...a pencil sharpener fashioned as a medieval catapult

This little pencil sharpener is in the form of a medieval catapult. The topic of medieval siege engines is a fascinating one. There were various types. A Trebuchet used a large counter-balance to launch missiles - either solid stones or later cannonballs filled with gunpowder - over the battlements of castles or walled towns. Fireballs and dead bodies, especially diseased ones, were also sometimes launched into besieged places. A working reproduction of a Trebuchet can be seen at Warwick Castle, and proves it was a fearsome weapon. The Mangonel worked on a similar principle but was designed to strike and destroy walls, and thus had a lower and faster angle of fire. The Onager was probably nearest in type to the above, as it was a small engine that used twisted rope and springs, more like a catapult.

This pencil sharpener is capable of firing small balls of paper and plasticine.