How to make a slingshot / sling / peashooter / gulel / getis / ging / shanghai /pachoonga / Tirador
A slingshot is a small hand-powered projectile weapon. The classic form consists of a Y-shaped frame, with two natural-rubber strips or tubes attached to the upper two ends. The other ends of the strips lead back to a pocket that holds the projectile. One hand holds the frame, while the other hand grasps the pocket and draws it back to the desired extent to provide power for the projectile—up to a full span of the arm with sufficiently long bands.
Other names include catapult (United Kingdom), peashooter (United States), gulel (India), getis / gulel (Nepal), kettie (South Africa), or ging, shanghai, pachoonga (Australia and New Zealand), Tirador (Philippines).
Use and history
Slingshots depend on strong elastic materials, typically vulcanized natural rubber or the equivalent such as silicone rubber tubing, and thus date no earlier than the invention of vulcanized rubber by Charles Goodyear in 1839 (patented in 1844). By 1860, this “new engine” had established a reputation for use by juveniles in vandalism. For much of their early history, slingshots were a “do-it-yourself” item, typically made from a forked branch to form the “Y” shaped handle, with rubber strips sliced from items as inner tubes or other sources of good vulcanized rubber, and firing suitably sized stones.
While early slingshots were most associated with young vandals, they could be effective hunting arms in the hands of a skilled user. Firing projectiles, such as lead musket balls, buckshot, steel ball bearings, air gun pellets, or small nails, a slingshot was capable of taking game such as quail, pheasant, rabbit, dove, and squirrel. Placing multiple balls in the pouch produces a shotgun effect (even though not very accurate), such as firing a dozen BBs at a time for hunting small birds.
While commercially made slingshots date from at latest 1918, with the introduction of the Zip-Zip, a cast iron model,[4] it was not until the post–World War II years that slingshots saw a surge in popularity, and legitimacy. They were still primarily home-built; a 1946 Popular Science article details a slingshot builder and hunter using home-built slingshots made from forked dogwood sticks to take small game at ranges of up to 9 m (30 ft) with No. 0 lead buckshot (8 mm [0.32 in] diameter).
The Wham-O company, founded in 1948, produced the Wham-O slingshot. It was made of ash wood and used flat rubber bands. The Wham-O was suitable for hunting, with a draw weight of up to 200 newtons (45 pounds-force), and was available with an arrow rest.
The National Slingshot Association was founded in the 1940s, headquartered in San Marino, California. It organised slingshot clubs and competitions nationwide. Despite the slingshot’s reputation as a tool of juvenile delinquents, the NSA reported that 80% of slingshot sales were to men over 30 years old, many of them professionals. John Milligan, a part-time manufacturer of the aluminium-framed John Milligan Special, a hunting slingshot, reported that about a third of his customers were physicians.
The middle 1950s saw two major innovations in slingshot manufacture, typified by the Wrist-Rocket which was produced by the Saunders Archery Co. of Columbus, Nebraska. The Wrist-Rocket was made from bent aluminum alloy rods that formed not only the handle and fork, but also a brace that extended backwards over the wrist, and provided support on the forearm to counter the torque of the bands. The Wrist-Rocket also used surgical rubber tubing rather than flat bands, attached to the backwards-facing fork ends by sliding the tubing ends over the tips of the forks, where it was held by friction or adhered with the addition of liquid rosin.
The early production of the Wrist-Rocket slingshot was a joint effort between Saunders Archery Co., who came up with the trademark and developed the automated forming machinery, and Mark Ellenburg who came up with the basic design. A few years later Mark Ellenburg split away forming his own company called Tru-mark Manufacturing Company. Today Saunders Archery is still a major innovator in the slingshot industry with its line of flatband slingshots which use locking clips for band attachment and tuning.
A home-made derivative of a slingshot also exists, consisting of a rubber balloon cut in half and tied to a tubular object such as the neck of a plastic bottle, or a small pipe. The projectile is inserted through the tube and into the cut balloon, and the user stretches the balloon to launch the projectile. These so-called “balloon guns” are sometimes made as a substitute to ordinary slingshot, and are often used to create the “shotgun” effect with several projectiles fired at once.
Título: A importância da preservação do meio ambiente
O meio ambiente desempenha um papel fundamental em nossa vida diária e em nossa sobrevivência como espécie. A natureza fornece recursos essenciais para nossa alimentação, água potável, ar limpo e abrigo. Além disso, a biodiversidade presente em ecossistemas saudáveis contribui para equilibrar o clima, regular os ciclos naturais e manter a saúde do planeta.
No entanto, a ação humana tem causado impactos negativos significativos no meio ambiente. A poluição, o desmatamento, a exploração desenfreada de recursos naturais e as mudanças climáticas são apenas algumas das consequências da nossa falta de cuidado com o ambiente em que vivemos.
É essencial que tomemos medidas para preservar e proteger o meio ambiente. A sustentabilidade deve ser uma prioridade em todas as esferas da sociedade, desde o governo até o cidadão comum. A implementação de políticas ambientais eficazes, a promoção de práticas sustentáveis na indústria e a conscientização da população são passos fundamentais para garantir a saúde do planeta para as gerações futuras.
Além disso, a preservação do meio ambiente não beneficia apenas a natureza, mas também a nós mesmos. Um ambiente saudável contribui para a nossa qualidade de vida, nossa saúde física e mental e para a prosperidade econômica. Investir na proteção do meio ambiente é investir no nosso futuro e no futuro das próximas gerações.
Portanto, é fundamental que cada um de nós faça a sua parte para preservar o meio ambiente. Pequenas ações do dia a dia, como reciclar, economizar água, reduzir o consumo de plástico e plantar árvores, podem ter um impacto positivo significativo no planeta. Juntos, podemos trabalhar para criar um mundo mais sustentável, equilibrado e saudável para todos. A preservação do meio ambiente é uma responsabilidade de todos.
