# Count the passes! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 15, 2004, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/count-the-passes/274794 "2004-11-15T00:37:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![NotWithoutRage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@NotWithoutRage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NotWithoutRage)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2004, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/count-the-passes/274794/1 "2004-11-15T00:37:52Z")
Watch this video: [http://viscog.beckman.uiuc.edu/grafs/demos/15.html](http://viscog.beckman.uiuc.edu/grafs/demos/15.html) - ONLY watch it once. Seriously, do not cheat! In the video you will see a group of basketball players, some in white and some in black passing two balls around. Your goal is to count how many times the ball is passed by those wearing white shirts. It’s that simple. Remember, count just the passes of the ball by those wearing white. Once the movie is over, write down the number of passes you have counted, Do not watch the video again-- proceed to step two. [http://free.mailinfo.com/web/reality/step2.htm](http://free.mailinfo.com/web/reality/step2.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2004, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/count-the-passes/274794/2 "2004-11-15T00:44:46Z")
I’ve seen this before. Few people notice the man in the gorilla suit walking right through the group of people ---
**Author:** ![NotWithoutRage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@NotWithoutRage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NotWithoutRage)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2004, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/count-the-passes/274794/3 "2004-11-15T00:51:52Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > I’ve seen this before. > > Few people notice the man in the gorilla suit walking right through the group of people I got 14 passes, and no gorilla the first time through. I’m a dumbass. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2004, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/count-the-passes/274794/4 "2004-11-15T00:53:48Z")
> [@NotWithoutRage](#): > > I got 14 passes, and no gorilla the first time through. I’m a dumbass. Maybe this version doesn’t have a gorilla (I haven’t seen it yet, currently downloading the browser plugins necesary to see it). The version I saw was on TV ---
**Author:** ![Spudo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@Spudo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spudo)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2004, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/count-the-passes/274794/5 "2004-11-15T00:55:17Z")
I saw 15 passes and the gorilla. ---
**Author:** ![Kid\_A\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Kid\_A\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kid_A_1)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2004, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/count-the-passes/274794/6 "2004-11-15T00:59:32Z")
> [@Spudo](#): > > I saw 15 passes and the gorilla. I got the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2004, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/count-the-passes/274794/7 "2004-11-15T01:01:06Z")
I tried to count the passes, but I was too drunk. All I could do was see the man in the gorilla suit. But I swear - The first time I did this I did _not_ see the man in the gorilla suit and I was stone-cold sober at the time ---
**Author:** ![Nightwatch\_Trailer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9dc877/32.png) [@Nightwatch\_Trailer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightwatch_Trailer)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2004, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/count-the-passes/274794/8 "2004-11-15T01:21:16Z")
Okay, I can’t get the video to play. I’ve tried it in Opera, Firefox and Explorer, all of which say they have Java active, and it hasn’t worked in any of them. ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2004, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/count-the-passes/274794/9 "2004-11-15T01:33:47Z")
Hrmph. First time viewing. > [@](#): > > Well done. You know what? I don’t really believe you. But who knows? Maybe you are really gifted viewers. Well, I’m only ONE viewer. But apparently I’m special 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Scruloose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@Scruloose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scruloose)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2004, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/count-the-passes/274794/10 "2004-11-15T01:34:28Z")
It takes a long time to load. I watched it with Firefox, and it took about 5min to start, with DSL. ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2004, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/count-the-passes/274794/11 "2004-11-15T01:35:15Z")
> [@Scruloose](#): > > It takes a long time to load. I watched it with Firefox, and it took about 5min to start, with DSL. I watched it in Opera and it took about 15 seconds to load with cable. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2004, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/count-the-passes/274794/12 "2004-11-15T01:46:51Z")
Took more than 15 seconds and less than five minutes for mine to load. I got a different number of passes than the others stated before, anyone know the correct number. And the gorilla was pretty obvious. Mainly I was thinking, how am I supposed to count passes with a bloody gorilla in the way! I got more than 15 passes, about 25, but I might have counted dribbles as passes (some of the passes were very weak bounce passes). Okay, just watched it again and I caught more like 30 passes on the second go through. ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2004, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/count-the-passes/274794/13 "2004-11-15T01:49:13Z")
I got 14 passes, basically by counting each transition of the ball from one person to the next, as a pass, regardless of any dribbles, bounces or otherwise in between ---
**Author:** ![NotWithoutRage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@NotWithoutRage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NotWithoutRage)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2004, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/count-the-passes/274794/14 "2004-11-15T01:53:59Z")
**ShibbOleth,** are you counting passes between white-shirts only? ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2004, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/count-the-passes/274794/15 "2004-11-15T02:20:12Z")
> [@NotWithoutRage](#): > > **ShibbOleth,** are you counting passes between white-shirts only? No, that’s what I get for not reading the directions carefully. :smack: And it’s probably a LOT harder doing it the way I did it. It’s probably also why it was so easy for me to spot the gorilla; I was watching every damned thing! ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2004, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/count-the-passes/274794/16 "2004-11-15T02:21:30Z")
I got 11.5 passes between white shirts only. …and no gorilla suit. I think one reason the gorilla suit is so hard to spot the first time is that it is the same coolur as the black shirts… who are not the ones we are specifically instructed to concentrate on. If the gorilla suit had not been person-proportioned, or had been a third colour like red, it might have been easier to spot.. ---
**Author:** ![Nightwatch\_Trailer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9dc877/32.png) [@Nightwatch\_Trailer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightwatch_Trailer)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2004, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/count-the-passes/274794/17 "2004-11-15T02:22:43Z")
Okay, it worked. I counted fifteen passes and saw the gorilla on the first go. It was not difficult - I thought the gorilla was meant to distract you from counting passes. ---
**Author:** ![I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_can_t_believe_that_s_butter)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2004, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/count-the-passes/274794/18 "2004-11-15T06:04:49Z")
[spoiler]14 passes, gorilla on first try—although it was a _very_ faint recollection of the gorilla. Good stuff![/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![Electronic\_Chaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Electronic\_Chaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electronic_Chaos)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2004, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/count-the-passes/274794/19 "2004-11-15T07:06:06Z")
15 passes, and I saw the freaking gorilla. “What the hell’s a gorilla doing in there? What an odd performance peice this is.” Then again, I also went into it knowing that there was going to be some question asked other than “How many passes by white shirts were made;” that’s just too simple. ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2004, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/count-the-passes/274794/20 "2004-11-15T21:05:56Z")
[spoiler]14 passes, no gorilla. But I remember a flicker of something. And I’m with **Sunspace** - you don’t see it because of the directions.[/spoiler] [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/count-the-passes/274794.md?page=2)