Back in high school....
We had to do that "prepare a lecture and deliver it to the rest of the class" shenaigans. Not really having any real interests except the search for virgins and smashing windows, I needed some influence.

I trots down the library, and after a bit of rummaging I finds "How to build a formicarium" (home for Ants).

So, I goes home and read just enough to blag my way through the steps of building a Formicarium, and lets face it, I have some scope for bulshitting my way thru if I need to.

The event comes and goes with ease. I am elevated to a new *weird* status in the class, and only one question, which was "how long have you been keeping Ants?", to which I replied "I don't, I just read a book on it".

Roll forward a few years, and I find that the Army like to put potential NCO's and Officers thru such oratory drills as I did in school. We had a Major who dished out usually military topics, but one day, he made the mistake of giving us a choice on what to talk about.

Without the use of notes, I prepared a 10 minute lecture that taught some of the best British Professional Killers how to build a home for Ants out of Glass, Plasticine and Plaster of Paris.

A huge hit... and only one question, which was "how long have you been keeping Ants?", to which I replied "I don't, I just read a book on it".

Incidently, I passed Officer selection but gave it up as I was too working class for the Officer's mess.

But the book "Making a Formicarium" did change my life in oh-so-many ways.

Length: About 12x12 inches, with tunnels in the set plaster, with a removable lid for removing dead ants and detritus. At least that's how the plans described it.
( Piper Alpha is being a grumpy northerm bastard on:, Wed 21 May 2008, 15:42, 1 reply)

*clicks*
I like this.
Had a friend who had to do a similar thing, he did his on taxidermy.
( Cawl, Wed 21 May 2008, 15:54, closed)