Idea: motorized throwing machine. There's been a lot of throwing challenges, but none that I've seen are motorized. I think it would interesting to let the contestants use power to create a throwing machine with a longer range. It's particularly challenging to convert the continuous rotory motion of a motor to an impulsive throwing action.

There's been some great drag-racer episodes, but how about an electric dragster? Also, some form of indirect drive (hydraulic for example).

-- Charles Owen (cbowen@cse.msu.edu), January 29, 2001

Answers

I like the hydraulic idea for the dragsters.

-- Ben Goslin (logging87ben@yahoo.com), January 29, 2001.

have a compession tank, and when the pressure gets really high in the tank, have a lever to release the pressure. use the pressure to move an arm that has the projectile on it and then woosh. the projectile goes flying.

-- tyler austin clark (luvtwodrum@aol.com), January 31, 2001.