Fun site

Some people will go to the site I'm about to show you and say, "Meh. Big deal."

Others of you will click around the site and suddenly discover that several hours have passed and you're addicted. (Ahem.)

It's called "Fantastic Contraption," and it's an online single-player physics toy that presents small virtual mechanical challenges that you are to solve using only the simplest of virtual tools: Wheels and rods. Some of the wheels are passive; others spin clockwise or counterclockwise, so you can actually built little machines that move. The rods can be solid or not, and can be used to connect wheels or to build platforms, ramps, and such.

It's easier to show than to explain.

Here's a screen shot of one of the beginner levels. The goal is to build a contraption that will get the red square on the left into the large pink area on the right (the one marked "goal"); using the wheels and rods available at the top of the playing area. The only place you're allowed to build your contraption is within the light blue box. (Again, this is only a screen shot, so it doesn't do anything.)



Here's a simple solution to the above problem. Click "play," "continue" and "start" to see how this beginner contraption works. Simple, right?

http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=345476

(PS: You can click the sound off via the speaker icon; the + and - buttons zoom in and out.)

Here's another one, slightly harder. The goal here is to build a contraption within the light blue area that will scoot to the right, get the goal piece (the red rectangle balanced atop the yellow pole) and then bring it back to the large pink "goal" area on the left.

Screen shot:



One possible solution:

http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=1072318

Some problems seem insoluble. How on earth would you build a contraption entirely within the light blue square and using only wheels and rods, to move the small round red goal piece (in the light blue area) into the pink red area, way down below to the right?



Well, here's one way:
http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=1001672

Or this--- how to get the red ball into the pink goal area?




One solution:
http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=919728

Simpler solutions are better than complex ones:

How to get the red ball into the small pink goal area, when a yellow plank and many orange balls are in the way?



One simple, compact answer:
http://FantasticContraption.com/?designId=363186

Again, some of you are scratching your heads, and that's fine. To the others of you are about to lose a chunk of your day, I can only apologize. ;)

Have fun!