4 of 8
BACKNEXT
Oyster shell cart
Oyster shell cart
The National Park Service purchased an electric golf cart for $8,223 to distribute oyster shells at the DeSoto National Memorial in Bradenton, Fla.

The memorial commemorates the Spanish exploration of Florida. There are several walking trails around the site, and one happened to be made from crushed oyster shells.

As oyster shells tend to do, many washed away in rain and in high-tides. The Park Service wanted to re-shell the trail, but didn't have the manpower to do it.

Here's where the cart comes in: The Park Service had enough money to buy the replacement shells but the bags were too heavy for one person to manage. With the carts, one person drives down the trail, while another spreads the new shells from the bag off the back of the cart.

In addition to repaving the trail, both the cart and the shells were purchased from local companies, so that helped the local economy, said Park Service spokeswoman Joan Moody.

NEXT: Courthouse freezer
Last updated September 04 2009: 1:56 PM ET
Email | Print | Share  |  RSS
 
google my aol my msn my yahoo! netvibes
Paste this link into your favorite RSS desktop reader
See all CNNMoney.com RSS FEEDS (close)
More Galleries
10 of the most luxurious airline amenity kits When it comes to in-flight pampering, the amenity kits offered by these 10 airlines are the ultimate in luxury More
7 startups that want to improve your mental health From a text therapy platform to apps that push you reminders to breathe, these self-care startups offer help on a daily basis or in times of need. More
5 radical technologies that will change how you get to work From Uber's flying cars to the Hyperloop, these are some of the neatest transportation concepts in the works today. More

Special Offer

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.