10 weird things about all kinds of balls

Spheres are in many everyday things, from the small metal ball at the tip of the ballpoint pens to the pellets used in soccer games so loved by Brazilians and the round fruits like coconut or watermelon, which are so refreshing in the summer.

However, these same spheres can sometimes be protagonists of curious and extremely bizarre stories. Check out some weird facts about various types of balls, from tiny organic compositions to gigantic shapes several feet in diameter and a few tons in weight.

1. The mysterious giant balls found in Costa Rica

Around 1930, employees of a fruit production company in Costa Rica discovered huge spheres that were buried in the forest floor. Some were a few centimeters, but others were 2 meters in diameter and 15 tons.

Giant balls soon became a target of curiosity and interest for decorative purposes, so many became garden decorations in government buildings or businesses. Some were damaged during transport or destroyed by treasure hunters who blew them up for believing they could contain gold.

Although it is difficult to calculate the age of the stones, it is estimated that they originate between 600 AD and 1000 AD and are believed to have some relationship to Diquis culture.

2. The death of an athlete hit by a cricket ball

Australian athlete Philip Hughes was hit by a ball during a cricket match. Despite having all safety gear, including a protective helmet, the bludger hit him in the neck, causing a rare condition called vertebral artery dissection.

The impact of the blow at the base of the skull was sufficient to compress the artery and cause bleeding in the brain, an unusual situation that has only about 100 cases recorded in the medical literature, and only one case besides the Hughes accident was caused by a cricket ball.

The player underwent emergency surgery and was hospitalized for two days, but did not resist the injury and died on November 27, 2014, at 25.

3. The $ 325 Ice Stones

When we talk about expensive stones, what usually comes to mind are cut gemstones or even some special kind of marble, not as ephemeral as ice stones, which are just a handful of frozen water.

However, there is every kind of luxury in the world, so charging for the solid form of water has become the source of income for a company that sells for $ 325 (about $ 850 at its current price) fifty ice balls without minerals or pollutants that were carved by hand.

Because of the shape, the sphere melts more slowly and does not make the drink so watery. Considering that some whiskeys are absurdly expensive, paying a lot for a special ice to accompany it does not seem so absurd.

4. The paper ball that joined Guinness

The largest paper ball in the world was made in Minnesota, in the United States, and was about 3 meters high and 200 pounds. However, it was not part of any pranks or games of throwing paper balls at students and was used as a way of raising awareness about sustainability and recycling.

The object was put on display during a fair to show how much paper the city's population was throwing away in just 30 seconds. The construction agency said the idea was to draw attention to the environmental and economic value of recycling.

After the fair was over, all the material used to assemble the gigantic paper sphere was sent for recycling.

5. The boy who had a hairy tumor growing on his eyeball

Limbic dermoid is a weird name for something even stranger: a round tumor, usually benign, that grows in the eyeball due to malformation during pregnancy.

This rare problem happens as a result of a congenital condition that causes some skin cells to reach the eyeball. Cells can grow to the point of spawning hair, cartilage, sweat glands and even teeth!

It seems rather disgusting and inconvenient to have in the eye, although it does not necessarily disrupt the vision, as the cyst is usually born far from the cornea.

One of the most recent cases was that of a 19-year-old Iranian who had a hairy tumor on the eyeball. The lump grew to 5 mm in diameter and developed long black hair. The patient underwent surgery in 2013 to get rid of the cyst.

6. The weird green balls that appeared on an Australian beach

What looks like little alien eggs, the Japanese call it "marimo", and despite the strange appearance, it is just seaweed formations that come loose and begin to roll across the ocean floor forming the curious little balls.

Despite being a rare event, they have already been spotted in Scotland, Estonia, Iceland, Australia and Japan. In the latter, the marimoes are considered a cultural heritage and inspired the creation of a character named Marimokkori.

7. Artist served his penis and testicles as a meal

In 2012, Mao Sugiyama offered a dinner for some people willing to have a different meal, with a kind of delicacy not commonly served in restaurants.

The dinner brought together 71 people, but only five lucky ones had the opportunity to sample the special dish: Sugiyama's penis and testicles, which had been surgically removed before being seasoned, cooked and served with a mushroom accompaniment. The other dinner participants ate beef or crocodile meat.

Everyone present was aware of the dish that would be served, and there is no law in Japan that prohibits cannibalism. However, Sugiyama was indicted for indecent exposure for showing her private parts, even if they had already been torn from her body and cooked.

8. A piano composition with the aid of a sex shop object

Michael Alec Rose is a composer who, to produce a melody that stimulates various senses, added to the piano an object that is not commonly used for musical purposes: Thai balls, a sex shop product intended for another kind of stimulus.

The musician produces a series of strange sounds by spinning Ben Wa's balls on the piano strings. According to the artist, although the object is sold for sexual purposes, it is also a spiritual tool used in meditations.

9. The actor who suffered in pain from having to hide his bat-balls

The Batman series of the 60s is famous here in Brazil because of the rewriting of the episode “An opponent worthy of a hideous bandit”, which became known on YouTube as “Bátima - Fruit Fair”.

What you probably don't know is that Burt Ward, who played Robin, had a lot of trouble getting into the skin of the Prodigy Boy. As soon as the series aired, the network began to receive complaints about the volume that could be noticed in the actor's sunbush, and viewers were asking for some action against such indecency.

To solve the problem, a doctor prescribed mysterious pills that would shrink the size of his bat-balls during the recording. The only problem is that the pills caused a very inconvenient side effect that made their testicles swell to the point that each one was the size of an orange.

Holy pain in the ass, Batman!

10. The Colombian soccer player who was murdered because of a goal against

The 1994 United States-based World Cup was just a joy for the Brazilians: the team led by Romário and led by Zagallo and Parreira took the cup home in a fierce penalty shootout.

Of all the players on the eliminated teams, however, probably none had a fate as cruel as Andres Escobar's. The Colombian player scored a goal against in a match against the United States, and this was decisive for the team to lose the match and be eliminated from the championship.

In addition to the sadness of elimination and the shame of returning home so early in the race, Andres Escobar had an unpleasant surprise when he returned to his home country.

Ten days after the game, an angry supporter shot the athlete several times in the back as he left a bar with friends. Witnesses said that with each shot, the killer shouted "Great goal!" In reference to the vacillation at the World Cup.