Springboard Test

That chunky brass paperweight on the corner of the desk looked like the ultimate anchor. I hauled a thick wooden ruler across the leather blotter, stacked three square pads of yellow sticky notes into a sturdy fulcrum, and wedged the ruler tight underneath with a heavy steel binder clip! Instant desktop springboard. To test the snap, I balanced a pink wedge eraser right on the hanging tip, braced my feet, and smacked the opposite end down with the flat of my glove. Thwack! The eraser launched in a neat arc, soared clean over an open metal pen cup, and pinged right into the brass lamp hood. First-try engineering never misses...