177
votes
Accepted
What's the most reasonable way to fit Monsters in your Pocket?
You don't... exactly.
The Poké Ball—er... hollow sphere—isn't actually containing the monster. It is merely the user-interface for a teleportation device to transport the monster from its nice (and ...
- 4,571
132
votes
The 10,000 year skyscraper
Build a Pyramid
The Pyramids are halfway to your desired 10,000 year life span already. They are a little worse for wear, but they are definitely still standing.
First, lets assess the criticism ...
- 85.1k
90
votes
Is it feasible to have a literal ivory tower?
The critical property for building a tower out of ivory (or any other material, for that matter) is its compressive strength. Strength data for ivory is surprisingly hard to find, and the few ...
- 17.2k
87
votes
An environment where round beds are easier to build than rectangular
Basket beds.
Beds made of long rigid elements will be polygonal. Baskets are made of flexible elements and so are round or ovoid. There are lots of basket beds for animals, even big dogs the size ...
- 304k
79
votes
Is it feasible to have a literal ivory tower?
It's definitely possible in certain fantasy settings, some of which would even allow the tower to be carved from a single tusk.
- 7,288
74
votes
Accepted
How do I keep my slimes from escaping their pens?
Bundt cake pen.
Frisky slimes gotta move! If it hits a dead end it will start looking for cracks or go up the wall. But if there is a path of least resistance the slime will take it. It will head ...
- 304k
69
votes
What's the most reasonable way to fit Monsters in your Pocket?
Because of conservation of mass your monster beast will still weigh just as much before as after, so assuming the monster is actually inside it and you're not cheating your requirements, you're going ...
- 17.5k
63
votes
Accepted
Could you have more than one building in the same spot by "stacking" them in 4th dimensional space?
Yes
It isn't any different to occupants of a 2D world asking whether - if there were 3 dimensions - could we stack objects on top of each other in a third dimension?
One thing to note, however, is ...
- 11k
61
votes
Accepted
Zombie killing structure that's easy to construct, durable and low maintenance?
A super low tech alternative approach.
Stairway to heaven.
Build a nice tall stair case going from ground level up a good 5 or 6 floors then hang a birdcage a good 6 or 7 feet off the edge of the ...
- 10.6k
59
votes
The 10,000 year skyscraper
Self-healing concrete.
It works by embedding tiny capsules in the concrete containing bacterial spores. When the capsules are broken by water penetrating the concrete, the bacteria are released and ...
- 14.9k
59
votes
Accepted
Can we build a roguelike maze?
Well, you can go the operable wall way:
police use this Tactical Training Grid to construct distinct scenarios to train policemen. I think you can do the same but with automatized walls in a grid, ...
- 1,387
57
votes
Is it feasible to have a literal ivory tower?
The building itself is doable. Ivory is what teeth are made of, and they are made for compressive strength. You might need some architectural adjustments for load-bearing structures, to compensate for ...
- 54.6k
54
votes
Accepted
How would you build a harbor in a world with *intense* tides?
LOCKS
The answer is one that is used extensively today in canals and rivers: Locks.
Locks are basically double water-tight gates. If you want to go from high water to low, you sail in, the gates are ...
53
votes
How do I keep my slimes from escaping their pens?
Glass jugs
Make them big enough to accommodate your slimes; the slime should fill the bottom few inches and most of the jug should be empty space to prevent escapes.
A slime that climbs up the wall ...
- 85.1k
50
votes
Accepted
What is the point of introducing puzzles into tomb design if you don't want anyone to disturb whatever hidden?
For three reasons:
you build the tomb on the behest of the owner. You still need to add their body and all their possessions to the tomb later! So you want a lock that can be opened to do your job. (...
- 44.2k
45
votes
Accepted
How Do You Get Wood in a World Where Monsters Defend The Forests?
By farming it.
Leave the natural forests alone, and plant your own tree farms, just like we do for Christmas trees and paper. For firewood, staves, bows, wicker, and small beams, use coppicing to ...
- 41.4k
44
votes
An environment where round beds are easier to build than rectangular
Big Trees
Many beds historically had wood frames. Wood is easy to cut and provides a relatively stable building material. We cut wood into long rectangular pieces of lumber because most lumber trees ...
- 1,312
44
votes
Living in a Giant Swamp - Construction
Such a city has been already built in reality, and it was even the capital of an empire: Venice
The buildings of Venice are constructed on closely spaced wooden piles. Most of these piles are still ...
- 272k
42
votes
Can we build a roguelike maze?
Thick floors with hydraulic pillars
Given a grid made up of 30 to 50cm square pillars, each with an independent hydraulic piston and controller allowing it to either act as a full height pillar, even ...
- 116k
42
votes
Accepted
How to ride a fish?
Water is 1000x denser than air, and much more viscous. So saddling fish only works if you are going to be riding on the surface. That's on top of the fish having a shape that allows for saddling.
If ...
- 134k
41
votes
Accepted
An environment where round beds are easier to build than rectangular
What about mosquito nets. It's easier to make a round net which would fit better on a round bed. See #4.
But an even better drive would be some sort of natural circular construction material. Perhaps ...
- 8,767
38
votes
Is there any organization to a shantytown of storage containers?
Let's take a look at Kowloon Walled City - closest real world analog of what you're asking.
Government
There used to be somewhat competing gangs. There was, generally, a truce between them, and ...
- 33k
38
votes
What are the feasible means of keeping a space station existing and operational for thousands of years?
You have solar power, I presume you have reasonably intelligent robots, the solution is to take a clue from biology: Constantly, whether it is needed or not, replace every molecule of the space ...
- 34.6k
38
votes
Accepted
Why would a more technologically advanced society continue to build many buildings out of stone rather than glass and metal?
Culture is enough to do that.
The people do not like glass and metal, it's cheap, the glass isn't safe, it is wasteful of energy to heat and cool. Stone is "natural". Skyscrapers are more ...
- 34.6k
37
votes
The 10,000 year skyscraper
I don't think an inanimate building is an option either. I'm going to admit this may not be within the technological scope you want, it certainly wouldn't exactly look the way you want and there are ...
- 1,025
37
votes
Why would a more technologically advanced society continue to build many buildings out of stone rather than glass and metal?
You mean like we do?
Another word for concrete is "synthetic conglomerate". We use stone extensively for building; we just don't wait for geological processes to provide it and instead whip ...
- 21.3k
36
votes
Could you have more than one building in the same spot by "stacking" them in 4th dimensional space?
You are the master of your world, so yes. Some practical concerns:
Your guests are only three-dimensional and would like to stay that way. How do you get them from one "hyperfloor" to the next? ...
- 11.8k
36
votes
The possibility and possible backlash of a thruster large enough to move a planet
It takes a lot of energy to move the Earth
In this question, I calculate the energy needed to move the Earth. In order to move the Earth by 1m in orbit, you will need to expend about $2\times10^{22}$ ...
- 85.1k
36
votes
Accepted
Why do I still want insect screens?
Protect against Ember Attack
This is the number one cause of house loss in Australian Bushfires - tiny smouldering bits of vegetation riding on the wind advancing up to 15km in front of a bushfire. ...
- 44.1k
36
votes
How would you build a harbor in a world with *intense* tides?
Some years ago I went to Scarborough (Yorkshire) and visited the local harbor during low tide: all the ships were sitting on wet sand, as shown in the painting below (for some reason I can only find ...
- 272k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible