A little mechanical device called a panic snap, available at hardware stores, makes a fast, controllable trigger. The powerful spring also makes it difficult to quickly release the throwing arm. I didn’t use my catapult for warfare, but I did try flinging baseballs, burritos, and even beer cans. Without the pair of cross-braces I added, the machine could implode when the spring is tightened. (The ancients used linen and horsehair, but I found that natural fibers like hemp and sisal, which stretch less than nylon rope, are also excellent for catapults.) When it’s fully wound, the rope places immense stress on the entire structure, so it’s important to build the wooden frame solidly. The power behind this catapult’s arm is a spring made from twisted rope. It’s fairly authentic, although I did use modern tools and materials. I looked up books by original Roman and Greek catapult engineers on the Internet, then designed my model. While reading about the bad old days, it struck me that a replica Roman legion–style catapult might be just the thing to bring excitement to my neighborhood block party. And the Mongols invoked an early but gruesome form of germ warfare by tossing plague-infested corpses over the walls of castles they were besieging. The Romans preferred to throw bags of bees at their foes. The Carthaginians put poisonous snakes in clay jars and then launched them at enemy ships. Long before the invention of gunpowder, ancient armies used siege engines to hurl all sorts of terrible, yet creative, missiles.
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