Invented in the 20th Century: the Wiffle Ball

From the National Museum of Play:

As David Nelson Mullany, a retired semipro baseball pitcher, watched his 12-year-old son and a friend play a pick-up game with a perforated plastic golf ball and a broomstick, he decided that postwar America suburbia(n) [yards] did not have “enough room for two teams, enough space for a field,” and neighborhood baseball games led to “too many broken windows.” But the ball his son used made throwing curve balls and sliders difficult. The elder David began to cut holes in ball-shaped plastic containers he commandeered from a nearby Coty cosmetics manufacturer and young David tested the designs.

Through trial and error, the Mullanys determined which design worked best at grabbing the air and diverting the ball’s trajectory. The pitcher could easily throw a curve, a slider, or a knuckle ball. Wiffle Ball players used a thin purpose-built Wiffle Ball bat, which further advantaged the pitcher by handicapping the batter. The game, thus, produced a good number of strike-outs, called “Whiffs” [...]. When Mullany began to supply local stores with the ball in 1953, he removed the “h” and trademarked the name “Wiffle.”

Wiffle Ball slowed the game and shrunk its field so it solved the small yard dilemma.  But something else helped the Wiffle Ball’s success. Before young baseball  pitcher’s arms lengthen and strengthen and before their wily skills sharpen, batters have the natural advantage. Minimizing the effects of size and skill, the goofy orb helped even the contest.

 Wiffle Ball, Inc. has produced millions of balls. In the 60 years since its introduction, whole generations have begun their baseball careers swinging at a Wiffle Ball. Yours truly included. It is also a member of the Toy Hall of Fame, having been inducted in 2017.

I couldn't figure out how to take a free floating photo of a ball, so I strung it with a piece of thread, waited for the light I wanted then taped the thread to the outside of my house. 
I also bought the Nik 4 update.  It's pretty cool.  There's now a HDR Color Efex and the regular Color Efex is combined with Vivesa.  I can't wait to experiment with it (don't worry, you don't have to understand a word of that).

The Buffalo Bills lost tonight, 34-31. We should have won but it was still a pretty good game.