Pinewood Derby night arrived.
Did you know they can only find an accurate winner if they know how many times each car raced every other car and how times it was in each lane and so on and so on. So that's what they did. They displayed the stats during the race. Showing how many times each car raced against the others and in which lane, and points received for first thru fourth place in each heat. These things can be figured out if you have an MIT grad working the computer for the derby. And these things are figured so parents can't come back and say, "my kid didn't get to race that kid" or "that lane is faster".
So in the spirit of fair competition, parent satisfaction, and statistical analysis here is a peek at the evening's events.
Mitchell up to race in lane 1.
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Mitchell's green car in lane 1 (right).JPG)
Mitchell's car cruising by in lane 1. That was one of the heats he did win. Our missionaries were the finish line judges. .JPG)
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8 comments:
ha ha ha. This pine wood derby business is SERIOUS!!! Hope ya'll had a great time.
That's cool...is it legal to put weights in the cars?
There is a maximum weight allowed.
So, who wrote the computer program for Pine Wood Derby's? And does the "stats guy" have a kid with a car or is that not allowed?
Fun stuff. Hope Mitch had a good time making his car and racing :)
I have to be honest. This is one of those things that make me glad I don't have boys! We have a friend here who is literally a rocket scientist. I would want him to help me make a car! Miss you guys, lets get together as the weather warms up!
The lube of choice around here is graphite, not grease. This is serious business among dads when the old competitive juices get flowing. I am glad to see boys at the rail in your picture.
My first Derby I used light oil (mom's sewing machine oil) as lube. Then, a well-meaning-adult-type put graphite powder in the axles, as well. The result was goo-induced viscosity break-down.
Good times.
Don't you love the technicalities of something as "simple" as pinewood derby!?!
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