So, the other weekend, we decided to try this thing we called the “hurricane derby.” Sounds intense, right? It wasn’t quite a real hurricane, thankfully. More like a challenge I cooked up just to see what we could build and how tough it would be.
Getting Started
First thing, I rummaged through the garage. Found some scrap wood, old plastic containers, cardboard tubes, you know, the usual junk drawer stuff. The idea was simple: build some kind of small, wheeled contraption. The main goal? It had to withstand a serious blast of wind without tipping over or falling apart. That was the whole point of the ‘derby’.
I didn’t really have a solid plan. Just started cutting pieces. Grabbed the hot glue gun – always end up burning my fingers with that thing. Tried making a low-profile base first, figured that would be more stable. Used bottle caps for wheels on one attempt. Glued some weights (just some heavy bolts I found) onto the base. It looked pretty rough, honestly. Not exactly a masterpiece of engineering.
The Build Process – A Bit Messy
Building it took longer than I thought. The first version was way too flimsy. The cardboard tube body just buckled. Total failure. Had to rethink it. Went for a more solid wood block approach for the second try. Cut it into a sort of wedge shape, thinking the wind would go over it. Attached some sturdier plastic wheels I salvaged from a broken toy.
Spent a good couple of hours just fiddling with it. Adding bits here, taking bits off there. The glue was everywhere. It wasn’t pretty, but it felt solid. Felt like maybe, just maybe, this one could handle the “hurricane.” My friend made one too, his looked completely different, tall and boxy. We were both pretty sure ours was the better design.
The Main Event: Facing the “Wind”
Okay, so for the “hurricane,” I dragged out the big leaf blower. Not exactly scientific, but man, that thing can push some air. We set up a little track on the driveway. Placed our creations at the starting line. The tension was… well, it was mostly just us laughing, but we wanted to see what happened.
I pointed the leaf blower down the track and cranked it up. And wow. My friend’s tall, boxy thing went flying instantly. Just tumbled end over end like you wouldn’t believe. Mine? The little wedge? It actually held its ground for a few seconds! It slid backward, yeah, but it didn’t tip over right away. Then a big gust caught it just right and flipped it onto its back. Still, I counted it as a small victory.
What Came Out Of It
So, neither creation really survived the full blast properly. It was kind of a messy afternoon, lots of trial and error. But honestly, it was a lot of fun just messing around, building something with my hands, and then seeing it face the ridiculous challenge we set up. Didn’t create anything groundbreaking, didn’t win any prizes. Just spent a day tinkering and testing. Learned that low and heavy works better against wind, which seems obvious now, but seeing it happen was pretty cool. Definitely doing something like this again. Simple stuff, but satisfying.
