Archery Targets for the Dummy Carpenter (2-by-4 Week 1)

archery targets

Just a few days ago we ran across an eHow.com post that reminded us of a recurring problem at the site. In one of our DotD posts we saw  that either the "contributor," the content editor, or both seemed confused about dimensional lumber. The materials list for a project included "2-foot-by-4-foot lumber, 2-feet long." We kid you not. In case you were curious, that 16 cubic feet chunk of SYP (southern yellow pine) would weigh in the neighborhood of 600 pounds! One of our staffers related that he'd had to correct a content editor who changed all of his dimensional lumber to "2-foot by..." So this week, we're featuring that idiot's work. We'll start with Axl J. Amistaadt (also known as Debra Turner) and "How to Make a 3D Archery Target."¹

Besides having one of the more creative fake names at DMS (Demand Media Studios, now Leaf Group), Turner (Amistaadt) either doesn't proof the edits made for her or doesn't know the difference -- we suspect probably the latter. We won't belabor this, just point out the problems. In the "things you'll need" list we found

1 2-foot-by-4-foot board, 1 foot long 2 2-foot-by-4-foot boards, 3 feet long That's a total of 56 cubic feet of lumber: at 40 pounds / ft³ the lumber would weigh well over a ton. Well, no one said this thing was supposed to be portable... Axl (Debra) has other problems, too, such as suggesting that the reader use a "One-dimensional cardboard or foam turkey decoy" as a target. Clearly, s/he forgot that there is no such thing as a one-dimensional object -- that's a line. And finally, Amistaadt (Turner) wants the reader to

1. Build a simple stand for your 3-D archery target by laying the two 3-foot boards parallel to each other. Set the 1-foot board on top of them, forming an "H."
2. Use the drill and some screws to secure the boards into place. Use the drill and screws to secure your 3-D decoy into a standing position on the center of the "H." This 3-D archery target will be stable and stand up straight when shot with arrows.

Not only is our Dumbass of the Day confused about the size of 2-by-4s and ignorant of the meaning of "one-dimensional," but s/he's also so stupid she thinks that construction (when built of 2-by-4s) would stand on its own -- and continue to stand after being hit by an arrow. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

¹ The original has been deleted by Leaf Group, but can still be accessed using the Wayback machine at archive.org. Its URL was   ehow.com/how_5032801_make-archery-target.html

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