Occasionally, one piece slips past quality control. One little M3 screw, with a little less than half of its six millimeters threaded. Is it cute? Sure. Is it useful? Hardly.
Good thing we’re always ready with spares.
Threads
Author: Brian Garthwaite
Compasses
‘Tis the season for toy kits once more, full of little odds and ends to explore the basic principles of physics. Among them, the humble magnetic compass.
Works with the Earth’s magnetic field, permanent magnets (included in the kit), and even a homemade electromagnet (included in the kit, some assembly required).
Adorably tiny and not ideal for navigation. Please don’t entrust your wilderness survival to these.
Department Mascot
The drinking bird, our unofficial department mascot. Even when one takes a tumble – and when it comes to glass bird versus floor, the floor always wins – there’s a great deal of respect for our top-hatted friends.
Kind of surprised someone hasn’t made up T-shirts yet, to be honest.
Welcome back, spring semester!
Warning Signs
Pretty sure we can decipher these:
- Use appropriate safety precautions around ziggurat.
- Empty and unlucky horseshoes vibrate with displeasure.
- Caution: microbes present.
- Exercise care when using hot tea to warm hands.
- Pancakes are hot when ready.
- Tiny aircraft beware giant hands.
All set!
Proceed with Caution
Welcome back! It’s a new year, soon to be a new semester, and who knows what surprises await us all in 2026? Maybe door repair?
Proceed with cautious optimism!
Out of Battery
Phew. It’s been a real 2025, if you catch our drift.
By this time next week, we’ll be on break. Get some rest, and we’ll see you all again in January!
Clouds of Dust
Ah, the annual astronomy craters lab. Lots of sand, lots of color powder, a handful of marbles and ball bearings and slingshots. And a mess that’s really something to behold.
It’s definitely a “don’t wear your good clothes” sort of lab session.
And an “all hands on deck” cleanup effort.
Tool Modification
There are times when you just can’t find the right tool for the job. So you take the closest candidate, shape it to size, and get to work.
3mm allen keys run about thirty cents apiece. Just remember to toss a few in the shopping cart next time.
Dalek
Is that a Dalek in the loading dock, cleverly disguised as tiny TARDIS?
Child Resistant
The stick figure logo is clearly intended to convey the idea of “keep out of reach of children,” but the vibe is definitely “play keepaway with children.”