# Fushigi Gravity Ball **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 17, 2010, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fushigi-gravity-ball/564467 "2010-12-17T03:37:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fushigi-gravity-ball/564467/21 "2010-12-17T23:20:38Z")
For that find of money it ought to give essages like the Magic 8 Ball. “You spend money unwisely”. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fushigi-gravity-ball/564467/22 "2010-12-17T23:39:01Z")
[Log.](http://www.jugglingstore.com/store/detail.aspx?ID=226) ---
**Author:** ![Turble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Turble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turble)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fushigi-gravity-ball/564467/23 "2010-12-17T23:49:35Z")
Note that the ball you linked to is solid acrylic – a professional level item. The fushigi ball is a cheap, over-priced toy. The ads are extreeemmmmly misleading. There is nothing special about the ball. It is just a ball. It will require lots of practice to do much of anything with it. Searching youtube for contact juggling will even find you tutorials by the guy in the commercial. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fushigi-gravity-ball/564467/24 "2010-12-17T23:52:57Z")
Ooops, I meant to link this… [Ren and Stimpy’s Log Commercial](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hP0kWqJJZa4). And that’s about how I feel about the Fushitgi. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fushigi-gravity-ball/564467/25 "2010-12-17T23:55:04Z")
> [@devilsknew](#): > > To me, it’s a big freaking scam, and I’ll tell you why… it’s not because of the orb itself or the actual art of contact juggling, it’s because they only market it as “ **a** ” fushigi ball- that’s “ **one** ” fushigi ball. It’s deceptive marketing. In order to do anything that makes contact juggling interesting or worthwhile and of progressive technique in the first place… one needs at least three orbs (fushigi balls) or more, just like good old fashioned juggling. So what is that $60, for this POS, piecemeal!!? I’m curious to know why you think 3 or more balls are necessary? I took up contact juggling around 3 years ago, before realising I didn’t have the necessary patience to get good, but I’m still involved in the juggling scene, and know a few professional contact jugglers, most of whom perform mainly with one ball (I only own 2 balls, of totally different sizes- feel free to make bad jokes about that statement).. If you take a quick look on youtube you’ll see most of the videos are of performers with one ball. I recommend checking out videos of Okotanpe, if you want a good example. Incidently, a vast amount of practice is definitely necessary to get all but a few moves looking in any way impressive- I know the contact juggling community is furious about the how easy the ‘Fushigi’ advertising makes it look- especially those who dedicated years to practice, and are now trying to make a living from performing ☹ ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fushigi-gravity-ball/564467/26 "2010-12-18T00:02:10Z")
> [@Filbert](#): > > I’m curious to know why you think 3 or more balls are necessary? I never said they were _necessary_, I said, “In order to do anything that makes contact juggling interesting or worthwhile and of progressive technique in the first place… one needs at least three orbs (fushigi balls) or more.” I mean, surely even you learned that one ball was the most basic form of contact juggling- usually the addition of multiple balls was the thing to aspire to? Am I right or mistaken? At the heighth of and in the most advanced performances, every professional contact Juggler I have seen uses multiple balls. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fushigi-gravity-ball/564467/27 "2010-12-18T00:26:51Z")
> [@devilsknew](#): > > I never said they were _necessary_, I said, “In order to do anything that makes contact juggling interesting or worthwhile and of progressive technique in the first place… one needs at least three orbs (fushigi balls) or more.” I mean, surely even you learned that one ball was the most basic form of contact juggling- usually the addition of multiple balls was the thing to aspire to? Am I right or mistaken? At the heighth of and in the most advanced performances, every professional contact Juggler I have seen uses multiple balls. Hm, nope, never encountered that attitude from a contact juggler in 3 years of hanging round with them at conventions and clubs. Or online forums. Most of them seem to consider single ball the ‘purest’ form of contact juggling, and largely to prefer it. The reason most routines end with multiball is that it’s easier to keep people’s interest if you have a prop change, or add props during a routine. Starting with a single ball and adding up more looks better than starting with several balls and then dropping them, as well as being more practical- you can arrange them nicely beforehand, rather than fumbling about trying not to let anything roll away. It also lends itself to ‘magical’ sleight of hand adding balls, which is easier to get smooth than ‘disappearing’ a ball. I’ve seen several routines done with a single ball, but I can’t remember any with only multiball. Either because I haven’t seen any, or because they weren’t that memorable. Basically though, the skills are quite seperate- one is not ‘lesser’- rolling the ball around your body is almost always done with only one ball (I suppose I have seen a few people use 2 for some rolls- and ok, I’ll give you that that is generally a lot harder than performing the same trick with one) - more than 2 means you can add ‘standard’ juggling tricks, which can be more impressive, but impressive =/= difficult. Different styles is all… ---
**Author:** ![Turble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Turble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turble)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fushigi-gravity-ball/564467/28 "2010-12-18T00:27:05Z")
So you think most of the people who buy the fushigi will be able to do this in a couple of days? [Michael Moschen Performs with One Crystal Ball](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FX7xruR12YA) Yeah. Just like all of us who bought three balls and a juggling booklet needed to run out and buy more balls. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fushigi-gravity-ball/564467/29 "2010-12-18T00:27:46Z")
You certainly can’t “master” contact juggling in a short amount of time, but you can have fun with it immediately. I got pretty decent at the “hold it in place and spin your hand around it” move within 5 minutes - decent enough to impress my friends. And I am not what you would call kinesthetically gifted. I learned from a very charming young man who looked a lot like Kenny (ponytailed guy from the ad) only more of a hippie. Hmm…I wonder if he’s had a makeover? Could be him. The guy who taught me noted that people \*always \*referred to contact juggling as “that thing David Bowie does with the balls in Labyrinth.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fushigi-gravity-ball/564467/30 "2010-12-18T00:47:55Z")
Ya know, I actually kind of think this would be a good gift for someone who likes to play Basketball, or is really good at basketball. Good isolation and dexterity work… it directly translates to the basketball… as a matter of fact, I have seen some contact juggling by the Harlem Globetrotters in person that that blows some of those you tube video examples of professional contact jugglers out of the water. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fushigi-gravity-ball/564467/31 "2010-12-18T00:56:27Z")
> [@Turble](#): > > Yeah. Just like all of us who bought three balls and a juggling booklet needed to run out and buy more balls. Actually, I don’t think the philosophy translates, if you practice handwork with multiple balls to start with in contact juggling I figure it would probably make the single ballwork a piece of cake. I think starting with multiple balls would be the best route. Just like magicians sometimes practice or condition with benwa balls to get really good at coin magic. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fushigi-gravity-ball/564467/32 "2010-12-18T01:02:07Z")
This thread makes me want to buy a [pen.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxP_aGMpYPA) ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fushigi-gravity-ball/564467/33 "2010-12-18T02:21:39Z")
[Baoding Balls](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baoding_Balls) ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fushigi-gravity-ball/564467/34 "2010-12-18T02:35:32Z")
[4 baoding balls in action.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyMXsvBwHKQ) ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fushigi-gravity-ball/564467/35 "2010-12-18T02:37:33Z")
The real magic of the Fushigi Ball is that getting it makes twenty dollars disappear from your wallet. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fushigi-gravity-ball/564467/36 "2010-12-18T03:13:30Z")
Yea, get some 2 inch ball bearings from the Industrial supply wholesale for your kids… they will be as happy as receiving a log. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fushigi-gravity-ball/564467/37 "2010-12-18T03:45:23Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > I swear, I’m going to market “Gatopescado’s Gravity Shoes” that will _prevent your feet from touching the floor!_ :rolleyes: > > Hell, I’ll just sell “Gravity Socks”. Much higher margin! \*\*scurries off to GoDaddy to register _[**www.gravitysocks.com**](http://www.gravitysocks.com)_ ---
**Author:** ![BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fushigi-gravity-ball/564467/38 "2010-12-18T04:47:39Z")
It’s just a contact juggling ball. Solid acrylics are about $20 for a 2.5", or toward $30 for a 3". There’s nothing overpriced about the fushigi to my eyes, but it’s a contact juggling ball, plain and simple. There are lots of people posting in this thread that have no idea what that means. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fushigi-gravity-ball/564467/39 "2010-12-18T06:02:12Z")
> [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](#): > > It’s just a contact juggling ball. Solid acrylics are about $20 for a 2.5", or toward $30 for a 3". There’s nothing overpriced about the fushigi to my eyes, but it’s a contact juggling ball, plain and simple. > > There are lots of people posting in this thread that have no idea what that means. Yep. One of my friends is into contact juggling and she said for the size it’s a fair price. _And_ the one she bought [glows in the dark](http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4447748&CAWELAID=596862424). ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fushigi-gravity-ball/564467/40 "2010-12-18T06:22:37Z")
Meh, I’d get my kids the solid orange and white practice balls for $12.99. If they showed interest or talent , I’d get them the clear through and through professional acrylic orbs for $19.99. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fushigi-gravity-ball/564467.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fushigi-gravity-ball/564467.md?page=3)