True or False...

[KiltedKnight]

Hmm... I thought they would be heavier than that. If it wasn't for my gimpy leg, I could probably do real well caber tossing...

I hear you talking, my days of any heavy lifting are over. Last year I suffered bilateral rotator cuff tears, my right shoulder was completely torn and the left was 95% torn through. The surgery sucked and I'm still recovering from it. Now, if I could just get my wife to stop poking the injury...Ouch, stop it! Ouch, stop it.! Ouch, stop it!

Chris.

[mkmound]

I hear you talking, my days of any heavy lifting are over. Last year I suffered bilateral rotator cuff tears, my right shoulder was completely torn and the left was 95% torn through. The surgery sucked and I'm still recovering from it. Now, if I could just get my wife to stop poking the injury...Ouch, stop it! Ouch, stop it.! Ouch, stop it!

Chris.

Ouch!! Sorry to hear that . . . best wishes for a continued recovery.

[katmills2005]

The caber, being so long, sets the center of gravity off. Its more than just the weight that is a factor. Its length, the balance needed to throw it with skill needed to gain that all important "noon" and achieving the ground speed needed to actually turn the thing in the right direction are all to be taken into consideration.

I've seen a lot of caber tossing. Balance is key. You can usually determine how a caber is going to turn simply by the balance and control the athlete has before he ever makes the throw.

[Dirka Skene]

What prompted them to start throwing those things in the first place?

[Fearnest]

What prompted them to start throwing those things in the first place?

The most prominent theory surrounding the origin of the caber toss is that of crossing the stream. The caber was tossed from one side of the river to the other to allow people to cross. This is why the caber is tossed for accuracy, rather than distance.

[SnakeEyes]

When thinking about they games they invented, one has to wonder about the Scots. I can just hear the conversations...

The Caber Toss:

"Hey, I bet I can throw that log farther than you can."
"Oh yeah? Well I bet I can make it do a flip before it hits the ground."
"You're on!"

Golf:

"So we're supposed to put this ball in a hole that's a mile away, and in less than 4 shots?"
"Yep."
"And we have to do it 18 times?"
"Yep."
"And we don't have to bring our wives?"
"Yep."
"Right then, let's play."

Curling:

"Okay, so you all understand how to play?"
"Yeah, but Iain's little brother showed up, and we don't have a position for him."
"Uh... well, just give him a broom and tell him we need the ice swept, that will keep him busy."

[Kilted KT]

Do keep in mind that the weather has a great deal to do with the caber weight. This past fall at the Tulsa Scottish Games, the cabers were being tossed after spending prolly 7 hours in the rain. It was estimated that the larger ones had increased in weight by as much as 30 lbs after soaking in the rain.

[Frog]

Dirka,

Seems I heard it had to do with crossing streams and the like, but, being a spectator rather than a participant, I don't really know.

Frog