Here’s Why We Don’t Have Hovercraft on the Mississippi River
It was predicted, but it never happened. Futurists decades ago said we'd have hovercraft for our waterways (e.g.- Mississippi River). Where the heck are they? I found the answer, but am still not satisfied.
I saw this fun hovercraft topic shared by Digg. It's a bit of a history lesson that goes back into how the British were innovators in this area. (Thanks again, Britain, for Benny Hill)
The beauty of hovercraft on the Mississippi River would be that they're not completely limited to water. You could take these bad boys up onto (and over) land masses like Turtle Island. Winning. I love the Mark Twain Riverboat as much as the next person, but you're not taking a riverboat over an island.
It's the science of less resistance since hovercrafts have less friction with the water than other river vehicles. If they're so much potential fun, why don't we have hovercraft on the Mississippi River? The problem lies underneath.
The finger attachments underneath took way more damage than the British designers imagined which is why we don't have an Austin Powers Party hovercraft on our waters. Darn. They also say this is the reason we don't have hovertrains. Double darn.
It's an interesting innovation that never was. I still think a fishing hovercraft on the Mississippi River (or Salt River) would be an invention worth trying as long as I'm not the one throwing down the money to see if it'd work.