A set of clay tablets that depict the Sumerian/Babylonian epic of creation.
Ask HN: What's the coolest physical thing you've made?
251–260 of 694 posts
Re: Ask HN: What's the coolest physical thing you've made?
#252This was a very long time ago, but it's what comes to mind. In middle school we had an egg drop competition where we needed to make a device that would allow a raw egg to survive a fall from the ladder on the back of a fire truck. The device was subject to various limitations like not having a parachute or an engine. Everyone else had these elaborate contraptions with springs and whatnot. My solution was a bunch of e…
Hah - I did exactly the same thing. No complexity - cut the corner off a couch cushion (small puffy one) shoved the egg in, taped it shut. Won by a landslide vs all the other contraptions.
Survived the initial 2 story drop, then a 5 story drop. Then being heaved as high as possible by the athletics coach off the 5 story drop.
Only broke when it got slung around so hard that the tape came off and the egg came out midair.
Long story short - Eggs like being compressed on all sides. You will win drop tests this way.
Re: Ask HN: What's the coolest physical thing you've made?
#253Earlier quoted context omitted.
What do you think about the longevity of these Sonos products? I got sucked into the ecosystem via IKEA/Sonos collab and now added one to my TV setup. The ecosystem is nice _currently_ but do you think the hardware+software will be useable in 5,10,15 years from now? Do you think it could be liberated software wise. Thinking about this because I am contemplating moving my vinyl setup to Sonos as well.
I have ten year old Sonos gear that still works. The feature I wish the speakers had most? A line in jack so I could use them with something other than apps. That is a kind of future proofing all powered speakers should have.
The Sonos product team had a completely unexplainable aversion to line in jacks, to the point where you almost weren't even allowed to discuss it.
I suspect it was a lot of fairly self-interested resume padding for some PM resumes. Nobody there was going to make their next career move as "innovators" shipping a technology that'd been perfected for fortyish years before them.
Re: Ask HN: What's the coolest physical thing you've made?
#254My uncle had ALS and was slowly losing his ability to speak. I visited and in order to hear him, we had to gather around him closely. It was very fatiguing for him to project his voice.
I went to a few audio stores and jerryrigged a portable mic-speaker setup that could attach to his wheelchair. No software, just the right series of devices and adapters. It worked well and provided a huge relief for him and our family. Nothing impressive technically, but definitely the physical thing I'm most proud of making.
His blog, for any curious about his ALS journey: http://cheeseaisle.blogspot.com/
Re: Ask HN: What's the coolest physical thing you've made?
#255Not the coolest, but a thing I've shared publicly that's whimsical and was fun to make.
A Super Mario Question Block (wood, brass, copper) https://wittman.org/blog/mario-question-block/
Re: Ask HN: What's the coolest physical thing you've made?
#256I made a “pizza wrap” that had butter chicken with cheese on top. I’ve never topped it since.
Re: Ask HN: What's the coolest physical thing you've made?
#257A few years ago I made a "string art" portrait for my girlfriend at the time. It's made from a continuous† 2 km long black thread, woven around a loom made from a bicycle wheel rim. I'm still very proud of how it turned out. †OK fine, it broke at a few points and I had to knot the ends together, but it's the principle that counts. https://imgur.com/gallery/ljoJeal I really wanted to make something creative for her, b…
Sorry about the relationship not working out. That art is a beautiful piece of work.
Re: Ask HN: What's the coolest physical thing you've made?
#258I got really into Indian classical music at one point some years back. I was learning to play the tabla drums from a really skilled teacher that I got connected with through a friend. Was a great opportunity to learn an interesting skill and related to my overall musical interests.
Anyway, I got a basic set of tabla drums that came with a pair of supporting rings and covers. But the rings and covers weren't very good quality. So I went to hobby lobby and my hardware store and bought some piping, plywood, fabric, and lace and made a very nice set of rings and covers by hand. Was a really fun project and came out very nicely. My teacher couldn't believe I went to all the trouble.
Another honorable mention is that I did Ben Eater's 8-bit breadboard computer project. Took a long time and I learned a lot about EE.
Re: Ask HN: What's the coolest physical thing you've made?
#259When I was in school back home in India, my mom wouldn't buy a ping pong paddle for me to play with friends since it was expensive. So, I decided to cut down old notebook cardboard covers and I made one for myself by glueing 7-8 hard cardboard notebook covers.
I know, sounds lame but this is all I can remember. :D
Re: Ask HN: What's the coolest physical thing you've made?
#260A 3D-printed Gravitrax marble-run piece ‘for my kids’ during COVID lockdown.
A rather similar official piece has recently been released.