This just in from Mrs. McCullagh:

Calculus students just turned in their projects for trimester two. Students were asked to design and model the solution for suspending an object of their choice from wherever they want, with the least amount of wire. Some of the interesting designs were for suspending: a Williston sign from the bridge, a jumbotron at the hockey rink, a tire from a tree, a tree in a planter from the roof over the patio at the Reed Campus Center, a North Carolina flag from an airplane, a car from a crane, among others. Students first needed to decide how far apart the hooks should be from which they would hang their object, and how far down they want the object to hang. Based on those dimensions they needed to minimize the amount of wire needed. All their calculations needed to be carefully displayed and they needed to produce a model of their solution.