If you will be at home on Halloween, there’s something on television you might enjoy. Tune into the History Channel’s “Man Moment Machine” show at 9:00 Central Time (but check local listings in your area). Bill Gurstelle will be on the show, providing background on the Man (Alexander the Great), the Moment (the Siege of Tyre in 334 BC), and the Machine (a catapult). Should be a good show! – Link.

Pictured here… Ludgar, the catapult Bill made hurling two flaming softballs simultaneously, and the other is a cover shot of his catapult book.

Some of Bill’s articles @ MAKE:

• The Two-Can Stirling Engine – The Stirling engine has long captivated inventors and dreamers. Here are complete plans for building and operating a two-cylinder model that runs on almost any high-temperature heat source. From MAKE: 07: Backyard Biology page 90. Subscribers–read this article now in your digital edition.
• Building Tensegrity Models – Make a “needle tower” sculpture from dowels and elastic cord that seems to defy the laws of physics. From MAKE: 06: Robots page 100.
• The Jam Jar Jet – Don’t think you can build a jet engine at home? Here’s a simple jet engine–a pulsejet–that you can make out of a jam jar in an afternoon. All it takes is bending some wire and punching a few holes. From MAKE: 05: Science, Weather, and Outdoors page 102.
• The Night Lighter 36 – Launch potato projectiles 200+ yards with this stun-gun triggered, high-powered potato cannon with see-thru action. (Good thing potatoes are biodegradable.) From MAKE: 03: Cars and Halloween page 108.