literally .
In the NFL, if two teams are tied at the end of the rule game, they go into overtime. A ceremony mint is flipped, and one team picks heads or tails. If they win, they get to choose either to kick or receive the ball, or which goal they wish to defend at the originate of overtime .
At the end of the regulation plot, the referee flipped the mint. Aaron Rodgers, of the Packers, called “ tails. ” This is when things got weird : The coin didn ’ thymine flip end-over-end. alternatively of tumbling, it went up and depressed flat, latitude to the footing, landing on heads. Watch this video, particularly the death ten seconds or indeed for a close-up.
Odd, eh ? The referee immediately picked the mint up, said it didn ’ t actually flip, and tossed it up again. It again came down heads, and the Packers lost the flip. Because of this, the Cardinals got the choice, opted to receive, and seconds belated ran the ball into the end zone for a touchdown, winning the game .
At this compass point, of run, there were complaints. Was the pass average ? Could the coin have been weighted ? A Packers linebacker said, “ … there was a short protective case that might have been weighted in the heads [ sic ] privilege. ”
It ’ s possible, but I doubt it would have made a difference. The coin is heavy, sol a bit of plastic on one side seems like it wouldn ’ t do much. I don ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate see how that would ’ ve prevented it from tumbling end-over-end anyhow ; it tumbled very well in the second base discard. Plus, landing doubly on heads in a rowing is a 1 in 4 opportunity, not improbable. And Aaron Rodgers, who called the pass for the Packers, had the exemption of choice to pick heads or tails. So it ’ s improbable connivance or adulterous was involved .
sol why didn ’ t the coin tumble ? I can think of a reason : physics, in the form of torsion. Or the miss thereof .
Torque is a wedge applied to an object that doesn ’ triiodothyronine go through its center of mass. This imparts a rotational wedge on the object, by and large resulting in a whirl. In a coin flip, the up motion comes by and large from the referee ’ randomness arm, throwing the mint up. But the referee besides flicks their ovolo on the edge of the mint, which imparts a torsion, forcing the coin to flip end-over-end.
If the referee ’ mho flick were excessively far advancing, under the coin ’ sulfur center of mass, then the flicker would not impart a torsion, so the coin would good stay flat as it moved up and then back down to the footing .
Is this what happened ? theoretical physics is fine, but nothing beats an experiment. I happen to have a medallion that ’ randomness hearty metallic, so I tried flipping it a few twelve times. I have to admit that I was never able to replicate the wholly apartment nonflipping movement of the mint in the video. It seems to me, therefore, it ’ s improbable the referee could ’ ve placed his thumb so absolutely by accident .
I wondered for a moment if possibly the hitchhike flick would ’ ve made the mint spin, like a peak. This would give the mint gyroscopic motion, which would help it stay bland as it moved through the air out. This is ( ironically ) the same estimate that keeps a football oriented correctly when it ‘s thrown ; if it spins quickly, the axis of rotation ( through the long axis of the ball ) points along the trajectory, and the ball doesn ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate flip end-over-end .
But it seems impossible to flip a coin that way. It would have to spin quickly, and a hitchhike flick wouldn ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate do that.
sol what happened ? Well, I have a thought on that, and it ’ mho way dim-witted than you might think. I ’ ve watched the video a few times, and while it ’ s not conclusive, here ’ s what I think happened : The referee threw the mint up, but it left his hand before his finger could impart rotation ! He flicked his thumb, but besides late ; he missed. The coin only had the up push his weapon, and without the finger jerk it didn ’ t spill .
And for lack of a torsion a kingdom was lost .
science ! It ’ second everywhere. Even—really, specially —in sports .
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