In Back to the Future, Marty McFly showed ingenuity when he cracked apart a kid's 1955 wooden push-scooter to "invent" the skateboard. Now, Czech artist Tomáš Moravec is keeping McFly's low-tech, high-fun tradition rolling with his Pallet Skate. Moravec cut down the dimensions of a standard, European wood pallet, or “Eur Pallet,” and fastened what appear to be small cart wheels to the bottom, creating a giant—and specialized—skateboard. The Pallet Skate fits snugly into the tram tracks running through Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, and with a few pushes, Moravec glides smoothly around the city.
Scamming a free ride along the tramway is nothing new. Just last month, while I walked along the tram tracks of Istanbul’s vibrant Istiklal Street, the sound of tram bells were followed perpetually by mischievous laughter. Young Turks hung from the back of the train, shifting their skinny frames to ensure cover from the conductor.
