h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I still haven't answer how the feather is attached the you pencil have it?

Okay, the feather is looped around the middle of the pencil and tied back around itself.


Geggs

"the feather is looped around the middle of the pencil and tied back around itself"

That's about as close as we'll get to solving this one I feel.

Geggs +3



... and this suspends the vase preventing it from reaching the floor.

So do you want to see how it was done?

This started off simply with me browsing youtube and I watched this video.

The relevant part starts at 1m 09s and last for the next 20s.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o715eLhIsqo

wow, Clive

that's quite... Interesting!!


what's the science involved there?
anyone know?

>>wow, Clive that's quite... Interesting!!<<

We do aim to please.

Sets off to find vase

Be careful, make sure the string is less than the length of the drop!

in post 226 you said
I checked: the feather is tied to the BASE of the vase.
In the video the feather and vase never touch.
I think you misled us .
Without using either a feather or a pencil, use a four foot length of string (remember I asked about the length of the string and you never replied) tie one end to your wrist the other to the vase and drop the vase from the hand where the string is tied. It will never reach the ground unless the string breaks.

But would that be quite interesting?

But I agree. This had me quite confused. I believed that both hands were holding the vase.

My apologies from my gruff tone a couple posts ago. Rechecking I note in pos6t 252 you did reply to how long the string would be, I just didn't hear what you were saying.

No worries, to be sure sometime I do make mistakes (quiet / quite, and the date of Napoleon's Egyptian Campaign ) so it's quite okay to call me on them, and if I think it defensible I'll defend it.

In this instance, I think file under "S" for "stick" (getting-the-wrong-end-of): the feather was tied to the base of the vase, but it wasn't tied TO the base of the vase - it's a matter of emphasis. I suppose I could have said 'tethered'

Points and wotnot when I'm not trying to eat breakfast/get ready for work.

Actually it would have been more correct to say:
the feather is tied to the string which is then tied around the base of the vase. Actually, it shouldn't matter which end of the vase you use.

have the points been tallied?

On a not unrelated point, has anyone seen bobstafford recently?


Geggs

Um... no....

Thanks for reminding me.

I don't want this to be considered for points which is why I waited till the end but I found out during the course of this thread (from an old University Challenge I watched) that Napoleon's chief physician pretty much invented the ambulance. "Ambulances" had been around before but he realised a system that more efficiently transported casualties back from the battlefield to the hospitals and gave rise to modern ambulances.

I summarise, of course, but research Dominique Larrey because he is a quite interesting person.

I won't object to being klaxoned because what I've said does refer to a

that might be interesting but I doubt if an ambulance would stop anytghing from smashing.

It does relate to Napoleon and his Egyptian campaign and I waited until the end because it has nothing to do with the actual question.

I sometimes wonder whether- not "if"- posts are read before a response is written?

hi clive
so is bob still around?
and is this going to be tallied?
or is it just kinda ...not happening anymore?

if someone comes up with a good challenge
i am willing to try to follow the original rules
you know, put some energy into clever repartee and questions and suggestions...

any others here up for it?

Well anyone can pose questions of any type so there's no need to wait for Clive, just post, and if Bob's not around, well we never had a scoreboard at the start anyway.