I think I have been conflating goat catapults with goat artillery. A goat sabot may work with goat artillery, but not with a catapult.
The only thing that I can think of for stable goat ammunition for a catapult would be to crush it into a sphere and freeze dry in that shape. It would probably still rotate or tumble, but it would always present the same shape to the onrushing air. Perhaps to be even a bit more stable, we should shave the spherical goat corpse, because the hair on one side might be either puffed out or pushed down by the wind depending on the direction the hair would normally lie against the skin.
Now… goat artillery on the other hand…
A goat sabot is a shell you put around a goat (or some other projectile). It engages the rifling in the barrell, and a rotating shell is more stable as it passes through the air.
Now as I understand it, usually sabot shells pop off the projectile immediately after leaving the barrell. Presumably once they impart the spin, they are little more than dead weight and drag which slows the projectile down. BUT, if releasing a goat sabot would allow the goat to, er… spring out into a natural goat shape, keeping the sabot intact until the very end of the flight would probably be a better choice. Or you might go the whole crush, shape and freeze-dry route, so the goat would retain a predictable aerodynamic shape once the sabot is gone.
Oh, yeah, I love these threads too. I remember a very good one about launching bacon to the moon. Or maybe it was bacon re-entering earth’s atmosphere from orbit.
Me too! When I saw the thread title, I was salivating at the prospect of getting into meta-thread territory and analyzing it for fun.
Then I read the OP. . . and was disappointed.
I’d love to see more meta-thread threads. Zeldar, I’ll look for your threads, but I haven’t noticed threads like that getting much action here generally.
I love threads with introspective OPs reflecting on their own life’s meaning, changes in identity or personal growth moments. I find it fascinating the way people deal with adversity in different ways, the way they self-sabotage or overcome based on attitude and environment. I love the philosophy, spirituality, psychology, sexuality, and anecdote threads. Anything personal and relatable will interest me. If we can connect around a shared experience, that’s best of all.
I also love the Pit, because it’s so over the top. The irreverent flaming is fun, but my favorite Pit threads are the ones where people get real with one another, and develop a deeper understanding of the topic at hand. It totally reinforces my belief that conflict can be healthy and productive.
I like threads that make me go “WHA?!?” but they can be infuriating, too. Cafe Society has a lot of these threads. For instance, almost any thread about the US version of The Office cracks me up. Some people take it so very seriously and will want to argue about what this one did or that one did that would get them fired as if it is a PBS documentary. They’ll declare “That’s the last time I’m watching this show!” and next week they’re right back in the thread as outraged as ever.
I really enjoy threads about animals and animal behavior. I remember watching Marlin Perkins “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom” as a child, and read lots of books about the natural kingdom. However, in the last twenty years or so, my memory has taken a nosedive, so I will often ask the Straight Dope questions about our furry animal friends.
I like Skald the Rhymer’s theory threads, “was I a jerk” threads, and threads involving the cute antics of animals. I also really like threads that calmly discuss the differences between men and women, or give me a manly perspective on things.
I love threads where someone says, “Hey, look at THIS!”, and it’s a link to some strange video, or a new game, or an interesting news story.
In the RW, I have a reputation of knowing something about everything, and always being on top of current events. Half the anecdotes I spout out there are things that someone here has led me to.
I love the thought experiment ones, like figuring out how much power the Death Star actually uses, what the solar system would be like if it were made of candy, and the previous conversation about goat flinging. Runners up are threads with Recreational Outrage (which my friends think is hilarious that I use that term IRL), poll threads and threads that have been hijacked, flown to Cuba, landed, then hijacked again. For a hilarious drama fix I love reading ATMB because everyone’s so petty and Serious.
