Submitted by orangeian on August 3 2010 - 11:53am.
A tad trite, no? In fact, 119 out of 120 comments were all essentially the same. For the 120th, I thought I'd latch onto the "off-the-wall" criteria in the contest description and apply my marketing knowledge in creating a point of differentiation with my comment. Take a gander, won't you?
The best way to save on school supplies is like with most other things. Make them yourself. It's really quite simple, you just need some creativity, discipline, and a little MacGyver-brand elbow grease.
For example, in order to make a pencil, all you need is a twig from a spruce tree, and access to a graphite-clay composites. Just bore a hole longitudinally through the center of the twig (be careful not to break it!) and fill with the composite. Depending on if you prefer a standard #2 pencil versus a 2.5 or a 3, be sure to vary the composite ratio accordingly and voila! homemade pencils for everyone!
You would probably think that making a pen would be far more challenging since it's made out of synthetic materials... or is it? At its most basic form, a pen is simply an ink delivery vehicle. And what's the most efficient at deliverying ink in nature? That's right! The Octopus. Just go grab an octopus from the ocean (don't try to capture the one from the local aquarium, it turns out that is frowned upon). I prefer species octopus vulgaris for its beautiful, rich purple/black ink. Then "milk" the octopus with a standard rattlesnake milking apparatus and reserve the ink. Afterwards, trap a primary flight bird and pluck a dozen or so quills. Lastly, use capillary action to get the ink into the individual quills. You're done, and this turns out to be a seamless segue to discussing the technology during the era of our founding fathers with your child as well. It's the gift that keeps on giving!
Enjoy!
I'm hoping I win the grand prize of $100 worth of Bic Pens. That'd be some good affirmation for further commentbombs.
FOTY
For example, in order to make a pencil, all you need is a twig from a spruce tree, and access to a graphite-clay composites. Just bore a hole longitudinally through the center of the twig (be careful not to break it!) and fill with the composite. Depending on if you prefer a standard #2 pencil versus a 2.5 or a 3, be sure to vary the composite ratio accordingly and voila! homemade pencils for everyone!
You would probably think that making a pen would be far more challenging since it's made out of synthetic materials... or is it? At its most basic form, a pen is simply an ink delivery vehicle. And what's the most efficient at deliverying ink in nature? That's right! The Octopus. Just go grab an octopus from the ocean (don't try to capture the one from the local aquarium, it turns out that is frowned upon). I prefer species octopus vulgaris for its beautiful, rich purple/black ink. Then "milk" the octopus with a standard rattlesnake milking apparatus and reserve the ink. Afterwards, trap a primary flight bird and pluck a dozen or so quills. Lastly, use capillary action to get the ink into the individual quills. You're done, and this turns out to be a seamless segue to discussing the technology during the era of our founding fathers with your child as well. It's the gift that keeps on giving!
Enjoy!
I'm hoping I win the grand prize of $100 worth of Bic Pens. That'd be some good affirmation for further commentbombs.
FOTY
and the subsequent one read: