House of cards
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Building a house of cards (also known as a card tower) is a pastime involving the stacking of playing cards on top of each other in order to form a structure. House of cards is also an expression for a structure or argument built on a shaky foundation or one that will collapse if a necessary (but possibly overlooked or unappreciated) element is removed.
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[edit] Description
The structures created using this method rely on nothing more than balance and friction in order to stay upright. Ideally, adhesives or other external connecting methods are not used, and no damage or alterations are made to the cards themselves. The larger the structure, therefore, the more likely it is to fall, due entirely to the higher number of balanced cards that could fail and compromise the integrity of the card building. Professional cardstacker Bryan Berg claims, however, that the more cards placed on a tower the stronger it becomes, because the weight of the cards pushing down on the base (increasing friction) allows occasional cards to stumble without the entire structure collapsing. He also claims that proper stacking technique allows cards to function as shear walls, giving considerable stability to the structure.[1]
[edit] World records
Bryan Berg has broken "seven or eight" world records for cardstacking.[1] He currently holds the record for tallest house of cards, a 25 foot 9 7/16 inch tall "skyscraper" completed at the State Fair of Texas on October 14, 2007. He also holds the record for the largest house of cards, a category Guinness invented for the event, for a replica of Cinderella's Castle at Walt Disney World. [2] He uses Pla-More cards, whose low gloss coating makes them much more high-friction and thus ideal for building.[citation needed] Berg believes that it would be possible in theory to build a 100 foot (30 meter) or taller structure.[citation needed]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b andrew Menzer. "Card stacker hopes State Fair tower breaks his record", Dallas Morning News, October 16, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-11-14.
- ^ About Berg. Bryan Berg. Retrieved on 2007-11-14.
