Trebuchet!
Found On: Dallas Craigslist
I have a trebuchet that i build for a physics project. It is stained and has gold paint on it. Its been in my backyard and i need to get rid of it. Its about 4.5 feet tall and very sturdy, holds 350 pounds from what i know. PICK UP ONLY!
On the off chance you don’t know, a trebuchet is essentially a catapult/giant slingshot. They’ve been out of style for 600 years or so, so you’re forgiven for that little gap in your knowledge. There are costs to owning a 350 pound trebuchet, there’s no getting around it. For one, it will render a huge swath of your yard unusable. The trebuchet becomes the focal point of your yard, obscuring all else. The kids can’t play ball. The dog can’t run around in high-speed figure eights.
But there are benefits. Well, one, really: you can lay seige to neighbors for blocks around. The Bostwicks over on Deacon Street? The ones who never trim the tree overhanging the sidewalk in front of their house? Load up a light bowling ball. Let them know they need to be a bit more responsible. The Singh kids down the block? The ones who bring the speakers outside on sunny weekend afternoons, blasting that weird foreign-language hip hop? Load some old Top 40 vinyl on this thing and whip it at them. A lesson in both music history and neighborliness. And Jim Edwards, with the two rusting Cadillacs out front that haven’t moved as long as you’ve lived on the street? Well, even he may get tired of looking at the cars once you’ve rained down ten pounds of landscaping rocks on them.
Be prepared for a little bit of disappointment, though. Given the arc of this thing’s swing, you’re always going to overshoot the next door neighbor. You may have to knock on her door and just ask her to mow the damned lawn.
WANT! That is pretty awesome, actually.
Singh kids, lol that is classic.
Brrrrrrrrrp, what what punjabi!!!!!!!!!!
thought the ad says “holds 350 pounds”, not that the trebuchet is 350 pounds heavy.
Wouldn’t it be awesome if this guy and http://itemnotasdescribed.com/2009/06/18/funny-classifieds-free-rocks/ this guy got together.
From what I see he says it “holds” 350 pounds, not weighing 350 pounds.
Wow! I actually would get that if it was near by! It’s awesome. I WANT IT NOW
This … this is awesome … god I wish I lived in Dallas
and
This. Absolutely.
this would be great for the annual pumpkin catapult in Bethel, CT
why would you give this away???
I honestly want this. BAD.
Someone in the SCA Kingdom of Ansteorra is probably richer a good trebuchet in good time for Gulf Wars. See sca.org to find out about people who use these things on a regular basis.
or someone in amtgard. they’ve started siege weapons from what i hear…
Maybe he could just rent the trebuchet for a few hours.
As much fun as owning it would be (okay, I’ve built several), I’d have shown up just to watch people FIGHT over it in the guy’s front yard!
I just gotta’ say, this is so cool. I would go get it if I lived in Dallas and it wasn’t already taken. It’s really well put together, from the pic. They even bothered to stain it. I want.
if this is your idea of “crazy garbage that nobody wants,” you fail at blogging.
Haha… I built one of these myself with a group in junior high… I believe it was for geometry or something like that. We got to spend the whole day outside in renaissance outfits.
The only thing on this site I’ve seen so far that I’d actually want. I can see there being a limited audience for this item, but I’m one of the lucky few who has access to large quantities of rocks and/or pumpkins to launch and the space to do so without the police or national guard showing up.
I’d take this, but Nimoy told me I just discovered metallurgy. Time to stack some cannons and take this f**cker out.
It might be good for teaching the annoying neighbors a thing or two, but it also works to get rid of the annoying family dog or your younger sibling! Heck, you can get rid of your in-laws and irritating grandparents while you’re at it. And if you don’t like the smell of your trash-filled trashcan, why, load up the goods (the bads?) and let ‘er rip!
Epic
Nowhere near as preposterous as you make it sound. Not everyone lives in Suburbia surrounded by concrete and asphalt and crappy tract houses. I could use ten of these.
I built one of those. it was pretty epic, being 8 FEET TALL and able to throw 400 lbs. until the supports cracked. i’m starting the bid at 75$.
I am doing a school project and have to build one if i lived in Dallas i would take it in a heart beat
can you post the design