For those of us who were alive in the 70s, including this Old Fort, we might remember when domino tumbling took off as a fad.  As millions of dominoes were tumbled throughout the 80s and 90s, very little thought seems to have been given to the idea that dominoes were only one of many different chain-reaction devices that could be made.  Apart from stick bombs, which were around in a very simple form for generations, and domino tumbling, pretty much every other technique I use was invented by me.  One of the good things about inventing something is that you get the privilege of calling them whatever you want.  So here's a quick guide to my techniques and what they're called...

Reticulated Xyloexplosive Device--Since my stick bombs are much bigger than the simple 5-stick variety that's been around for generations, I figured they'd need a much bigger and more imposing-sounding name.  'Reticulated' means that the sticks are in a net-like configuration. 'Xyloexplosive' is just the Greek prefix 'xylo' meaning 'wood' added to 'explosive'.

Herringbone--Those are the chains of collapsing sticks you may see in many of my devices.  'Collapsing stick chain' seems kinda lame, so I went with 'herringbone' due to the pattern the sticks make when rails are used for supports.  Also, I called them 'herringbones' because I really, really like pickled herring.

String-a-Ling--These are the chains of beads, ribbons, and objects tied together with string that often appear in my gadgets.  I thought 'string-a-ling' was much more euphonious than 'stuff tied together with a string'.

Clever Lever--Those are the exploding sticks that you saw on the Vegas audition made with sticks and rubber bands.  I'm a real sucker for rhyming names and since the device uses a lever action of sorts, 'clever lever' seemed like the obvious choice.

Pegophone--Over the years, I've tried several different configurations for playing simple musical tunes with my kinetic art over the years.  My sister made the brilliant suggestion of using bottles filled with water of varying levels to produce the various notes, so I decided to name the device after her.

Muybridgeoscope--This is the animated flip-book device you see in many of my videos.  It's named after movie pioneer Eadweard Muybridge whose galloping horse appears in many of my videos.

So, now you know the hip lingo for all the cool devices I make with my kinetic art.  Next time you're in public, just drop a line like "Oh yeah, I ran a Herringbone chain into a Muybridgeoscope" and everybody within a 50-meter radius will think you're the coolest person around.

But I digress...