fun

Playing With Food

Like all well bred women, my mother always told me not to play with my food. However, as we get older we realize that sometimes ignoring the rules is just as important as, generally, following them. Food is fun. It has wonderful tastes, smells, colors, and textures. Something with so many wonderful attributes is just […] » about 300 words

Whoosh Boom Splat

Bill Gurstelle thought the exploding balloons were as funny as I did, and now I understand why: the contributing editor of Make magazine knows his way around improvised munitions.

He also knows YouTube videos of oppressed geeks getting back at The Man with potato guns is a good marketing ploy for his audience. Whoosh Boom Splat appears to be his latest book. Amazon doesn’t let me look inside, but how can you go wrong with projects like these?

  • The Jam Jar Jet — the simple pulse jet engine that roars
  • The Elastic Zip Cannon — a membrane-powered shooter that packs a wallop
  • The Mechanical Toe — a bungee-powered kicking machine
  • The Vortex Launcher — a projectile shooter that uses air bullets for ammunition
  • The Clothespin Snap Shooter — the PG-17 version of a clothespin gun that fires fiery projectiles
  • The Architronito — the steam-powered cannon conceived by Leonardo da Vinci

Zorb: Another Reason New Zealanders Are Cooler Than You

Who of us didn’t want to try it when we saw Jackie Chan bounce down a mountainside in one in Operation Condor (well, who of us who saw Operation Condor didn’t want to try it)? But until Cool Hunter gave me a pointer, I had no idea what the these strange inflatable balls (yeah, go […] » about 500 words