Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with balls

Need clear or milky plastic spheres

sid — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 08:52:56 -0800

Asking for a friend: I need about 20 clear or frosted plastic balls that are 3" in diameter for a Nuit Blanche project. Where could I obtain such balls in Toronto? They will be used to diffuse IR light for an interactive art project. The project will debut at Nuit Blanche this year!

How to make tennis balls on a walker take a licking and keep on ticking?

Syllables — Fri, 29 May 2009 22:36:33 -0800

How to I stop tennis balls on a walker from wearing out so darn quickly? I work in a group home for people who have a variety of handicaps. One of my little lovelies is amublatory with the help of a walker. The problem is the tennis balls on the back are wearing completely through within a week.

The budgets are tight and we are looking for clever ideas to make the balls last just a bit longer. Any ideas you ultra smarties?

Under Construction

wcfields — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 16:10:33 -0800

Where are some repositories of Web 1.0 style graphics and icons? I can only recall Graphic Station from its old Geocities days but was wondering if there are anymore like it?

Too many balls, what to do?

deepscene — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 12:28:06 -0800

What are some interesting or useful things I can do with about 100 golf balls? I have a big basket of golf balls of varying quality, brand and weight (is that what the numbers on the balls mean?). I found them all in my back yard, so they are all 'used'. They are mostly white in color, a few yellow and one hot pink.

I'm moving soon and would like to do something interesting with them before I move so I don't end up throwing them away. I'm located in Northern Virginia and not a golfer. I would prefer not to give them away or sell them because, well, finders keepers.

I'm open to anything, but my goal in life is to make my wife laugh so the wackier the better.

Juggling is out, I can only do three at a time.

I lost my ball... no wait, there it is

Anonymous — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 08:18:44 -0800

Sometimes my left testicle "falls in" to my abdomen. Is this bad/dangerous? Rarely (maybe twice a month?), my left testicle will fall out of my scrotum and sort of travel back up my body, creating an obvious bulge on its merry way (presumably along the inguinal canal). The highest it's gotten is approximately aligned with the top of my pubic hair. It's a bit uncomfortable, but I can just push the bulge back in to place and all is well again for a while. Putting very mild pressure to the left of the penis keeps it from falling back in, which is what I usually do when it does happen.

Common factors when this happens are being somewhat cold, being on my back, and having some sort of sexual activity going on down there. I'm not sure that it's ever happened without an erection. It's definitely never happened to the right testicle. This has probably been going on for two years; I haven't experienced any other problems, discomfort, or pain as a result or independently in that region.

Is this normal? Is this a hernia (I haven't had a physical in about 9 years) or a hernia waiting to happen? Is some terrible fate awaiting lefty if I don't get this looked at right away?

I need some balls and stickers

pita — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 18:59:57 -0800

My question has two parts: I need around a hundred balls that I can paint/write on. They shouldn't be too heavy, with a diameter from say two inches to the size of a billiard ball. I need to write on them, or if you can tell me how to print stickers, I'll print stickers. I've seen mcmaster.com (part number 9941K27) but they're kinda pricey. So my two questions are: 1. Where can I find such balls? 2. How can I print stickers? Thank you, pita

A Strange Bucket

Blazecock Pileon — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 01:39:58 -0800

I have a bucket containing N marbles: M white marbles and N-M black marbles. I need to grab a handful of marbles (n) and figure out the probability of having picked up m white marbles. At first, I thought I could use the hypergeometric distribution. But there's a complication, namely that the white marbles are not equally distributed in my bucket.

In other words, if my handful of marbles contains one white marble, I'm more likely to have picked up one or more additional white marbles in my hand, and this probability is different depending on how many white marbles I may have picked up.

Is there a good approach to modeling or simulating this kind of situation?

Chocolate Salty Balls of Truffle

Jupiter Jones — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 09:10:51 -0800

So my wife is going as Chef to the Rock Star themed potluck I previously asked about. Now we have to come up with a recipe for Chocolate Salty Balls. Anyone have a recipe for a sort of insanely good trufflely chocolate ball that we can lightly coat in some good salt? What would be a good salt to use? I've been looking online for an actual recipe inspired by South Park, but the ingredients listed in the song itself are very vague (2 bags of sugar?!?) and lack salt. Others, like this one, seem... dubious. However, they match the version that Isaac Hayes put into his cookbook.

We'll probably give that a stab, but I think that making an insanely good chocolate truffle and rolling it in some really good fleur de sel or something would be even better than graham crackers and corn syrup.

So, does anyone have any advice on a really really great chocolate truffle recipe, and also a really good salt that we could use to put on it? I'm sure the combination would work, as chocolate covered pretzels are awesome.

What is the origin of the phrase "by the balls"?

sciurus — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 16:52:07 -0800

What is the origin of the phrase "by the balls" as in: "He's really got you by the balls."? My mom thinks it is a biblical reference where dudes would grab each other by the balls when they entered into an agreement with each other. Her priest disagrees, so now my mom wants to find out exactly what the origin of that phrase is.

I believe I have placed this question in the correct category.

how do you throw a ball?

krautland — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 09:15:41 -0800

how do you throw a ball? I never learned how to properly throw a ball. be it a tennis-, foot-, american foot-, base-, or some other kind of ball, I just don't get it. my aim is catastrophic and my inability to put distance between myself and any thrown object, even sticks and stones don't fare any better, has disappointed dogs, grade school teachers, neighborhood kids and potential girlfriends (okay, that may just be a convenient excuse). I'm not exactly a weakling and feel I should be able to do this yet I can't.

so hivemind, help my self-esteem.
I need instructions.

balls balls balls balls balls

Greg Nog — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 09:06:16 -0800

I'm throwing a Balls Ball. You know, just a buncha dudes, enjoying balls, watching 300 and drinking together. That kind of thing. We have a reasonable menu already, but still, I would like you to suggest your favorite balls. Give me your balls. Right now, the menu is:

Hors D'Oeuvres:
Melon balls
Cheese balls

Main course:
Swedish Meatballs
Souzoukakia (Greek meatballs in tomato sauce)
Other possibilities?: Malai or Palak Kofta, Pan de Yucca

Dessert:
Bourbon Balls
Peanut Butter Balls

Drinks:
Highballs

So that ain't bad, but I'm sure that there are key balls I'm neglecting. What other balls could I serve, metafilter? Suggestions are nice, but recipes are nicer! Thanks in advance for your balls.

Do you balls hang low? Can you swing them too and fro?

Anonymous — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 22:31:07 -0800

My left testicle is suddenly hanging significantly lower than the right. Eek. About 3 weeks ago I whacked off as per normal (for a 24yo guy). Went to bed and woke to find my left ball hanging a little low with a dull aching. It's about half an inch lower than it used to be, and feels........different. Lighter. Not as much a part of me as it used to. Dare I say it, detached.

The aching has now passed (except for the occasional throb) but it refuses to move back upstairs with its brother. Even when chilled it's reluctant to snuggle up as close as it used to.

The whacking off was no more prolonged or vigorous than previous sessions, so maybe I just slept funny? Everything seems to still function normally.

What have I (possibly) done?!

Name those balls.

bloggboy — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 16:35:47 -0800

What do you call these Japanese percussive ball-on-a-string things? It's probably an easy answer, I just can't seem to find it. Also, how much practice would it take to do something akin to the guys in the video?

wow! wolfman has nads!

Espoo2 — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 11:48:05 -0800

What does it feel like to get kicked in the balls? I'm sure most men have tried to explain this to a female before. But I've never found any words that come close to describing the unique and ENGULFING pain that happens when you're kicked in the googles.

What is a comparable feeling? How do we LET THEM KNOW that sometimes even a GRAZE can be painful? How can one describe that nauseating, throbbing, wave that goes all the up your spine and then back down to your sack again, over and over? For me, words fail.

No balls for me, thank you.

Secret Life of Gravy — Sun, 21 Jan 2007 09:53:19 -0800

I think telling women to "get some balls" is offensive. Am I too sensitive? In the past couple of years the practice of telling women to "grow a pair" "sack up" "get some balls" and so forth has become more prevalent. I see it everywhere including Ask Me. My husband and I are split on this: he thinks it is equivalent to telling somebody to have some guts, I think it is ridiculously pro-male, anti-female. To me, telling a woman she needs balls means:
a) testicles are very desirable even if you are a woman
b) being a man is very desirable even if you are a woman
c) the only way to be courageous is to be masculine.

Would men find it offensive to be told to get some ovaries or grow a womb?

Am I being too sensitive? Is there another way of looking at this?

Know what it takes to sell real estate?

rorycberger — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 12:44:48 -0800

Where can I buy a pair of Brass Balls? [such as those seen in Glengarry Glen Ross] I'm looking for a pair of Brass Balls on a little string just like those seen in this clip from the film. Thanks!

Where Do Lost Balls Go?

M.C. Lo-Carb! — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 10:30:35 -0800

What is the environmental impact of my dog's lost tennis balls? I would estimate that my elderly border collie/heeler mutt has lost between 30 and 50 tennis balls over the years in wilderness areas, open space, city parks, etc. I do my best to find them, but he's quite proficient.

I know the main ingredients are rubber, wool and nylon - any guesses as to whether these balls eventually biodegrade? Are we wreaking environmental havoc?

Where is Chicago balls deep?

AllesKlar — Thu, 13 Jul 2006 15:21:34 -0800

Is there any brick and mortar in Chicago where I can acquire some juggling equipment? I really need some new "traditional" juggling balls and am toying with the idea of picking up some devil sticks. Does anyone know? Thanks!

Small stinky whitish balls coming out of my throat.

Devileyezz — Tue, 30 May 2006 21:35:44 -0800

Small whitish soft-hard stinky balls coming out of my throat once in blue moon when I cough hard. They have a foul smell. I can't see them inside my mouth. But they occassionally 'fall out' when I cough. The odour is soooo bad. At first I thought they were food particles, but no.. this has happened atleast 2-3 times in the past week. They are not big at all, they're very small.. no particular shape. What is it, and how do I get rid of them?

Painful issue with testicles rising over pubic bone

Ampa — Wed, 22 Feb 2006 21:12:12 -0800

TesticleFilter: Painful issue with testicles rising at point of orgasm. When I orgasm my testicles rise right out of my scrotum and end up either side of my penis sitting above my pubic bone. This leaves them prone to being squashed between my body and that of my girlfriend.

I realise that contraction of the scrotum is normal during orgasm, but to this extreme is obviously a painful problem. Certain positions reduce the chance of this happening... any position where gravity is keeping my balls down is helpful, where as positions such as girl on top tend to make the situation worse.

I can prevent my testicles from riding up if I hold a hand pressed against my pubic bone, or actually hold my scrotum / pull it down.

So... questions! Anyone else experience this issue? Any good ideas as to solutions? Would a cockring help? (From my understanding the position of the ring may prevent the testicles from rising so high)

Why aren't testicles inside the body?

five fresh fish — Sun, 03 Oct 2004 19:44:07 -0800

BallsFilter: Why is male semen best created and stored at temperatures below normal body temperature? Why keep those delicate ovoids outside the body where they're exposed to a good swift kick? Shouldn't they be tucked deep inside for safety?

Physics: Is it cricket or just a law?

cadastral — Wed, 18 Aug 2004 19:23:39 -0800

Newtonian physics/Cricket question. [6kb GIF and full question inside]

I'm no pro at either cricket or physics, and this has me vexed.

Assuming that the blue and red balls have identical shape, volume, and 'elasticity' (meaning they return the same bounce), they should both be affected by air resistance equally (right?). So... I've ruled that out.

I also think that on a frictionless surface, the "rebound angle" (just what I'm calling it... not sure what the real name is) would be identical... (let me know if this is wrong).

Now, here's the question.

In a "REAL WORLD" setting, where there is a consistant amount of friction in common between the two (say... astroturf acting on a leather ball), which angle, "a" or "b" would be greater?

In other words... Does the heavier ball not bounce as high?

All help appreciated greatly, this has been working on me for a few days.