Summer 2011 Pentathanerd: Apollo 13 Challenge

Using only a bag of stuff, teams must make a tool that can retrieve a ring of keys from a bowling pin ten feet away to escape the wrath of an unjust jailor.

Here’s what Mark Seemann from The Werd had to say:
“The rain could not stop an event like this from happening – all it did was delay it for a little while. After a late start, the Apollo 13 challenge revealed its plot:

“You are all accused of a crime that you did not commit. The sheriff will prosecute you in the morning. Luckily, a confederate has given you a kit of supplies, and lets you know that the sheriff will be asleep for half an hour while you construct something, and then he’ll do his rounds, which will give you two minutes to grab the keys off of a bowling pin ten feet away and escape.”

Teams selected kits in paper bags with standard items like:

6 feet of twine
a 2 foot dowel
a manilla folder
one sheet of paper
three paper clips
two chopsticks
a set of platic utensils
a pen with…
6 feet of duct tape wrapped around it

In addition, each kit had a special item, one of:

4 foot dowel instead of the 2 foot
10 feet of nylon string instead of 6 feet of twine
banker’s box in place of the paper bag
scissors
10 paperclips instead of 3
2 foot piece of 1×2 wood
a bar magnet (not chosen, as Nausea could not attend the event).

The event was pass-fail: success brought the team 500 points, and failure earned nothing.

The InterNerds used the manila folder, rolled up, to extend a kind of fishing rod. Unfortunately, it came apart, and cost them too much time to recover (pun intended). She! attempted a similar device, but fell onto the floor and “out of the cell”, prompting an instant DQ from the head judge, Kai. The Whom? had a clever plan: they constructed a kind of trawling dredger – the paper bag with chop sticks taped to the top edge, string on the bag. In the crunch, the plan just wasn’t coming together, and they ran out of time.

Teh Awsumbs used the banker’s box to make a crane-style extended fishing rod which, after a few tense moments, was able to hook on to the keyring and pull it to victory. Effortless were able to harness the power of a waterski-handle looking device with similar hooks on it to snag the key and a win. Revenge of the InterNerds had a tense length of time after their paperclip hooks fell to the floor and snagged on the carpet. With time running out, and the hooks snagging and unsnagging, a last second shake brought the hooks up and in contact with the keys. With only 10 seconds on the clock, a desperation pull brought the keyring up and back in reach for a dramatic success.

The overall standings after this event are:

4962 – Teh Awsumbs (event points: 500 – going on to Gyparody)
4105 – Revenge (500 -going on to Gyparody)
3604 – The Whom? (0 – going on to Gyparody)
3378 – InterNerds (0)
3294 – She! (0)
2860 – Effortless (500)
2708 – Nausea (0)”