# Can you juggle? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 26, 2008, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-juggle/435121 "2008-01-26T21:05:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SiouxChief](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@SiouxChief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SiouxChief)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2008, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-juggle/435121/1 "2008-01-26T21:05:53Z")
There are two types of three-ball juggling that I can do: the standard inside-up-throw, and the outside-over-throw. I can juggle two balls with either the left hand or the right hand. I’ve tried four balls many times, and can never seem to get it. Never tried to juggle anything other than balls, such as bowling pins or flaming chainsaws. So, can you juggle? What different types of items can you juggle, and how many items at once? ---
**Author:** ![hawksgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ed655f/32.png) [@hawksgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawksgirl)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2008, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-juggle/435121/2 "2008-01-26T21:12:52Z")
I can juggle. Mostly balls (beanbags actually, also round fruits and one time, shoes), I’ve experimented with homemade clubs, but haven’t gotten very far. I only had the three-pattern down before my time was filled with other activities. I can however, do standard, over-the-top (not sure if it has a real name) and “juggler’s tennis” (tossing one ball back and forth over the other 2 being juggled). At one point I was _this close_ to doing a decent Mills’ Mess. Going from three to four is harder than most people think, because it requires a completely different pattern and tempo. My least favorite question when I was juggling was “how many can you juggle?” I was trying to learn 3-ball tricks, and you just want to see more things flying? It’s quality, not quantity, people! ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2008, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-juggle/435121/3 "2008-01-26T21:33:10Z")
I can a little. Three beanbags or balls (especially Koosh bals). I learned from _Juggling For The Complete Klutz_. Came in handy when I walked into the helicopter FBO and my instructor said on the first day, ‘If you want to fly a helicopter you have to know how to juggle,’ and I picked up the beanbags from his desk and demonstrated. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2008, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-juggle/435121/4 "2008-01-26T21:57:34Z")
I’ve tried and I can’t. I just talked about this the other day with the kids I teach. I don’t know how you people do it. ---
**Author:** ![hawksgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ed655f/32.png) [@hawksgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawksgirl)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2008, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-juggle/435121/5 "2008-01-26T22:02:41Z")
I thought I couldn’t either. I went to a juggling club meeting and after a couple of weeks, the pattern clicked in my head one day and I had it. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2008, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-juggle/435121/6 "2008-01-26T22:05:51Z")
Former professional. I can do… well, lot’s of stuff. We’ve done this before, BTW. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Why\_Bird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@The\_Why\_Bird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Why_Bird)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2008, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-juggle/435121/7 "2008-01-26T22:06:04Z")
I can juggle three balls but just the standard method. I’ve vaguely tried learning some others but with little success. I can also juggle three clubs, again in the standard method. I was taught this by a drunken circus performer using Budweiser bottles. Good times. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2008, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-juggle/435121/8 "2008-01-26T22:16:10Z")
Nope. I’ve tried. My brain doesn’t work that way: seriously. To me it’s like playing the piano, having one hand do one thing, while the other hand is doing something completely different. Just doesn’t happen in my brain. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2008, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-juggle/435121/9 "2008-01-26T22:31:12Z")
[QUOTE=hawksgirl] I can however, do standard, over-the-top (not sure if it has a real name) [/QUOTE] “Standard” is usualy considered to be the [cascade](http://www.kingscascade.com/3BallCascade.html). “Over the top” could be the [reverse cascade](http://www.kingscascade.com/3BallReverseCascade.html) or possibly the [shower](http://www.kingscascade.com/3BallShower.html) (which can look easier than the cascade but is in fact considerably harder). It’s hard to come up with a juggling pattern that hasn’t been named. I’m now pretty solid on [Mills Mess](http://www.kingscascade.com/3BallMillsMess.html) and have made decent progress on [Rubensteins Revenge](http://www.kingscascade.com/3BallRubensteinsRevenge.html). [Backcrosses](http://www.kingscascade.com/3BallBehindBack.html) going reasonably well - but with right hand throw only. My progress in 4-ball juggling has been slow. My [fountain](http://www.kingscascade.com/4BallFountain.html) goes okay for a short while, then the balls tend to collide. I’ve been able to do as many as 25 throws of the [4-ball shower](http://www.kingscascade.com/4BallShower.html) but seem to be stuck there. I have no room with a ceiling high enough for this pattern, so I have to go outdoors (which tends to impede practice in winter). I can “flash” the [5-ball cascade](http://www.kingscascade.com/5BallCascade.html) (5 throws and five catches) - so a long ways to go on that one. ---
**Author:** ![maggenpye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecc23a/32.png) [@maggenpye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maggenpye)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2008, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-juggle/435121/10 "2008-01-26T23:08:00Z")
Another here who can just to the three balls with two hands and two balls with one hand. Haven’t managed the four balls, it’s frustrating because I can \*see \*how it should go in my head - I just can’t get my hands to do it. Me and a friend managed five balls (each doing a cascade with the 3rd ball travelling between us), but only when we were on a factory fishing ship, we never managed it on dry land. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2008, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-juggle/435121/11 "2008-01-26T23:53:58Z")
I can pretty much do what the OP does when it comes to juggling. ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2008, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-juggle/435121/12 "2008-01-27T00:17:57Z")
Paging\*\* OpalCat\*\*… ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2008, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-juggle/435121/13 "2008-01-27T00:18:09Z")
I can juggle two balls in one hand or three balls with two hands, but only just barely and not for very long. One of my roommates in college was a pretty good juggler and taught me the basic idea of it, but I never really practiced or kept up at it. ---
**Author:** ![Hockey\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@Hockey\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hockey_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2008, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-juggle/435121/14 "2008-01-27T01:31:11Z")
No. ::😭:: ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2008, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-juggle/435121/15 "2008-01-27T02:02:31Z")
Not any more and I was never really proficient at it. It was one of those things that I had a passing interest in learning and got down the basics. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2008, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-juggle/435121/16 "2008-01-27T02:11:28Z")
Just the basic three balls, or two balls with one hand. As someone else mentioned, I learned from _Juggling for the Complete Klutz_; I’m sure a lot of folks did. Never wanted to be good enough to perform; it’s just something fun to do by myself. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2008, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-juggle/435121/17 "2008-01-27T05:39:52Z")
[QUOTE=hawksgirl] I thought I couldn’t either. I went to a juggling club meeting and after a couple of weeks, the pattern clicked in my head one day and I had it. [/QUOTE] I had a similar experience. I was never able to. But then one day I was just messing around with some dice and, boom, it just clicked. All of a sudden it seemed pretty easy. Not that I’m particularly good, and three is my limit. But some very basic skill is there. Seemingly out of nowhere. ---
**Author:** ![SiouxChief](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@SiouxChief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SiouxChief)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2008, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-juggle/435121/18 "2008-01-27T05:40:09Z")
[QUOTE=Baldwin] Just the basic three balls, or two balls with one hand. As someone else mentioned, I learned from _Juggling for the Complete Klutz_; I’m sure a lot of folks did. Never wanted to be good enough to perform; it’s just something fun to do by myself. [/QUOTE] Oh, it would have been great to ask where you learned, too…I didn’t think of that. I learned at work! It was back in the early 90s and we were programming on a MiniVax. It took a good 2-3+ minutes to compile our code, so there were countless times when we had nothing better to do than to learn to juggle. If we hadn’t moved to a faster platform a short time later, perhaps I would have gotten to 4 balls..who knows! ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Klutz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captain_klutz/32/4993_2.png) [@Captain\_Klutz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Klutz)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2008, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-juggle/435121/19 "2008-01-27T07:49:39Z")
In my younger days I juggled balls, clubs and rings. Juggling one of each is fun, and you can try throwing the ball through the ring. Then try throwing the club through the ring… I mostly did 3 ball stuff, including things like under the leg and behind the back. There’s also bounce juggling, where the balls are bounced against the floor or wall. Bounce juggling isn’t much harder than normal 3 ball juggling. My most spectacular trick was juggling a frypan, a raw egg and a flaming torch. At the end I’d catch the frypan, allow the egg to fall into it and hold the fire torch underneath. And that’s how a juggler fries an egg! I did learn 5 balls, but it was never very solid. The longest I’ve kept it going was about 30 seconds. I’ve just tried it again now… dang, only lasted about 5 seconds. Yep, very rusty. ---
**Author:** ![maggenpye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecc23a/32.png) [@maggenpye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maggenpye)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2008, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-juggle/435121/20 "2008-01-27T09:23:56Z")
I learned from my flatmate after we found no practical use for the spectacularly overabundant crop that our lemon tree produced. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-juggle/435121.md?page=2)