Ozzie_Isaac said:

HeavyG said:

XC242 said:

What other Olympic sport do you know of where you see one of the participants chewing gum during the middle of the event...

Archery. Sailing. Golf.

I bet one of the joys in your life is telling people Rosebud is a sled

Whoa dude... Spoiler Alert!

Pro Tip: Don't go to Casablanca for the waters.

caliking said:

JohnInCarolina said:

Ozzie_Isaac said:

YukonRon said:

WSJ had an interesting article on curling. It basically says the science community has no idea why the rock behaves as it does on ice, with the distance and trajectory applied by the thrower, or why it goes in the direction it does with the type of spin placed upon it, and basically, the folks with the brooms, should have zero impact on the stone distance or direction.
Several papers have been written, over time, each refuting claims from previous assertions.
It has to be PEDS. 
They also mentioned, those with the brooms are the ones that require the most stamina and do work out to keep in shape. Most of the throwers do not.
One person interviewed by another sports magazine, was asked what he did to prepare for the events, his answer was "Scotch and cigarettes."
Curling, obviously, may be a future endeavor for me as a participant, should this indeed be true.

@JohnInCarolina I have your next research project.

Yeah I was going to comment on Ron's post.  I haven't seen the WSJ piece but I'd kind of be surprised if scientists genuinely have "no idea" what's going on here.  I'm sure there are some reasonable hypotheses but folks just haven't had the time, money, or interest in really investigating them. 

Getting funding to study the question in detail probably isn't easy.  I'm not sure there's a real science question or application that would motivate the need for the research.  Probably more than anything else that's why there are still questions that remain.  It's not exactly a high priority item. 

Given the current funding environment, I am shocked - SHOCKED - that the science of curling has not been made a priority. 

Forget gravity waves, Fermat's Last Theorem, bosons, quarks,  and all that rubbish. We need to figure out what makes curling happen. Now. 

Could not agree more.  The rest of that psuedoscience is a waste of time and is of absolutely no use.

Curling gold medals are a point of national pride!

It was Thursdays edition of The WSJ. I read that after reading why GE stock was tanking.

I am sure the curling article had some fluff, but the conclusion by the scientists, which have chosen to share their expertise, is that it makes no sense.

@JohnInCarolina is correct, there has been opinions from the science community.
Several hypothesis have been offered in papers written, each one refuting the previous,
thoughts.

The last paper written, if I recall correctly, was the thousands of micro scratches on both the ice surface and the rock, prior to the broomers, may be providing the friction that counters the spin or applied trajectory of the stone.

It is the rotation phenomenon of the stone, given at release, which provides an opposite curl or curve effect, seemingly in opposition to the direction of the spin, is what has those in the science community, that care enough to form an opinion, the reason to scratch their head and shrug.

They also said with a faster spin upon release, the straighter the line, which they noted but had no answer for as well.

I still think it has a lot to do with alcohol. 

I was training for a gold medal myself today.

YukonRon said:

It was Thursdays edition of The WSJ. I read that after reading why GE stock was tanking.

I am sure the curling article had some fluff, but the conclusion by the scientists, which have chosen to share their expertise, is that it makes no sense.

@JohnInCarolina is correct, there has been opinions from the science community.
Several hypothesis have been offered in papers written, each one refuting the previous,
thoughts.

The last paper written, if I recall correctly, was the thousands of micro scratches on both the ice surface and the rock, prior to the broomers, may be providing the friction that counters the spin or applied trajectory of the stone.

It is the rotation phenomenon of the stone, given at release, which provides an opposite curl or curve effect, seemingly in opposition to the direction of the spin, is what has those in the science community, that care enough to form an opinion, the reason to scratch their head and shrug.

They also said with a faster spin upon release, the straighter the line, which they noted but had no answer for as well.

I still think it has a lot to do with alcohol. 

I was training for a gold medal myself today.

Friction is actually a very challenging scientific problem.   There is a basic model of Coulombic friction that works fairly well for engineering applications, but which everyone knows is vastly oversimplified.  Friction is a true multi-scale problem.

Botch said:

Focker said:

So, did anyone take a knee?

Not since Tonya Harding.  

Greatest line ever about the olympics. Ever.

TheToast said:

FlyOverCountry said:

Anyone else notice there are a lot of games with ice or snow this year?  When do the real sports start?  

Not sure if you're joking but you do realise these are the winter Olympics?

@FlyOverCountry is a pseudonym  for another member.  Have some idea who, but will leave the outing to Wikileaks.  It is so they can troll without risking their real handle.

It's not me.  Seems to be coming from 109.99.110.34

nolaegghead said:

It's not me.  Seems to be coming from 109.99.110.34

Seems to have a very “Ken M” vibe to him. 

northGAcock said:

Should be about time for the closing ceremonies. 

Um, maybe a few days ago?

Ozzie_Isaac said:

northGAcock said:

bgebrent said:

northGAcock said:

Should be about time for the closing ceremonies. 

Um, maybe a few days ago?

How’d we do on the medal count? Did we win the olympics? 

We always win.  No need for a metal count.  We were even allowed to compete under our own flag, unlike those pesky ruskies.

That whole OAR thing was a joke