Creativity

A big thank you to all the readers who sent this week's entries on paper aeroplanes. We have seen them gaily fluttering around Canary Wharf tower, though sadly none appears to have made it through the reinforced windows. Here are some of the ideas that did touch down:

Nicolas Lory suggests using them when your travel agent folds - particularly for transporting students home from Master Origami courses. In combat, he recommends the use of blotting paper planes to soak up the attack of liquid paper planes. John Donnelly sees them as a means to ensure fair distribution of redundancy notices in open plan offices.

"Paper aeroplanes," says Steve Farrow, "could be used for flying down the A4 to Heathrow." Norman Foster kept his paper aeroplane in a paper hangar and hired it out to the Admiralty to deliver paper buoys to maritime locations. B Hooper sees them as mainly useful for flying round castles in the air or chasing pipe dreams.

"An ideal form of transport for rheumatic grasshoppers," advises Gerald Crawshaw. "Ideal transport," says Susan Poad, "for paper tigers seeking an alternative to hot air balloons." Harold Hewitt points out that paper aeroplanes made from the Independent will have a mind of their own and be hard to control. Duncan Bull comes in with a timely recommendation for John Major: "He could origamize a paper plane during his conference speech to demonstrate that a right wing and a left wing can work together and make headway."

"Pure white paper," says Mike Peart, "could be folded to make a new fleet for Virgin Airlines." His other ideas include tickertape for homecoming astronauts, junk mail transformed into Chinese flying boats, and dozens of them aimed upwards to form heavenly quires.

Frank Card points out that any paper plane the comes down in the sea can be rapidly refolded into a paper boat. Maguy Higgs, however, tells us that greaseproof paper aeroplanes don't sink. Prizes to Steve Farrow, Nicolas Lory and Mike Peart.

Next week, we'll be discussing things to do with banana skins. Meanwhile, however, we seek unusual uses for wellington boots. Ideas will be welcome at: Creativity, the Independent, 1 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London E14 5DL. The ones we like best will be rewarded with the new Chambers 21st Century Dictionary.