XKCD: Marie Curie

I love this comic by XKCD. 

XKCD:  Marie Curie

Building an Icosahedron (D20: 20-Sided Die)

Do you know how to build a 20-sided platonic solid?  It's not hard.
You need: 20 equilateral triangles cut out of paper or card stock and some tape.

First tape one edge of each of three triangles to the edges of another triangle to create a large triangle from three of the original pieces.  Repeat.

Next, tape a pair of triangles together, edge to edge.  Repeat five more times.
You should have 2 large triangles and 6 pairs of triangles.

* * * * *

Now, tape one pair of triangles edge-to-edge with the corresponding edge of each of the three single triangles you added in step one.  See diagram for an example.

* * * * *

Tape the edges of those triangle points to the closest edge.  Do this six times, three times on each configuration.  You'll end up with two domes that have staggered edges.

* * * * *

Finally, tape the dome-like sides together so that the points fall into the dips along the edges.

Tada!  You've done it!  Try it with paper mache, fabric, or whatever you'd like!  I plan to make an enormous throw pillow for one of my daughters who is a participant in two different D&D gaming groups.  Also, she likes squishy things.

More Pi Pies

Mini Pie Pi

I baked this Mini Pie Pi display for Pi Day.  The crust on them is really nice.  It's kind of like a cookie.  It holds up to being sealed in an air-tight container without turning soft or gooey.

I entered this and my Spherical Pie into the Instructables Pi Day Contest this year.  The entries include several displays of mini pies but mine was the original.  If you like these concepts, I could really use the votes!