Popular Mechanics (South Africa)
From the editor: Let’s get moving.
BY THE TIME you read this, I will either be out on the trail, or would have already completed the five-day hike some of my friends and I have planned to celebrate the end of 2020, and the dawn of the new year. And I’m sure I’ll hear no objections from you that getting to the end of 2020 in one piece definitely deserves some celebrating. It was most certainly one for the record books.
Reminding my body and legs about physical exertion, in the weeks leading up to our hike, has taken quite some effort. The global health crisis and ensuing lockdown, among many other things, resulted in the majority of us being a lot more inactive for the past nine months or so. It turns out that walking from the bedroom to your home office in your PJs takes a lot less effort than a brisk walk from your car to your workplace office. There have also been no walks down the road with colleagues to get coffee, standing up from your desk to join a meeting, and a whole lot less moving around in general. And, almost without realising it, all of that inactivity took a toll on me. I’m happy to report, though, that I’m once again just about as active as I used to be at the start of 2020, before our world was turned upside down.
I’m betting our story on page 26 will cause you to re-evaluate what a privilege it is to be physically mobile. This 10-page feature is an inspiring account of people who were paralysed but, with the aid of human innovation and technological advancements, as well as huge personal determination, have gone on to be athletes. The deeper story, though, is how these people, and the engineers and scientists who are working alongside them, are changing the narrative and the future of mobility for those who are physically impaired.
And, lastly, a quick note to thank you for purchasing the magazine you have in your hands. We value all of our readers, and I want to express our gratitude to you for choosing to spend your hard-earned rands, in difficult economic times, on Popular Mechanics.
Here’s to a great
2021 ahead!