A clothes peg - or adaptor to a clothes peg that contains relevent electronics to allow it to screem when wet - e.g. when it is raining. It would be of simple and cheap construction - battery, transistors,op-amps and a buzzer - could even have a solar cell for charging. When it starts raining resitance between to points on a simple circuit change and set off the buzzer - alternatively this could be triggered by increase in humidity-decrease in light level etc. Benifit - your clothes tell you when it starts to rain-- Osborn, May 30 2002 a quieter solution http://www.halfbake...ing-line_20umbrellahas anyone made one yet? [rbl, May 30 2002, last modified Oct 04 2004] Try this http://www.gisborne.../home/sis1.htm#RAIN [angel, May 30 2002, last modified Oct 04 2004] (*Ahem*...screeming? benifit? relevent? resitance?)-- mcscotland, May 30 2002 But surely it will scream as you hang up the (presumeably) wet clothes?-- drew, May 30 2002 I envisage this as a drop of water completing a circuit. The connection points could be in that part of the peg that faces upward, away from the clothes.-- stupop, May 30 2002 The screeming could be - a siren, buzzer, etc. Would only screem if the sensor touched the wet clothes-- Osborn, May 30 2002 I would love to see a picture of this, 50 little clothes pegs all out in a downpour, screeming away.-- rbl, May 30 2002 hilarious at night, when every peg in the district goes off. BTW I always bring my pegs in at night time as little wee spiders love to get in them for shelter. ah bless-- po, May 30 2002 You'd only need one (no point having them all screaming), but you'd need to ensure that you actually use *this* peg when you only have one or two items on the line. Why not have a screaming clothes line instead?-- angel, May 30 2002 A screaming clothes line would only stop screming once the rain stopped and had dried up. A screaming clothes peg and be taken indoors and dried to stop it screaming.-- [ sctld ], May 30 2002 On/Off switch?-- drew, May 30 2002 Then you would need elecrticity running out to your clothes line, or whurlygig, which could be in a communal space. Also, if you switched it off, due to absent mindedness of people, it may not be switched back on again.-- [ sctld ], May 30 2002 A screaming clothes line could be mounted on a bracket which would detect when something was pegged onto it, and switch on its screaminess accordingly.-- angel, May 30 2002 ike some sort of tension sensor. Would work, yes. I still prefer the compact simplicity of the clothes peg idea though, 'cause you can use that peg when you are on your hols, but you can't bring a fitted bracket and clothes line with you.-- [ sctld ], May 30 2002 bonus: everytime a bird lands on the clothesline the line would screem.( bliss: just now finally got it, took a while)-- rbl, May 30 2002 [sctld]: Seems like you are going to require electricity in some form to power the screaminess. Battery devices have on/off switches too. I was considering the potential life expectancy of a screaming clothes peg with no off switch. Percussive silencing would probably be used. Hard.
The birds don't land on the line here - they just 'bomb' them from on high, as some sort of protest, I think. Generally makes hanging clothes out fairly pointless.-- drew, May 30 2002 As the poster says, they will be solar powered, so there should be little problem.-- [ sctld ], May 30 2002 I'll vote for anything that involves getting attention. Croissant.-- SeattleBrad, May 31 2002 I know a girl that doesn't like getting rained on. Peg the screaming clotheshorse.-- FarmerJohn, May 31 2002 rbl and po's anno's swing it for me. +-- DrBob, Jan 30 2003 In addition to screaming, it should vibrate wildly. Flashing lights could also be incorporated. They would need to be bright, to shine through the clothes.-- bungston, Jan 30 2003 random, halfbakery