Boom

Young Smudge stood there with his hair standing on end, his eyebrows singed, and what could only be described as smoke emanating from his ears. He was holding a now-blackened test tube and flask—part of the chemistry set he had received for his tenth birthday only moments earlier. Surrounding Smudge was a pile of rubble and… well, what used to be the garden shed.

Surrounding the rubble were 42 firemen, 6 fire engines, 4 police cars, a row of ambulances, the army, and a handful of other chaps running around in what looked like hazmat suits.

Smudge wasn’t exactly sure what had happened—or what he had done—but it was safe to say the experiment had not gone according to plan.

‘Smudge!’ his mum’s voice cut through the chaos. She was standing at the edge of the garden, her hands on her hips and her face a mixture of exasperation and relief. ‘What on earth have you done?’

Smudge blinked, his mind racing. ‘I… I think I might have added too much bicarbonate of soda. Or was it vinegar? Or maybe both? I can’t remember.’

One of the firemen stepped forward, his helmet slightly askew. ‘Right then, we’ve contained the situation, but we strongly recommend… no more experiments. At least not without adult supervision.’

Smudge’s mum sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. ‘Thank you, Officer. We’ll take it from here.’

As the emergency crews began to pack up, Smudge’s mum marched over to him, her expression softening as she took in his soot-covered face and singed eyebrows. ‘Are you hurt?’

Smudge shook his head. ‘No, Mum. Just… a little crispy.’

She couldn’t help but laugh, pulling him into a tight hug. ‘Oh, Smudge. What am I going to do with you?’

Smudge didn’t have an answer. He just stood there, feeling a mix of guilt and confusion. It wasn’t like he’d meant to blow up the shed. He’d just been curious.

Smudge’s Super Straight Line Challenge

After The Incident (you know… the one with the shed), Smudge thought it might be safer to play with something else he’d received for his birthday—a geometry set. It came with no chemicals, no explosions—just good old-fashioned drawing tools. Smudge wasn’t thrilled with it… until he discovered how satisfying it was to draw perfect, straight lines.

Now it’s your turn!

Grab a ruler, a pencil, and a blank sheet of paper. Bonus points if you’ve got graph paper!

Draw a set of perfectly straight horizontal lines

Use the ruler! (Smudge tried freehand once… it didn’t go well. You can try that, too.) Start at the top and draw a perfect, horizontal line. Work your way down. Space them evenly—no wibbles or wobbles if you can help it!

Level up the challenge

• Draw a face using only straight lines.
• Make a crazy hairstyle out of perfectly straight lines.
• Turn your page into a lined notebook—but only if you’re feeling extra precise.