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

Well maybe.

Well maybe.

Oops.

Actually, I can't - I've used up all my quota for the month. But if you sit tight, I'm sure another Scout will be along in a minute...

Wonky... you are a terrible terrible man.

Don't worry, another scout has spotted this lovely article.

My selections are to be made by the 29th, so if anyone hasn't taken it by the 22nd, I'll put it forward.


Oh yeah, almost forgot. UHU have a product similar to blu tack called white tack, the only difference being that it is white and not blue.

what I want to know is how did you find out when it burns? did you try it? If so, what did it look like? I've always wanted to know what burning blu-tack looks like

I think the perennial adage 'Don't try this at home' applies here.

Good news! The entry has navigated successfully through the Peer Review, and has now been recommended for inclusion in the Edited Guide. Congratulations!

Croz

I'm sure I've said this twice already

Editorial Note: This thread has been moved out of the Peer Review forum because this entry has now been recommended for the Edited Guide.

If they haven't been along already, the Scout who recommended your entry will post here soon, to let you know what happens next. Meanwhile you can find out what will happen to your entry here: http://www.h2g2.com/SubEditors-Process

Congratulations!

A little further information...

Allowing Blue-tak to burn causes the substance to form a chalky-rock like substance, ideal as a temporary 'chalk' substitute.

Also, when heated to a high temperature (below its flamable point) it becomes somewhat unstable, appears to lose co-hesion and sticks to everything, including the users fingers, table, e.t.c e.t.c

Blu-Tack is boring.

This may be of use. My late father was MD of Bostik and I remember him bringing home a lump of blue material that was apparently a 'failed' adhesive. This was in the 1960s . The company were trying to think of things to do with it. The two main ideas were to use it for its main use of sticking things to walls but also, as it was absorbent, to clean ink off typewriter print keys and the 'new' golfball printheads that were coming into use. In those days because houses were not as well heated as they are now, Blu-tack would often pull damp wallpaper off the walls ! Bostik had to reduce the stickiness of it to make it work.
After some trials and changes, Blu-tack was born and supplied in flat strips and hasn't changed much since then. As for the colour, it started life that way and they looked at other colours but as soon as the name was coined they stayed with blue. It also doesn't show the dirt as much as white or pink. Anything darker would show through posters too much and if used for cleaning ink you needed to see the inky bits.
The link with tacks is interesting because Bostik was part of a Group of Companies in Leicester that included The British Shoe Machinery Corporation who manufactured blue tacks for shoe making etc. My father worked there before moving to Bostik. Could be linked ??
Hope it helps.

I went on holiday and lent my bedroom to someone who stuck Blu-Tac all over its nice white walls! I found the information on Blu-Tac removal in your entry very useful. Please find the following contribution - offered in the spirit of grateful appreciation.

Paragraph beginning:

The manufacturers of Blu-Tack, the adhesive specialists Bostik, are completely closed lipped about the composition of the material. They are willing to provide information on the material in general, but the specifics of it's ingredients ...

change to: its ingredients ...

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Paragraph beginning:

Once rolled it becomes slightly glossy. If exposed to dirt or coloured materials, through painting or inking, it will begin to progressively discolour, usually turning an unpleasant greyish-blue in the long term. Materials like paint or dirt will normally also result in small flecks and a gritty texture when rolled in the hand. The material will maintain it's stickiness ...

change to: its stickiness ...

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Paragraph beginning:

In schools, colleges and more playful offices Blu-Tack can be used as a projectile weapon or modelled into small handguns. Individual pieces can be thrown or flicked using fingers or a ruler. The temporary adhering nature due to weight can provide a means to create a surprise by pressing a large piece into a ceiling or on the mantle above a doorway. The weight of the piece of Blu-Tack means that eventually it will loose it's grip ...

change to: lose its grip ...

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Cheers for the feedback and glad the instructions for removing it helped. However... This is the 'rough' version of the entry. To read the final, edited version - go here A493553 - where, I think, all the problems you highlighted have been corrected.



The Apprentice