PlinthiPaul

Are there actual people controlling the cameras or are they droids?

Fri, 14 Aug 09 22:23:51 +0100

One of two pieces of evidence will suffice

a) a photo of actual people with their heads out the portacabin window, taken by paul

or

b) Paul convinces camera people to zoom in on the portacabin!

collect rain in paddling pool

Fri, 14 Aug 09 19:48:58 +0100

1 paddling pool, to be setup once on plinth.
1 hose pipe.
bottles (many).

Pro: works very well when raining
Con: but no at any other time.

Fried Eggs - City Style

Fri, 14 Aug 09 11:02:17 +0100

Crack an egg on the plinth, using two mobile phones call one from the other and put them either side of the yolky mess. Gaze in wonder as delicious Sony Ericsson fried egg is created is front of your very eyes.....or moved disappointedly on to the next experiment cursing the idea.

Bouncy Ball

Fri, 14 Aug 09 09:33:12 +0100

Paul launches a bouncy ball vertically as high as he can throw, with a slight angle so it lands in a space close to the plinth in Trafalgar Square. Someone counts how many bounces - ?would video capture be required to count in slow motion if the bounces become too close together for a human to count

How far will a bouncy ball bounce?

Fri, 14 Aug 09 09:28:34 +0100

Look around the plinth for direction with the longest clear run for ball-bouncing, which doesn't threaten people or traffic with damage. Take a bouncy ball (how about a nice bright red one with white spots, bought in Hayward Gallery shop after Walking In My Mind exhibition?) and throw it in said direction. Hope for the best. Also hope a helper at ground level can retrieve the ball from its endpoint, because it is rather a nice ball which it would be a shame to lose :)

How does a paper plane's size affect its flight?

Thu, 13 Aug 09 22:05:53 +0100

Make three paper planes of the traditional 'dart' type; one from A3 paper, one from A4 and one from A5. This could be done in advance to save time, if they can be transported to the plinth without getting squashed.

Throw each one off the plinth in the same way, facing the same direction, quickly one after the other to avoid wind interference.

Measure how far each one has flown (or get someone on the ground to do so), and see which size of paper plane gives the optimal gliding experience.

For more scientific rigour repeat the experiment and average the distances - probably not time to do this though with so many other good experiment suggestions to try out!

(my friend Peter came up with this idea but still hasn't got round to posting it so I am!)

Nudity on the plinth

Thu, 13 Aug 09 20:12:40 +0100

Now let me state this from the start, don't worry Edith, this is not me trying to get your husband naked for any reason other than humour!

As soon as Paul ascends the plinth he will strip off and stay that way until PC plod makes him dress again or his hour is up, what ever comes first!

Plich�s - a world record

Wed, 12 Aug 09 21:25:42 +0100

Can Paul get the following into a minute?

exclaim how mad it is to be up there/how high it is/how you didn't expect to be picked
phone someone to ask if they can see you
release some balloons
blow some bubbles
explain the O&O project to a bemused tourist
text someone
say hello to the tweety peeps
dress up in some bee related outfit
receive a text, giggle and not tell us who it is from
run out of things to do
look bored

please add more!

Plus something no one has done - will paul be willing to pick his nose in public?!

Does a tin can phone really work?

Mon, 10 Aug 09 13:43:42 +0100

Paul should have two empty cans joined by string that is long enough to reach the 3rd plinth, but no longer, so it can be taut. Paul should throw one can to a friend. The friend should then walk to the third plinth and they should then begin to speak to one another.

Can Paul beat the Guinness World Record of eating as many Ferrero Rochers as possible in 60 seconds?

Mon, 10 Aug 09 10:19:22 +0100

Eat chocolates and use timer.

Does god exist?

Sun, 09 Aug 09 20:19:54 +0100

Experiment suggests prayer is unlikely to influence the result of a coin toss or the spin of a roulette wheel. Some claim that this provides evidence against the existence of a god, however theists have traditionally countered this argument by stating that god was too busy watching the fourth plinth in Trafalgar square, and missed your light-hearted attempt to disprove his existence.

Until now, nobody has been able to gain access to the fourth plinth to test this theory experimentally. In order to advance human knowledge in this important area, you must conduct an experiment the results of which will doubtless thrill both Dawkins loving atheists and god bothering theists alike. Simply pray for a certain outcome, then toss a coin or preferably spin a wheel of fortune style wheel. Does your prayed-for outcome occur more often than expected?

Can Paul hold his family in his hand?

Thu, 06 Aug 09 22:37:10 +0100

Bitospud, Dadoplinth, Mumoplinth, Grandmaplinth, Grandadaplinth, Markoplinth and Emilyplinth all stand next to each other in a suitable location in Trafalgar Square. Paul takes a picture from the plinth such that it looks like they are all standing on his hand.

Is it possible to persuade a crowd of people to sing a Christmas carol in August?

Thu, 06 Aug 09 22:25:00 +0100

Paul takes his tall skinny father Xmas, a small Xmas tree, a Santa hat and a music baton onto the plinth. He plays the carol via a loudspeaker system and "conducts" the crowd.

How far can books travel? (OR, how literate are visitors to Trafalgar Square?)

Thu, 06 Aug 09 21:01:54 +0100

Books are registered (on Bookcrossing.com) and 'released', either by volunteers at the bottom of the plinth, or by placing them on a table near the base of the plinth at the beginning of the hour. Every half hour (12, 12:30, and 1), Paul makes announcements about free books from the plinth (as long as there are books left to be taken). He will need a megaphone for this element - unfortunately not something I have..

As there are many tourists of different nationalities who visit Trafalgar Square, theorectically it would possible for books to travel quite a distance geographically. However, while people frequently pick up books to read, not all of these books are followed up by a 'journal entry' on bookcrossing.com. Therefore, a better indicator of success might be the number of books which are taken away by passers-by.

Several Bookcrossers have already thrown books from the plinth, so this method is also an option - but this method may take up more time than Paul would like (and would also add to the amount of equipment which he would need to carry up). There is also a danger of knocking out innocent bystanders! I will provide and register (perhaps to a special Plinthipaul account) books, and in case of forecast rain I will place the books into plastic freezer bags as a measure of protection from the elements.

How much water will evaporate in a hour of sunshine or collect if it rains?

Thu, 06 Aug 09 19:26:46 +0100

Take a plastic measuring jug and a bottle of water.

The Pigeon Principle! Do pigeons find statues irresistible?

Wed, 05 Aug 09 23:32:34 +0100

Place a statue in one corner of the plinth and wait (it would be good if it was a pigeon or a mini Angel of the North or maybe a garden gnome). Will a pigeon visit? Will it leave a "message"?

Air Quality

Wed, 05 Aug 09 12:26:17 +0100

Use an air sampler which you could set going at the beginning of the hour and then take the readings at the end of the hour. Write results on a big flip chart for everyone to see

folding paper in half and half again, etc. > 9 times

Wed, 05 Aug 09 11:38:58 +0100

large piece of paper..spangly as you like..thin as you like..waterproof if you like..fold more than 9 times.

Fizzy Mint volcano

Tue, 04 Aug 09 22:01:18 +0100

Put mints into a full bottle of lemonade and see how it reacts with the mints and try out with other fizzy drinks

Pigeons vs. humans, which Trafalgar square occupant has the best memory?

Mon, 03 Aug 09 00:25:07 +0100

Take onto the plinth a set of images, possibly from Paul’s Flickr collection. Show them to anyone who will pay attention. Then show the images again with new images mixed in. Can people report which images they have already seen?

Various studies have shown that pigeons can do this task. Depending on the conditions they can recall hundreds of images, abstract squiggles or photos, even if some of the images are quite similar.

An example of such work is:

W. Vaughan, Jr. and S.L. Greene (1984). Pigeon visual memory capacity. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes, 10(2), 256–271.

Of course there is a historical link between pigeons and Trafalgar square: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trafalgar_square#Pigeons

It could be difficult engaging an audience from the plinth, or printing images large enough to be seen. On the other hand this is an excuse for Paul to hold up a series of his favourite images, something I think he was considering doing anyway.

(Paul I could provide the above paper and further references on request.)

Is it possible to fry an egg in less than an hour on the top of the plinth?

Sun, 02 Aug 09 19:07:02 +0100

Place a small square of foil on a corner of the plinth (say 30cm sq) with slightly upturned edges. Place a thermometer next to the foil. Break an egg onto the foil. Leave it until the hour is nearly up and inspect temperature and egg. If edible, eat it!

Bribery in Trafalgar Square. What will people do for a packet of sweets?

Sun, 02 Aug 09 11:23:40 +0100

At 30 minutes in organise a favourite pliche activity of a mass Hokey Cokey. Offer a reward of haribo to all participants. Ascertain the percentage of people in Trafalgar Square partaking in the activity. At he end of the hour, repeat the activity but this time offer no reward for participation. Again ascertain the percentage of people in Trafalgar Square participating in the activity

Statistical probability will be ascertained with a chi-square analysis. (I think, I did only get 24% in my undergraduate stats exam!)

Possible external influences on the experiment - changes in precipitation levels (i.e. it might start chucking it down in the middle of the hour), activities in the intervening 30 mins may influence level of participation and lastly there may be an influence of people watching the first hokey cokey and wanting to join in.

For the results to be a true reflection of the influences of haribo, this experiment should be repeated at other times on the plinth, but who would be that bonkers?!

Number of Pauls that One & Other can show on Paul’s laptop

Sat, 01 Aug 09 19:45:06 +0100

Method as in short summary. One could also see what effect slowly moving the laptop around has.

Disclaimer: this experiment may produce a disappointingly small number of Pauls.

This experiment will require an umbrella in bad weather to protect the laptop, and would have to be abandoned in really bad weather.

What will fall faster from the plinth?

Sat, 01 Aug 09 19:25:49 +0100

Take a piece of card and bend it around into a cylinder by putting the inside of one edge on the outside of the opposite edge. Tape the edges into place. Make the ‘tear-drop’ with another piece of card by attaching the inside of one edge to the inside of the opposite edge. These objects could optionally be constructed off plinth.

Hold the objects one in each hand with the axes of the objects parallel to the ground. For the tear-drop, hold onto the taped join so that the rounded part is closest to the ground. Release the objects at the same time. See which hits the ground first.

(This experiment was an example in the undergraduate fluid dynamics course that I took. Who knows what will happen in the open air around the plinth?)

How compliant is the population of Trafalgar Square?

Sat, 01 Aug 09 18:26:00 +0100

For two minutes, Paul should randomly point at people in the crowd and yell commands. These should be of the form "YOU! [COMMAND]." For example:

"YOU! DANCE FOR ME!"
"YOU! SING, MY ANGEL OF MUSIC!"
"YOU! KNEEEEEEL!"

Inevitably, some people will comply, while others will simply ignore Paul's barked request. The totals of each should be captured by Paul and the percentage of compliant crowd-members worked out at the end.