Nailing Jello to a Tree: Uncovering Solutions

[Math Is Hard]

It's been said that this is impossible, but there must be a handful of legitimate solutions. I'm writing an essay about solving a challenging problem and I am thinking about using this as a lead in, offering a few strategies for a solution.

Any ideas? Freezing the Jello seems like it might work if one nailed it carefully.

 

[Math Is Hard]

hmmm..Maybe sitting the Jello cube on top of a branch and then nailing it down is another possibility.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Nail the bag of powder to the tree [don't add water]
Nail the entire box to the tree

 

[Math Is Hard]

Nail the bag of powder to the tree [don't add water]

Ahhh.. clever!

 

[Evo]

Does the jello have to be made according to directions?
You make jello into gummy bear consistency which could be nailed to a tree.

 

[dontdisturbmycircles]

Cut down the tree, nail the Jello to the tree and drop the tree into a bottomless pit.

Place a wedge into the tree, nail small piece of Jello directly on top of the wedge.

 

[Moonbear]

I think there's an old thread somewhere about this, and the suggestion of nailing the whole box to a tree was made then too (maybe it was by Ivan then as well).

Edit: Hey, wait, that was MY suggestion!
https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=58853&highlight=jello

 

[apples]

Add lots and lots of gelatin to the Jello, and then nail it.

 

[Math Is Hard]

I'm assuming it's a free-for-all on how the jello is made or whether it's made at all, so these are good suggestions.

 

[Moonbear]

I'm assuming it's a free-for-all on how the jello is made or whether it's made at all, so these are good suggestions.

Yep, sometimes it's best to think INSIDE the box.

You could also put it in a Ziploc bag and nail the bag to the tree.

Or, you could make Jello shots, and invite an appropriate male/female mix of guests to the party...somebody might get... Nevermind, that's not rated PG.

 

[Math Is Hard]

Yep, sometimes it's best to think INSIDE the box.

You could also put it in a Ziploc bag and nail the bag to the tree.

That works, too!

I was also thinking about what DDMC wrote. I wonder if there is some antigravity or centrifugal force related solution?

 

[Math Is Hard]

Or, you could make Jello shots, and invite an appropriate male/female mix of guests to the party...somebody might get... Nevermind, that's not rated PG.

That might be a bit racy for my class essay.

 

[Gokul43201]

Stretching the usage of nail just a little...set the jello in a shot-glass with a dart inverted into it so that the jello sets around the fletching (the fins).

Or, for a simpler solution, make a standard 100ft by 100ft by 100ft cube of jello, cut down a smallish tree and nail it to the top of the cube. Then put yourself in the reference frame of the tree.

 

[Math Is Hard]

Stretching the usage of nail just a little...set the jello in a shot-glass with a dart inverted into it so that the jello sets around the fletching (the fins).

Or, for a simpler solution, make a standard 100ft by 100ft by 100ft cube of jello, cut down a smallish tree and nail it to the top of the cube. Then put yourself in the reference frame of the tree.

Oh, very cool!

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

Just put the jello on the tree. Jello is nails.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

That works, too!

I was also thinking about what DDMC wrote. I wonder if there is some antigravity or centrifugal force related solution?

Use an extremely dense nail? The local gravity will hold the jello in place.

You could also name the cat Jello...

or just write "Jello" on a piece of paper and nail it up.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Speaking of Jello, I had to mention this

The Extended Analog Computer (EAC) is a device which
computes using semi-conductive material, voltage gradients,
and logic arrays. The computational medium can be any semiconductive
material, such as black conductive foam, Jello
brand gelatin, or silicon. Voltage gradients are induced on the
conductive medium through the use of a series of sources and
sinks. Sources transmit electrical current to the medium by
producing an excess of electrons. These electrons, once on
the medium, tend to travel towards a sink. A sink provides a
path of least resistance for the electrons to exit the board. This
is either a ground or a negative voltage source.
As electrons flow across the medium from sources to sinks,
a voltage gradient is produced. This gradient can then be
sampled across the medium to produce a graph of the electrical
flows occurring on the conductive medium. Logic arrays are
used in order to modify the electrical currents being output to
the medium.

http://www.cs.indiana.edu/cgi-pub/cshue/research/techreport624-06.pdf

so you may be able to calculate a solution using a jello analog computer.

 

[matthyaouw]

Make up the jelly and set it in a small cylindrical container with the nail already in it so that it clings to the nail, then hit it into a tree.

 

[brewnog]

I reckon you could actually nail jelly to a tree, with no modifications to the nail or jelly. You'd just have to be a bit careful.

 

[Artman]

That works, too!

I was also thinking about what DDMC wrote. I wonder if there is some antigravity or centrifugal force related solution?

Construct an enormous centrifuge and place a tree in it. Then get in with your Jello, hammer and nails and start the centrifuge. Then when you get going fast enough carefully nail the Jello to the tree.

Or hammer twenty nails in a circle leaving a hole in the middle where you place your Jello.

 

[turbo]

Make a small container of jello, and when it sets up, punch a small hole through the center of the jello and put the jello in the freezer. When it's frozen, you can nail it to a tree, and it ought to stay put until it thaws, which could be a long time coming in my climate.

 

[Evo]

Put the jello in a shallow tray and dehydrate it to a leathery texture, then nail it.

I liked gokul's idea of molding the jellow on the dart feathers, if you made it dense or dried it enough, it wouldn't slip off.

 

[Math Is Hard]

Thanks for the ideas, everyone. I love the creative minds here.

 

[Moonbear]

It also depends on how much Jello you intend to nail to the tree. Just passing the nail through the jello should pick up enough on the nail to embed within the tree on the nail, even if you'd need a microscope to find it.

 

[Math Is Hard]

It also depends on how much Jello you intend to nail to the tree. Just passing the nail through the jello should pick up enough on the nail to embed within the tree on the nail, even if you'd need a microscope to find it.

We'll call this the "CSI solution".

 

[Moonbear]

We'll call this the "CSI solution".

Indeed, as I suggested it, one of those CSI scenes went through my mind. We'd hear the "splat" sound as the nail goes through the jello, then a *crack* as the nail passes through the wood, and we'd watch the nail with wiggly globs on it come at us, as if we were inside the tree.

 

[DaveC426913]

So, it seems to me, that the trick to finding new solutions is to identify the assumptions that appear to come with the initial problem. In this case it mostly concentrates on what one can do (or not do) to Jello recipe-wise and still have it be defined as Jello.

 

[edward]

Put a cube of jello on a narrow board and hold it against the tree. Use a nail with a large head and carefully push it through the jello until it contacts the tree. Now carefully drive the nail at at an upward angle so that the jello will be partially supported on the nail head. Stop hammering before you blast all hell out of it.

Nail guns are not recommended.

http://www.mazelumber.com/catalog/catalog.pl?page=PAGE27&group=PLH

Screwing jello to a tree with a large washer on the screw is even easier. You can even turn the screw with a cordless drill.

You can also freeze the jello then drill a small hole through it. Put the nail through the hole and hammer as needed.


This message will self destruct in 7 seconds.

 

[Gokul43201]

For an extra point, who can locate a PF post showing jello nailed to a tree?

Hint: Good thing Smurf and LYN aren't around very much.

 

[~christina~]

For an extra point, who can locate a PF post showing jello nailed to a tree?

Hint: Good thing Smurf and LYN aren't around very much.

http://scribalterror.blogs.com/scribal_terror/images/knoxjello.jpg

http://www.nitefallz.net/images/1/Image03.jpg

do I get at least half a point for jello nailed to a piece of plywood pic link?
(didn't feel like posting pic by direct pic)

 

[edward]

For an extra point, who can locate a PF post showing jello nailed to a tree?

Hint: Good thing Smurf and LYN aren't around very much.

This one?


https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=81133&highlight=jello+nailed=tree&page=5

 

[EnumaElish]

Use peach jello -- or some such -- with pieces of fruit mixed in, which should be easier to hold with a nail.

But here's a disheartening story: http://shelli7319.tripod.com/id18.html

 

[Moonbear]

But here's a disheartening story: http://shelli7319.tripod.com/id18.html

Help! I've gone blind! Pink text on pink background!

 

[Mk]

I sent that link to two different people and they said it made their heads hurt.

 

[Danger]

I've never tried this, so I don't know if it would work. Assuming a basic Jell-o consistency, you could sprinkle it with a lot of salt or those silica beads from a medicine bottle. Since the stuff does eventually dry out to a rubbery state, perhaps a dessicant would speed that along.

edit: Oops! I missed page 2. Apparently Evo has already covered this.

 

[Mk]

I've never tried this, so I don't know if it would work. Assuming a basic Jell-o consistency, you could sprinkle it with a lot of salt or those silica beads from a medicine bottle. Since the stuff does eventually dry out to a rubbery state, perhaps a dessicant would speed that along.

I'm going to try that next time I can get jello.

 

[Math Is Hard]

I'm going to try that next time I can get jello.

That almost makes it sound like Jello is a controlled substance.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

That almost makes it sound like Jello is a controlled substance.

Pssssst, hey, you, I have some jello that is so good it will make your eyes wiggle.

 

[Chi Meson]

I've got the tune to that old Squeeze song, "Pulling mussels from a shell" going through my head, except it's "Nailing Jello to a tree."

Thought I'd share.

 

[Math Is Hard]

I've got the tune to that old Squeeze song, "Pulling mussels from a shell" going through my head, except it's "Nailing Jello to a tree."

Thought I'd share.

Thanks for that.

Squeeze is my just-about-most-favorite-band-ever, but now I am deleting "Pulling Mussels" from my iPod.

 

[edward]

Jello Dance

 

[Math Is Hard]

Jello Dance

Cool! That Jello can dance!

 

[aallen]

Just change your time frame of analysis to very small; and you could nail any consistency of jello to a tree.

 

[Math Is Hard]

a necropost - but a nice solution!

 

[BobG]

Just change your time frame of analysis to very small; and you could nail any consistency of jello to a tree.

Wouldn't that make it hard to actually hit the nail with the hammer?

 

[Danger]

Wouldn't that make it hard to actually hit the nail with the hammer?

What?! You don't have a nanohammer?

 

[aallen]

What kind of Tree?

 

[RogueTowel]

You could try it this way!

 

[Tobias Funke]

Thread resurrected again, I see. How come nobody thought of just driving a nail through Jello and then correctly stating that some residue is still on the nail? I bet someone did and I missed it.

Or if we're really lazy, like some "solutions" were, why not just say that it's opposite day, and not nailing the Jello to the tree is actually nailing the Jello to the tree?

By the way Math is Hard, how did this experiment work out?

 

[Math Is Hard]

By the way Math is Hard, how did this experiment work out?

Oh, the jello->tree business was just a brief opening for an essay I was writing for a class. I was using it to introduce what I had decided was an even more difficult problem: trying to throw away a trash can.

My problem was trying to communicate to the trash collectors that the trash can itself was actually trash. It was a very silly experience. I tried putting a big sign on the can that said TRASH, and when that didn't work, I tried putting a sign on it that said BASURA, since the crew spoke Spanish. (I think they probably thought I was insane with my putting labels on the trash can. "Yes, crazy lady, we know this is the trash!") I tried putting the can inside another can, etc.

Anyhoo, the overall theme was about being locked into our perceptions of things, and only being able to view them in one way. I thought the trash can made a good example.