cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/35985472
Ooft, the prize is literally just a trophy, why would you cheat this? Skimming takes skill, but to win you surely need a healthy dose of luck too. Anyway, Easdale looks a fun place to visit
The winner totalled 177m, and you get three skims, so almost 60m of skim each.
How many people could even throw that far?
Writing that headline absolutely made a word-nerd’s day.
Okay. So.
Stupid question.
Why don’t they do some like, synthetic, maybe stoneware, “stones” that are perfectly shaped for optimal performance. One, if they were all uniform in size and mass and mass distribution, it’d be a lot easier to spot a cheat. And two, if it’s optimized (or intentionally un-optomized) that removes some luck and puts the skill more center stage.
Picking a good rock seems like a skill. Though, that assumes you can get the rock you want.
The rule is that they have to be natural stones from the island
Yes, I understand that, the rule doesn’t make sense from a competitive point. I imagine there’d be somebody local that would happily supply something (fired clay, maybe,) at cost for an opportunity to sell stuff.
Maybe it’s just a non-serious local event, and finding the rocks is half the fun.
But really! lol.
Why don’t they dope openly in the Olympics, maybe similar here
Synthetic = cleanup needed after
stoneware is relatively environmentally benign as litter. It’s just clay that’s been fired (and maybe glazed, mind. but no need for that.) What makes it different from earthenware is that the type of clay used can be fired to a higher temperature, letting it fuse and turn glassy (without said glaze). terracotta pots, for example, are earthenware. something like that.
If you wanted to get even more particular, I’m sure we could sinter some artificial shale or other sedimentary rock into a synthetic stone. “synthetic” here means artificially constructed, the materials could be little different than “natural” ones already in the environment. There’s probably clay deposits near by to justify that, too. (maybe not on the island, which was historically a slate quarry.) "
the reason they don’t dope in the Olympics or any professional sport is because it’s dangerous to the body. if everyone used a rock designed to be identical, it wouldn’t be cheating, in the same way that good nutrition isn’t cheating in the Olympics.
Taking performance enhancing drugs? Idk if that should even matter. Steroids are not going to change your skims, gross as they are.
