| Past Incarnations: 2005: Barrel of Monkeys 2 2004: People Powered Popcorn Popper 2** 2003: People Powered Popcorn Popper 1* 2002: ConunDRUM 2001: Rolling Blackout 2000: Barrel of Monkeys 1999: Cow-Trans *didn't really pop **really popped! |
| Brain Helmet | Giant Foam Brain, emitting "thought bubbles" |
Howdy Goudey: the brains behind the operation |
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Spare tire |
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Paddle wheels |
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| Storage/ flotation | Barrel (inflated to 2 psi) for traction on sand and flotation on water |
Custom-routed foam: prints "For the Glory" in the sand! |
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| The Gory details of this year's race are coming soon... ...but for now, suffice it to say that the Arcata-to-Ferndale race was both groovy and swell, with highlights including one severely tacoed tire and another tire which exploded gloriously in a cascading shower of shattering spokes... more to come (probably). |  |
Hey, guess what?
This year, Howdy decided to haul off and haul up to Corvallis, Oregon for their
Da Vinci Days Kinetic Sculpture Race!
Details to come... of note were the lack of the two tires mentioned above (a nostalgic return to rolling down the road very slowly on barrels), the reprise of BOTH the popcorn popper and blender attachments (from the People Powered Popcorn Popper and Barrel of Monkeys incarnations, respectively), and utterly glorious performance on the sand.
Below is our theme song, a mandatory kinetic component in Corvallis. Songs must include the words "Corvallis," "kinetic," and "Da Vinci," as well as the team name. We won the "Best Song" award, presumably because there was no "Lousiest Performance in the Mud" award.
Brain Power - If We Only Had a Brain
From "If I Only Had a Brain," The Wizard of Oz, 1939
Original lyrics by EH Harburg; Music by Harold Arlen
Messed-up lyrics by Mike Craghead, 2006
If we had a brain between us
You never would have seen us
Treat sanity with such disdain
We wouldn't need a paramedic
If we weren't so damn kinetic,
If we only had a brain
To tie our shoes takes half an hour
It takes all of our Brain Power
It's really quite a strain
Our I.Q.s have hit rock-bottom
But we'd surely double-knot-'em
If we only had a brain
Brain Power's what we use
We're an easy bunch of morons to confuse
We sure don't get the point, but we don't get the blues
'Cause when you got no brains, you got nothing to lose
So all you fine civilians
Can certainly make millions
If from this race you can refrain
We'd be living in a palace
'Stead of stuck here in Corvallis
If we only had a brain
As Arcata-to-Ferndale-ers
We'd load 'em up on trailers
And ride 'em through the rain
But up here the sun is shining
You can barely hear us whining
If we only had a brain
If we were wise, if we were smart
We wouldn't try to mix our sports with art
We'd learn to put the horse before the cart
And I'm sure our poor knees wouldn't be blown apart
That Da Vinci was a smarty
He sure could throw a party
Though it's bound to leave a stain
All this mud will tell the story
That we did it For The Glory
If we only had a brain
[Click here for a (somewhat noisy) video of the performance (Windows Media, ~6 megs)]
