Functional Ark: On Thinking Big

Hats off to Dutchman, Johan Huibers, who is building a modern day replica of the bible's famous 'Noah's Ark'. It's 1/5th scale of the original. As reported by BBC News:

The 47-year-old from Schagen, 45km (30 miles) north of Amsterdam, plans to set sail in September through the interior waters of the Netherlands.

Mr Huibers' vision is more modest - he said he plans to stock his ark with horses, lambs, chickens and rabbits - mostly baby animals to save space.

"This will speak very much to children, because it will give them something tangible to see that Noah's Ark really existed," Mr Huibers told the Associated Press news agency.

The total cost of the project is estimated to be just under 1m euros (£0.7m; US$1.2m) and was funded with bank loans.

Mr Huibers plans to charge people to tour the boat and said a drink and religious pamphlet will be included in the admission price. At least 100,000 people will need to visit for the project to break-even financially.

Mr Huibers said his wife was not very keen on the idea.

I love the balls on Johan. What the heck did he tell the bankers to get them to finance his idea? What vision on Johan. Wouldn't it be a wild experience to set sail on the ark with the sound, smell, vision of it all? Why not have Sunday church services at sea as well? It's perfect as an act of religeous devotion, pedagogy, art, and business. And who cares if it fails financially? All participants will, presumably, have the blessing of their god. You can't beat the smile on Johan's face. He hopes to use the profits to finance building a full scale ark in a few years.

My only thought is (looking at the photo) maybe he could have tossed some port holes into the design for light, ventilation, and the occasional shovelling of animal dung overboard.

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