HAVING A CRACKING TIME
I t starts with a relatively simple idea: concepts from Physics are employed to devise locks for safes that are conceptually hard to crack, but that become more straightforward when those concepts are understood. However, in the national rounds of the Weizmann Competition, this had itself been tested, with teams vying to unlock each other’s creations in a variety of imaginative ways. Our competitors attempts to roll glue sticks up an incline or trying to catapult objects through a hole of smaller diameter resulted in them cracking our safe in a more literal way than was intended. So the Dulwich team arrived at the international tournament in Israel ready for some serious competition. After an initial period in which we were allowed to make last minute changes to our safe, there was an antagonising wait while numerous judges inspected it and questioned our understanding of the principles guarding it. Then the teams got cracking. It is a terrible moment when you are guarding your safe and the other team is edging closer and closer to cracking it – which only two teams managed to do, with distinctly dubious methods. However, the safecracking side was very enjoyable indeed, with some members of our team putting their taste buds on the line and getting a mouth load of salt water, while we also came across a far superior Star Wars safe, which did not help us at all. On the whole, though, the competition was a very enjoyable day and, technically, we came in the top 20 per cent internationally (if you look subjectively at certain statistics…). Alexandros Penny (Year 12) and Harry Spratt (Year 12) reflect on another year trying to thwart attempts to unlock the Dulwich team’s safe The Weizmann safecracking competition
The final competition-ready safe
The food during our stay proved to be as good as our opposition. Having arrived expecting to live off flavoursome kebabs, we were disappointed to not touch the stuff for the first three days. But we needn’t have worried: there were infinite amounts of hummus, msabaha and falafel on offer. However, after three long days of meatless madness and a near-death experience from chickpea poisoning, we decided enough was enough. And so we ventured into Jerusalem in search of sustenance. There we found them waiting for us: smoking hot shawarma inside pitta breads – the food of winners, which we ate even though we didn’t actually place in the top ten. Good luck to next year’s teams.
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