1. seed
  2. Pumpkins, Incoming!

Pumpkins, Incoming!

By sarahdasher on October 30, 2006.

i-42f9add71a4319aac2a2caf19f6cb5ad-chunkin.jpg
Image: Chuck.

There's nothing festive about a past-its-prime jack-o-lantern accruing mats of vegetable mold in the the driveway. At this weekend's 2006 Punkin' Chunkin' World Championships in Millsboro, Deleware, a few resourceful folks will pronounce a nobler, or at least more spectacular, good-bye.

A Punkin Chunkin' is a contest to see how far a machine can throw a pumpkin, using no electricity, engines or explosives. Machines may have springs, rubber cords, counterweights, compressed air or any other device that uses the stored power of one human being in a maximum of 10 minutes. Many of the pumpkin throwing machines are mechanical in design, utlizing variations on the medieval trebuchet. The long-range ones use compressed air: in last year's World Championships, Team 2nd Amendment's air cannon threw a pumpkin 4,331.7 feet!

SiegeEngine.com will get you started on building a Punkin Chunkin' machine of your own. Or, alternatively, you could just watch the movie...

Tags
Misc

More like this

More Punkin Chunkin Centrifugal Machine
This year's episode of Punkin Chunkin is coming up (I think tomorrow). Discovery just showed a teaser commercial with the specifications for one team's machine. If you are not familiar with Punkin Chunkin (World Championship Punkin Chunkin), the basic idea is to project some pumpkins. (note, if…
Punkin Chunkin - why work to be wrong?
Here is the deal. Why would you put a lot of effort into explaining something wrong? I just don't get it. Wouldn't it be easier and better to just not say anything? The particular show I am ranting about is the 2008 Punkin Chunkin on Discovery (I think). Fairly ok show, but they should have…
Weekend Diversion: The Greatest Pumpkin EVER!
"Only the knife knows what goes on in the heart of a pumpkin." -Simone Schwarz-Bart With Halloween just behind us, the only things that pumpkins may mean to you now are pie, soups, or -- as John Prine would sing you -- a condescending term of affection, as in, Daddy's Little Pumpkin. But I recently…
Some Tips for Punkin Chunkin
I already attacked the 2008 Punkin Chunkin Show. So, now I going to give the chunkers some tips. In case you aren't familiar, the Punkin Chunkin contest has teams create devices to launch a pumpkin. They have different categories, but I am going to focus on the air-powered devices. The basic…