Ropes, Knots- and their
application to fun.

Click the links below to jump down the page to the spot you want.

• Rappelling off of high places (yes I have my own gear)

• Braiding bread (not as exciting as rappeling)

• Suspending pendulums (a favorite activity of mine), whether they be Foucault, Harmonograph, or random pendulums.

• Constructing catenary curves or y=cosh(x).

• Making hammocks (a onetime activity)

• Light switches

• Clotheslines (not what you imagine)

• Flossing ones teeth (no pictures)

Rappelling
I enjoy climbing up things: trees, mountains, houses, rocks, cranes . . . . but going down can be fun too.

A few years back a friend of mine learnt some ropes and really wanted to build something.  Together we (and a few others, notably our brothers) made a rope-ladder, lashed-platform and swing system to climb about 50 ft. up this giant oak tree behind my parents house.  Then of course we rappel down.
Notice the two trunks? I made the platform free to slide back and forth when the trees swayed by only lashing it to the trunk on the right.  Otherwise it would come apart after the first storm (you can still see it today but I would not recommend climbing up).

Braiding Bread

Okay, its not as exciting as rappelling but its fun tying boy scout/sailor knots with dough.

That's just a classic 6 strand braid

From right to left, a Monkeyfist then some kind of mat knot
Both are tied with ropes in the photo at the top of the page.

Suspending Pendulums
Suspending pendulums (a favorite activity of mine), whether they be Foucault, Harmonograph, or any random pendulum.

Catenary Curves
A free hanging cable forms a catenary, or y=cosh(x).  Its amazing how quickly nature performs the most complicated calculations.  Click here for more details and pictures about my demonstration.

Making Hammocks
I got this crazy idea one summer that I could make a string hammock from scratch. I took a long hard look at some hammocks while away, then put one together when I got home. I designed and built the stand too.

The Raw Materials		Halfway through, (it is made from one long strand)

I had to tighten it somewhat because the ropes stretched

It turns out that I should have taken a closer look before jumping into it because there were a few useful design features of modern hammocks that I did not incorporate. The rope has sadly frayed over time, and my hammock has since passed away. The frame lasted a lot longer (holding a purchased replacement hammock) but it too has passed on.

Light switches
Some idiot contractor renovated the room with a light switch ten feet from the door.  Nothing that fishing line, duct tape and paper clips with a toothbrush can't handle.

In 2012 I once again found myself living with an incomprehensible light-switch situation. Below left shows the light at the top of the staircase, as seen from the entrance to the apartment. This arrangement would typically have a 3-way electric switch so you don't need to walk up or down the stairs in the dark.

I built a mechanical 3-way switch which allows you to turn the light on and off from the bottom of the stairs by pulling on some wires. Learning from my previous experience, I used wires instead of stretchy fishing line. I eventually replaced the cereal-box cardboard gears (shown) with some sturdier CD case plastic which I will post photos of eventually.