DIY Gadgets

A fine introduction to Escher.

Mary

We're not short of scissors in this house - just remembering where they are ...

Same with pencils!

No problem,. Don't have them in the house.

Nor that

Lots of those :-)

Right. I shall. Well, after I've been to a grandsprog's flat warming bash and sprog's central-heating-switching-on bash - another, real, house warming.

Then I have to remember ...

Umm. Do you really mean cornflour?

Mary

... or (k)not

Yes ! Try it.

But I'd start over the kitchen sink.

I've played with cornflour for many years but have never got it into a juggling state ... perhaps that's your point :-)

Mary

It has negative thixotropic behaviour. So long as you keep stirring or disturbing it, it's a jelly-like solid. Leave it alone and it returns to a liquid. The proportions are a little sensitive, but just try experimenting.

and then hit it and it's a solid.

Corn starch (or any other starch, AFAIK) and water will give a non-Newtonian fluid. Move it rapidly, and it's a solid. Slowly, and it's a liquid; grab an solid handful and feel it turn liquid...

Lots of starch, little water -- "slush" describes it well.

Thomas Prufer

Quite.

I still doubt that in any state you'd be able to juggle with it - or is that the joke?

Mary

Yes. I first learned about this sixty odd years ago, making the initial paste for Birds custard. I was fascinated.

Mary

I can't juggle with a sandbag (singular). But people who can juggle, can manage to juggle this stuff.

Next time I see my juggling pal I'll ask him. He found it hard to learn how to do Zen juggling (using only one ball) but he's game for anything.

Mary

In message , Phil Addison writes

That's not what half the spam cut it in thirds and you get two interlocking ones (whether they're still mobius strips, I really can't remember)

A bit like Schuhmacker (?), it makes for a one sided race

In message , Mary Fisher writes

Have the Escher Lego models already been posted here before ?

for example

In message , Mary Fisher writes

Aha - does a cornflour juggling ball make a mess if you drop it on the kitchen floor if there's nobody there to see it ?

Definitely not, for the same reason that buttered toast lands buttered side down if you drop it on the floor....

Wow, thats almost enough to make me nick the kids lego...

And they even tell you how it's done, which is what I was wondering.

Thanks, Geoff.

Mary