Stick bomb | Hacker News Reader

Stick bomb

en.wikipedia.org

255 pointsmxfh57 comments

Never thought I'd be sharing an A-Trak video on HN, but there's a nice implementation of these in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GbYR5Aud4Y

I assume you're referencing this part of the video at 3:20? http://youtu.be/_GbYR5Aud4Y?t=3m20s

3:45 or so is pretty cool too.

I saw some good places where cuts might be made, I doubt the entire video in one pure take. A behind the scenes video would be great.

Here is the behind the scenes video of that cool ass A-Trak video for 'Tuna Melt': http://youtu.be/fwTOxGKlHvo

Creators confirmed in the comments that is was stitched together from many takes. When I watched it again, cuts became pretty obvious.

Personally I wish they used multiple cameras because I found the running up and down stairs bits to be a little awkward to follow. However this is only a minor criticism as it was a really cool video and far better than anything I could have done.

Upvoted because I liked the song more.

The guy who got world record of stick bombs explained on how to make them in detail[2]

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiWxU3jXOFc

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lTmFXOkcOc

One of the most pleasant web pages I've read on the Internet in a long time:

http://lunatim.com/kinart/stickhistory.htm

I even get an earworm from some of the videos .. ;)

That's PhD-grade dedication, right there.

That's was like a step back in time! I wish more web content was awesome and provoking like that

It was so gradual that I didnt notice when this style of webpage disappeared.

It's still out there, it's just drowning in a sea of linkbait, lazy reportage, even lazier "curation", and other bullshit.

Can't be done with lego technic bricks. http://www.pasteall.org/pic/show.php?id=67816

this made my day

That's clearly the wrong way to try it, but I doubt even lowering the sides to the low plane would help.

Sorry, I was wrong. I can only guess that the fixings confused me.

Because this video perhaps. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvQ9InhEKu0

this is awesome!

Great, now popsicle sticks will get you in trouble at TSA checkpoints.

When I was a kid I would make something similar out of a (partially) unfolded paperclip. Seeing it on youtube makes it seem much less amusing than I remember.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKaR8cxS4Y4

I used to do those as well, but without making the ends parallel, just hooking the tips together. To set it off I'd drop it parallel to the plane of the clip instead of on the edge. The goal was to hit the ceiling. One time I actually got it to stick into the fibrous ceiling tile. The challenge of maximizing the force was what made it fun.

It can be as fast as a subaru http://giffare.com/gifs/32799-rc-subaru-wrx-races-a-stick-bo...

My toddler's favorite toy is a huge box of craft sticks. Now it will be my favorite toy as well.

While we are at it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7RaPRmxY5I This clip must have taken ages to set up, film and reset... Very well done!

So that is what those are called!

You mean xyloexplosives?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiWxU3jXOFc is cool

Is there a nomenclature around the patterns used? Anyone got a good site?

As a kid in the 80s, I used to make these kind of structures out of old lollipop sticks you'd find around the streets in summer time. Would make into 7-8 sticks into a kind of star of david shape, which was excellent for a) throwing like a frisbee b) exploding on impact.

Simple times! No idea who taught me how, or what they were referred to, but boy did I have fun

When the kids were into crafts, I made one of these for fun - never saw it before, just tried to weave them together with the minimum of sticks. There is a 4-stick 'airplane' possible; the article shows the easier 5-stick version.

So I think its useless to try to find the 'inventor'; endless people have independently discovered this novelty.

I know what my 10yo and 5yo boys will be doing over Spring Break next week:

http://www.amazon.com/Chenille-Kraft-Natural-Sticks-3776-01/...

This kind of stuff reminds me of these as a child: http://www.amazon.com/1-5-inch-Rubber-Poppers-Pack/dp/B002R2...

The memories.

I bought some of those about a year ago... not sure if the nostalgia's worn off, but the quality of the bounce just doesn't seem as good as it was when I was a kid.

good tutorial:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lTmFXOkcOc

Oh my god, I used to make these things as a kid! We had a popsicle-stick building contest and while we were waiting for the glue to dry we'd make these and throw them at the other kids' bridges. I had no idea they were actually a "thing". Thank you for posting, brings back memories.

A common variation is Cobra Chains or Cobra Weaves. Actually made one today for a college class (go figure?) ...

The pitch is easy:

"Xyloexplosives -- like dominos, but made with tongue depressors."

And a cooler name.

This is awesome. I know what I'm doing with my four year old this weekend. I have been building the triangle bombs with him with paint stir sticks and he loves them.

Made these a few years ago, so much fun. Great physical hack!

How the hell did i never know about these? So cool! :) Just stumbled upon the SUBARU radio controlled car video an hour ago.

Now I know what I'm doing tonight.

I just spent way over an hour reading the website and watching videos about stick bombs :o

How do you set a stick bomb off? Is there a particular way?

Before you know it, the TSA will ban popsicle sticks.

physics is so cool sometimes

Great, now TSA will take away my sticks.

Why is this on HN? Somebody help me out here.

My thoughts exactly. I was making these... when I was 5. WTH??

I didn't know it, and I find it highly interesting.

https://xkcd.com/1053/

Maybe this can be the next topic on "What if" of xkcd.

Because it's a nice physical hack. I personally haven't seen it before.

Also, because some people (myself included) upvoted it.

I have never seen these before. It is nice to see things other hackers consider perfectly normal part of growing up that I completely missed.

Because somebody posted it and others found it curious and interesting - among them me. I didn't upvote it, but I found the potential explosion velocity surprising. It may not be of interest to you, but hey, I usually ignore like 50% of the HN homepage right away since I don't care about them. However, I don't go run around and post "why is this on HN?" in those threads.

The stickbomb is an interesting device, because it is entirely mathematical, and is thus a great hack because normally, you're using a tongue depressor to .. do depressor'y things ...

And by the way .. You are reading Hacker News.

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