Sneaky Uses for Everyday Things, Revised Edition: Turn a Penny into a Radio, Change Milk into Plastic, Make a Dozen STEM projects with Everyday Things, and Other Amazing Feats
By Cy Tymony
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About this ebook
“A science activity book “offering readers a chance to become real-life MacGyvers... [with] sections on gimmicks, gadgets and survival techniques. . . .” (Publishers Weekly)
Do you know how to make something that can tell whether the $20 bill in your wallet is a fake? Or how to generate battery power with simple household items? Or how to create your own home security system? Science-savvy author Cy Tymony does. And now you can learn how to create these things and more than forty other handy gadgets and gizmos in Sneaky Uses for Everyday Things. More than a simple do-it-yourself guide, this quirky collection is a valuable resource for transforming ordinary objects into the extraordinary. With over 80 solutions and bonus applications at your disposal, you will be ready for almost any situation. Included are survival, security, self-defense, and silly applications that are just plain fun. You'll be seen as a superhero as you amaze your friends by:
* Transforming a simple FM radio into a device that enables you to eavesdrop on tower-to-air conversations.
* Creating your own personalized electronic greeting cards.
* Making a compact fire extinguisher from items typically found in a kitchen pantry.
* Thwarting intruders with a single rubber band.
By using run-of-the-mill household items and the easy-to-follow instructions and diagrams within, you'll be able to complete most projects in just a few minutes. Whether you use Sneaky Uses for Everyday Things as a practical tool to build useful devices, a fun little fantasy escape, or as a trivia guide to impress friends and family, this book is sure to be a reference favorite for years to come.
Read more from Cy Tymony
Sneaky Uses for Everyday Things: How to Turn a Penny into a Radio, Make a Flood Alarm with an Aspirin, Change Milk into Plastic, Extract Water and Electricity from Thin Air, Turn on a TV with your Ring, and Other Amazing Feats Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Sneaky Math: A Graphic Primer with Projects Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSneakier Uses for Everyday Things Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
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Sneaky Uses for Everyday Things, Revised Edition - Cy Tymony
Sneaky Uses for Everyday Things, Revised Edition copyright © 2020 by Cy Tymony. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of reprints in the context of reviews.
Andrews McMeel Publishing
a division of Andrews McMeel Universal
1130 Walnut Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64106
www.andrewsmcmeel.com
ISBN: 978-1-5248-6186-5
Library of Congress Control Number: 2019954681
Editor: Jean Z. Lucas
Art Director/Designer: Sierra Stanton
Illustrator: Kevin Bremmer
Production Editor: Meg Daniels
Production Manager: Cliff Koehler
Ebook Developer: Kristen Minter
ATTENTION: SCHOOLS AND BUSINESSES
Andrews McMeel books are available at quantity discounts with bulk purchase for educational, business, or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail the Andrews McMeel Publishing Special Sales Department:specialsales@amuniversal.com.
Disclaimer
This book is for the entertainment and edification of its readers. While reasonable care has been exercised with respect to its accuracy, the publisher and the author assume no responsibility for errors or omissions in its content. Nor do we assume liability for any damages resulting from use of the information presented here.
This book contains references to electrical safety that must be observed. Do not use AC power for any projects listed. Do not place or store magnets near magnetically sensitive media.
Disparities in materials and design methods and the application of components may cause your results to vary from those shown here. The publisher and the author disclaim any liability for injury that may result from the use, proper or improper, of the information contained in this book. We do not guarantee that the information contained herein is complete, safe, or accurate, nor should it be considered a substitute for your good judgment and common sense.
Nothing in this book should be construed or interpreted to infringe on the rights of other persons or to violate criminal statutes. We urge you to obey all laws and respect all rights, including property rights, of others.
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part I
Sneaky Tricks and Gimmicks
The Fear of Small Sums: Detect Counterfeit Bills
Slushy Fun: Make Gel Packs for Swollen Muscles
Got Plastic? Turn Milk into Sneaky Plastic
Need Glue? Create Sneaky Glue from Milk
Getting Wired: Sneaky Wire Sources Are Everywhere
More Power to You: Make Batteries from Everyday Things
You Light Up My Life: Construct Electronic Greeting Cards
Part II
Sneaky Gadgets and Gizmos
Superman and Green Lantern Ain’t Got Nothin’ on Me
: Make a Power Ring
Invite the Power!
: Make Power Ring-Activated Gadgets
Gifts of a Feather You Make Together: Build Togetherness Gifts
Miniaturizing Mr. Wireless: Use Him in Remote Places
Got a Toy Car? Make a Power Room Door Opener
Irrational Public Radio: Put It Together from Scratch
Con Air: Convert Your Radio into an Aircraft Broadcast Receiver
Part III
Security Gadgets and Gizmos
Sneaky Ways to Thwart Break-Ins: Protect Your Fortress from a Man of Steal
Foam Alone: Make a Sneaky Fire Extinguisher
Gain Sneaky See-Behind Vision
Industrious Light Magic: Make a Sneaky Light in a Pinch
Sticky Fingers?: Keep Watch with an Internal Sneak Detector
Thwart Thieves with the External Sneak Detector
Thug Shot: Capture Break-Ins on Film
Hide and Sneak: Secure Valuables in Everyday Things
Part IV
Sneaky Survival Techniques
Sneaky Emergency Flotation Devices
Science Friction: Six Fire-Making Methods
Rain Check: Two Water-Gathering Techniques
Coming Extractions: Get Drinking Water from Plants
Lens Crafter: Build a Makeshift Telescope
Smoke and Mirrors: Sneaky Code Signaling
Look on the Bright Side: Make Sneaky Snow Glasses
Sneaky Snowshoes: Walk on Top of the Snow
Coldfinger: Where There’s a Chill, There’s a Way
Lost in Space? Craft a Compass
Road Scholar: Down-to-Earth Direction Finding
Pocket Protectors: Sneaky Tools and Survival Kits
Part V
Sneaky STEM Magnet and Motor Projects
Sneaky Electromagnetic Fun: Magnetism Fundamentals
Making a Sneaky Compass
Electromagnetism in Motion
Making a Sneaky Solenoid
How to Make an Electromagnet
Sneaky Motor Fun
Make a Toy Motor Generator
Make a Sneaky Chip Can Motor
Sneaky Motor Troubleshooting Tips
Going Further with Sneaky Motor Making
Sneaky Motor Design Ideas and Additions
How to Disassemble a Small Toy Motor
Sneaky Motor Bonus Project: Convert a Toothbrush into a Vibrabot
Going Further: Sneaky Motorized Reuses
Resources
Useful Websites
Recommended Reading
Acknowledgments
Special thanks go to my agent, Sheree Bykofsky, for her enthusiastic encouragement and for believing in this book from the start. I am also appreciative of the assistance provided by Janet Rosen and Megan Buckley.
I wish to thank Jennifer Fox, my editor at Andrews McMeel, and copy editor, Janet Baker, for their invaluable work.
A warm thank-you goes to Bill Melzer for insights and opinions that helped shape this book.
I am also grateful for the project evaluation assistance provided by Jerry Anderson, Isaac English, Carlos Daza, Sybil Smith, and Serrenity Smith.
And I hope the following is adequate to show my invaluable appreciation and love for Cloise Shaw. Thanks, Mom. I love you.
Introduction
Life . . . is what we make it.
—William James
You don’t have to be 007 to adapt unique gadgets, secure a room from intruders, or get the upper hand over aggressors. Anyone can learn how to become a real-life MacGyver in minutes, using nothing but a few hodgepodge items fate has put at our disposal. Sometimes you have to be sneaky.
Sure, it never hurts to have the smarts of Einstein or the strength of Superman, but they’re not necessary with Sneaky Uses for Everyday Things. When life puts us in a bind, the best solution is frequently not the obvious one. It’ll be the sneaky one.
Solutions to a dilemma can come from the most unlikely sources:
• A motorist stranded with a bad heater-valve gasket made a new one by cutting and shaping the tongue from an old track shoe. It worked well enough to get him home safely.
• U.S. prisoners of war devised a stealthy makeshift radio receiver using nothing more than a razor blade, a pencil, and the wire fence of the prison camp as an antenna.
• Convicts at Wisconsin’s Green Bay Correctional Institution scaled the prison walls using rope they braided from thousands of yards of dental floss.
• On September 11, 2001, a window washer trapped in a Twin Towers elevator with five other passengers used his squeegee to pry open the doors and chisel through the wall to escape the inferno.
People rarely think about the common items and devices they use in everyday life. They think even less about adapting them to perform other functions. For lovers of self-reliance and gadgetry, Sneaky Uses for Everyday Things is an amazing assortment of more than