OCR Text |
Show How to Make a Catapult Have you ever mado a catapult? You know what that Is, do jou not? Tho word comes from the Qrcok language lan-guage (kata, meaning "down," combined com-bined with peltns, meaning "hurl.") When you have mado ono you will find that by holding tho force, or lover DOWN, and placing the missile on It and then letting go of your lover, It will HURL the missile with groat forco a considerable distance. Ask your father or some ono elso for an empty cigar box. Saw or cut a diagonal section out of It, as indicated indi-cated In flguro 1. Then bore n holo through each side (A-B), take strong rubber bands and fasten It securely in placo by moans of these holes and largo knots, drawing draw-ing It fairly taut (flguro 2). Now tako a small stick, or paper cutter with one end broad, and placo tho narrow end between the two parts ot tho rubber band, twist tho band tn the direction shown by the arrow tn figure 3, until you feel that it would bo wtse to stop. leave only a strip of the cigar box to covvr tho rear end. Carefully work the broad end ot your stick (which Is now a lover) under this strip at tho rear, and, behold, your catapult Is model Now, all you havo to do Is to press tho lever down as tar as It will go, rest a paper wad or marble on It, then suddenly release tho lover. Up II will fly as far as the strip of wood 1 which arrests its upward motion and I prevents it from losing power by un I twisting the rubber band (flguro i) I Tho ralBBlle will bo hurled some dl I 1 tance away. AyL Try this experiment and seo how " 1 good a catapult you can constrict. - - ..! 'jflflflaSflV' ' fBHBijaflJ |