Bring down Goliaths with the catapults you make

Posted on | January 2, 2009 | No Comments

I have been watching for a very long time this young boy with a runny nose and torn shorts, running around the trees in his garden with a small sling in his hand. Since I have never gotten very close to a catapult all my life, living in a city which is more of a concrete jungle, I was not able to experience the simple joys of living in a place where you could frighten away birds from the cherry tree with this magnificent device called the catapult.

When I decided to approach the boy and ask him to show me what he had in his hand, I realised that this was a very primitive kind of sling; something used by David to bring down the huge giant Goliath. It consisted on a very small twig that was shaped in the form of Y. the two prongs of the Y were connected with a piece of rubber or elastic, in the centre of which you place a stone or a pebble. You pull the elastic back and then just let go.

Remember if you do not want to get into trouble with the neighbours, involve them to in your DIY catapult project. It is a lot of fun to make either a simple or a complicated one.

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