The Yips are defined as "a disorder in which golfers complain of an involuntary movement — a twitch, a jerk, a flinch — at the time they putt or even when they chip. This interferes with their ability to perform that activity.” It was the subject of a multidisciplinary study by researchers at the Mayo Clinic, who concluded:
For <10 handicap male golfers and <12 handicap female golfers, the prevalence of the yips is between 32.5% and 47.7%, a high proportion of serious golfers. This high prevalence suggests that medical practitioners need to understand the aetiology of the yips phenomenon so that interventions can be identified and tested for effectiveness in alleviating symptoms. Although previous investigators concluded that the yips is a neuromuscular impediment aggravated but not caused by anxiety, we believe the yips represents a continuum on which 'choking' (anxiety-related) and dystonia symptoms anchor the extremes.
The Yips should not be confused with the Yip Yips, which are something completely different:
At the age of 69, Sharie Mobley recently broke the all-time world record in the deadlift for her class/division by lifting 305 pounds. This has earned her the nickname Granny Hulk.
She only started weight training when she was 60, saying that she “couldn’t sit around and do normal granny things.”
Another sport that, like mobile phone throwing, arose in the 21st century, flourished briefly, involved new technology, but then fizzled and disappeared.
Two teams compete to get a large (24-inch diameter) ball into goal at either end of the 200 x 85-foot field. Players on both teams are all armed with stun gun devices. Under the rules of the game players are allowed to use the stun guns on opposing players who are in possession of the ball.
It's a sport that got its start in Finland in 2000. From wikipedia: "participants throw mobile phones and are judged on distance or technique. World record holder is Tom Philipp Reinhardt from Germany with a throw of 136,75m."
But the competitions seem to have ended. The last title winners listed on wikipedia are from 2014. I can't find any more recent elsewhere. Perhaps people are reluctant to throw their smart phones?
Although the practice is not advised, apparently it's fairly common for people to try to quickly dry out wet baseball fields by dousing them in gasoline and burning them.
A doping scandal has rocked the world of competitive bridge. The World Bridge Federation announced that top-ranked player Geir Helgemo has been suspended after he tested positive for synthetic testosterone and the female fertility drug clomifene while playing in the World Bridge Series in Orlando, Florida.
Of course, these drugs don't enhance or otherwise affect one's ability to play bridge. But apparently the World Bridge Federation is recognized by the International Olympic Committee, which means the bridge players need to follow the same anti-doping rules as Olympic athletes.
Back in in 1969, a golfer accidentally managed to hit a plane with his ball. The ball went through the plexiglass windshield and into the cockpit.
Which raises the question: Do golf balls pose a potential hazard to planes? This is discussed in a thread over at aviation.stackexchange.com, and the consensus seems to be, not really. Even if a golf ball were, somehow, to get into a plane's engine, it's probably small enough that it wouldn't cause damage.
Oakland Tribune - Jan 16, 1969
I was curious about how often golfers hit planes. Apparently, not often. But some googling yielded this video, which purports to show a golfer hitting a 757 with a ball. Though no one in the YouTube comments seems to believe he actually hit the plane.
Betty Goedhart first tried the trapeze at the age of 78, after a career as an ice skater. So she had an athletic background. Even so, she's got some seriously good genes.
Paul Di Filippo
Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over thirty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. He has recently begun blogging on many curious topics with three fellow writers at The Inferior 4+1.