July 31st, 2005
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About the Trebuchet - the Scariest Medieval Weapon Ever Made
By Alice Hill
RealTechNews
We don’t usually cover weaponry here at RTN, but most (if not all) of our greatest technical inventions have come from warfare. So today, we thought we’d get truly medieval on you and take a look at the trebuchet. Billed as the the most destructive medieval weapons ever made, I have to say, that as a longtime player of Age of Empires, the trebuchet is my favorite weapon.
So let’s take a journey back in time and look at a technology that allowed you to hurl a dead horse (shown here) into a castle and scare the living daylights out of everyone. And of course, we have link on how to build your own. And if anyone can find the story of the man who built one to shoot his garbage bags into yards all over his neighborhood, send me the link so we can add it here.
Trebuchet Resources
–The Convertible Tabletop Trebuchet
–The Projectile Throwing Engines of the Ancients
–Trebuchet Software Simulators
–Have You Hurled Today? Trebuchet T-Shirts
–Backyard Ballistics (Book)
–Build Your Own Trebuchet out of PVC Pipe
–Riding a Trebuchet
–Trebuchet for Sale ($4,000)
Source: Trebuchet.com (of course)
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Lockergnome's Tech News Watch says:
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About the Trebuchet - the Scariest Medieval Weapon Ever Made
We don’t usually cover weaponry here at RTN, but most (if not all) of our greatest technical inventions have come from warfare. So today, we thought we’d get truly medieval on you and take a look at the trebuchet. Billed as the the most destructive m…
July 31st, 2005 at 2:17 pm
Dave Taylor says:
Interestingly, the Trebuchet plays an important role in the (excellent) new book from Caleb Carr too: “The Italian Secretary”. Check it out at: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0786715480/
July 31st, 2005 at 3:51 pm
Dolemite says:
There was a whole Discovery Channel (or History Channel- can’t remember) that ran a couple years ago about building a lifesized trebuchet. Awesome show. They fired huge sandstone balls at a segment of castle wall constructed just for the demo.
August 1st, 2005 at 5:47 pm
ME® says:
I saw the show where they built a life sized trebuchet. It was a competition and, if my memory is relatively error free on the subject, it was when they fired their trebuchet that it was proven that allowing it to move increased the accuracy and range.
Very interesting show.
August 3rd, 2005 at 11:59 am
MrFluffy says:
I built one of these for a science fair. They rock.
Unfortunately, due to some last-minute adjustments that weren’t tested, it ended up hurling the projectiles into the ground about eight inches in front of it.
August 3rd, 2005 at 7:25 pm
Shdwdrgn says:
Trebuchet.com is an excellent place to get started, and get answers to questions while building any style of catapult. And remember, you don’t have to be affiliated with a TV show to build full-scale seige engines. My treb requires a team of friends to set up and fire, but we toss bowling balls over 600 feet and have a blast!
August 4th, 2005 at 12:21 pm
Neil Hooper says:
That’s an easy way to make an article provide links to other people’s content.
August 4th, 2005 at 8:33 pm
Chris Hansen says:
It was a PBS show, Nova, that built the treb and knocked down a castle wall with the boulders.
Lots of fun…
August 4th, 2005 at 11:32 pm
Rathman says:
Check out this game. It’s a challenge to build the best treb. Pretty cool.
December 6th, 2005 at 12:53 pm
KALINA SAVAGE says:
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AND THAT I AM THE BEAST IN THE WORLD
August 8th, 2006 at 12:04 am
» USB-Powered Office Cannon » Blog Archive Alice Hill’s Real Tech News - Independent Tech says:
[…] We Say: Or go one better and build your own trebuchet. USB cord not required. Share and Enjoy:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. […]
March 9th, 2007 at 4:00 pm
Monica says:
In our physics class we built one of these and it was sweet!!
January 24th, 2008 at 6:36 am
Monica says:
Wow this is cool
January 24th, 2008 at 6:37 am
SHaq says:
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January 24th, 2008 at 6:39 am
Naquial says:
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January 24th, 2008 at 6:41 am
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December 12th, 2008 at 12:48 pm