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BB's Banned (east of) Boston

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sandgk

sandgk

Watson, Crick & A Twist
Now follow this bouncing ball ...

Two young kids in Mass. wanted to make a Science Fair project demonstrating the dangers of using BB guns.

They get through all the preliminaries, going so far as buying $200 worth of Ballistic Gelatin (the stuff you see being used a lot on Discover Networks Myth Busters -- always an entertaining show, never can get enough of blowing up crash dummies :biggrin: ).

Anyway. Poor kids get to their middle school fair -- only to be barred from competing -- why?

"Because BB guns are too dangerous."

Give me, (and them) a break!

AMHERST, Mass. - Two eighth-graders who spent months working on a science project to prove how dangerous BB guns can be were disqualified from the state middle school science fair. The reason for the dismissal: BB guns are too dangerous.

Nathan C. Woodard and Nathaniel A. Gorlin-Crenshaw spent seven months researching and testing their hypothesis that BB guns can be deadly and should not be used by children.
The students spent about $200 on ballistics gelatin, which has the same density and consistency as human flesh, to use during their tests.
Nancy G. Degon, vice president of Massachusetts State Science Fair Inc. and co-chair of the middle-school fair, said fair rules prohibit hazardous substances and devices.
"The scientific review committee does not consider science projects involving firearms to be safe for middle school students," Degon said.
The boys were invited to present their findings to some judges and receive a certificate of accomplishment, but they rejected the offer because they were not allowed to compete.
"I was really disappointed," Woodard said. "We had a good point to prove."
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Nancy G. Degon, vice president of Massachusetts State Science Fair Inc. and co-chair of the middle-school fair, said fair rules prohibit hazardous substances and devices.
"The scientific review committee does not consider science projects involving firearms to be safe for middle school students," Degon said.
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That's the bureaucratic way of saying, "You'll shoot your eye out."
 
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Yeah, this is just another incident of the system keeping us down. I remember my science project "Alcohol, it gets you drunk". Needless to say, they wouldn't even let me sign the waiver to serve as the test subject. I really have no idea what their problem was with my back up project "Glue, it's not just for sniffing".
 
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3yardsandacloud said:
Yeah, this is just another incident of the system keeping us down. I remember my science project "Alcohol, it gets you drunk". Needless to say, they wouldn't even let me sign the waiver to serve as the test subject. I really have no idea what their problem was with my back up project "Glue, it's not just for sniffing".
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And after that, I'll bet you tried to convince them you had glaucoma, so you could become a clinical test subject.
 
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Damn, all my Science Fair projects involved projectiles.

Anyone take a big coke bottle fill it half full of vinegar, dump some baking soda in, cork it, shake the hell out of it and watch it blast the cork down the hall spraying the vinegar mix all over the place? Always looking for the proper mixture and bottle angle.

Or how about attaching a CO2 cartridge to a glider on a wire and puncturing the CO2 cartridge and have the glider fly down the hall? Could never get two CO2 cartridges to fire off at the same time.

No wonder I never won anything, it was too dangerous.

Of course we used to put baby powder in our BB guns and shoot each other while wearing heavy coats. That way you always knew if and where you hit. Never thought of a Science Fair project for that one.
 
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bucknola said:
Anyone take a big coke bottle fill it half full of vinegar, dump some baking soda in, cork it, shake the hell out of it and watch it blast the cork down the hall spraying the vinegar mix all over the place? Always looking for the proper mixture and bottle angle.
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If memory serves correctly from a field trip gone very, very wrong, dropping pepto-bismol into cans of soda does the trick pretty well. Especially amusing if a few dozen kids all try it at the same time...
 
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