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Darkaardvark
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retired





45 + 35 points

Ironing Iron with the Iron Horse by Darkaardvark

August 30th, 2007 8:58 PM

INSTRUCTIONS: This task was created as a gift for Kyle Crocodile:

Use a train to flatten something. Collect the results.

Bonus points if the train honks at you.

It was amazingly nice out on Thursday so I figured a little tasking-by-bike was called for. I wanted to lay something neat on the tracks but it was tough to find something that: was flattenable and harmless to the train, while cool and yet without significant value. So I figured I'd try to get a flattened version of every major coin (penny, dime, nickel, quarter).

Problem: I don't know the train schedule.

So I figured I'd head out, lay down some coinage, and come back the next day (I know a train runs at around 1 A.M., but I didn't really want to head out then). But I wasn't too optimistic about my chances of succeeding- the odds of losing all the coins somehow were very high.

Where to lay the coins? I didn't want anyone hassling me in the process. A secluded offshoot of an already secluded trail... bingo.

So I went out, and picked up some gum along the way. I put a little bit on the bottom of the coins when I stuck them to the track. I figured at least that way they would stay on until a train came.

I got off the tracks and got ready to leave, but I figured it was a nice day and I might as well wait a few minutes and see if a train was coming. After about a minute or two, I thought I heard a train whistle. Could I really be that lucky? After I didn't hear anything for a little while, my hopes started to fade- but then the whistle came very clearly.

I was super lucky and managed to hit the exact time that the train was coming by! Sorry, but it was exciting. It definitely honked... but I don't know if it honked at me, even though I was visible as it came past, holding a camera. They either didn't see me, thought I was insane, or knew exactly what I was doing because the conductor was an SF0 player and didn't want me to get bonus points.

I went to investigate afterward, and surprisingly, one of the coins actually managed to stay on the rails. The others were nowhere to be seen. I searched for a while, but eventually started to give up- the rocks were glistening in the sun and it was really hard to find anything among them. But just as I was getting ready to leave I found one coin in the rocks, and then another. The rest were gone for good, hidden even after a few more minutes of searching.

I hopped on my bike and rode off. Success! Thank you, train, for increasing my efficiency by 50%.

(Oh, and the gum was totally obliterated. RIP.)



You need to a flashplayer enabled browser to view this YouTube video
Ah... love that sound

Scroll down for the video of the train!

- smaller

Nice day!

Nice day!

I'm a sucker for this kind of photo every time I get near railroad tracks.


Coins on Track

Coins on Track

Look carefully... you can see them.


Bumps on a log

Bumps on a log

All lined up neat and pretty-like.


Smashed!

Smashed!

Ouch.


Crushed!

Crushed!

Yowza.


Destroyed!

Destroyed!

Brutal.


All together

All together

It was really difficult to get a photo of these, the camera wouldn't focus on them right because the details were so subtle. It kind of looks fake, but it isn't.


The Full Train

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

Download FLV

If it skips in the middle, it's because I cut out about a minute of more identical train.



7 vote(s)



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3 comment(s)

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posted by Rainbow Bright on August 30th, 2007 9:47 PM

We used to do this all the time when I was a kid! It was the super cool thing to do because we weren't allowed to be playing by the tracks....we thought we were rebels!

Wow. How come I never did this?
posted by Loki on August 31st, 2007 2:47 AM

Spent rather a lot of time as a kid playing near train tracks, but for some reason I never did this. I certainly remember hearing about it. Can't imagine why I never tried it. That's going to have to be remedied.

Corny safety slogan
posted by K! on August 31st, 2007 7:20 AM

"Anytime is train time!"
This really proves that true...