Squirrel Flinging

So Many TreeRats, So Little Time...

OK, this film clip is just laugh out loud funny, knowing a bit about physics and 'squoils'. The treerat was completely enclosed in the slingshot's cradle, the launch velocity is fairly low (relatively speaking) and the squirrel's mass is such that it won't land with a splat. Squirrels do some amazing leaps just farting around in the trees for fun. By the time this critter hits the top of its arc, it'll reorient itself to maximize wind resistance and slow its fall. Unless it gets impaled on a tree branch, it ought to scamper away none the worse for wear.

Now, this film clip, OTOH, was a bit rougher on the squirrel. Those clay pigeon flingers take quite a bit of effort to cock, and I've seen one shatter a man's wrist who got his arm in the way of the flinger. That squirrel was probably bisected upon launch, or at least lost a few parts on the way out.

I'm gonna have to build Squirrel Flinger #1... I'm fairly certain I've got a spool of surgical tubing in the garage. I can use an old archery bowstring trigger for the release catch. I just need a big colander and a bag of peanuts!

Hey! Quit blubbering! Squirrels are just rats with a nice hairdo and a better PR agent! They gnaw into the soffets, nest in the attic, and crap in the heating unit before dying in some inaccessible location. I leave 'em alone in the trees, even though they eat all my pecans. They come on the porch, however, they're getting flung!

Found at: Cruel Site Of The Day.