# Origami You Know By Heart **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 24, 2005, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origami-you-know-by-heart/296065 "2005-03-24T17:26:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tentacle\_Monster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba9def/32.png) [@Tentacle\_Monster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tentacle_Monster)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origami-you-know-by-heart/296065/1 "2005-03-24T17:26:57Z")
I can make an origami balloon without looking up instructions, on just about any piece of paper. Made a tiny one with a Post-It Note the other day. Can any of you folks do the more complicated pieces like the cranes from memory? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origami-you-know-by-heart/296065/2 "2005-03-24T17:33:11Z")
I can fold jumping frogs on demand. It came in very handy two days ago when my four-year-old daughter exhausted the play value of all the toys we had packed for a cross-country plane trip … . ---
**Author:** ![Mithril](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mithril/32/3517_2.png) [@Mithril](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mithril)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origami-you-know-by-heart/296065/3 "2005-03-24T17:50:35Z")
Cranes aren’t really all that complicated. I used to make them and pass them out to little kids when I worked in a mall. I can also do samurai helmets. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origami-you-know-by-heart/296065/4 "2005-03-24T17:55:41Z")
I can do cranes by heart, but I can’t make a flapping bird even with the instructions in front of me. It looks like a bird, sure, but it doesn’t flap. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Strainger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/strainger/32/244_2.png) [@Strainger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strainger)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origami-you-know-by-heart/296065/5 "2005-03-24T18:09:25Z")
I can make a cootie-catcher. And I can still fold one of those triangular football things. Ph34r my mad 0r1g4mi sk1lz! ---
**Author:** ![Big\_Norse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/big_norse/32/9954_2.png) [@Big\_Norse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Big_Norse)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origami-you-know-by-heart/296065/6 "2005-03-24T19:46:14Z")
> [@Pochacco](#): > > I can fold jumping frogs on demand. It came in very handy two days ago when my four-year-old daughter exhausted the play value of all the toys we had packed for a cross-country plane trip … . Me too! I love amazing little kids with those. I can also do cranes, but that’s about it without looking up the instructions. ---
**Author:** ![ddgryphon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8c91f0/32.png) [@ddgryphon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ddgryphon)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origami-you-know-by-heart/296065/7 "2005-03-24T19:47:34Z")
I can only do one – they flying crane – I was taught years ago and find it useful for meeting people. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origami-you-know-by-heart/296065/8 "2005-03-24T19:54:19Z")
From a 2x1 rectangle I can make make a bunny standing on a cube. I can also make pagoda bookmarks. I can also cut a hole in a piece of notebook paper and walk through it. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origami-you-know-by-heart/296065/9 "2005-03-24T20:17:50Z")
I can do the crane. And I can do a 4 pointed star (make two and paste them together for a nice XMas ornament.) ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origami-you-know-by-heart/296065/10 "2005-03-24T20:51:46Z")
cranes, flapping birds, balloons, swans, two different kinds of boxes. oh, a house (and a piano. they’re the same thing the way I learned them) Has anyone ever folded 1000? I always meant to, and started, and got to around 6, when I haven’t started up again. ---
**Author:** ![audiobottle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@audiobottle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audiobottle)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origami-you-know-by-heart/296065/11 "2005-03-24T20:55:56Z")
Crane, frogs (American jumping and Japanese jumping - Japanese looks better, but doesn’t jump nearly as well), flowers (daisy-ish sort of one and something that comes from the frog base but beats me what kind of flower it is), incredibly time consuming dragon (looks really cool, but takes me around an 60-90 minutes to do it… actually, maybe we should count this one out since it’s been a while and I’m not entirely positive I can still do it), spider (this one requires a cut though so it may not be up to snuff for purists), antelope (again a cut), balloon, box, cootie catcher… huh. I used to be really into it when I was in elementary school, but I haven’t done it in a long time. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origami-you-know-by-heart/296065/12 "2005-03-24T21:06:20Z")
I can do the face of a fox -not the simple one I always see on websites, but one where you put your fingers inside and make his mouth move. ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origami-you-know-by-heart/296065/13 "2005-03-24T21:36:43Z")
I like to amuse kids by making a [flapping bird](http://www.mortalwombat.com/Image/Moneygami.jpg) out of a dollar bill. ---
**Author:** ![harmless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/2acd7d/32.png) [@harmless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmless)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origami-you-know-by-heart/296065/14 "2005-03-24T22:06:18Z")
I believe I can do tulips in my sleep. I made my mother a bouquet of them for Mother’s Day one year. I can also do the samurai helmet. My sister got me a great origami calendar one year. Each day had a new thing to make. My niece and I had fun doing them at work. My husband can do the balloon/ball one. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origami-you-know-by-heart/296065/15 "2005-03-24T22:12:22Z")
Give me 2 pieces of paper and I’ll make you a tetrahedron. Give me 32 pieces of paper and I’ll make you a geodesic sphere. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origami-you-know-by-heart/296065/16 "2005-03-24T22:13:04Z")
My most popular is a bunny variation of the balloon/ball. I teach that one to kids any chance I get. ---
**Author:** ![SlyFrog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@SlyFrog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlyFrog)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origami-you-know-by-heart/296065/17 "2005-03-24T22:14:49Z")
> [@amarinth](#): > > Has anyone ever folded 1000? I always meant to, and started, and got to around 6, when I haven’t started up again. My wife folded 1,000 for a friend (and presented them in a nice jar, they were probably about 1/4 to 1/2" each). I thought it was incredibly cool; friend seemed relatively nonplussed. ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origami-you-know-by-heart/296065/18 "2005-03-24T22:16:17Z")
I can do a peacock out of a dollar bill any day except Thanksgiving. That day, I can do a turkey. 😃 I can also do a swan and a flower. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origami-you-know-by-heart/296065/19 "2005-03-24T22:19:54Z")
Having had to make hundreds of them for anniversaries, I also can do the ball, the hat, the butterfly and the crane. ---
**Author:** ![ZebraShaSha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/eada6e/32.png) [@ZebraShaSha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZebraShaSha)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origami-you-know-by-heart/296065/20 "2005-03-24T22:20:01Z")
Tullip, lilly, crane (ornamental and flapping), water balloon, bunny, boat, throwing star, a couple of different kinds of boxes, etc etc. Every since I was a little kid I have enjoyed doing origami and after awhile the basics were real easy to memorize. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origami-you-know-by-heart/296065.md?page=2)