Mythbusting, Tuesday, 7/21, Period 2

[tyler_gone]

Class met in the Danger Shop today, and there was an array of logs stripped of their bark, gunpowder, and woodworking equipment set up at one end, with blast shields lined up near the middle of the room. Tyler glanced up from his notes as the class assembled.

"Morning," he said. "This is a things-that-go-boom week. There's an old Hungarian legend that a city called Paks defended itself during a siege by chopping down a cherry tree and making a cannon overnight. The cannon worked until it blew up and took the town with it. Now, I'm not a carpenter, but I see a couple problems with that story." A beat. "Which is why we're retesting it."

"You should just have time to make and test a cannon in class if you work in small groups; the wood and woodworking tools are over there. I'm handing out a sheet of specific directions, but basically you want to drill a hole through the log, add a metal tube with gunpowder in it and a fuse, load a cannonball, light the rope, stand back behind the blast shields, and -- in theory -- boom." He spread his fingers to demonstrate the "boom."

"Please wear safety gear, please don't be stupid. This is Danger Shop so you can't get hurt, but that doesn't make it playtime."

"Questions?"

Comments

Sign In [7/21]

[tyler_gone]

Proving your literacy.

Re: Sign In [7/21]

[stocksgrrl.livejournal.com]

T.R. Wexler

Re: Sign In [7/21]

[wantstocheer.livejournal.com]

Claire Bennet Butler

General Class Stuff [7/21]

[tyler_gone]

Listen to the ... well, it's a little bit short to be a lecture.

Re: General Class Stuff [7/21]

[stocksgrrl.livejournal.com]

It was probably bad that Turtle was listening and thinking about how this might put her one up on her sister Angela, wasn't it? Sure, Angela made a bomb out of some present packaging and a candle Turtle had made at summer camp. But Turtle was going to be making a cannon out of a tree.

Totally trumped it.

But here's to hoping that Turtle didn't wind up blowing off part of her face like Angela did. However, Turtle wasn't stupid like Angela was, so it should all work out.

Re: General Class Stuff [7/21]

[wantstocheer.livejournal.com]

Claire listened. She wasn't sure how well this was going to work, but learning how to make things go boom could possibly come in handy with bad guys chasing her back home.

Re: General Class Stuff [7/21]

[death-of-hope.livejournal.com]

They were... making a canon. Out of a tree. Anemone was a bit confused as to how this worked, and feeling a bit sorry for the tree, but she was totally willing to try this.

Re: General Class Stuff [7/21]

[stylin-wizard.livejournal.com]

Alex wasn't sure the whole making a cannon out of tree experiment was going to work but that didn't mean she was any less excited about trying it out.

Re: General Class Stuff [7/21]

[finding-x-dream.livejournal.com]

Agnes frowned. Wood didn't seem sturdy enough to make a cannon out of.

Re: General Class Stuff [7/21]

[inthereflexes.livejournal.com]

Jack's glee at the idea of blowing stuff up overshadowed the tiny part in his brain that pointed out this could be a grenade instead of a cannon.

Make a Cannon [7/21]

[tyler_gone]

Go to it! Here is a summary and here is a video showing how it worked for the Mythbusters crew. And yes, I'm totally simplifying how their cannon was made. Call it an example of the Rule of Cool.

Re: Make a Cannon [7/21]

[stocksgrrl.livejournal.com]

Dutifully adjusting some safety goggles over her eyes, Turtle cracked her knuckles a little and looked around to see if anyone might want to partner up and help, although she was dedicated to thinking she could handle all her own, too.

Re: Make a Cannon [7/21]

[wantstocheer.livejournal.com]

"Wanna work together?" Claire asked, barely suppressing a grin as she pulled on her safety gear.

Re: Make a Cannon [7/21]

[stylin-wizard.livejournal.com]

Alex picked out a pair of safety goggles, making sure they fit well and wondered if anyone wanted to pair up. She could try this out on her own but she had a feeling a partner might make it more fun.

Re: Make a Cannon [7/21]

[robinthefrog.livejournal.com]

"Hi Alex, wanna work together? I think I might need some help doing this."

Re: Make a Cannon [7/21]

[weetinyreese.livejournal.com]

Kyle got to work straight away, not waiting for a partner or group. Not that he didn't want to work with anyone else, just that he got so focused on how to make it work that he forgot about everyone else.

Re: Make a Cannon [7/21]

[finding-x-dream.livejournal.com]

"You want any help?" Agnes asked.

Re: Make a Cannon [7/21]

[inthereflexes.livejournal.com]

Jack donned the safety gear, and immediately started attacking the tree trunk with the power tools to start the cannon barrel.

Talk to Tyler [7/21]

[tyler_gone]

He's there.

Re: Talk to Tyler [7/21]

[bigdamndestiny.livejournal.com]

And look at that!

There was a wizard there to talk to the teacher despite not even being in the class. "Sir?"

Re: Talk to Tyler [7/21]

[tyler_gone]

And lo, there was ... a student Tyler had never seen before. He folded his arms across his chest and made himself seem smile. "Yes?"

Talk to the TAs [7/21]

[tyler_gone]

After they tag in!

Re: Talk to the TAs [7/21]

[intraspective]

Ino listened, though she didn't bother writing anything down, not when she was just going to stare, almost defiantly, at Tyler-sensei and wonder, yes, just how exactly did he plan to deal with her?

She'd like to know that too.

Re: Talk to the TAs [7/21]

[death-of-hope.livejournal.com]

Anemone was around, even if she was still a bit confused on how a tree became a cannon.

OOC [7/21]

[tyler_gone]

And we're done!