On Thu, 8 Jun 2006 15:19:44 -0400, "Morgans" wrote:


"Montblack" wrote

As kids, we would wait for a calm dark night to go out into the street
with our "farmer matches" and a straw. We'd "shoot" the matches out the
straw, up into the still night air, then wait to see where they landed.
Hours of fun. Pops would come out, shoot up a few himself, say, "neat -
make sure you watch out for cars," and return inside ...leaving us kids
alone outside, to play with matches. :-)

We found that if you wrapped aluminum foil over the tip, (broke off most of
the wood first) then shaped the aluminum over the back a little like a
rocket nozzle, you could shoot them a good distance. Just need heat on the
tip to get it started.

We used to disassemble a wooden clothespin, turn the two pieces of wood
back-to-back, and slip the steel spring over them with one "arm" inside. You
could then cock the spring and slip a farmer match between the jaws. The coil
spring was a natural trigger, and when you pulled it, the contrivance
simultaneously launched the match while igniting it.

Used to ride our bicycles in dogfights shooting at each other....

Ron Wanttaja