Category:
Sports

Fizz Bowling

A drinking game of the 1960s, invented at European ski lodges:

The Montana Standard - Feb 10, 1963



A few more details from the Akron Beacon Journal (Feb 6, 1963):

Latest sport catching on with the ski crowd at smart Winter spas is "fizz bowling." A large grapefruit serves as a bowling ball and the player bowls at full gin bottles instead of pins... player then drinks contents of all pins left standing. Each player is allowed a "handicap" number of bottles he must knock down.

Some googling reveals that it's now possible to buy gin bottles shaped like bowling pins. Available from Amazon for $18.99 (empty, you add your own gin). However, they're made of glass, so probably not great for fizz bowling.

I'm guessing the people back in the 60s were playing with minis, rather than full-size bottles.

Posted By: Alex - Wed Jan 29, 2020 - Comments (1)
Category: Games, Sports, 1960s, Alcohol

Freestyle Canoeing

Why hasn't freestyle canoeing been made an olympic event yet?

The performance begins at around 1:20.

Posted By: Alex - Sun Nov 24, 2019 - Comments (1)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Sports

Follies of the Madmen #445



Yes, it's perfectly safe to drive your one-ton car on the same surface as the 150-lb iceboat.

Source.

Posted By: Paul - Sun Sep 22, 2019 - Comments (6)
Category: Business, Advertising, Daredevils, Stuntpeople and Thrillseekers, Death, Sports, 1960s, Cars

Isostatic Rebound Golf Course

The Valley of the Eagles golf course in the small town of Haines, Alaska boasts an unusual feature. It’s currently a nine-hole course, but due to the geological phenomenon of isostatic (or post-glacial) rebound, in a few decades it may be an 18-hole course.

Post-glacial rebound is the phenomenon of a land mass rising after the weight of a glacier has been removed from it. This is occurring in Haines, at a rate of about 0.9 inches per year, and because the golf course borders the water, it's steadily growing in size as it rises above sea level, exposing more land. The course has already doubled in size since the 1960s.

More info: pasturegolf.com

Posted By: Alex - Fri Aug 02, 2019 - Comments (2)
Category: Science, Sports, Golf, Natural Wonders

The Atomic Golf Ball

A demonstration that what is possible may not be what is practical.

Developed by nuclear physicist William Davidson in 1950, a small amount of radioactive material at the core of the atomic golf ball allowed it to be found using a Geiger counter, should it be hit into the rough. But there were a few problems with the concept:

1: The Geiger counter needed to be pretty close to the ball (within 5 feet) to actually detect it.
2: Not many people own Geiger counters.
3: Even though a single ball didn't pose much of a radiation risk, a bunch of the balls stored together would be a problem. So, it wasn't possible for stores to stock and sell these.

Mechanix Illustrated - Mar 1951



Akron Beacon Journal - Aug 20, 2000
click to enlarge

Posted By: Alex - Wed Jul 24, 2019 - Comments (4)
Category: Sports, Golf, Atomic Power and Other Nuclear Matters, 1950s

Follies of the Madmen #435

Is it just me, or is the notion of an army of clones on the make for a lone gal a creepy thing?







Source.

Posted By: Paul - Tue Jul 16, 2019 - Comments (0)
Category: Ambiguity, Uncertainty and Deliberate Obscurity, Business, Advertising, Crowds, Groups, Mobs and Other Mass Movements, Dreams and Nightmares, Fashion, Sports, 1970s

Wrong-Way Race

The runners must have been thinking that it seemed like the longest seven miles ever.

Sheboygan Press - Mar 23, 1970

Posted By: Alex - Tue Jul 09, 2019 - Comments (1)
Category: Sports, 1970s

The Yips Phenomenon in Golf

The Yips are defined as "a disorder in which golfers complain of an involuntary movement β€” a twitch, a jerk, a flinch β€” 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:

Posted By: Alex - Wed May 15, 2019 - Comments (0)
Category: Medicine, Sports, Golf

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Alex Boese
Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes.

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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.

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