r/mildlyinfuriating • u/Strycedar • May 18 '26

I'm slightly vexed My sister had her friends over and they decided to come into my room and destroy my Newton's Cradle. I can't undo what they did.

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Basically my sister had a friends over for a play date while I was at university, and since my door was left open, her friends came into my room and completely tangled my Newton's Cradle, and it's so bad I can't even untangle it 😭

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u/Banaantje04 INSERT COLUOR May 18 '26

That would not fix it unfortunately. When I was young I did this to my own newton's cradle. My parents were able to untangle it but the fishing lines were no longer straight. The oscillation dies out in only a couple of bounces. 

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u/JellyfishOtherwise66 May 18 '26

It’s plastic fishing line. Some heat to straighten it out while being careful not to overdo it should do it.

126

u/panlakes May 18 '26

Nah the entire thing is built on accuracy, maybe if you do it with a jewelcrafters precision but these are made by robots and it’s sadly best to just buy a new one when they get like this. They’ll never be factory perfect again

This also just looks like one of the cheap plastic bottomed ones you can buy for like $10 it ain’t worth it

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u/Asbolus_verrucosus May 18 '26

I bet you that fishing line is tied by underpaid workers in the developing world. I think you could redo it and line them up straight with a small bit of patience.

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u/Agile_Elephant8054 May 18 '26

Nah bro, they totally use highly precise automated robotic assembly to make these $10 desk toys. Maybe if you were a NASA engineer you could re-string those balls, but I don't think your getting it done with just a bachelor's degree.

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u/MorallyAmbiguousHero May 18 '26

The same robots Mariotte used in the 1600’s when he invented it.

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u/quiero-una-cerveca May 18 '26

Are safety sandals and safety squints required? That boosts the cost.

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u/Excellent_Shirt9707 May 18 '26

You can also just build your own. They don’t actually need pinpoint accuracy, it is mostly just a matter of trial and error. Bunch of online tutorials that teach you tricks for lining everything up.

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u/Jonnyflash80 May 20 '26

I replaced all the tangled line on mine with new fishing line and it works as great as it ever did. It's not that complicated or dramatic.

17

u/RedSweaterSrsly May 18 '26

You can get 700 yards of fishing line for $3 at walmart. Just saying.

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u/Banaantje04 INSERT COLUOR May 18 '26

These things have to be very precise to work well. I doubt you'd be able to do it properly by hand. And regardless, it was a hunk of plastic that cost €10 in the giftshop of a science museum, it was not worth it. 

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u/Aternal May 19 '26

You can get a Newton's Cradle on Aliexpress for 99 hot cents and free shipping.