Tube man
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An AirDancer, also known as a SkyDancer, is an inflatable moving advertising product comprising a long fabric tube (with two or more outlets), which is attached to and powered by an electrical fan. As the electrical fan blows air through the fabric tube, this causes the tube to move about in a dynamic dancing or flailing motion. AirDancer has been owned and exclusively manufactured by Torero Specialty Products, LLC since 1999.
The patented design of an AirDancer was invented by Peter Minshall, an artist from Trinidad and Tobago, along with a team that included Israeli artist Doron Gazit, for the 1996 Summer Olympics. Minshall originally called his invention the Tall Boy. Gazit eventually patented the concept of an inflatable, dancing human-shaped balloon and licensed the patent to various companies that manufacture and sell the devices, including Torero Specialty Products, LLC who also owns the trademark rights to Airdancer.[1][2][3][4]
Legality
Some local municipalities in the United States have banned the use of these products. An ordinance in Houston which went into effect in 2010 prohibits their use, claiming the product "contributes to urban visual clutter and blight and adversely affects the aesthetic environment and the safety and quality of life for the community and the citizens of the city."[5]
See also
References
- ^ "The Caribbean Origins of the Dancing Inflatable Man". Slate.com:. 99% invisible. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) - ^ "Who knew Minshall invented - Inflatable men?". The Trinidad Guardian Newspaper.
- ^ Sam Dean. "Biography of an Inflatable Tube Guy". Medium.
- ^ "Who Invented Roadside Arm-Waving Air Dancers?". Consumerist.
- ^ "INFORMATIONAL LETTER 0019-2009 ATTENTION GETTING DEVICES" (PDF). The City of Houston Sign Administration Office.
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