At IOWA State University’s annual Engineers’ Week, there was a contest to build a contraption that would send an egg the farthest distance. Most machines featured a complex series of levels, catapults and other devices. The student who was in the lead had bulit a catapult that heaved an egg almost 12 feet. Expecting to win, he stood by complacently as two other competitors opened a large cardboard box. Out floated four helium balloons suspending an egg in a cloth cradle. As their invention sailed west, the two were awarded first prize. At IOWA State University’s annual Engineers’ Week, there was a contest to build a contraption that would send an egg the farthest distance. Most machines featured a complex series of levels, catapults and other devices. The student who was in the lead had bulit a catapult that heaved an egg almost 12 feet. Expecting to win, he stood by complacently as two other competitors opened a large cardboard box. Out floated four helium balloons suspending an egg in a cloth cradle. As their invention sailed west, the two were awarded first prize.