Up Against the Wall and Spread Your Legs!

Designer Tom Matten submitted a rather unusual design to 3D model repository Thingiverse the other week: a bong. According to the description:

 

Maker Bong puts the smoker back in charge. Maker Bong gives the individual the ability to create what ever type of bong they desire, weather it be a steamroller, Hookah, or normal bong. Also the Maker Bong's Chamber piece allows one to add ice water, giving the user the ability to create a double, triple, or however many chamber bong for an insanely smooth smoking experience.

 

"Enjoy getting Higher with Maker Bong" 

 

Truly creative. But we're wondering what this means. We know that possession of "drug paraphernalia" is considered illegal in some jurisdictions. But would possession of The Design be considered illegal? 

 

When we're in a world where we can (relatively) instantly produce any object ourselves, is it the actual object that counts or the design? We like to think that's the case for run-of-the-mill objects, since it's not the printing goop that's important; goop becomes commodity and the design rules. 

 

Will our repositories be searched for the presence of "illegal objects"? Will repository operators ask submitters to delete suspected items for fear of the authorities? Will questionable content migrate from public repositories into private libraries run by secret cabals? 

 

When any of those things happen, we'll know we've arrived. 

 

Via Thingiverse

Comments

[Roger Strong]

Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilks's home was attacked today, the latest attack for his drawing a cartoon of Muhammad.

Obviously, printing out a 3D model of Mohammed will get you attacked. What about merely hosting a 3D mesh, without printing it? Do you attack the original artist who created it, the web site owner, or the hosting company who owns the server?

What if the mesh shows up on BitTorrent? Does this take the attacks on The Pirate Bay to the next level?

What about printing the mesh file in binary form on a T-Shirt, as some did with CSS cracking code for DVDs, and AACS keys for HD-DVD and Blu-Ray? Should you execute someone on the street for that? Or would putting a knife through it and staining it with the blood of an infidel also be a sin? This will have to be thought out ahead of time.

We'll need a new organization to detect and remove these files. One like the MPAA or RIAA, but not as fanatical.

[Glenn]

Possession of an atomic bomb is illegal in many jurisdictions. Detailed plans for the construction of an atomic bomb can be purchased on Amazon.com.

[hugh]

Do what the US head shops do. Label it clearly as a tobacco smoking accessory, and threaten to cancel any order that mentions illegal activity.

[hugh]

Oh, yeah. I'm no lawyer, but I believe a "bong" is drug paraphernalia, while a "Hookah" is an ancient Indian water pipe. True, it's just semantics, but that's what law is built upon, semantics.

hugh