I'm just gonna kick this up because I've got something to say, and I didn't realize this topic when it first started.
Back in the day, (8th grade), we started to get bored. Big kids on campus, nothing to do, waiting to go to high school... it all started to take a toll on us.
Eventually, my friend perfected his design for a high powered Mardi Gras bead shooter. For those of you unfamiliar with Mardi Gras, they throw, (mostly), colored beads about 8mm in diameter, (just a guess), that are attached along a string that you can wear around your neck.
Every year, around Mardi Gras, the typical John Q. Retards would start bringing them to school, tear off about a bead at a time, and start throwing them across the room.
So... what way for a bunch of nerds to survive, except by building something that would shoot the beads even faster
The design was just a pen tube with an I.D. of 8mm. He crafted a doweling pin, which was wrapped in a lot of a thin strip of duct tape at the back to stop it from flying through the tube.
Then, a heavy postage rubber band was attached to outside of the pen and then to the firing pin. The pin was pulled back, and a bead muzzle loaded. Then, you let go and the thing shot a little purple plastic bead about 20 yards.
Eventually, the idea caught on. By the end of the month, about 5 people owned a bead shooter.
Ammo was stockpiled. Mardi Gras beads were cut at super-industry rates and put into tuppeware containers that were brought to school.
The "shoot-outs" occuring at lunch and in the morning attracted more people. By the end of that week, it was getting out of hand.
Eventually, the teachers got tired. One such occasion was in English class, when our teacher made us stand up and empty out all of our pockets.
And then, finally, action was taken. The principals held an assembly. Everybody was told to get rid of the things and never bring them to school again. If you were caught with one, or anything similar, you would be suspended, and possibly expelled, (if you were shooting it at anybody).
So, 8th grade ended. Summer passed away in a frenzy of explosions and smoke for me and my buddy.
Then, it was off to Freshmen year at High School.
It wasn't but a few weeks before my buddy wheeled out the new and improved version. A hollow firing pin, longer barrel, and stronger rubber bands allowed faster velocities. Several incidents of beads flying into the horns of the band during a pep-rally peaked the fiasco.
Then, at lunch, it all ended.
My friend's launcher was getting a little weak. The rubber bands were wearing out, and one of them had popped already. Velocities were down.
The last shot was fired at Kieth at 12:30 P.M. of that day. The bead bounced off the wall and bounced gently past Coach Beaudreax.
He was suspended for three days.
So, as you can see, these things CAN get you in trouble. We used to have "pen launchers" that shot the ink cartridge out of cheap Dollar General pens using a rubber band. Eventually, these got too many people in trouble as well.
My tip is to just follow the damn rules.
