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I get quite a few each year, probably hundreds and collect them but never know what to do with them. Why didn't I think before letting it grow to be so big? It looks nice, especially in spring but when I think could have had a fruit tree or proper nut tree.

If they were acorns I think there might be some uses on the culinary fringe (coffee substitute in time of war and feeding pigs) but conkers!

The only things I can think of are:

1. cat missiles
2. golf swing practice
and getting more impractical:
3. filling a bean bag for an elephant house

any more?

Showing a bit of cultural cringe here....................and I do know the term................but what exactly is a conker? (botanically speaking)

Nev

An early Norman invader of England - 1066 and all that - surely you've heard of William the Conker.

(I should warn you that I failed my history exams - kept getting a bit muddled)

have a 'conker' party. lots of fun if you all drink a lot and there's no one too competetive :)

5) For spinning round on their strings to demonstrate that centrifugal force is actually non-existent.

PS. Nev - this site will tell you all you need to know, without getting certain historical fact confused.

Right! Thanks Stew!

6) knobbly seat covers for drivers

Make your own or sell at craft markets for money.

This must be close to the ultimate capitalist dream of adding value.

7) use as weights in plastic netting (eg onion) bags for ..erm.. weighting things down. No, wait it'll come.

Actually, forget this one; as they dry out they end up weighing about the same as a ping pong ball.

Give them away to local kids in return for some odd jobs.... or give to local school for a competition.

Grow them..... there is some kind of virus that is threatening the horse chestnut trees in England.

use as chinese meditation balls - you know, the things that you fiddle with in your hands...you have a pair of them and they work on the energy points.

Tehy can be grwound down somehow and served up as meal for horses that where the name horse chestnut comes from. Not edable for us humans though.

put one in each corner of a room to keep the spiders away. Yes OK, I know, you all think I'm crazy, but Mum swears it works and has me collecting every year.

I'm not sure if it's something in the conker that it "gives off" (smell etc) or just that it blocks the holes the spiders were coming through.

i dont think you're mad.

My sister spends a fortune on a product called 'Spider Stop' and one of its main ingredients is horse chestnut oil. It's be a lot cheaper for her to use a few conkers!!

Spider stop is rather amusing actually, because whilst there are no spiders actually in her room, there are always a couple of huge house spiders (the proper ones with big hair legs) dangling outside her door waitint to pounce as she comes out

Diana wrote:put one in each corner of a room to keep the spiders away. Yes OK, I know, you all think I'm crazy, but Mum swears it works and has me collecting every year.

I'm not sure if it's something in the conker that it "gives off" (smell etc) or just that it blocks the holes the spiders were coming through.

No, maybe spiders have some kind of sixth sense whcih means they keep away from the kind of people who hang conkers in the conners of their lounge.

to show how macho you are to other dads

last year took the kids to collect conkers so they could collect as many as they could so I then could spend the nex few months finding them all over the house. Anyway every body knows the best ones are right at the top of the tree and you need a hefty branch to lob up there causing the conkers to be taken by surprise and let go of the branch, I was doing this and noticed a guy on the other side attempting to do the same ( not with the same level of skill) but it came apparent after a while that there was a definate compertition to this.

I won