So we convinced our teachers to let us do an egg drop before the year is over. The goal is to create some sort of contraption, mechanism, etc. that keeps our egg from splatting when we drop them from a third story window. Here are the regulations:

-No transport (RC helicoptor, etc).

-No on-ground defenses (matresses, shock aborbers, anything that would catch the egg. It has to fall with the egg).

-No chemical, combustible, or otherwise hazardous materials.

-No food (Besides the egg of course.Peanut butter, jello, marshmallows etc. are considered cheating).

-The thing can't be bigger than 18 inches by 18 inches. This doesn't apply to attached parachutes. However, if a parachute is in use, it cannot extend more than five inches in any direction of the thing.

-No animals.

I'm convinced that taking your opinions into account, fellow members, is not cheating.

So far I've come up with a block of matressy material with the egg concealed in a hollow at the center, surounded by a thin layer of silly putty/rubber.

Does covering it in springs count?

Might bounce abit though

Parachutes a maximum of five inch diameter? Huh, that's pretty restrictive. Do the rules say anything about multiple 5" parachutes? If not, I'd suggest an 18" * 18" frame with as many 5" parachutes attached as possible, and the egg in a shock-absorbing case in the centre of the frame. That squidgy foam they sometimes use as a packing material is probably quite a good shock absorber.
If you're not allowed multiple parachutes, then use just the one, but don't rely on it to slow your rig down much - every little helps, but one 5" parachute isn't going to stop an egg.
(General tip on parachutes: cut a small circular hole in the centre - probably about hole-punch size on a 5" chute - it makes them more stable.)
Bear in mind that the longer the deceleration distance, the smaller the forces on the egg are, so a thick layer of very soft foam is better protection than a thinner layer of less squidgy foam.
Finally, eggs are strongest along their longest axis - so put it in its case pointy end down.

Thanks. And I don't know about multiple parachutes.

And do you mean the little foam things shaped almost like an "S"?

No, I don't mean the foam chips, though I don't suppose that would be too bad. I mean the stuff this is made out of:

I'm not sure how much room on your thing, but the addition of some packing peanuts under it would help.

Or bubble wrap to cushion it?

Bubble wrap sound good.

I'm also sticking with my silly-putty shock absorbation. I may add a paracuhte.

Yep, if one fails, you've got the other.
I like the helmet idea. :D
How would animals help? It's not like anyone can train a bird to fly it down with them.

That's what I wondered as well.

Strap the egg to the back of a cat and throw it out the window. Simple. *That* is why animals are banned. =p

Sentynel wrote: Strap the egg to the back of a cat and throw it out the window. Simple. *That* is why animals are banned. =p

Hmm...that reminds me of the last time I was on Mibbit...

Wow.
I'd Say make three chutes, for stability...
five sounds A might bit excessive...

Success!

My suspension technique worked. I suspended the egg in a box of the stuff Sentynel posted, covered by a thin silly putty layer. This was suspened in the middle of a cube-like structure. Damage was minimal.
Thanks and all that.

This thread shall now die.

Strange things happen here; topics that ought to have died long ago remain, and others never live.

Many topics which live deserve death... some which die deserve life, but can you give it to them?

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Nice one, Mr. Paolini.

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That's a Tolkien (mis)quote, blasphemer!

I know. Because it was misquoted, it was transformed into a Paolini quote. Damn the man.

Do djinnis count as animals?