hoverboard

17 Stories

Daredevil Inventor's 'Flyboard' Stunt Falls Short

Franky Zapata falls into sea on attempt to cross the English Channel

(Newser) - He wowed a French Bastille Day crowd earlier this month, but a daredevil inventor's attempt to cross the English Channel didn't go as smoothly. Franky Zapata fell into the sea Thursday while attempting to land on a boat to refuel his "flyboard." The 40-year-old is fine,...

Paris Crowds Astonished by Man on Hoverboard

Inventor Franky Zapata wowed the crowds with his Flyboard

(Newser) - The Bastille prison was stormed via land in 1789 during the French Revolution. Sunday's commemoration of it involved the air in the most attention-grabbing of ways. French inventor Franky Zapata soared over astonished crowds in Paris on his turbine engine-powered Flyboard Air prior to the start of the military...

Dentist Offered Unusual 'Standard of Care': Investigators

Alaska's Seth Lookhart allegedly pulled patient's tooth while riding hoverboard

(Newser) - What falls under the category of "unlawful dental acts" in the state of Alaska? Pulling a sedated patient's tooth while on a hoverboard, per an investigation that involved the FBI, DEA, and a couple of state departments, the Alaska Dispatch News reports. Clear Creek Dental's Dr. Seth...

Girl, Firefighter Die After Hoverboard Catches Fire

She's believed to be first to die in US hoverboard fire

(Newser) - A double tragedy in Harrisburg, Pa.: A 3-year-old girl died in a house fire believed to have been caused by a recharging hoverboard Friday night, and a firefighter was killed on his way to the scene by an allegedly drunk driver in a stolen car. Consumer Products Safety Commission spokesman...

Family Sues Amazon After Hoverboard Burns Down Their House

Family claims a defective hoverboard bought off Amazon caused the fire

(Newser) - Amazon is being taken to court after a faulty hoverboard caused a fire that destroyed an expensive Nashville home, USA Today reports. The gadgets, which were a hot item last Christmas, have an unfortunate habit of catching fire and exploding. The Fox family of Nashville, Tenn., found this out the...

Boy Dies After Armed Cousin Falls Off Hoverboard, Fires

Lavardo Fisher, 13, was a Pop Warner All-American Scholar

(Newser) - A 13-year-old boy was accidentally shot in the back of the head while playing Xbox at his relative's home in central Florida on Monday night when his 18-year-old cousin, who'd found a gun, fell off a hoverboard and fired. Lavardo Fisher's cousin found the gun under the...

Feds Seize $1.6M in Counterfeit Hoverboards

Counterfeit hoverboards are exploding—er, proliferating—in the US

(Newser) - Federal officers recently seized nearly 2,400 counterfeit—and possibly prone to explode —hoverboards in shipments that arrived at South Carolina's Port of Charleston, the Charleston City Paper reports. The hoverboards , which were made in China, would have been worth more than $1.6 million retail, according to...

A Hoverboard Turned This $1M Home Into Rubble

'I thought, 'I'm going to lose 2 of my 4 children today'

(Newser) - Brian Fox lost his $1 million Nashville home on Jan. 9. He nearly lost something much more precious. "I thought, 'I'm going to lose two of my four children today,'" recounts Fox, whose two elder children found themselves trapped on the home's second story...

In the Middle of CES, a US Marshals Raid

US company says Chinese company is hurting industry with its cheap models

(Newser) - Hoverboards are making headlines, from bursting into flames and being banned by online retailers to causing trouble in churches and supermarkets . But the hoverboard hubbub at CES in Las Vegas Thursday was something straight out of a corporate espionage movie: Per Bloomberg , US marshals raided a booth set up by...

Priest Suspended Over Christmas Eve Hoverboard Stunt

'That was wrong'

(Newser) - A priest rolling around his church on a "hoverboard" while singing May the Good Lord Bless and Keep You on Christmas Eve earned a round of applause from his congregation and a quick suspension from his diocese, NBC News reports. It's unknown how the birthday boy felt about...

Amazon Yanks Nearly All Hoverboards

Won't be allowed back on US site until makers can prove they won't catch fire

(Newser) - Consumers planning on scouring Amazon to find a hoverboard to place under the Christmas tree may have to look elsewhere. Joining fellow online retailer Overstock.com , Amazon has decided to halt sales of most of the two-wheeled products on its US and UK sites in the wake of recent reports...

Man Casually Shoplifts While Riding Hoverboard

Thanks a lot, Back to the Future

(Newser) - When hoverboards are outlawed, only outlaws will have hoverboards. British law enforcement—which has been trying to ban the "self-balancing scooters" or "mini-Segways"—released amusing surveillance footage this week showing a man in a tracksuit rolling into a London supermarket on a hoverboard, grabbing a case of...

Family: 'Exploding' Hoverboard Torched Home

Board burst into flames while charging, says Louisiana mom

(Newser) - "It was like fireworks." That's how Jessica Horne of Lafitte, La., describes the first time her 12-year-old son, Hayden, plugged in his new $300 hoverboard, powered by lithium batteries, to charge. Purchased from "Fit Turbo" on Amazon and given to Hayden as a birthday gift a...

Be Careful Before Using This Hot New Toy in London
London Outlaws
a Hot New Toy
Oct 12, 2015 4:00 PM CDT

London Outlaws a Hot New Toy

Hoverboards can't be ridden in public

(Newser) - It's very exciting that hoverboards finally exist , but if you live in the UK, you may not want to buy one just yet. The Metropolitan Police tweeted out a picture of a hoverboard Sunday along with the warning, "Own one of these or thinking about getting one? They'...

Wiz Khalifa Busted Over a Hoverboard

Rapper didn't want to get off his at the airport

(Newser) - Wiz Khalifa got arrested last night in Los Angeles, and it wasn't your everyday celebrity-busted-with-drugs-or-guns arrest: The 27-year-old rapper was arrested for refusing to get off his hoverboard at LAX, and the Daily Beast reports that cops might have gotten a little rough, per some video shot by onlookers...

This Year's 25 Coolest Inventions

From a hoverboard to a sign-language translator

(Newser) - With 2015—and another year's worth of exciting inventions—fast approaching, Time is taking a moment to look back at this year's coolest new gadgets and gear. They range from a Back to the Future prop made real to a tablet system translating sign language to spoken words....

The Future Is Now: Hoverboards Exist

And you can help fund them on Kickstarter

(Newser) - It is now officially the future: Hoverboards are real. A company called Arx Pax has developed a skateboard-style device that rides on air instead of wheels, and it's raising money to "perfect" the project on Kickstarter , Phys.org reports. Arx Pax has already surpassed its $250,000 goal....

17 Stories