by Bart King
Video Games!
It takes very little imagination to play most video and computer games. These games are created by little men sitting in little cubicles inside of big office buildings. The goal of these men is to rob you of your imagination and your money. If they can get you addicted to a joystick, they will. Once you are the slave of the TV screen or computer monitor, the little men are happy.
If you want to play a video game once in a while, go ahead. But if you are losing all track of time and have little interest in the world outside, then you are overdoing it. Don’t become a brainwashed troll in a dark room. Do something with your life!
Follow-Up Activity
Borrow as many video and computer games as you can from your friends. Destroy them. If your friends ask you what happened, tell them that you did it for their own good.
Weapons!
Throughout history, weapons have mostly been used for war and violence. That’s bad. Still, there are some good uses for weapons, like hunting, competitions, and self-defense.
Boys (and men) are interested in the weapons that are used for fighting. We hate the need for these deadly gadgets, but we are fascinated by them. Heck, the high point of every James Bond film is when 007 gets his high-tech weapons. Secret agents in real life have also been given some pretty strange devices. Allied secret agents during World War II (1939–1945) who were dropped behind enemy lines sometimes carried special handkerchiefs with them. If the agent urinated on the handkerchief, a map of the territory they were in appeared!
These agents also had guns and knives hidden in unusual places. Belt buckles, gloves, mechanical pencils, and even tobacco pipes could conceal small guns. Some had a knife that was inside of a pencil. Agents were even known to carry small crossbows with them. Amazing! Speaking of bows, maybe we should get this chapter started with some...
Archery (That’s Bows and Arrows to You)
A bow is basically just a spring with string that shoots a little spear (called the arrow). What gives a bow power is that its wood is curved in one direction, but then it is strung in the opposite way. (Look at the letter C. Now imagine stringing its ends and puulliinngg it the other way. It would look like this: D.)
The wood used for a bow should be strong and flexible. Good sources for this wood are ash, hickory, elm, hazel, and yew. As for the bowstrings, they have been made from animal tendons, rawhide, hemp, and, of course, string.
You may hear someone say that a bow “weighs” 60 pounds. That doesn’t mean that it’s that heavy; it means that the archer needs to pull with 60 pounds of force to get the bowstring back. (This concept is also sometimes called “pull.”) The heavier a bow weighs, the more force it shoots arrows with. The English used to use really long bows; one of them was 6 feet, 7 inches high and “weighed” 110 pounds! Longbow archers were so strong, they could kill someone with a shot from 200 yards away. Longbowmen could also shoot 10 arrows in the air; the 10th arrow was shot up before the first one came down!
There are lots of archery supplies available at sporting-goods stores and online. You may want to get (or make) a simple bow and then buy a few target arrows to see if you enjoy archery. Be sure to also get yourself an archer’s glove and a bracer. These protect your fingers and forearm from the bowstring. There are also compound bows out there. Compound bows are designed so that you can shoot with great force, but because they have pulleys, you don’t have to be able to pull as hard as you would with a simple bow. (Some people call this cheating.)
To shoot with a bow: If you’re right-handed, turn so that the outside of your left shoulder lines up with the target. Hold your bow at the full length of your left arm (if you’re right-handed) and notch the arrow. When you notch an arrow, don’t pinch the string with your fingers. Use the “two-fingered draw.” Aim from about 4 inches under your right eye; if you try to sight along the arrow itself, you’ll go way too high. The farther away your target is, the higher you have to aim to make up for gravity. A bale of straw is a great target; just make sure there is nothing behind it or to the sides that could get hit!
*The English longbow was so powerful, it was known to pin a knight to his horse by going through one of the knight’s legs, the horse, and the knight’s other leg! (That’s almost as good as the time I shot an arrow through a balloon.)
The Most Dangerous Frog in the World! There is a frog in Central and South America about the size of your thumb. Like other amphibians, its skin gives off a toxin that discourages predators. But the golden poison arrow frog (Phyllobates terribilis) has a toxin so deadly that if you dip your arrowhead in it once, you’ll kill anything that gets scratched with it!
Blow Guns and Peashooters
The idea of the blowgun is totally simple. If you put a small missile inside of a slightly larger pipe and then blow, your missile will come out the other end. The longer the pipe is, the more accurate your shot will be. How hard you blow and how aerodynamic your missile is will also affect your shot. This applies whether you are using a drinking straw with a spitwad or a piece of PVC pipe and a blowdart!
To make a blowgun: Get a drinking straw or hollowed-out pen. You can blow anything through it that will fit. Blow! Do NOT inhale!
What about peashooters? They are about the same size as blowguns, but you don’t have to blow into them. They can really fire away, and the beauty of it is, you don’t have to use peas for ammunition. Dried white beans, wood matches, spitwads, and even large, dry boogers (blech!) can be shot out of them.
To make a peashooter: It is super-easy to make. Take an empty spool of thread. If it is wooden, stick a small nail deep into the end of it. If it’s plastic, Super Glue a nail or small peg to the end. This will be the end of your barrel. Now take 2 other empty spools of thread; scrape any paper off the ends of them, and then glue them together. Make sure you line them up properly so that it’s a smooth line when you look down the “barrel.”
To make your firing pin, you need a small stick or dowel that will fit in the barrel formed by your spools. Then take a small square of cardboard or wood, fit your firing pin into it, then glue it in place. This will prevent your firing pin from shooting out the spools along with your ammunition.
Get a good rubber band and wrap one end around the nail and the other around your firing pin block. Put your ammo in, pull your pin back, and release. Wham! It really fires hard, doesn’t it? Experiment with different rubber bands and ammunition.
*Liechtenstein is a small country between Austria and Switzerland. It used to have the world’s smallest army. There was only one soldier. He served his country until his death at age 95. Since then, Liechtenstein no longer has had an army.
Load ammo, pull back, and fire!
BB Guns
“You’ll shoot your eye out! You’ll shoot your eye out!” Anyone who has seen the movie A Christmas Story knows the classic parent argument against BB guns: You’ll shoot your eye out. My brother once shot me in the butt with his BB gun, so I can tell you something: You could put someone’s eye out with a BB. Dang, that hurt! But (and this is a big BUTT), if you are careful, BB guns can also be a lot of fun.
The first rule of any gun, whether it’s a BB gun, paintball gun, or bazooka, is to assume that it is loaded. Handle the gun as if a BB (or paintball, or bullet) could come out of its barrel at any time. Because of this, you will never aim a gun at anything except your target. In addition, always keep your gun unloaded until the time when you are ready to shoot. When you are done shooting, you will completely unload the gun but still treat it as if it were loaded.
BB gun basics: Before loading your BB gun, make sure the safety is on. Don’t cock your gun and leave it cocked, or “dry fire” your BB gun. It isn’t good for it! And I know you’re not stupid, but only load a gun with its proper ammunition.
Okay, you’re ready to shoot. But wait! Don’t shoot yet! What if you miss? What is BEHIND or NEAR your target? Is it something that shouldn’t be hit by a BB, like a glass window or your history teacher? If yo
u are shooting with someone, you need to know where they are. BB careful!
BB guns fall under the category of air rifles. Air guns don’t use gunpowder. Can you guess what they use instead? Air! That’s right, the BB gun is basically just a fancier version of the blowgun. Some BB guns have cylinders that store air inside of them. Others have a “pump-action” that builds up air pressure. Many BB guns simply have a spring inside of them that is pulled back when the gun is cocked and released when the trigger is pulled. The spring then leaps forward and pushes the air behind the BB in the barrel, forcing it forward.
There are air guns (usually pellet guns) that have a pump on them. These types of air guns are more dangerous because the explosion of air can be made extremely strong. The Consumer Product Safety Commission has found that there are about 4 deaths a year in the U.S. from pellet and “high velocity” (powerful) BB guns. They recommend that nobody under the age of 16 should use these guns.
*Probably the most famous BB gun was the Daisy Red Ryder model, which came out in 1940. Named for a comic strip cowboy, Red Ryder had a Native American sidekick named Little Beaver. He had a cork gun named after him. It shot a cork. What a rip-off!
*In England in the 1800s many people used air rifles disguised as walking sticks or canes for self-defense weapons.
Bolas
Bolas have been used since ancient times in places as far apart as Australia and Argentina. A bola is basically just a cord with weights attached to it. The bola may have 2 weights or 8, but the more weights there are, the harder it is to throw. Bolas have usually been used as a way to tangle up an animal’s legs to prevent it from running away. This comes in handy when you are hunting wild prey or trying to stop Little Timmy from running off with your hat.
Try making one. For this, you will need some strong thread or heavy fishing line. You will also need 3 weights for your bola; although these weights can be almost anything, I suggest soft solid rubber balls, since they are less likely to break something when you are practicing your throws.
Okay, so you’re using soft solid rubber balls for weights. Push a needle with your line attached through one of the balls. Once the line is on the other side, staple, glue, and/or tie it in place so that it can’t pull back out of the ball. Now measure about 4 feet of the line from the other side of the ball and attach another ball the same way to that end.
Now take the third ball. Attach a 2-foot line to it and then tie the end of that line to the middle of the 4-foot line. Your bola is ready for action! Take it outside. Grab the third ball and whirl the other two around your head so that they don’t get tangled. Practice on a small tree or Little Timmy; you will soon be the bola expert!
Boomerangs
Yep, boomerangs were originally weapons. However, the boomerangs we use today are used for fun, not death. You already know that boomerangs come from Australia. But do you know how they were invented? Native Australians, called “Aborigines” (aah-bo-ridge-in-eez), used a throwing stick called a “kylie” to hunt. If you missed your throw, the kylie didn’t come back! At some point, an aborigine boy picked up a stick to use for a kylie and threw it through the air. The boy then turned his back on it while his friends watched in amazement. It circled around and then came back and clocked him in the back of the head! Boy, that must have been funny!
How to throw: If you have a boomerang and are ready to throw, make sure you’re outside! The less windy it is, the better your throws will be. Keep away from water, trees, little kids, windows...you get the idea. If you make a bad throw, yell “Fore!” or “Duck!”
Okay, you’re ready. Hold the boomerang vertically. Grab the boomerang wing tip in a tight grip with the curved side facing you. (One side of a boomerang is flat, and one side isn’t.) Throw it like a baseball; when you finish your throw, your arm should come down beside your leg. Throw your boomerang at a slight upward angle, almost straight ahead. Snap the boomerang out of your hand when you throw it, because if the boomerang doesn’t spin, it doesn’t return.
Don’t expect it to come right back to your hand on the first throw! Practice the basics described here and you’ll figure it out.
At some point, your boomerang will come right back to you. This is when you should panic! Scream “Look out!” and run away. This will provide anyone watching with a good laugh. After you’re done messing around, try again. Keep your face out of its way! When the boomerang returns, catch it with two hands. If you don’t know where it is, turn your back and clasp your hands on the back of your head. That way it won’t break your face.
Making Your Own Boomerangs
1. Classroom Sneaky Size: Okay, you’re in class and you’re sort of paying attention, but you need something to distract you. Get a 3-x-5 inch card, or any piece of paper made with card stock. Trace a boomerang shape onto it; make it about 2 inches long. Next, cut it out. Slightly bend up the right-hand side tip. Gently hold the boomerang against a book, and tilt the book up a bit. Now flick it; it should come back! Experiment with different shapes!
2. Classroom Not-So-Sneaky Size: Try using any thin cardboard for this, like a manila folder or cardboard box. Just like above, trace a boomerang shape onto it, but make it 4 to 5 inches large. Bend each of the wings up somewhat. Hold it like a real boomerang (see earlier instructions), and throw by pinching it with your thumb and throwing it like a dart.
3. Paint Stick/Ruler Boomerangs (Outside Only): This is very easy. Take 2 paint stirring sticks or rulers (wood or plastic), and use Super Glue or rubber bands to stick them together at the halfway point to form an X. Bend each wing slightly up; don’t break them! Throw like a regular boomerang. If it spins but doesn’t return, try bending the wings more.
Question: What do you call a boomerang that doesn’t work?
Answer: A stick.
Paintball
Paintball is a very new game. It got its start in 1981, and although it requires a lot of specialized equipment, it has been very successful. Two big reasons for this success are that paintball is really fun and really intense! Of course, the key to winning at paintball is not to be hit by the paintball! These small balls are made of gelatin with a drop of colored liquid inside. Although they can be messy, paintballs are biodegradable, meaning they break down naturally.
A paintball gun is an air gun, just like BB guns. It uses compressed gas cartridges to fire the paintballs. These balls should never be moving more than 300 feet a second. At that speed, they will hurt (and even bruise) when they hit someone, but that’s it. However, they could easily put out your eye, so players use headgear to protect themselves.
More than any other game, paintball is like war, though with a difference: There are referees to make sure nobody cheats! As you probably know, in paintball games, two teams literally fight it out. Paintballers often play a version of “capture the flag.” Any player who gets shot is “dead” and must lie down or leave the field. Games can be as short as 10 minutes or they can go on for hours and hours.
I have played paintball before, and it is very exciting and exhausting! There is nothing as exhilarating as knocking an opponent out with a good shot, or as disappointing as getting shot yourself! I have learned that whatever version of paintball is played, the keys to victory are teamwork, skill, bravery, and luck. (Being sneaky and treacherous can also help.)
Germ Warfare? Modern countries have outlawed “germ warfare” (using diseases as a weapon), but it has been around for a long time, even before people knew what germs were. During the Middle Ages, dead and rotting animal carcasses were sometimes shot by catapult into towns under siege. The animal would land, explode, and release unhealthy germs into the surrounding air.
Slingshots
A slingshot can be a handheld weapon or something much bigger. Maybe you’ve seen a catapult before; a catapult is just a big slingshot that can throw giant rocks! (For detailed plans on how to make an impressive catapult, see the book Backyard Ballistics by William Gurstelle.)
If you want a store-bought slingshot or
wrist rocket, go buy one. It is also very easy to make your own mini-slingshot out of a big paperclip and a rubber band, but I’ll assume that you can do that.
But back in the old days, when a boy used a sling, it was just as deadly as a wrist rocket, and it required a bit of skill. That sling was a long strap of leather (usually) with a pouch in the middle. One end of the sling had a loop for your finger, and the other end was straight.
The idea of using it is simple. Wrap the loop around your finger. Put a rock or marble in the pouch. Take the other end of the sling and clench it between your thumb and forefinger. Twirl it over your head. Aim at an object and let go of the end of the sling! At first, the rock you throw may end up just about anywhere, so practice this in a park. After you improve, you may get quite accurate. Maybe you could clock that Goliath kid who’s been bothering you!
Do NOT Get in a Rock Fight with These Guys! An ancient Spanish tribe called the Baleares used slings that threw stones weighing over a pound. The velocity of the rocks could smash through armor.
More Fun with Rocks! Everyone knows that if you have a smooth, oval stone, some flat water, and a good sideways throw, you can do some serious rock skipping. What you may not know is that you can also skip stones on sand. If you’re at the beach, go to the wet sand that is near the water. Throw a stone at the sand as if it were water. It won’t skip as far as it would on water, but it’ll skip!