Cynically Optimistic

Days being as they are, it was tough to decide what to attack first. In the end, I've got nothing but bunnies in the backyard at which to hurl stones. The picnic table gave the best strategic angle to bombard the bunnies. In lieu of actually calculating the physics of the equipment, Wendy and I decided to just test the device empirically. Too many horrible memories of ice skaters on frictionless, massless planes exist between the two of us that we'd end up in a miserable crying heap. I digress.

The bucket was loaded up with rocks from under the deck, and the sling loaded with one small, flat rock (the round ones kept rolling out). Let the flinging begin!

The instructions clearly indicate that we must not stand in front nor in back of the trebuchet while in motion. We only had one misfire, and no one was hurt. In fact, we got about 8 feet of distance out of our small model trebuchet. You can see the projectile in midair in the third photo there.
After a while we got the hang of things, exactly how to load and release the contraption, you get the idea. After a bit, Wendy tried launching half a strawberry and it worked great. Fortunately for the rabbits they had all gone to bed already. There's even a movie (3.4 MB) for those interested. What to do next? Perhaps I should take it to the beach and lay waste to some poor child's sandcastle?

A big thanks to Wendy for a fun gift and for helping in the project.