Jun 30th 2010 By Bonnie Biess

'Spider-Boy' Creates Gadget, Scales Walls of School

While most of us were making wooden cars and Yoda bongs in shop class, Hibiki Kono, a 13-year-old boy, decided to fulfill his dream of becoming Spider-Man. He invented a climbing machine, which uses suction from two Tesco Value vacuum cleaners.

After spending five months conceiving of and making the gadget in his design and technology lessons at King's College School in Cambridge, England, Kono amazed his friends by using the giant sucking pads to climb the school wall during a morning assembly.

Hibiki, whose friends have been working on more mundane projects, such as coffee tables and remote-controlled boats, says the gadget is great fun.

"I've climbed up the school wall, but I'm not allowed too high. It's not scary, and I completely trust the machine" says Hibiki. The machine here is two 1,400-watt vacuum cleaners, which he bought for just £14.98 each, with square wooden pads attached to their nozzles.

Kudos to you, Kono. Those Spidey pads will come in handy when you're stealing girlfriends from high school bullies. Just don't let us find you chillin' in a rubber bodysuit on YouTube anytime soon.

Keep reading for more photos and video of Kono's invention in action.

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Wednesday 30 June

By Bud

Highest Rank

Marvelous to see that some youngsters are capable of more than fiddling with gaming gadgets. This brilliant lad will go far. All the best to him.

Wednesday 30 June

By MTM

Highest Rank

So while your kid was trying to beat his best on Grand Theft Auto this one was using his brain. Good for him!

Wednesday 30 June

By Capwhan

Lowest Ranked

Wonder why this boy isn't a Brit or a Yank? It seems a lot of the recent great thinkers are from far east.

Wednesday 30 June

By Robbie

Highest Rank

Ummmm.....Uh, "Capwhan?" What article did you read? The one I read clearly said that Hibiki attends Kings College School, in Cambridge, England. Ummm...I daresay that would make him a Brit.
Was something intended with your comment about the far East?
You Russians have really got to learn to read English before you start commenting!

Wednesday 30 June

By melissa

Neutral

exactly it is because american kids are lazy! Kids in america are too worried about video games, and having sex (all kinds)! Schools and parents need to cut sex ed and add more tech ed and classes about abstinance.

I think its amazeing what this 13 y/o did in school! I wish the U.S. had many more kids like him in school!

Wednesday 30 June

By sean caruso

Neutral

its cool that he made this device, but he isn't a pioneer in this since it was done on a myth-busters episode by both hosts and they had almost the same contraption as the boy does here. It's nice to see that he is doing something tho rather than rotting away in his home so whoever gave him this motivation kudos!!!

Wednesday 30 June

By Erik

Neutral

Yeah! Lets start teaching creation next. Then we can move on to teaching flat earth and geocentric universe models. Maybe in 50 years we will regress to the Dark Ages.

So the kid can scale a wall with a contraption that has been built by 100 kids who were not all written up and that somehow means us schools should cut sex ed? So cutting sex ed will cause kids to get smarter? Or will it cause kids not to learn about sex and procreate before they are ready, breeding more stupid offspring?

Wednesday 30 June

By myomi

Neutral

uhm, classes in america DO hav abstinence; thats ALL we teach, which is why kids get pregnant so much; because we dont teach about birth control, just abstaining, and when you hear something your whole life you can grow to ignore it.

Wednesday 30 June

By frank

Neutral

ehhh...this is old news. this has already been done

Wednesday 30 June

By SAM

Neutral

Cute but he wasn't the first. There have been several versions of that made over the years.

Wednesday 30 June

By chris

Highest Rank

Quick patent the process. It has great applications for the future.

Wednesday 30 June

By Vinnie

Neutral

He does not have to be the first and its news when a 13 year old can put his mind to either developing or copying a device such as this. The problem with American kids is not the kid but the parents. Parents today are providers they no longer parent. Its not even video games anymore as much as cell phones. I have a friend with a daughter that was on honor rolls for the last 4 years also known for her athletics. she got a cell phone and now she is barely a C student. Her skills have not progressed. Her main concern now is texting so much so that you cannot even trust her to do the most minute thing. But she has like 500 or so friends. Its sad but the mom will not take that phone away from her, because everyone else have one.

Wednesday 30 June

By myomi

Neutral

In my opinion, cell phones are FINE, thank you; although i do agree that your friend should limit her daughter's phone usage, it does not mean that she should be completely cut off from the rest of her social world (which consists of the friends she texts on her cell).
besides, how exactly did you get from a kid managing to climb a wall to keeping a teenager from their cell???