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One of the great things about Shmoocon is the ability to provide instant feedback to the presenter, while the presentation is happening. Ever been to a conference or presentation where you just knew there was something “rotten in Denmark”, or you wanted to make a point about some minute, but essential overlooked detail? Shmoocon enables and encourages every attendee to tall the speaker to task: They provide a foam stress ball (aka a Shmooball) at registration for each attendee (and offer more for sale, proceeds going to charity). The organizers encourage you to throw them at the presenters when you have a point to make, or when you think that you’re being sold a bill of goods.

As a result, the closing ceremony of the conference has typically found the Shmoo group founder, Bruce Potter, amidst a barrage of shmooballs. Why? Because the attendees could.

In 2007, a group of folks unveiled their Shmooball cannon at closing ceremonies and unloaded at Bruce. It was multi-shot, made from PVC and a 2-stroke leaf blower. It was a great concept, but it was smelly and not incredibly efficient.

This is when I had thoughts of doing better. In 2008, I created a version that was much like a shoulder fired grenade launcher. In 2009, I decided I needed to take it up a notch.

This is the story of the building of the 2009 Shmooball cannon.