Trebuchet
Years ago, along with a couple of other dads on a wintery afternoon, I helped some youth group youngsters build a 1/3 scale trebuchet in a woodworking shed in rural New Zealand. Once assembled, we hauled the wooden catapult out into a paddock, to test its potential with a large pile of unripened grapefruit. With some adjustments, these flew in arching trajectories to the far end of the field. The kids had had their fun until night fell and they wandered off. It didn't take long before, in the name of physics, the shed, the yard and the paddock were scoured for potential projectiles. If I remember correctly, activities came to an abrupt halt when a large pumpkin of significant mass, doused in petrol and burning bright, left the confines of the farm and roared into the surrounding bush. A few fleet-of-foot dads managed to chase it down and ensure that we hadn't started a bush fire. Suitably chastened, the trebuchet was wheeled back to the shed and covered with an old tarpaulin.
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