The FIRST Devil's Dictionary

[ratdude747]

Acrylic (n.): A cheaper "replacement" for lexan. Can be identified by a lack of a blue sheen, or more commonly by it's tendency to crack/shatter when actually used on the robot, especially after last minute pit repairs using materials given by neighboring pit. See lexan.

Lexan (n.): A very strong, clear material. Despite it's high costs, it is claimed to be in many pits at competitions; if needed a neighboring pit will have a scrap of "such" for you to use. See acrylic.

Sick day (n.): A day during build season when one takes off due to illness. On this day, any major project that they had been working on for at least a week will be tested by somebody, often a mentor, who has no idea how you intended it to be used. May result in cracked welds, ruined precision machined surfaces/bores, and/or lost magic smoke.


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The first one actually happened to me in 2010, due to a dead (shattered) ball intake, we needed to cover a hole to prevent the 3" ball intrusion rule from applying. That fix with what was supposedly "lexan" lasted, um, one match before getting cracked clean in half.

The last one also is a true story, my freshman year (2008) while I had the flu a mentor incorrectly connected my IR interface board to the KOP IR receiver board (for hybrid period) and fried the receiver, after stocks of said board were no longer available! No hybrid for us that year.