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

Entry: The Many Uses of Glowsticks - A2744778
Author: twerpy - U760167

This is a list of the uses for glowsticks i wrote some time ago. I think it would fit well into the guide.

Yay! Glowsticks!

I think this could do with a bit of expanding - what are they? How do they work? How long do they last? How do you make the items you've suggested in the list?

Yeah i think your right. at some point in the future i will add your suggestions to it. Any other suggestions please tell me.

I've read through your entry and have the following things to say:

In British English, it's 'glow stick', not 'glowstick'

Point 19 (Use as a safe alternative to sparklers) sounds very much like “the 'wave them around' notion”.
I’m quite sure Point 21 (Drop a bunch down an elevator shaft before you abseil down) is borrowed from the film Ocean’s 11 (but that’s OK…)
Points 36 and 61 are very similar…
Point 53 is *not* a good idea; maybe you should remove it.
Point 54 is even worse than Point 53!!!!!!
Point 65 is not particularly nice and does not go with the general h2g2 vibes; maybe it could be reworded.
Point 66 and 67 make no sense whatsoever to me…
Point 86 – what is a ‘night-ex’? You need to explain.
Point 101- what are you on about?!?

Please remove the big gap and the sentence ‘101 uses for glow sticks (Various sizes)’
– by the way, you do not really have to mention that the glow sticks have to be various sizes for different applications, as I’m sure they can work out that detail themselves without too much difficulty...

You need to make a few changes to the entry:
Change:

‘whether it was at a fireworks display or for sale somewhere or maybe you’ to
‘whether it was at a fireworks display, where they were up for sale somewhere, or maybe you’

‘you may run out of idea’ to ‘you may run out of ideas’

‘Here are are few more suggestions. Well, i say i few more. I actually mean 101 suggestions:’ to
‘Here are a few more suggestions. Well, actually, here are 101 suggestions.’

‘New years’ to ‘New Year’s’ (as in New Year’s Day)

‘31. Use runway lights’ to ‘31. Use them as runway lights’

‘37. Put one on each stairs in a flight of stairs to make it safe at night’ to
‘37. Put one on each step of a flight of stairs to make them safe at night’

‘44. Put one ( a mini one) on top of your float when fishing so you can see it’ to
‘44. Put a small one on top of your float when fishing so you can see it’

‘49. Put them the edge of a cliff so you don’t walk off’ to
‘49. Put them on the edge of a cliff so you don’t walk off’

‘55. Something to brag about saying I have one and you don’t’ to just
‘55. Something to brag about’

‘57. When your hiking’ to ‘57. When you’re hiking’

‘so you wont lose it’ to ‘so you won’t lose it’ (Point 71)

‘84. While your at it’ to ‘84. While you’re at it’

I would agree that the entry could do with more information about the humble glow stick.


AlexAshman

Ok. i've changed the things you suggested and added more information. any other suggestions?

Good work! This could well make the Edited Guide.

I think the introduction about what glow sticks are should go at the beginning, followed by the uses. I think it makes more sense that way.

Also, you use inches for length and mm for width - you should stick to either metric or imperial measurements throughout.

i think you are right about the bit explaining glowsticks being at the beginning but i'm not so sure about the inches/mm bit. i know i really should go either way but i think it sounds better and is easier to understand the way it is. Which do you think is easier to understand? 6" by 5mm or 6" by 3/12 ( made up the inches width by the way). Also the names would go all screwy if i changed it to cm and mm. You would have 'The 20cmer' instead of the 6"er. It just doesnt have the same ring to it.

Use cm for the length rather than inches then!

The point i am trying to make is that the names of the different sizes would be ruined if i did that. It would not work as well. i think the entry is more effective with the two different sizes.

So change how you name them. Say 'a glow stick which is 19cm long' rather than 'a 19cmer', which doesn't make much sense anyway.

I don't think this can go into the edited guide with two different measurements in, and I think metric is preferred for the guide.

Can anyone else offer a second opinion?

I agree with Cyzaki... to give the length in imperial and the width in metric is quite unhelpful when the reader is trying to visualise the size of stick. But I agree with you, twerpy, that a 6 incher is more evocative than a 20cm-er, and that metric measurements are more useful that fractions of an inch to describe the width.

Can I suggest a compromise? Leave the imperial measurements in but provide metric translations in brackets. That'd work.

Good plan. I'll do that as soon as i get the chance.

One of the things I find most disappointing about this entry is that glow sticks, in themselves, are a hell of a lot more interesting than the uses to which they are put. How many chemical reactions can one think of which generate light? Who discovered this reaction? Why is the light green? How are they activated? In contrast, you might as well write an entry called the Many Uses of Waterproof Torches.

It's the oxalate ester-peroxide reaction, by the way.

The light isn't always green...

I think that if you look you will find that the title is 'The Many Uses of Glowsticks'. Not All about glow sticks or similar. The idea of the article is not to go deep into chemical reactions that few will understand or to write a history for them. its to tell people about the USES for them. Please feel absolutaly free to write an article on how they work, their history etc yourself but that isnt what this entry is about. Oh yeah and before you make comments please know what your going on about. The previous post is correct. They dont just come in green and if you had actually read that entry you would know that.

The inches/cm lengths have now been added/changed. Any other suggestions?