# Roomba! -- The Horror! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 12, 2007, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roomba-the-horror/403808 "2007-05-12T04:12:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2007, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roomba-the-horror/403808/1 "2007-05-12T04:12:51Z")
Okay, I admit it – I don’t enjoy vacuuming. No, let’s be honest: I FRIKKIN HATE VACUUMING!!! So, in a moment of lazy madness, I ordered a Roomba. A bright red Roomba. [Like this.](http://news.com.com/i/ne/p/2004/roomba_350x306.jpg) It arrived today, I duly studied the (clear, simple) instructions, charged it up and, about half an hour ago, turned it loose. It’s hard at work as I type this, trundling about its humble task on the first floor and, yes, horrifying the cats. Now, the Roomba isn’t perfect, by any means. One still has to do some manual vacuuming (like the stairs; it won’t fall down them, but neither will it clean them), but regular use should cut way down on the need to haul out the central vac and drag the great white snake around the townhouse. It’s kind of noisy, but not nearly as bad as the aforesaid central snake. Its dirt repository is tiny, requiring frequent – oops. I hear its plaintive beep telling me it’s gotten itself in trouble and needs rescuing. Back in a jiff. ```auto Back now. Poor Roomba ran out of juice after about an hour of cleaning dust, cat hair, and who knows what all, and wanted to be plugged into its recharger. Anyway, despite its drawbacks I think I'm going to be very pleased with my purchase. The cats? They're not so sure. In fact, right now they're gobsmacked with the horror of it all. Even Sophie, who [dared to investigate the monster rumbling about her home](http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2551903640000735275fpYZkw). The rest of the crew kept a safe distance from The Red Roomba Horror. They tracked its progress with trepidation. [Left to right, on the floor](http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2992577780000735275QcovKP): Ted (that tiny bit of him peeking around the corner), Fred, Squash, and Pumpkin, while Sally takes refuge on the high ground of the bookcase. Meanwhile, the humble robot went on its humble way, cleaning, bumping into and bouncing off of solid objects, gradually making its erratic way from the living room, through the galley kitchen, and at last -- OH NO! It's coming around the corner! [RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!!!](http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2034856990000735275iUfwHc) Am I a bad person for laughing my ass off? :D ``` ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2007, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roomba-the-horror/403808/2 "2007-05-12T04:17:10Z")
Do your cats try to make you do things? With their minds? That second picture makes me think “yikes, villiage of the damned! with cats!” rather than “awww, kitties” 😃 I want Roomba’s new baby cousin. The one that washes your floors. ---
**Author:** ![Pixisis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@Pixisis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixisis)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2007, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roomba-the-horror/403808/3 "2007-05-12T04:19:38Z")
[QUOTE=EddyTeddyFreddy] OH NO! It’s coming around the corner! [RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!!!](http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2034856990000735275iUfwHc) Am I a bad person for laughing my ass off? 😃 [/QUOTE] If you’re going to hell for laughing at that, well, I’ll be right behind you. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2007, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roomba-the-horror/403808/4 "2007-05-12T04:49:43Z")
[QUOTE=EddyTeddyFreddy] Am I a bad person for laughing my ass off? 😃 [/QUOTE] If laughing your ass off is bad, I don’t wanna be good. And I love the “Village of the Damned” photo. ---
**Author:** ![lisacurl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/41988e/32.png) [@lisacurl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisacurl)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2007, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roomba-the-horror/403808/5 "2007-05-12T04:58:56Z")
[QUOTE=EddyTeddyFreddy] Am I a bad person for laughing my ass off? 😃 [/QUOTE] Oh, please. If you’re a bad person for laughing your ass off, then my husband and I must be some sort of sociopaths for seriously considering purchasing a Roomba not as a cleaning appliance but _just to mess with our cats_. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sierra\_Indigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Sierra\_Indigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sierra_Indigo)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2007, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roomba-the-horror/403808/6 "2007-05-12T08:00:49Z")
Here is a chance to pimp one of my favourite bloggers… Sars ,writer of [Tomato Nation](http://tomatonation.com/?p=844) describes her two-cat household and the unholy lusts of the roomba… ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Push\_Up\_Bra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/edb3f5/32.png) [@Freudian\_Push\_Up\_Bra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Push_Up_Bra)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2007, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roomba-the-horror/403808/7 "2007-05-12T09:22:15Z")
Wow, eye lasers charging! We could spot that tiny bit of Ted by his glowing eyes… Hilarious. I want six cats and a red Roomba. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2007, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roomba-the-horror/403808/8 "2007-05-12T10:40:54Z")
One a these days I’m gonna pay **EddyTeddyFreddy** a visit, and kittynap Sophie. And now I want a Roomba just for the cat-tormenting possibilities. We do have a life sized mouse toy that’s radio controlled, and the cats just love it. I wonder how they’d react to a Roomba? ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2007, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roomba-the-horror/403808/9 "2007-05-12T12:14:33Z")
For some reason, I can’t help but think of that scene in _Idiocracy_ where a Roombaesque vacuum keeps banging into a desk, saying “Your floor-your floor is now clean! Your floor- your floor is now clean!” Those are great pictures. The cat facing down the Roomba is very funny, and that alien cat picture is just creepy. ---
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2007, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roomba-the-horror/403808/10 "2007-05-12T12:52:54Z")
[QUOTE=lisacurl] Oh, please. If you’re a bad person for laughing your ass off, then my husband and I must be some sort of sociopaths for seriously considering purchasing a Roomba not as a cleaning appliance but just to mess with our cats. [/QUOTE] Ditto. I want a Roomba anyway, for cleaning, but I also want it to scare the cats out of their tiny little minds. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Cheez\_Whia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d26b3c/32.png) [@Cheez\_Whia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheez_Whia)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2007, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roomba-the-horror/403808/11 "2007-05-12T13:08:47Z")
I was wondering what your cats would do, **ETF**. I’d like a Roomba, but I’m afraid to ask, since we recently purchased a Dyson. I bet it would drive [Kee-Kee](http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w119/ignatz1957/Image-3B97D6A6AFAF11DB.jpg) insane. Might be worth it just for the laughs! Her nickname is “Squirrel”, and for good reason! ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2007, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roomba-the-horror/403808/12 "2007-05-12T13:57:55Z")
[QUOTE=Lynn Bodoni] One a these days I’m gonna pay **EddyTeddyFreddy** a visit, and kittynap Sophie. [/QUOTE] Sophie would love that! The others are wary of strangers, but she adores them, heck, she even enjoys visits to the vet, once she’s out of the carrier and free to charm everyone there. She was also the bravest of the feline household, even [daring to stalk the invader](http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2956798830000735275UpcrUF) before it turned on her. ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2007, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roomba-the-horror/403808/13 "2007-05-12T14:05:25Z")
I don’t which I want more now, a Roomba, or a set of four glow-in-the-dark-cat-eyes-night-lights. That second picture is hilarious. They seriously look like an art project. Smooches to the cute glowing kitties, and may they adjust to their new Roomba roomie. ---
**Author:** ![SnakesCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@SnakesCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnakesCatLady)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2007, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roomba-the-horror/403808/14 "2007-05-12T15:09:48Z")
Now I really want a Roomba for a cat toy, and I love the “lasers on stun” pic. Handsome babies you have there. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2007, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roomba-the-horror/403808/15 "2007-05-12T15:14:47Z")
I don’t mind vacuuming, but I would really like to have a Scooba to scrub the floors. How scary would that be? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![BoBettie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@BoBettie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BoBettie)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2007, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roomba-the-horror/403808/16 "2007-05-12T15:40:40Z")
FWIW, I have the Roomba Discovery, a newer model and it will run for about 2 hours on a charge. I have 3 dogs and a cat and rarely have to do any floor stuff besides running my Roomba, since it’s all tile, no rugs, no stairs. Anyway, yesterday Roomba was running along and you know how when it hits an object it backs up a second, moves over a bit and hits it again? Yesterday it did that entirely down the side of my Shar-Pei, who sat there motionless and not caring at all. Talk about funny. Obligatory pic: [![](https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/suzette100/yoda-3.jpg) ](https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/suzette100/yoda-3.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Scuba\_Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Scuba\_Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scuba_Ben)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2007, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roomba-the-horror/403808/17 "2007-05-12T21:14:28Z")
I’m considering a Roomba Scheduler, since I’m allergic to both pollen and the effort of vacuuming. I’m not a pet person, so I wouldn’t be tormenting any felines with the Roomba. But I did comment in another thread a month or so ago that I’d be tempted to outfit a Roomba _with frigging laser beams!_ Waiting for the photos to load… I think it’s high time I upgraded to DSL… Ah! There’s the photos. Great reflection off the cats’ retinas, it looks like they’re possessed. Or possessing. It’s hard for me to tell. Good composition on the other photos, too. ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2007, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roomba-the-horror/403808/18 "2007-05-12T21:40:20Z")
Heh, no need for night-lights with those cats! Gorgeous. ---
**Author:** ![essell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/34f0e0/32.png) [@essell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/essell)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2007, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roomba-the-horror/403808/19 "2007-05-12T21:56:25Z")
Haha! Yous cats run and my bunnies investigate. They only get out of the way when roomba practically runs them over. In Soviet Russia the floor hoovers Roomba! Roomba is not officially available in the UK, as far was I can find out, but my friend got me one anyway. The battery doesn’t last more than one cycle but I still wouldn’t be without it. And I love your cats, but keep them away fromy my bunnies. My bunnies are vicious. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2007, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roomba-the-horror/403808/20 "2007-05-12T22:40:32Z")
[QUOTE=Scuba\_Ben] Great reflection off the cats’ retinas, it looks like they’re possessed. Or possessing. It’s hard for me to tell. Good composition on the other photos, too. [/QUOTE] Thanks! Sometimes it takes a bit of judicious cropping to [get what I want](http://pets.webshots.com/photo/2964110650000735275kXEZVN) from a [wider view.](http://pets.webshots.com/photo/2385952600000735275DGIRFQ) And then sometimes there’s [no need to edit at all.](http://pets.webshots.com/photo/2667031230000735275mTvUns) That picture next to the blinds, by the way, is a photo I took many years ago of a corbelling detail in the Congress Street wall of Boston City Hall. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roomba-the-horror/403808.md?page=2)