The Adidas 'jabulani' ball proved a real balls-up

In case you thought your eyes were deceiving you when the ball seemed to swerve unexpectedly just milliseconds away from the goalposts in several of this year's games, watch NASA's own tests on the highly controversial so-called 'jabulani' ball that Adidas designed especially for the 2010 World Cup, in the name of God knows what interests. Countless football players, goalkeepers, and team managers have already complained about it, and quite rightly too. Here's what NASA aerospace engineer Rabi Mehta found out about the jabulani ball:

"From his research on tennis and cricket balls in wind tunnels, Mehta believes that the Jabulani ball will tend to knuckle at 45 to 50 mph, which coincides with the speed of the ball during free-kick around the goal area. Another point made by Mehta, is that a lot of the stadiums for the World Cup are located at high altitude (Johannesburg is at 5,500 feet) and this will affect the ball aerodynamics as well, since the air density is lower. At this high altitude, the ball will tend to fly faster (less drag) and swerve less (less lift)."

The short video below demonstrates Mehta's points and explains the causes of the ball's faulty aerodynamics:

The longest boxing match in history

'The longest boxing match ever fought took place in New Orleans in April 1893 and lasted 111 rounds.' Miraculously, Andy Bowen and Jack Burke survived that unplanned and no doubt totally gruelling test of endurance.

La Belle Vuvuzela

The entirely unofficial World Cup 2010 cover version of the classic hit by Labelle.

The true origin of the legendary vuvuzela

Vile vuvuzelas

All you ever wanted to know (and probably more) about vuvuzelas, and why you should count yourself lucky if you're watching this year's World Cup games from the comfort of your home, rather than out there where it's at. A single vuvuzela produces 116 decibels at 1 metre. Need I say more? (Perhaps I do: prolonged exposure to its sound can really mess up your hearing.)

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