Archive for the ‘The Making of You’re not sushi – you’re chicken!’ Category

A Public Service Announcement from You’re not sushi – you’re chicken!

Saturday, September 13th, 2008

Moments after the Great Chicken Crash of 2008, drivers Elizabeth & Jenny could be heard saying, “Thank goodness for seatbelts!”

Yes, we installed seatbelts in our soapbox.  They weren’t mandatory, but if you’re going to be building a soapbox cart and it’s feasible, install them.

Ours were pretty simple.  Just a carabiner attached to rope that was tied in a knot on the underside of the cart, with light foam padding around the rope (to prevent rope burn on the stomach).

Depending on your soapbox design, you could also consider a firewall.  Think about installing a proper roll bar, which we sacrificed in our design due to weight restriction considerations.

Oh, and even though helmets, gloves, and long-sleeve shirts & pants are mandatory according to Red Bull’s rules, make sure you actually wear them.  Seriously.

Follow these simple steps and you’ll walk away from a soapbox crash in pristine condition like Elizabeth & Jenny did!

If anyone from ICBC is reading this, we’re available for commercials. 🙂

Unconventional Recipe for Making Moonshine

Monday, September 1st, 2008

So, what do you do after going through a couple gallons of papier-mache paste and you have a couple litres to spare?  If you think you might need the goop next week, you put it in a container with a lid and set it aside – just like we did.

This week, after we finished the building the coolest roast chicken car in the world, we cleaned up a bit.

Surprise, surprise.   Upon opening the ice-cream bucket of papier-mache paste, we smelled the distinct smell of alcohol… a mighty putrid one, at that!  I tried to convince Elizabeth to try it, but we couldn’t find a clean filter to strain out the chunky bits. Maybe next time.

For those who’ve never made papier-mache paste: It’s just flour boiled with some water for a few minutes.  Many recipes recommend adding salt to prevent mold – Personally, I suggest minimizing drying time with good airflow and regular turning of the bird to avoid mold.

How to Roast Chicken

Monday, September 1st, 2008

First, slather in butter. Mmm…butter…

Then, baste to get that golden brown colour…

Finally, leave in the oven until the drumsticks and wings are ready.

Chicken License Plates

Sunday, August 31st, 2008

What would a car be without plates? Look for 2 of these plates to be on the car itself. All 3 will be given away as limited edition stickers on race day (Sept. 7)! While supplies last! WOW!

I have a personal favourite. Which could it be? Hmm…hehehe.

Chicken Guts

Saturday, August 23rd, 2008

So, what have we been up to you might ask… We’d like to know too 😉 har har

Here’s the bare bones of it all. Well maybe not so bare anymore! We’ve finally got some meat on dem bones!

. . . No, it’s not actually the doggie…

It’s newspaper! Not only can we put a shape into the craft, but we can catch up on our daily news too! For example, do you know who the Jonas Brothers are? I had no idea until we glued their faces onto the cart! Amazing what you can find out when you read a newspaper eh?

Wow, we can’t believe it’s almost time to race, and WIN! Well, see you on race day! Gotta go read…I mean GLUE some more newspaper on the cart! (…Maybe I can finally find out who Michael Phelps is!)

Chicken wire for the chicken car

Tuesday, August 19th, 2008

Let’s see how our roast chicken soapbox car is going…

Our team has scars from working with lots of chicken wire (ugh, these puns write themselves).

Time to papier-mache! Our car is bigger than a Smart Car, even without the drumsticks and wings. Yowsa.

What we’ve been up to

Monday, August 4th, 2008

So far, on Day 3, we have almost completed our basic cart, and taken it out for a test run. What fun! If only our cart had a complete braking system and a few more safety features, we’d be ready to tackle 4th Ave.

Our next step is to figure out how to roast a giant chicken and attach it to the cart ;p

Almost forgot – team photo!

Team Photo

Building the cart, or as we call it, preheating the oven

Tuesday, July 29th, 2008

Let’s see what we’ve been up to…

Leonard uses the angle grinder

Leonard uses the angle grinder and shows the metal frame who’s boss. It’s a loud tool. Leonard can keep that task.

Look! A bike wheel!

Jenny has second thoughts on what she’s signed up for…

What’s in a name: Origin of You’re not sushi – you’re chicken!

Friday, July 25th, 2008

How did we come up with the name and inspiration for our chicken soapbox car?

We owe it all to some random guy who yelled at us during our Red Bull Flugtag Vancouver 2006 flight as Sushi Gone Wild. Listen carefully to the short clip below (and don’t get too distracted by all the booing and the calls for us to “jump!”).

So thanks, Random Guy!

The plan: You’re not sushi – you’re chicken!

Sunday, July 13th, 2008

Here is the sketch we submitted to Red Bull:

You\'re not sushi - you\'re chicken! sketch
Who knows what the final product will actually look like 🙂