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

  • FuglyDuck@lemmy.world
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    6 hours ago

    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.

    • Onomatopoeia@lemmy.cafe
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      50 minutes ago

      Right?

      Field hockey and LaCrosse balls are all the same, have to meet a spec.

      Why not just make a spec stone, sell it, and license it with certification tests?

      • Skua@kbin.earth
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        26 minutes ago

        I think it’s just not really in the spirit of the event. It’s not meant to be a completely serious athletic endeavour, it’s a bit of fun and fundraising. They’re getting 2,000 people of all ages on to a tiny island with a population of 61 to chuck some stones across a pond. There doesn’t seem to be a big cash prize or anything. There was a raffle to win a wheelbarrow described as doing “0-3 mph in 1 second”