What's so flippin' special about those olympic ping pong balls?

Asked by robmandu (21334

) August 18th, 2008

During the match, the players will consistently turn and retrieve the ball that just flew by. Then begin play with the same ball that’s been smashed around at 70mph.

What? They can’t carry around a little pouch with extra ping pong balls? No one’s around to pick up the discarded balls left on the floor?

I mean c’mon! Tennis balls are orders of magnitude more expensive and they’re discarded sometimes after every play… or even before a single play.

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5 Answers

Hey! What the hell. I did a search for balls and this came up. Geeze.

That’s a joke

simone54 (7642

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Some consider ping pong balls to be holy. It’s sacreligous to have them concealed in one’s pocket. They must be visible at all times so that they may be properly worshipped by all who gaze upon them.

loser (15032

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The International Table Tennis Federation rules specify that the players should “whenever possible” be given the opportunity to select a few balls before play begins, and that the umpire then chooses one of those balls at random. If a replacement is required, it’s also chosen from that pre-approved stash. So there’s a limited pool to draw from.

In tennis, the balls are altered more during play due to the compaction and abrasion of the felt covering (which effects spin) and loss of pressure. Neither is a factor in table tennis balls.

Harp (19179

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edit: affects spin

Harp (19179

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