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Problem: Cal Hockey had too many XXL sized T-shirts in stock and no one was buying them. Solution: The best way to get them out of my apartment was to hurl them at our fans in the spectacular method already in use at NHL games. Approach: Time and budget were extremely limited. This was a situation where one has to trust their instincts and produce (Yes, that is duct tape). 4 hours after a $70.00 Sunday trip to OSH Hardware I had a T-shirt cannon that worked pretty much exactly as I hoped it would. In open space it could send a well bundled T-shirt about 80 yards on a pure ballistic trajectory. Indoors, 75 P.S.I. in the reservoir was just right for a line drive across center ice from the bench to our fans, while 25 P.S.I. produced a gentle lob up into the stands from the close side of the ice. Sadly, I rarely got to see the thing in action, as I was always in the locker room when it was used. |
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6' 4" Cal Hockey defenseman Chris Dang with the T-Shirt cannon. |
"Most of my colleagues go on backpacking trips when they need to do some thinking. I go to a good hardware
store and head for the oiliest, dustiest corners. I strike up conversations with the oldest people who work
there... If they're really good, they don't hassle me. They let me wander around and think. Young hardware
clerks... think they can help you find anything and they ask a lot of stupid questions in the process. Old
hardware clerks have learned the hard way that nothing in a hardware store ever gets bought for its nominal purpose."
-from Neal Stephenson's novel "Zodiac" ISBN: 0553573861 |