Artist builds London Bus that does push-ups

A Czech artist has made a London bus that can do push-ups. Yes, you read that correctly.

Controversy-courting artist David Cerny has turned an iconic London double-decker into a robotic ‘athlete’. He hopes the bizarre creation, which has a pair of giant mechanical arms attached, will spur the Czech Olympic squad to glory at the London games.

Cerny purchased the bus, a 1957 Routemaster, from its owner in the Netherlands. He then attached two giant arms (as you do) an electric motor and wired the entire thing to the mains. The result is a six-tonne monstrosity that pushes itself off the ground and lowers itself back to terra firma before repeating the ordeal ad nauseum.

As if that wasn’t weird enough, the bus also grunts. Cerny has incorporated a set of speakers through which the deformed Routemaster moans, pants and wheezes in ways that make you want to pull the plug and put it out of its misery.

And the best part, a video projected in the upper and lower windows make the thing look as if it’s full of an unidentified liquid Union Jack-inspired liquid. 

“There is one common exercise for every sportsman in the world, and that is push-ups,” Cerny said.

“So I thought the push-ups would be perfect fun. The thing about the push-ups is also that in one hand it is training for sport activities but at the same time it is also punishment in armies or prisons.”

Alrighty then.

The mutant bus is due to be installed in London close to place the Czech team will be staying. If anyone’s up for forming some sort of vigilante group to go and switch this thing off to put it out of its misery then let us know on Facebook, Twitter or on the comments below.