The Curious P.L.O.D.E.

(Click on any of the images above to open full resoultion pages which you can then save or print.)

Excerpt from The Extra Terra/Fauna Field Guide Vol. 7:

Upon being discovered dormant in a desert field some fifteen years ago, four hundred and twenty P.L.O.D.E. were originally dismissed by the Magnonauts as a grouping of ancient abandoned machinery. It was not until an accident involving the involuntary pulling of the “plode string” (it got wrapped around a dune buggy tire) that the beings were discovered to be not only intelligent, but intentionally designed by creators unknown to achieve a singular goal: to dig a hole just big enough to bury themselves in. After their baffling task was completed the P.L.O.D.E were found to be unresponsive and apparently became what they were originally misunderstood as having been.

The acronym P.L.O.D.E. is the unfortunate concoction of the first Magnonaut to discover the beings proper (the guy with the dune buggy, exercising the then popular custom of allowing the finder of new organisms to name said discovery, despite that name often not making any good sense.) It was insisted that P.L.O.D.E. was the official name and that it was an acronym, though no explanation for the letters was given, and the whole thing was ultimately turned over to a committee for review.

After several years of deliberation as to what P.L.O.D.E. might stand for, it was decided that the long form was to be interpreted as “PERSISTENT LACK OF DISCERNIBLE ECPHASIS,” which reflects the committee’s inability to make an explicit declaration or interpretation despite multiple efforts to use five words that they wouldn’t have to explain to the public. The affair has since become a metaphor throughout the galaxy for the futility of committee politics.

NOW ENTERING REAL WORLD

This project was spawned from attempting to justify purchasing mass quantities of empty prize bubbles. I was convinced that they would make something awesome in the Magnonaut world, and after playing around with the few I had acquired from local quarter machines (why do Chinese buffets always have the best little toys?,) the P.L.O.D.E. arose.

I wanted to do a “Brain Beast,” that is to say, a creature with its brains exposed under a clear dome. After a couple failed attempts, including wadded-up balloons and chewed bubble gum, I thought of the tiny curly streamers that are in party poppers (more abstract, less potential for saliva-borne diseases.) Bonus score because the plastic casing they came in was proportionately relevant to the thing, and when I got my hands on some (see link below in “Supplies”) I realized I could literally EXPLODE THE BRAINS INTO THE DOME. What?! That’s right.

TOOLS
X-acto Knife, Scissors, a Nickel, a Sharpie, Hot Glue/Gun, 1/8” Hole Punch.

SUPPLIES
You will need a few not terribly common but still inexpensive things to complete this project. First, a 2” (Standard) Prize Bubble (For some reason blogger doesn't like this HTML I'm trying to link, so here's the web address for the bubbles I found http://www.candymachines.com/Empty-Vending-Capsules-C99.aspx) and a Party Popper (Here) Next, you will need four little Cable Ties (These) and a transparent Mini Slinky (Here.) I added some sticker gems for eyes, but that is obviously optional. Lastly, two drywall mounts and a strong magnet.

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NOTE: THIS IS THE PRELIMINARY VERSION OF THIS POST. Eventually I will add video and pictures of the construction for this and most of the projects, which you can check for by clicking the P.L.O.D.E. icon to the right of this screen (it will link directly to this post, so it doesn't matter if it gets buried.)