YIPPEE (sarcasm), Egg Project

Damon's homework assignment : package an egg any way you want. Has to weigh at least 3 lbs. (actually what it said was 13.5 newtons), cannot be more than 8" (actually it said 20 cm) in any direction. That's it. They get graded on how well they do, if it breaks (yolk included) then points are deducted or they're also deducted if it doesn't weigh enough or is bigger than the measurements above. My thoughts : who cares? Who is ever going to drop an egg from a crane and not want it to break...unless maybe if you are the guys from Myth Busters. Wouldn't it be more of an incentive if a child actually put forth some real effort than if the freakin' yolk of an egg actually broke or not?!?! Points are deducted if any part of it breaks. Well, materials shown above : duck tape, bubble wrap, bread and one of Terry's small weights from his bench set (hope it doesn't break). We had a small victory tonight too. Also included in this assignment is a page regarding the egg project (again another good use of time). Damon swears it isn't due tomorrow, but I'm not convinced (considering his track record). After a lot of sighs, he finally said, "Fine" in a 'I hate you, but I'll do it or you're never going to shut up' tone. Hate is probably a strong word, but at almost 13 I'm pretty sure that's what he's thinking. He got it done! He really did it and it's almost a full page long! Did I mention we also studied his Spanish words? We only went through them once, but still he let me quiz him and I didn't even get an eye roll! V-I-C-T-O-R-Y, that's a mamma's battle cry! And because he got his homework done and still had time...I let him play a little PS3. Anyway, when was the last time you weighed something in NEWTONS? Or measured something in centimeters? Just curious.