How to look like something you can't see?
October 18, 2012 2:45 PM Subscribe
How do I dress as a black hole for Halloween?
My plan is to wear all black clothing, and maybe black face paint. Can you think of any other cues to indicate that I'm a black hole (besides a "Hello My Name Is ... Black Hole" sticker?). Thanks!
My plan is to wear all black clothing, and maybe black face paint. Can you think of any other cues to indicate that I'm a black hole (besides a "Hello My Name Is ... Black Hole" sticker?). Thanks!
Cover yourself in velcro or sticky stuff and 'suck' objects onto it throughout the evening.
posted by randomination at 2:54 PM on October 18, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by randomination at 2:54 PM on October 18, 2012 [3 favorites]
Best answer: Don't forget to carry a small battery operated vacuum...
posted by coevals at 2:55 PM on October 18, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by coevals at 2:55 PM on October 18, 2012 [2 favorites]
Maybe you could make a hat that looks like one of those general relativity diagrams. Or you could draw it on your shirt with some white fabric paint.
Also, make sure that whatever make up you decide doesn't get confused as blackface, especially if you're in the US. (Depends on your audience. A group in my college dressed up as the dancing itunes shadows and painted their faces black and caught all sorts of flack for it.)
posted by tinymegalo at 2:57 PM on October 18, 2012
Also, make sure that whatever make up you decide doesn't get confused as blackface, especially if you're in the US. (Depends on your audience. A group in my college dressed up as the dancing itunes shadows and painted their faces black and caught all sorts of flack for it.)
posted by tinymegalo at 2:57 PM on October 18, 2012
Best answer: Instead of dressing all in black, you could make yourself a galaxy print shirt and use a circle-shaped stencil to mask off an untouched area in the center. Kinda like this, but with a different shape.
posted by bettafish at 3:04 PM on October 18, 2012 [5 favorites]
posted by bettafish at 3:04 PM on October 18, 2012 [5 favorites]
A black ski mask or something similar (pantyhose?) might be easier and less time-consuming than paint.
Along with stars and planets, maybe attach little replicas or toys of famous spacecraft like the Enterprise or the Millennium Falcon.
posted by TheSecretDecoderRing at 3:16 PM on October 18, 2012
Along with stars and planets, maybe attach little replicas or toys of famous spacecraft like the Enterprise or the Millennium Falcon.
posted by TheSecretDecoderRing at 3:16 PM on October 18, 2012
You'll need to eliminate anyone who sees you up close. Nobody gets close to a black hole and lives to tell the tale.
That, or just wear all back and sport the above-mentioned accretion disc.
posted by mullingitover at 3:27 PM on October 18, 2012 [1 favorite]
That, or just wear all back and sport the above-mentioned accretion disc.
posted by mullingitover at 3:27 PM on October 18, 2012 [1 favorite]
My brother dressed as a black hole as a kid - a hula hoop featured prominently in the costume design. Somehow my mom set it up so it was vertical to him instead of horizontal, and used a spacey-vortex fabric on it.
He still had to explain it, but he looked awesome.
posted by peanut_mcgillicuty at 3:28 PM on October 18, 2012
He still had to explain it, but he looked awesome.
posted by peanut_mcgillicuty at 3:28 PM on October 18, 2012
Best answer: Wear a black cape with which to envelop those who come too close to you.
posted by kitty teeth at 3:42 PM on October 18, 2012
posted by kitty teeth at 3:42 PM on October 18, 2012
My astronomy professor did this one year, and IIRC, he just wore all black. No face paint, he just wore a black hoodie. However, he also threw out candy to the class as Hawking radiation.
posted by yasaman at 3:54 PM on October 18, 2012 [9 favorites]
posted by yasaman at 3:54 PM on October 18, 2012 [9 favorites]
A black lycra zentai suit sidesteps the blackface issue.
posted by anonymisc at 4:17 PM on October 18, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by anonymisc at 4:17 PM on October 18, 2012 [2 favorites]
Dress is black, as above, but the shirt (long sleeve, black) you print out this picture on one of those tee-shirt iron-on kits (you can get it at any craft store) and then iron the picture on the front and back of the shirt.
posted by brownrd at 7:28 PM on October 18, 2012
posted by brownrd at 7:28 PM on October 18, 2012
Wear an exposed trumpet-shaped hoop skirt/crinoline on top of the black ensemble.
posted by fix at 10:57 PM on October 18, 2012
posted by fix at 10:57 PM on October 18, 2012
Vertical black-covered disc shape (or space-y pattern) with a hole cut in the center. Reach out periodically and snatch food from other partiers' plates.
posted by mcbeth at 11:09 PM on October 18, 2012
posted by mcbeth at 11:09 PM on October 18, 2012
The thing about black holes is, there are lots of things more interesting about them than just being black. Lots of things are black. Black holes distort spacetime! You really need some sort of trumpet shape in there - a skirt would be ideal, as your head then appears to be the hyperdense centre, but I guess you could get away . What would be cool would be having objects attached to it which demonstrate the stretching and extreme distortion matter undergoes in proximity to a black hole. If you look for visualisations of black holes you should get some inspiration.
Personally I am a purist about costumes and think 98% of all costumes that rely on actions/mime to make them cool are not thereby made cool. Reaching out and snatching food isn't even a good 'mime' for a black hole anyway; if you were going to do it properly you would have to eat all food that came within 20cm of your mouth. And then you would be sick.
posted by Acheman at 4:18 AM on October 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
Personally I am a purist about costumes and think 98% of all costumes that rely on actions/mime to make them cool are not thereby made cool. Reaching out and snatching food isn't even a good 'mime' for a black hole anyway; if you were going to do it properly you would have to eat all food that came within 20cm of your mouth. And then you would be sick.
posted by Acheman at 4:18 AM on October 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks for all the excellent ideas!
posted by pompelmo at 9:11 AM on October 19, 2012
posted by pompelmo at 9:11 AM on October 19, 2012
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by griphus at 2:47 PM on October 18, 2012 [1 favorite]