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February 08 2012

makerbot

What if it isn’t there?

Bespoke Glowstick Connector

Bespoke Glowstick Connector

In some ways, it’s almost easy to take inspiration from something that’s right in front of you.  When asked why he wanted to climb Mount Everest, George Mallory famously replied “Because it’s there.”  That mountain would always be there.  However, it’s at least as important to recognize when something isn’t there, to ask your self why something isn’t some other way.  Sometimes the answer is, no reason at all or that no one has thought of it before.

A few weeks ago my daughter was playing with glowsticks.  We had made necklaces, bracelets, hoops, and wands.  But, then she tried to tuck a single glowstick under the bracelet on her wrist.  Since her wrists are much smaller than the bracelet, they just slipped right out.  She asked whether we had any connectors that would allow her to attack the second glowstick at 90 degrees from the one on her wrist. 1  My reply was, simply “No.”

I waited for a little while… hoping.  And then the question came, “Why don’t we have one?”

Thing-A-Day #7: Glowstick connector junction by MakerBlock
These are a tight fit for the glowsticks we have, so I shoved my needle nosed pliers in each aperture, rotated, and scraped the holes until the glowsticks fit. Story to be continued on the blog...
This thing brought to you by Thingiverse.com
  1. Actually, she asked nothing of the sort.  She articulated it mostly by showing me what she wanted to do.  I described it for you, dear reader, as above since you have a better grasp of geometry than my 5-year-old.
Tags: Tinkering Dad because it's there george mallory glowstick glowstick connector mount everest mt everest