My partner, Matt, and I designed a shelter using the materials of 2.5 inch long toothpicks, and Dots gumdrops. We wanted our shelter to be able to withstand extreme force from all directions, so we constructed it out of triangles. Those triangle distribute load evenly, preventing any one part of the structure from collapsing. The surface area of our shelter would be around 37.94 inches squared. Assuming that humans would need comfortable space to stand, we estimate that in real life, this shelter would have an area of around 341.01 feet squared. Ideally, the shelter would be constructed out of concrete reinforced with steel spars where the toothpicks are now.
First, we tested our initial design with a wallet. The shelter held up easily. However, the point made it hard to balance things on for testing, and weakened the structure as a whole. In response, we took of the top bit and found that it could withstand a textbook.
The shelter was able to withstand a weight that was many dozens of times more than it. Therefore, we pronounce this design a complete success.
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