• Traps are usually hidden, and you won't see them. In fact, if you're lucky enough not to trigger a hidden trap, you may never know it was there.
• Sometimes you will spot a hidden trap before reaching it. (It will just appear to your eyes: one instant nothing, the next you can see a trap.) The slower you move, the better your chance of spotting them. It is easier to sneak safely past traps you can see.
• Traps can only be tripped once. After that, they're safe. You can tell the difference by sight.
• You can't tell one kind of trap from another from a distance. You can tell by stepping on one, even if you don't trigger it.
• To get past a trap safely, go at your slowest speed. That's not a guarantee, but it helps the odds: the slower the better. If you must turn while standing on a trap, stay at the slow speed until you are ready to move off it.
• Stand next to (not on) a trap and poke it with a ten-foot pole. Sometimes this can trigger the trap – harmlessly, since you're ten feet away.
• Planks are the safest way to get past a trap. Stand next to (not on) the trap and use the plank to cover it. You can now walk over the plank and the trap safely. Pick up the plank just before you step off the trap, if you want to keep it. (This is safe even though it requires good balance to pick up a plank you're standing on. Fortunately, you are putting yourself through college by performing as a contortionist in a local sideshow, so you will have no problem.)
• Where do you suppose the Egyptians got the poison for their dart traps?
