1661.1
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Galileo Galilei Discovers . . . Backspin!
Salience | Noteworthy |
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Tags | FamousFamous |
Location | |
City/State/Country: | England |
Modern Address | |
Game | StoolballStoolball |
Immediacy of Report | |
Age of Players | |
Holiday | |
Notables | Galileo |
Text | The great scientist wrote, in a treatise discussing how the ball behaves in different ball games, including tennis: "Stool-ball, when they play in a stony way, . . . they do not trundle the ball upon the ground, but throw it, as if to pitch a quait. . . . . To make the ball stay, they hold it artificially with their hand uppermost, and it undermost, which in its delivery hath a contrary twirl or rolling conferred upon it by the fingers, by means whereof in its coming to the ground neer the mark it stays there, or runs very little forwards."
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Sources | Galileo Galilei, Mathematical Collections and Translations. "Inglished from his original Italian copy by Thomas Salusbury" (London, 1661), page 142. Provided by David Block, email of 2/27/2008. |
Warning | |
Comment | David further asks: "could it be that this is the source of the term putting "English" on a ball?" Edit with form to add a comment |
Query | Edit with form to add a query |
Source Image | [[Image:|left|thumb]] |
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