to the FBI.....
They really need to include some sort of slot to facilitate mermaid sex.
I think T-Pain said it best here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iUjx4_X1qA#t=02m37s
Safe for work.
Reminds me of a "Great Big Sea" song... He found the perfect solution.
Here are the lyrics:
http://www.elyrics.net/read/g/great-big-sea-lyrics/the-mermaid-lyrics.html
(Oh - And their album, "Something Beautiful" is probably the best collection of songs I've ever owned)
http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2006/9/27/
HawHaw you saw splash
Sorry... That was for Chris. Freaking Comment System!
She's probably just a manatee
Oh snap!!
Shouldn't mermaids be topless?
Just saw the video. Never mind.
Ah, what the hell -- yes, bag the face, but who's to say she doesn't have a nice rack?
I know, I was disappointed.. I was hoping our mermaid was a hot 20 something...
Try this out in the open ocean, see how quick she gets eaten...or at least test-bitten...
Yeah, looks pretty tasty for a shark.
...or mated with by a porpoise.
first thing i thought too. Right at the end when they said she would be swimming in the see- busted out laughing. Who would want to look like a giant fish in the ocean!
Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9jCsbii5rs
Sweet, will watch when I get home. Was just about to post that we need a vid.
I want to be a merman
I actually think this is pretty awesome..... I mean someone who lost the ability to do something now has the ability to do something i cant do........ Id say fair trade......
now that they finished this project, jackson's building himself a king kong power suit.
I, for one, welcome our new bionic overlords from down under.
Mermaids are Australian?
Wow good for her.
Prepare yourselves for the future.
Fantastic story, and good for her. But, say, why can't she compete in the Olympics now? I seem to recall a gentleman from S. Africa with fancy spring feet, that was approved to compete against unaugmented runners. Can't see why she couldn't do the same. Home she wins.
No, that dude was NOT approved to compete.
WRONG. He was. He just failed to qualify.
I stand corrected.
So wearing make-up is requirement before putting that thing on I guess.
Alright! Now let's get some Orc arm prosthetics!
Is she at least hot? I cant see her face.
no, she's not.
the interviewer is!
hmm, the problem is (as far as i can see from her movements on the video), that she cannot dive - probably the prosthetic contains a lot of air, so when her "natural" top part of body want to sink, her synthetic bottom part stay on the surface level :-(
P.S.: i have hoped that this would be some nice girl, probably my imagination based on child stories
I don't think it contains air - they clearly state in the vid that the whole suit fills with water. There are many little holes that allow the suit to breathe.
That said, it's clear that this is far from perfect. Making it be perfect will probably require vast amounts of research and money, similar to what you would expect for a real prosthetic. It's just as hard to make a "real" mermaid's tail then it is to make a leg or arm prosthetic that feels real.
I think it's a wonderful idea.
Let's put on a new marketing campaign for Starbucks!