Curb Ramp Engineering

Sliding down from the hydrant cap, I spotted an obstacle on the sidewalk: a discarded plastic bottle cap had rolled into a deep concrete crack, blocking the path of a busy line of pavement ants. Hero time! I grabbed a discarded wooden craft stick stranded near the gutter and jammed the flat end beneath the plastic cap. Bracing my boots on the rough curb edge, I leaned my whole body back onto the stick. Pop! The cap flipped out onto the asphalt with a hollow rattle, instantly reopening the sidewalk highway for the little critters.