A good graduate of Texas Tech is aware of how the Newton's cradle works.
A great graduate of Texas Tech knows precisely how to explain the Newton's cradle in terms that can be understood by a child.
A 4.0 GPA graduate of Texas Tech planted one right on his desk after a good old homemade dinner and began working on his blueprints with the satistfactory click-click-click chiming peacefully in the background.
If you were his 9-year-old daughter named Sarah and you would have curiously examined the device before asking, "Pa, what's that thingy ya got on yer desk?" You would have gotten a small chuckle and the utmost parenting attention that most dads would rival for.
"Good question, hon. Ya see, Sir Isaac Newton was a famous inventor back in his time," Engineer would begin. "He thought about physics and gravity, why things drop and why things move." A glove would have stopped the metal spheres whilst still in motion to make them freeze into five silver peas in a pendulum pod. "This is one a' his most famous ideas. Truth is, it don't do none, but the thing 'bout it is how the movement spreads. As Irene an' I always say, y'know, 'it's the thought that counts.' An' Newton was tryin' ta prove a point with these here things too.
"First one a' them does their own thing..." The grey fingertips would curl around the leftmost sphere and bring it far back, away from the four clustered in the center. Then the grip would disappear and the ball would go flying back and clunking to the second with a click, and suddenly the rightmost sphere was off too. "And now, ya see how its velocity set one off at the whole other end?" As soon as the rightmost returned back with another click, the original would come hurling away. "Do ya see that? That's called conservation of momentum, sugar." A smug grin would spread across his face; "Science in motion." The clicks would drone on daintily, not increasing tempo nor slowing down.
"Energy travels through objects is what he meant. First it starts real simple and easy an' all, but then it keeps on goin' and goin' because a' the force ya put on it in th' way beginnin'. It's like every single time it changes, it begins all over again." He'd balance a face on his palm with a sigh. "Goes on almost forever. Heck if that ain't that a wonder."
Only after watching the psychics take course before his eyes would Engineer turn to his daughter and make sure he'd explained it well enough. "Ya get it?"
"I can't believe that yer so smart ta know all that, Daddy."
"Y'ALL HAVE GOTTA BE FOOLIN'!" gasped the poor Texan as soon as he'd snatched the photo from Heavy. "THERE'S NO WAY IN HELL THAT ONE A' OUR TEAMMATES..."
Ten minutes later, the kitchen was a crazy crowd of commotion and grabbing hands and a single Polaroid.
"I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS!" Soldier assured himself as he stomped across the room. "I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS! I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS!"
Heavy, who found it hard to say hello, was completely lost with words at the strange occasion. Eyes wide, he produced only a steady grumble; "Don't know...what do now? How we tell him?" Heavy paused. "Wait, maybe ees bad idea to tell him...do we tell him in first place or no? What eef he get mad at us for looking at his photo? Maybe ees worth getting him mad. I am strongly lost."
"Ah, ist so strange," groaned Medic, the only one sitting on the kitchen table with confused face in hands. "I don't know about any of yah, but I am not sure if I am speaking to him evah again."
Soldier grimaced. "Seconded, doc!"
"Well, I never...aw, thirded." Judging by his fiddling hands, Engineer wasn't sure what else to do but agree.
The detective who started it all was really in on it. "Holy fuck, yer, like, SO RIGHT! Yeah, let's do dis, people. I ain't communicatin' wit dat weirdo no more ever again in my entire life forever! Fourthed."
"Agree," said Heavy in a quite simple manner. "Five."
"Smmcksdh!"
"Ain't gonnae pass this one up," grinned Demoman. "Seventhded."
A masked nose pulled up into the air with a snort. "He deserves it. Eighthed."
"G'day. Whot're we countin' off on, mates?"