Amazing Trivia

The spitball, a pitch in baseball in which the ball is tampered with (spit on, scuffed, smeared with petroleum oil or peanut butter, etc.) in order to affect the movement of the ball during the pitch, was permitted in Major League Baseball until 1920. Back in the day, the same baseball was used for much of the game, unlike today where they replace the ball after every couple pitches -- the ball was sometimes stained with various substances, including tobacco spit. The spitball was difficult for the batter to see coming. It was in 1920 when Ray Chapman was hit with a spitball pitch. Ray Chapman died 12 hours later, from injuries to his skull. There is some dispute whether or not Chapman's death was the cause of the ban of the spitball.

Crop circles, the "phenomena" where some guys use a board to smash down wheat, corn, or other crops, into sometimes elaborate designs, may have been around in the 1600's. A pamphlet (August 22nd, 1678) called "The Mowing Devil" features a woodcut of a devil smashing down crops into a circle. Hmm...

It seems that when lifting weights to gain strength, one set of 12 reps may be almost as effective for the average joe, as the classic 12 rep/3 set workout.

Amazing!