CHRISTMAS TOOTHPICKS MANUAL

If drying a piece of wood sounds like a walk in the park, you might enjoy all four hundred pages of Australian Hardwood Drying Best Practice Manual (Parts 1 & 2). But before you can build yourself a nice stable out of it, or a cute little manger, wood needs to be thoroughly dried. Awesome.įreshly cut wood contains lots of liquid water which the tree was hoping to use to make more wood before someone came along with a chainsaw. Every plank of wood you've ever walked on or banged a nail into was once carbon dioxide gas and liquid water. The missing mass turns back into carbon dioxide and water. The tiny amount of stuff you're left with after you burn wood is inorganic ash, which, compared to the mass of the wood you started with, is essentially negligible.

You're right, that adds up to 100 per cent. In my humble opinion, that's about as close to a miracle as you'll get.Īll wood is about 50 per cent carbon by dry weight, 44 per cent oxygen and just 6 per cent hydrogen. Trees make it out of carbon dioxide, an invisible gas, and crystal clear water. Now that you've mastered the art of pipetting by straw (a nifty trick in itself), carefully squeeze out a water drop large enough to wet the fracture of each toothpick where the halves are 'hinged' together.ĭing dong merrily, oh my, the toothpicks slowly and miraculously re-arrange themselves into a gorgeous five pointed star. With practice, you'll be able to squeeze any size drop you like out of the straw. Keeping the top sealed, use your other hand to squeeze the straw so that a single drop comes out. Plunge a straw into a full glass of water (or eggnog or whatever you're slurping.) Cover the top of the straw with a finger and lift it out of the glass.

For best results, the surface should be relatively hydrophobic. Bamboo toothpicks aren't quite as immaculate for this trick but will do if they're all you've got.Īrrange the snapped toothpicks in a circle on a smooth surface such as a plastic plate. Snap five toothpicks so the two halves remained joined together by a tiny hinge.

CHRISTMAS TOOTHPICKS MP4

Video: Christmas star (Science Online Video)Ĭan't see the video? Download an mp4 version of this video.

Christmas toothpicks