A slingshot (also called a shanghai, or in British English a
catapult) is a small hand-powered projectile weapon. The forked
Y-shaped frame has two rubber strips attached to the uprights,
leading back to a pocket for holding the projectile.
It is normally fired by holding the frame in the non-dominant
hand, extended at arms length. The pocket is then gripped between
thumb and forefinger of the dominant hand, pulled back to near the
cheek, aimed and the pocket released to fire the projectile toward
the target.
Home-made slingshots were popular children's toys for much of
the 20th century because the low projectile velocity was generally
considered to be safe. However, it is possible to construct a
slingshot with sufficient power to cause serious bodily harm.
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