Today's topic: Table Tennis.
9 of these are true; 1 is made up. Can you spot the false one?
1. "Table Tennis" is the official name for the sport, while "Ping Pong" is a trademarked name owned by Parker Brothers.
2. Table tennis has been an Olympic sport since 1988.
3. Beginning in 2000, table tennis balls were made larger.
4. Table tennis balls are ranked for quality. Those with 3 stars are the highest-quality ball.
5. Placing your free hand on the table during a match scores a point for your opponent.
6. No American is currently ranked by the top 100 by the ITTF (International Table Tennis Federation).
7. The phrase "Ping Pong Diplomacy" refers to a period in the early 70s when American table tennis players were invited to China to participate in various tournaments. Their participation marked a "thawing" in US/Chinese relations, which led the way for a state visit by vice president Richard Nixon.
8. Table tennis balls are not just hollow; they are pressurized with gas.
9. "Beer Pong" is a drinking game wherein players try to throw a ping pong ball into a cup of beer. If successful, the opposing team drinks the contents of the cup.
10. The world record for fastest table tennis shot is 70 MPH.
--Quinn
6 comments:
balls that are pressurized by gas? um, that's my vote for the false one. Quinn, where the heck do you come up with this stuff? What entices you to study ping pong?
Nixon was president, not vice president, at the time. There's your falsie.
Ok, here is my break down (without cheating and using Google):
1 and 2 sound legit, and who would put the made up one first?
I had a hard time deciding between 3 and 7 being the false statement. #3 sounds counter intuitive; wouldn't making the ball bigger make the game easier? And I think Quinn's imagination would be a little bit more elaborate than that....like in #7.
I have no problem believing #4,5,6&8. And, after reading an article in the Campus paper about the spreading of Mono and other contagious diseases on campus through the game "Beer Pong," I can attest to number 9 being true.
So there it is.
#7 in the game room with the paddle.
-Daniel
I think it #10. There is no way you can hit that tiny light little ball 70 mph.
I'm going to say number 10. I think the ball goes faster than 70 mph
If you hold a table tennis ball over a flame (like that of a 30 year old South Korean natural gas stovetop) the gas inside the ball ignites before the rubber melts thus exploding the ball. Good times.
And, I think, that the balls are ranked with the higher number being of better quality. Three stars, therefore, are of a lesser quality than, say, a five starer.
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