Escape Adulthood

Create & Do

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17 Surprisingly Practical Uses for Silly Putty

There is great debate in toy history as to who really invented Silly Putty. One thing is for sure: we can thank the American rationing of rubber during Word War II for its existence. The shortage of rubber was due to the Japanese invasion of many rubber-producing countries during that time period, which led the U.S. government to fund research into synthetic rubber compounds. James Wright, the man who was awarded the patent in 1943, discovered that reacting boric acid with silicone oil would produce a gooey, bouncy material with several unique properties. Although it never became a suitable …

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How to Make Rainbow Colored Spaghetti Noodles

Found this on the lovely Pinterest. Plain-colored noodles be gone! Here's how you do it: Cook spaghetti noodles, drain and cool. Fill a gallon Ziplock bag one quarter of the way with water. Add food coloring to the water. Add part of cooked spaghetti and mix around in the ziplock bag until noodles change color. Drain, repeat with other colors. Place the noodles in separate bowls. To keep abreast of all of the other stuff we find on Pinterest, you should follow me. Photo by Henry Hargreaves …

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How to Make Glowing Chalk

Remember our epic Small Rebellion in which tons of people used sidewalk chalk to scribble inspirational quotes in public spaces? It was awesome. In an effort to take awesomeness to a whole new level, how about making glow-in-the-dark chalk! We think it's a great way to spookify your sidewalks this Halloween. Crystal from Growing a Jeweled Rose has provided the complete instructions for making glowing chalk. It requires making up some batches of glow water (how awesome does that sound?!) and fortunately, she has the recipe to that as well. Thanks Crystal! (And thanks to Kathleen Cummings for …

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Dad Sends Son’s Train Into the Stratosphere

This is a cool story (and video) of how a dad sent his son's favorite toy train into the stratosphere. Pretty amazing what one can accomplish with a weather balloon, an HD camera, a GPS-equipped phone, and a little imagination. And after watching the video, it appears as though the train had the time of his life. Hat tip to thekidsshouldseethis.com …

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Does Your Car Have a Kite Compartment?

I think it’s funny that even as our cars get more high tech, outfitted with GPS systems, heated seats, and hands-free calling, they still come equipped with glove compartments. Glove compartments! Although the glove compartment in my car is jammed with a great many things -- manuals, napkins, straws, ketchup packets, pens that don't work, and the like -- gloves are not among them. I got thinking about glove compartments when I was in Houston a few weeks ago for a speaking engagement. One of the audience members talked about a friend’s dad who always carried a few spare kites in the …

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Mustache Straws Make Everything Better

I don’t know what it is about mustaches, but they’re quite the trend. The best I can tell, fake ones are still more popular than the real ones (with apologies to Mr. Tom Selleck.) You may remember a post a few months back in which I suggested the idea of having a mustache cookout. This week I’m sharing another mustache-related project because it’s fun and funny, and a ridiculously easy way to upset Adultitis. Which pretty much covers our M. O. around here. …

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Ding Dong Ditch 2.0

One of my favorite parts of the first ever Escape Adulthood Summit was tapping into the collective knowledge and wisdom of every in attendance. We spent a few hours on Saturday afternoon sharing insights and ideas to help each other with various hot button issues. One of the things that got brought up by a camp director named Jen was the subject of pranking. Pulling pranks and practical jokes is fun in large part because of the rush of excitement that comes from getting away with something and creating a scenario that contains the element of surprise. Unfortunately, it too often makes the …

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How to Build Tree Swings, Teepees, and Sweet Watermelon Homesteads

Even though kids are starting to go back to school, summer is still hanging on for a bit longer, and watermelons are still being sold at the supermarket. I love this watermelon homestead, carved up by the Dahls and featured on their site Builtbykids.com. I especially LOVE the mission behind their site: …

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Quite Possibly the Most Fun Service Project Ever

College students sometimes give up their spring break to go on a service trip. Boy scouts have to collect service hours to earn certain types of badges. Lawbreakers must log a set number of community service hours in order to pay their debt to society. Every year, thousands of brave men and women enlist in the military to serve their country. According to Muhammad Ali, “Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.” Service is super important. The dictionary defines it as “an act of helpful activity.” But it seems that people have certain pre-conceived …

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