Comments on: They make my head hurt.

They make my head hurt.

thatwhichfalls — Sat, 22 May 2004 13:48:33 -0800

Impossible Objects
via del.icio.us

By: iamck

iamck — Sat, 22 May 2004 13:56:56 -0800

Impossible!

By: elwoodwiles

elwoodwiles — Sat, 22 May 2004 13:59:40 -0800

That is sooooo cool! Really. I want one! How in the name of all above do they make this stuff?

By: elwoodwiles

elwoodwiles — Sat, 22 May 2004 14:04:16 -0800

By: Nelson

Nelson — Sat, 22 May 2004 14:11:29 -0800

How in the name of all above do they make this stuff? Just like with pears. When the tennis ball is really small and first growing on the branch, you put it in the bottle. Then the tennis ball grows and by the time it's ripe it's much bigger than the bottle of the neck and you harvest it. Same thing with Rubik's cubes, just be sure not to break the corners on the young cube.

By: armoured-ant

armoured-ant — Sat, 22 May 2004 14:42:27 -0800

My poor, poor brain!

By: edgeways

edgeways — Sat, 22 May 2004 15:05:08 -0800

Well the tennis balls and knots, rubix cubes and cards are easy to understand. If you puncture a tennis ball it will collapse under pressure and it is really hard to see the incision if done correctly, with excellent dexterity knots can be tied, R cubes reassembled and cards put back in a case (I would guess the baseballs have been emptied and refilled/restitched). Some things (as Nelson alluded to) could just be a product of an extreme amount of waiting, some things I don't know and am intrigued

By: Nelson

Nelson — Sat, 22 May 2004 15:12:40 -0800

Spoilsport.

By: thatwhichfalls

thatwhichfalls — Sat, 22 May 2004 15:13:45 -0800

Nelson, don't tease elwoodwiles with your plausible nonsense. Everyone knows that these objects are made by manipulations through the fourth spatial dimension. On preview - edgeways, I think my theory is more likely than your ludicrous concept of hugely patient and dextrous "makers".

By: _sirmissalot_

_sirmissalot_ — Sat, 22 May 2004 16:15:25 -0800

does anybody know how the "arrow through apple" is done? that's been bugging me since i was a kid.

By: astirling

astirling — Sat, 22 May 2004 17:10:26 -0800

does anybody know how the "arrow through apple" is done? that's been bugging me since i was a kid. The apple and arrow started as a single piece of wood.

By: blindcarboncopy

blindcarboncopy — Sat, 22 May 2004 17:15:30 -0800

OK, I think I "get" all of these to some degree, except for the damn metal ball bearing inside a cube with six holes. How in the world was that done? My only guess is that the ball bearing is actually wooden and painted to a steel finish, but that doesn't seem like it'd fool anyone who touched it (weightwise). Any ideas?

By: Nelson

Nelson — Sat, 22 May 2004 17:53:15 -0800

the damn metal ball bearing inside a cube with six holes Molten steel which is then cast and polished inside the wooden cube. They would have grown it inside the cube, but ball bearings take too long to grow compared to Rubik's cubes and tennis balls.

By: _sirmissalot_

_sirmissalot_ — Sat, 22 May 2004 18:02:37 -0800

does anybody know how the "arrow through apple" is done? that's been bugging me since i was a kid. The apple and arrow started as a single piece of wood. no, i was told that that specifically is not the solution. (true, maybe i was lied to . . . )

By: yhbc

yhbc — Sat, 22 May 2004 18:31:29 -0800

The arrows through apples and arrows through bottles are made with a highly compressible wood - when soaked in water, the pointy end can be squeezed down enough to pass through the hole; when the wood dries out, it expands back into the arrow shape. Most of the other things are done "in the bottle" with special tongs and tools - the web author mentions on one of the pages that one of the constructors designed his own vise that could be inserted into the bottle to re-flatten washers, etc. - but knowing that doesn't take away from the incredible patience and dexterity required to do any of these. Great link!

By: thatwhichfalls

thatwhichfalls — Sat, 22 May 2004 18:33:32 -0800

"Molten steel which is then cast and polished inside the wooden cube. Once again, Nelson seeks to lead you astray. The real answer is a solid block of wood is eaten away by trained wood-eating ants which live in symbiosis with steel excreting scarab beetles.

By: five fresh fish

five fresh fish — Sat, 22 May 2004 18:50:35 -0800

Steamed wood can be made quite compressed.

By: five fresh fish

five fresh fish — Sat, 22 May 2004 18:51:12 -0800

Doh. should have rerefreshed.

By: bonehead

bonehead — Sat, 22 May 2004 18:59:29 -0800

For the bottle ones, I think that they start with all of the objects and one of these bottles on a table and then turn the bottle inside out. Easy.

By: dejah420

dejah420 — Sun, 23 May 2004 09:28:48 -0800

I *heart* Nelson's explanations. :) Also, thatwhichfalls for the symbotic ant/beetle theory.

By: of strange foe

of strange foe — Tue, 25 May 2004 07:49:53 -0800

It specifically said of the 'Mistic Bottle #1': ' Note that deck is still in its original celophane wrap.' I see religion.