Tiny, Easy-to-Build Weapons Annihilate Office Boredom

Wow, good thing I didn't know about some of these when my brothers and I were growing up!

Tiny, Easy-to-Build Weapons Annihilate Office Boredom: "

The lunchtime fridge-raider. The stapler crook. The golden parachuter. Cubicle farms are full of enemy combatants begging to be taken out. Your guide: toy designer John Austin, who spent years miniaturizing firepower for G.I. Joe and Star Wars figurines. In MiniWeapons of Mass Destruction, he describes how to cobble together a small-scale arsenal from supply-closet goodies. Here are a few of his favorite workplace munitions (deploy with caution). Ready, aim ... avenge!

Claymore Mine (pictured above)

Range: 20 feet


Fasten a 6-inch length of speaker wire to a mousetrap bar and staple the other end to the bottom of the trap so the bar can close only halfway. Use tape to create an ammo basket on top of the bar, and load it with gumballs or other candies. Tie one end of your trip wire to the cheese trigger and the other end to something stationary. Lie in wait.

BB Pencil

Range: Up to 30 feet


Remove the plunger of a mechanical pencil, snip off its pointy end, and tape a rubber band over the eraser. Cut off the tip of the pencil's housing. Slide the plunger back inside. Tape the rubber band's loose end to the housing, eliminating slack. Load copper BBs (or Nerds), pull back the plunger, and let 'er rip.

Ruler Bow

Range: Up to 40 feet


Snip a heavy rubber band and knot the ends through the top and bottom punch holes of a plastic ruler. Deconstruct a ballpoint. Load the inner pen through the center hole, pull it back with the elastic, and release.

Ping-Pong Zooka

Range: 20 feet


Cover one end of a paper-towel tube with duct tape. Cut a hole in the tape and insert a barbecue lighter. Tape on a ruler for reinforcement. Spritz flammable hair spray inside; let it settle. Load a Ping-Pong ball and pull the lighter trigger. Fireworks!

Illustrations: 2009 John Austin

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(Via Wired: Top Stories.)