Do Cool Tricks With a Slinky

Do you have a Slinky and all you can do is flip flop it between hands? It's time to improve your repertoire and perform some cool tricks with your metallic Slinky.

Steps

Hand Trick

  1. Hold 10-15 coils at the ends of your Slinky, with both hands.
  2. Bring your good hand up in the air while holding with your thumb, about {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} of coil.
  3. Let go of the coils only with the thumb holding the {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}}.
  4. Observe as the weight from the top flows back down to the bottom.
  5. If that was too easy try going back to step #2 and rotating your good hand in a clockwise motion making the slinky do a tornado-like motion.

Stair Stepping Trick

  1. Go to the top of a set of stairs.
  2. Get one end of the Slinky in arch position on the top of a stair and the other end on the top of the next stair.
  3. Let go and give it a little push.
  4. Watch it go down the steps.
    • You can also try this with an escalator. Just make sure nobody else is on the escalator first. It's also a good idea to record the slinky with a camera, as this lets you watch the action afterwards.

Spinny Trick

  1. Put three spirals in each hand.
  2. Pull far, and let go!

Random Twist

  1. Stretch the Slinky as far as you can.
  2. Throw it high into the air.
  3. Watch.

Waterslide

  1. Find a piece of furniture with a height of {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} tall or more. For example, a bed or a chair.
  2. Put one end of the slinky on the furniture. Place the other end hanging towards the ground. Have something holding the furniture end firmly in place.
  3. Put a bowl of water on the floor by that end of the slinky.
  4. Slide objects that will fit inside the slinky (such as Lego people, Barbie dolls, etc) through the end that is on the furniture.
  5. Let them go. Splash!

Blaster from Star Wars

This works best with a metal slinky.

  1. Grip a few coils of the slinky and let the rest drop to the floor.
  2. Slide the top coils over a desk or table, so the rest of the slinky is underneath the table.
  3. Pluck the slinky! The table acts as a soundboard, and you will hear a familiar sound from Star Wars.
  4. If you want to keep the sound to yourself, try gripping the end of the slinky between your teeth and plucking. This time your skull is the soundboard.

Tips

  • Experiment and make your own tricks to share with others.
  • Try to get 15-20 coils in each hand and move each hand up and down at different times.

Warnings

  • Beware: when doing the twirl or twist, the slinky might get tied up.
  • A trick may not always work the first time. Be persistent.
  • You may smack yourself in the head when doing the spinny trick, so beware.
  • The coils may pull the hair out of your hands and arms.

Things You'll Need

  • A metal Slinky
  • Stairs for the Stair Stepping Trick

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