One of my favorite parts of FIRST every year is walking through the pits and seeing the ideas people have come up with. Literally every design that our team has on the white board after kickoff will be seen at some point or another, no matter how crazy, complicated, or impossible we thought they were!
And then you see something that you never, ever thought of.
I just wanted to hear some stories about outside-the-box thinking when it comes to material and parts utilization. I can only go to so many competitions each year, so I want to know what other crazy stuff is out there!
I'll start with a robot that knocked my socks off:
1218 - Chestnut Hill Academy
At Chesapeake I looked at their robot and was floored. Their frame was made out of the coolest, lightest, and cheapest material I have ever seen - broken NHL hockey sticks! One of their kids worked at the Philadelphia Flyers practice facility and was able to get his hands on some broken composite sticks. The strength-to-weight ratio of a stick is unreal, and a broken hockey stick has virtually zero value.
On top of that, their launcher consisted of an aluminum step ladder (reinforced in places) used as a catapult. Yet another light, sturdy enough, and creative use of a part.
So, what have YOU seen?
I tried to make them look at disgruntled as possible. - Katie_UPS [more] 
Most creative use of a part or material in 2008
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