Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with rope

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear turn around...and then what?

librarylis — Tue, 19 May 2009 02:10:03 -0800

What's your version of Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear Turn Around? Miss Susie had a steamboat? Cinderella dressed in yella? I am doing a short presentation on children's jump rope rhymes and count-out games. I've noticed that a lot of these have regional variations.

Some rhymes I've come across frequently include Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear Turn Around, Cinderella dressed in yella (made a mistake and kissed a fella), Bubble gum bubble gum in a dish, Not last night but the night before (24 robbers), Miss Mary Mack, etc. Variations on these and other rhymes definitely welcome!

I am aware of: this previous AskMe as well as this one, The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren, Brian Sutton-Smith, and a whole bunch of scholarly articles.

What's your variation? I'm looking for any type of jump rope rhyme, any type of counting rhyme (playground, not classroom), that sort of thing. It would help if you would explain what region you learned the rhyme in.

Recommend me an inexpensive hi-tech jump rope.

fook — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 15:28:23 -0800

I'm in the market for a skipping rope or jump rope. Recommend me a high-tech jump rope, please! I love gadgets and want to buy a properly weighted jump rope, possibly with something that counts the number of repetitions, or something that tracks different cadence metrics.

Jump ropes are clearly a low tech exercise tool, but I'm looking for one that would befit somebody who doesn't have much time to exercise yet wants to repeatedly skip the latest rope technology. I've used exercise gadgets like swim stroke cadence timers, pedometers, and other (inexpensive) gadgets before but don't know where to begin with jump ropes and the attendant CPU's. Cheers.

Otis Again

cloeburner — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 23:31:03 -0800

How to make a theatrical version of the Star Trek doors that can be operated by one person using only one rope. Must be able to both open and close. A link to a diagram or a drawn diagram will most assuredly hit the spot. We can mount pulleys and eyelets and whatever else necessary to the ceiling, wall and/or ground. Simplest plan is most desired. Here's an example of the type of door we desire.

Thanks for assistance and ideas.

Cat Scratch Filter

adamrice — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 10:44:05 -0800

My wife and I have built a cat condo, and we'd like to wrap part of it in sisal rope to serve as a scratching post. All sisal rope found in stores (near as I can tell) has been treated with something that gives it a reek similar to vaseline, probably to keep it supple. We have found a couple of online sources of untreated sisal, but they are A) about 10x the price, and B) out of sisal right now anyhow. We are wondering if the regular stinky store-bought stuff would pose a health hazard to our cats. The cat condo stays on our screened-in porch, so the odor isn't a great concern. I haven't found any MSDSs for sisal rope so far.

I'm not good at tying knots around a beautiful woman.

Anonymous — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 19:14:43 -0800

My girlfriend loves being tied up. Unfortunately, I never was a boy scout and suck at tying knots. (nsfw) I've got this book and lots of rope, but I'm still fumbling around and slow tying her up after several months. Sure, the anticipation can be great, but I'd love to get more dextrous with the rope.

Particularly, many of the bindings require very long stretches of rope, and I'm not quite sure how to manage it. It seems like I spend most of my time pulling the yards of rope on the loose ends through the knot. Push the rope under, yank the rest through for a minute or two. Should I be rolling the rope around my hand somehow, so I can push it through the knot all at once?

Do you experienced ropers have any tips or resources? Any creative ways to tie her up? How to drive her wild during the long setup time?

Hope me bring enough rope.

dino terror — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 19:05:15 -0800

This question is about rope for camping trips. For a canoe trip: I was in Canadian Tire looking at rope in the camping section. What kind of rope should I get that I might easily be able to find in such a store? How many feet might I need?
I don't know any fancy knots in particular, are there any that I would need that I may not just figure out through trial and error?
I saw some slippery yellow braided rope that may have been polypropylene rope, and some thinner rope that may have been nylon. Those seem to be the 2 main types of rope on their website.

Knots and Knotty-ness : Can you tie good knots with flat rope?

Freen — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 12:05:55 -0800

So, I need some serious knots. With some serious rope, that you can buy in bulk, and that will hold up to serious weight. I've come to the conclusion that parachute cord is the way to go, and having used it in the past, I think it's great stuff. However, I want to upgrade, but there are complications: the stronger rope is flat. This is the rope I'm interested in: 1000lb test paracord.

Will it hold less of a knot (particularly with inexperienced people tying the knots) than traditional round paracord?

Also, does anyone know of good knot tying instructions online? any that feature flat rope?

thanks!

Looking for high-intensity, low-impact, portable exercise.

zeek321 — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 11:45:09 -0800

I want a high intensity, low-impact workout that I can do every single day, indoors, with minimal space requirements. Jumping rope in my apartment lobby is absolutely perfect except that my feet and knees can't do it daily. Fifteen minutes of high-intensity exercise wakes me up in the morning and gives me a boost for the entire day, so I'd like to do it everyday. However, this seems to cause understandable wear and tear on my body. I have limited space and a low-ceiling in my apartment. Cheap, folding exercise bikes appear to break pretty quick if you use them every day. Expensive exercise bikes are too expensive and I wouldn't look forward to moving one when my lease is up.

I am considering purchasing one of those mini-exercise bikes that's just pedals and resistance. Then I could use either my feet or my arms.

Maybe I just need to condition my feet and knees over time for the jump rope. But, I have flat feet so there may be significant structural issues. I am looking into better shoes and getting a rubberized mat.

Maybe there's something super easy that I'm missing. I don't mind a learning curve, so it can be pretty weird as long as it doesn't put undue wear and tear on the body.

What to do w/ 600ft of rope?

muscat — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 12:27:16 -0800

I have about 600ft of rope laying around and I'm wondering if there's something cool I can do with it. It's sisal, and I used it to make a huge scratching post that our cats never took an interest in. Now its just a huge bundle of rope. Any ideas? By the way, I have no kids and no backyard to do cool stuff with :(

Cat pee, and how to deal with it.

griffey — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 18:04:04 -0800

How can I eliminate cat pee smell without damaging the fibers of a nylon rope? There's a bunch... So, our two cats decided to use my caving/climbing gear as a restroom. Probably for weeks, given the scope and amount...I had the gear stored in a canvas army backpack, inside was two other packs, 250 feet of climbing rope, aluminum and steel carabiners, two figure eight descenders, a Petzl descender, two mini-maglite flashlights....plus helmet,Petzl headlamp, and other random gear. It was all nearly completely soaked.

I've look around at other AskMeFi's on this sort of subject (get cat pee out of X), but the big question is: is the rope, especially, ever going to be safe to actually use again if I soak it in vinegar, or even one of the enzyme treatments?

Some of the carabiners are a lost cause...the urine ate the aluminum completely away. Can I expect the steel ones to be ok?

This is something upon which my life literally hangs....I'm concerned about getting rid of the smell (oh am I) but if it destroys the usefulness of the rope, I won't bother to clean it at all, and just toss it now. Same with the 'biners and descenders...any caving or climbing chemists out there want to take a guess at how to deal with this?

At the end of my rope

rentalkarma — Fri, 16 Jun 2006 19:10:35 -0800

I'm looking for a gym, health club, or obstacle course in Baton Rouge, Louisiana that has a rope climb. I'm a reservist in the Army, and I'm going to Air Assault school. One of the obstacles on the zero day confidence course is a rope climb. (You know, a rope that you climb up, like in middle school in gym class.) I'm looking for a rope to practice on.

Schools don't seem to have them anymore. I can't find a gym with one. There are no Army bases nearby. You'd be surprised how difficult it is to find a rope to climb.

Help me, Ask MeFi. You're my only hope.

Cord/small gauge rope that doesn't deteriorate in the sun?

mulkey — Sun, 29 May 2005 15:24:55 -0800

Is there some way to get rope or cording which won't fall apart after a summer in the hot southern Arizona sun? Last year I installed some roll down window shades made of bamboo to take the brunt of the sun that was otherwise streaming in the windows. These aren't the most well constructed shades ever invented, but they did admirably at providing a cheap solution to shading my windows from the intensely hot summer. All except for one thing. The cords that you use to pull up and down the shades are completely disintegrated. Almost all of them have snapped off and those that haven't are looking like they'll fall apart if someone breathes on them. Like I said, these are cheap window shades and the sun around here is HOT.

I think I can replace them, but my question is this: Is there a cord I could replace these with that wouldn't need replacing every year? Maybe a UV resistant one? Or would something like hemp be a less likely to fall apart after a summer filled with 100+ degree temps?