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Cellphone Trebuchet

G'bye, G'luck, G'lord!
 
(+2, -2)
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For when you completely do the 'nana and toss your cellphone, this tiny little trebuchet allows you to launch many miles from the firing location.

Able to fit into a shoulder notebook bag, it comprises a tripod, an explosive charge and some very powerful rubber bands.

**May be illegal in certain states, and almost all aircraft.

UnaBubba, Jul 15 2003

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       Have you been reading my annos on [overpanic]'s hi-bounce thingy?   

       Although I don't need one (no mobile) and hopefully never will, I applaud both the sentiment and....er everything else. +
squeak, Jul 15 2003
  

       Hmm... I kinda like the more base method of flinging it in anger. (Just after telling the phone that it won't like me when I'm angry)
Jinbish, Jul 15 2003
  

       and how do you propose that lost and wandering halfbakers find each other and the right pub? huh?
po, Jul 15 2003
  

       [po] : 'Bake it and they shall come.'   

       (I think I have an idea forming in my head)
Jinbish, Jul 15 2003
  

       Although I like this idea, I just thought I would mention that a trebuchet uses a counterweight to hurl the projectile, and not explosives or rubber bands. This would probably make it fairly unsuitable for a portable device. Perhaps the "cellphone catapult"?
taqueso, Jul 15 2003
  

       One could always use the phone's battery as the counterweight.
oneoffdave, Jul 15 2003
  

       [taq]: But this would make it quite legal in aircraft (if properly stored in the overhead compartment)
Cedar Park, Jul 15 2003
  

       //a trebuchet uses a counterweight to hurl the projectile// you just drop an ordinary phone on it. where's the problem there?
po, Jul 15 2003
  

       Is that what it does. [RT]? I must try that sometime.   

       I'm aware of how a trebuchet works. The addition of explosives and rubber bands simply add to the complexity.
UnaBubba, Jul 15 2003
  

       If it weren't for the issue of questionable legality, I would recommend a mortar. Say a 1.5" tube with an integrated single use propellent charge, the barrel can be kept under 6", as we are more concerned with distance than accuracy. You'd need a custom molded nylon sabot for your model of phone, (stored inside the tube until it's needed). You could probably manufacture these for about $10, and get a couple miles in distance when fired.
netmanakre, Jul 16 2003
  

       Just take the battery out first - we don't want enviromental trouble...
my-nep, Jan 04 2004
  

       So yeah, that's pretty awesome. It leads me to the thought... build a big trebuchet (the counterweight kind), and launch defunct computers from it (by big, I mean 10' to the axle, from the ground).
Seoman, Jul 23 2007
  
      
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