The Mobius Blue Ribbon


The single sided object called a mobius strip is an excellent symbol for the decision-making step of deciding whether or NOT to break the golden rule in any big, obvious ways because all members of a truly civilized society are on the same side when it comes to making that decision - otherwise, they wouldn't be fully civilized.

Photo of a DIY Mobius Blue Ribbon. 
 


You can make one yourself! 
  1. Download this GIF image:  Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Mobius Blue Ribbon
  2. Print it - preferably on blue paper (or use a copy shop).
  3. Cut along the faint vertical lines (the horizontal lines can wait).
  4. Fold along the faint diagonal lines of both pieces (refer to the photo above).  If the paper is thick, the folds will use up extra length so try to make sure the printed portion of the strip with 2 diagonals ends up as long as it would be with thin paper.
  5. Trim the length of the piece with a single fold to leave a little extra length (~1 mm or so) beyond the faint horizontal lines and iteratively trim as needed to get the corners to meet nicely when assembled with the other piece.  The piece with 2 folds can usually be left untrimmed.
  6. Tape together on the backside only.  Start with 2 small pieces of removable tape and optionally employ larger, stronger tape or glue.
  7. Fill in the name and date.
  8. Present it to the lucky recipient!
If you're familiar with the shareware program called GIMP (Graphics Image Manipulation Program) from gimp.org, you can customize your own version of this file:  GIMP version of the Mobius Blue Ribbon (shift click or right click to download)

If the recipient's Mobius Blue Ribbon effort was particularly notable, we'd like to hear about it so please send a description of what they did to contact_at_mobiusblueribbon.com (fix the _at_sign). 


Click here for some ideas for ways to earn a Mobius Blue Ribbon.