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

Entry: Crafting the Perfect Snowball - A4360781
Author: midgetmogget - U1685894

This is my first entry - please do not be too harsh. I have to admit, I am not an expert at crafting snowballs, although I have had experience of being a target. My real reason for writing this is that 'snowball' is what I always search on first and there was nothing. I registered and wrote this to amend that.

I think its funny, but i also think its in the wrong place. Entries like this should be In AWW to go in the Underguide (for the more, Fictional, the funny, poetry and the likes). Where as at the moment its in Peer Review to go in the Edited Guide, they all go into the entry bit at the side anyway (if they are picked) so i wouldnt worry about that but entries in Peer Review should really be the kind of thing that you would put in an Encyclopedia... However I may be wrong... what does everyone else think

Heretohelp/hinder

Paul *

Hi midgetmogget

No, I think this is fine for the Edited Guide, and you've submitted it to the right place. But, it could probably use a bit more expansion. Remember, some of your readers don't live anywhere near snow, and will probably never have formed a snowball in their life. Maybe you could expand this a little bit to include snowballs in general, and then you could discuss the basics of packing one (plus your 'perfect snowball' descriptions) and maybe even some snowball fight tactics? That would be very cool!

Or perhaps the snowballs containing large rocks or the "planet-buster" snowballs that come swooping in from the Ort cloud every million years or so.

Great start...could use some snow.

I like this effort very much
You could expand it as others have suggested, but I think it's mostly fine if you'd rather it stay short and concise. In the words of someone else - it does what it says on the tin.
But then again, I'm entirely used to snow. Maybe a short explanation of the purpose of the snowball, for the benefit of those unfortunate enough to never have been in a snowball fight (which means they've never been outnumbered without gloves in a snowball fight... boy is that invigorating!)

On a final note, if you were to mention the greatest craftsman of snowballs of all time - Calvin (from Calvin and Hobbes A224759, not the philosopher) it would be warranted, I think.

Good luck with this entry.

Firstly I can't believe this smiley hasn't been used here yet





Second: I think a snowball entry is a great idea. But this is less of a How To and more of a description of what they do.

I'd like to know a little more about the splatterer, for example.

And maybe a not too squicky explanation of Yellow Snow might not be amiss (hard to believe as it is, not everyone knows the significance of Yellow Snow)

But I think this is heading in the right direction

People don't know what a yellow snowball is?

It is, of course, a snowball made with dragon vomit. Observe the process of making one-

party pooper here (or should that be snow pooper ) as the victim or snowballs solid enough to break my front room window, I'd imagine they can also be solid enough to blind someone.

to be negative, but I'm uncomfortable with Entries that condone/inform how to hurt someone, or do damage.

Just my

Emmily

But most snowballs don't end up seriously hurting people. I've been in many a snowball fight and never been actually injured.

If you like, Midge, you could include a warning to be careful not to hurt anyone, especially with the more solidly packed snowballs.

It where the huskies go!

I'll develope this. I tried to avoid the tactics and methods of the snowball fight, because I've found [admittedly, after sending this to review], that there is an edited entry on that already, so I'll link to that.

Good call on the Calvin-ness, whoever said that.

What do you think to it now?

Hmm, although the Entry is entitled 'CRAFTING the perfect snowball', there is little information on HOW to make them (I.ve a feeling that 'The Last Word' column of New Scientist went into this at some time. Also, we have no control over how a snowball is crafted in the Oort Cloud, so perhaps this shouldn't be in the Entr - or perhaps modify the title of the Entry.

btw Do you know of this little gadget?

http://www.beachcomber.com/Gadget/Winter/snowball.html

(I.ve a feeling that 'The Last Word' column of New Scientist went into this at some time

Musta been a bit back, I don't remember it....

Defining and Crafting the perfect snowball?

On the gadget - no. Perhaps I should look further into it.

Ref the 'Sno-baller' gadget:

http://imaginetoys.com/product.asp?pn=G3421&Sno+Baller=&bhcd2=1120745624

I just tried to search The Last Word (New Scientist) for snowballs, but it doesn't seem to be searchable anymore

>"But most snowballs don't end up seriously hurting people. I've been in many a snowball fight and never been actually injured"

Agreed emr but this Entry isn't about snowball fights, the Entry on snowball fights - A291070 is written responsibly, it clearly states that snowball fights are mutual participation games.

That's what I'd like to see in your Entry midgetmogget, responsibility and clarification of mutual participation, instead of things like: "Throw it, at an unsuspected target" and "target is particulary hated"

Emmily

I've seen that Sno-baller thing in the children's toys catalogue HearthSong. I desperately wanted one at one point some years ago, actually, until it was pointed out to me that it doesn't snow very much in southern California.

There are some particularly evil snowballs described here. Perhaps information on how to avoid them would not go amiss - e.g. someone who has been standing with one hand in a loose fist may be surreptitiously crafting a Painful snowball.