whoda thunk? (emphasis on the THUNK)

[dchenes]

Last time I tried bowling, I was somewhere under the age of 10, and I couldn't really lift a bowling ball, never mind actually throwing one. The predictable result was that I sucked at bowling, and ever since then I've taken it as gospel that I suck at bowling.

Last night, our office holiday Festive Event was at Jillian's and I got talked into bowling. To my absolute shock, I seem to be half decent at it.

So why, I ask you, is 20 lb of kitty litter heavier than a 20-some-odd lb bowling ball? (The answer, after further research, is: because the maximum weight of a bowling ball is supposed to be 16 lb. Let that be a lesson to all of us.)

Comments

[whuffle.livejournal.com]

Physics. It's all in the fizix I tell ya!

[marmota.livejournal.com]

Maybe they're easier to handle if they're brightly colored bags of kitty litter? Um, with disco ball lighting. And loud music. Okay, maybe not.

of kitty litter and bowling balls

[happyfunpaul.livejournal.com]

So why, I ask you, is 20 lb of kitty litter heavier than a 20-some-odd lb bowling ball? (The answer, after further research, is: because the maximum weight of a bowling ball is supposed to be 16 lb. Let that be a lesson to all of us.)

Additionally, the kitty litter bag isn't a rigid object, so it tends to slosh and droop and generally be more annoying to carry, compared to a nice rigid object of equal weight. I've carried fifty-pound sacks of cat food and fifty-pound rigid, balanced objects (e.g. tables)-- the former feels much heavier.

Yay bowling! I took up ten-pin bowling for a while when I lived in Michigan. I got good enough that I was at the point where I really needed to buy my own bowling ball if I was going to get any better. Alas, I just couldn't see myself as the sort of person who owns his own bowling ball... so instead I quit and went on the other hobbies. Ah well!