Over the past few months, watching people pull off intricate and seemingly impossible trickshots has become my most reliable source of joy on social media. It’s not just the feats itself, but also the particular rhythm they move to—a fail-fail-fail-fail-WHAT cadence that delivers a real sense of satisfaction. For The Guardian, Richard profiles some of the niche’s luminaries; consider the story a fascinating off-ramp from doomscrolling.
These are, however, “super-strange skills”, as David Hulett puts it. Over the hours of practice, you do become incrementally better at, say, tossing ping-pong balls so they play a tune on a series of carefully arranged pans, or dropping paper from a stepladder into a shredder. It was David who had the crucial insight that a small crease across the paper will attenuate the curve of the parabola on its descent, resulting in a greater probability of it sailing into the waiting shredder. Just as Dick Fosbury’s flop at the 1968 Olympics changed the entire discipline of high-jumping, so a trickshooter can alter the history of their sport in a single afternoon.
More #lightreads from The Guardian
Where Duolingo Falls Down: How I Learned to Speak Welsh With My Mother
“Once violently defended from extinction, Welsh is still a part of daily life. By learning my family’s language, I hoped to join their conversation.”
My Dad Made the Biggest Jewelled Egg in the World. The Obsession Would Destroy his Marriage, Family and Fortune
“The mad venture – which my mother nicknamed ‘your father’s ego’ – would swallow my childhood.”
Teacher v Chatbot: My Journey Into the Classroom in the Age Of AI
“Throwing AI into the mix felt like downing a coffee in the middle of a panic attack.”
Inside Voice: What Can Our Thoughts Reveal About the Nature of Consciousness?
“Scientists and philosophers studying the mind have discovered how little we know about our inner experiences.”
He Called Himself an ‘Untouchable Hacker God’. But Who Was Behind the Biggest Crime Finland Has Ever Known?
“How would you feel if your therapist’s notes – your darkest thoughts and deepest feelings – were exposed to the world? For 33,000 Finnish people, that became a terrifying reality, with deadly consequences.”
The Pie and Mash Crisis: Can the Original Fast Food Be Saved?
“There used to be hundreds of pie and mash shops in London. Now there are barely more than 30. Can social media attention and a push for protected status ensure their survival?”
