PROJECT 16
Makey Go No Donut Prank
Minions love donuts, but do they really deserve one? Probably not without a little bit of a hassle, and this prank will make anyone who tries to take a donut second-guess their decision (see Figure 4-1).
Figure 4-1 Completed donut trap.
Cost: $
Make time: 30 minutes
Skill level: 
Supplies
Step 1: Make a Hassle
To start, you will need to open a new game in Scratch. To hassle your minions about taking a donut, you will make six recordings of donut warnings and alerts. Then create a program to randomly play your recorded sounds when a donut is removed from the serving tray. Begin by uploading a donut sprite from the Scratch library. Change the icing to your favorite color in the “Costumes” tab. Add as many donuts as you’d like to your stage. Then, while your first donut sprite is selected, click over to the “Sounds” tab and make a plethora of donut hassle recordings (see Figure 4-2). The more sounds you create, the more random your prank will be!
Figure 4-2 Donut hassle recordings.
Step 2: Make It Totally Random
Now it’s time to create a short script that will randomly choose a recording when a donut is grabbed. Create a “donut” variable in the “Data” palette. Set your “donut” to zero when the game starts. Then start a new set of scripts with a “Key press” block and a “Play sound until done” block. In the “Operators” palette, you need a “Pick random 1 to 10” block that you will insert into your “Play sound” block. To have “donut” recordings play, grab the “donut” value from the “Data” palette and insert it into the first value slot. Your second value should be the number of recordings you have. In Figure 4-3, we only had six recordings, so our second value is 6.
Figure 4-3 Scratch program.
Step 3: Set the Trap
Grab a large metal pan or serving dish that is conductive. Arrange some fresh donuts, preferably chocolate with sprinkles, on the dish. Then plug in Makey Go and clip the alligator clip from the plus sensor to the conductive serving dish. Place a tea towel next to the dish to disguise the test lead if the connection is too obvious. Be sure that you are not touching the dish, and press the “Play” button to calibrate the Makey Go.
Step 4: Test and Watch
Start the Scratch program by pressing the green arrow. Now just try to take one of those delicious donuts away, and prepare to be hassled. If removing a donut does not trigger the Makey Go, try recalibrating or switching to “sensitive” mode by pressing and holding the “Play” button for 2 seconds.
Taking It Further
People love to take things, especially if they are frosted or shiny! What other things could you hassle people about taking, and how could you cleverly hide your trap? Is there a way to make this mobile?