Each team was given 15 pieces of newspaper and one scotch tape and you have to build a tower as high as possible with an empty Coke can on top. This is a fun event for engineers.
Some team builds "X" shaped tower, some team uses complicated small column like structure. I used the same strategy we used last year to build a tower of cone shape. It looks like one column standing on the floor. The challenging part is how to make it stand free as it is just one long stick. Basically we just roll one or two pieces of newspaper into a tight roll and band them together using the tape to form a long stick. The lower part of the stick should be stronger than the upper to support the tower.
I built the tower about 2 meters high. Then I tried to create a strong base for it to stand free. The base is quite challenging as it has to be strong and stable. I created a triangle cone structure and tried to get it balanced with the upper long stick. However, it failed to stand free as the base is not level. The upper part tilt left and right. When the time was up, my tower still can't stand free. It's quite frustrating when you had built a beautiful tower with known working structure but it can't stand free. :-( I eventually made it stand free by removing the stupid base I created. The tower itself with the leveled lower part can stand free!! However, as the time was over. I had only earned 20 points for our team for building a tower, not earned the bonus points of height. Anyway, our team had built another second highest tower among all and got 30 bonus points. As a team, we didn't lose anyway. :-)
Actually, the email I sent out yesterday to provoke participation worked well as our team had 4 people showed up this noon and some other teams didn't even participate in the game.
See, the economy crisis hits everyone and people have no mood to take part in this fun United Way activities. I remember that past several years we had more people working on the competition. The donation we got so far is way less than last year I believe. The charity will have to go through a tougher winter. I have made my contribution with 30% more than last year.
Best wishes to all charities.
btw , all facebook users can vote for their favorite charity to help them get $50,000 from a community giving program.
Some links here, to support Chinese children.
http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/784680
http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/963678
http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/263934
http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/670139
http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/264316
http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/388171
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