Coins We'd Like to See: Fly Swatting

Competitive Fly Swatting

A sport I would like to see immortalised on a coin has to be competitive fly swatting. I can think of nothing more irritating than bothersome bluebottles buzzing round a quiet room. In fact, I would rank it as second in a list of my personal pet hates (with the first being Lorraine Kelly). For instance, I was quietly relaxing in bed the other evening with the paper and a packet of cashew nuts (lightly salted) when quite out of nowhere a fly started buzzing around the room. I tried to ignore it for a short while, but sadly the little *astard got the better of me. Then commenced a laborious and irritating attempt to evict it by switching on and off various lights in order to encourage it to exit the room and enter another one. I thought to myself, if only I had a fly swatter to hand. 

What a fabulous invention. 

The first modern fly-destruction device was invented in 1900 by Robert R. Montgomery, an entrepreneur based in Decatur, Ill. Montgomery was issued Patent No. 640,790 for the Fly-Killer, a “cheap device of unusual elasticity and durability” made of wire netting, “preferably oblong,” attached to a handle. The material of the handle remained unspecified, but the netting was crucial: it reduced wind drag, giving the swatter a “whiplike swing.” By 1901, Montgomery’s invention was advertised in Ladies’ Home Journal as a tool that “kills without crushing” and “soils nothing,” unlike, say, a rolled-up newspaper might.

I am clearly not alone in my hatred of these winged pests.  During a 2009 CNBC interview, President Obama killed a fly with his bare hands, triumphantly exclaiming, “I got the sucker!” PETA was less gleeful, calling it a public “execution” and sending the White House a device that traps flies so that they may be set free.

Fly swatting has been turned into a competitive sport in Australia, and although I don't see this being included in the 2016 Rio Olympics, I would wholeheartedly back any bid made for entry. 

Rules:

Are there rules? The most important one is no surface strikes — the fly must be killed midair.

Games include the Single Player Time Trial, where three flies are released to see who can kill them the fastest. There’s also Single Player Grilling, the same thing except you have to smash a fly through the mesh of the swat head within one minute.

I found this on the Australian Association of Competitive Fly Swatting's Facebook page: 

Currently the rules state that if two flies making love will earn double points.  Some within the community feel though that due to the vulnerability of the flies engaged in love making, the rules should be changed to only single points if two flies are swatted. However, one community member argues that double points should be awarded for stopping the damn things breeding! 

I agree. 

Coins We'd Like to See: Dodgeball

There are 29 fifty pence coin designs for the 2012 Olympics, depicting different sports from Aquatics to Wrestling. Most of them are very good and some could be better (and we'll cover those in later posts), but what other sports would we like to see?

In this series, we'll take a sport we'd like to see on an Olympics coin and do a mock-up, even if it isn't in the Olympics (yet).

The first is Dodgeball. Popularised by the film of the same name, this sport is one of quick wits, flexibility and teamwork. As Patches O'Houlihan says, "Remember the five D's of Dodgeball: Dodge, Duck, Dip, Dive and Dodge"!

In my opinion, the epitome of the sport is someone being hit in the face with a ball. Therefore, I present to you the (not) official London 2012 Dodgeball fifty pence piece.

Hope you like it!

Welcome to the mint source

Hello. Allow us to introduce ourselves.

This is Elizabeth and this is Matthew

While some people collect stamps and some collect teddy bears, others collect Elvis memorabilia and, due to a typing error, otters collect clocks.

We are people who collect coins. The kind of people who get excited when they see something shiny in their change, who virtually hyperventilate at the sight of a Commonwealth Games two pound. Some may call us sad and we choose to agree with them!

This blog will be about our thoughts, experiences and adventures with UK coinage, from the first commemorative coin in general circulation to the cutting edge of minting technology. It will be a healthy mix of information and levity, with features such as Whose Mint is it Anyway? and The Untold Story Behind the Heptagonal Design of the Fifty Pence Piece and its Influence on Twentieth Century Philosophy (note: these may be fabrications).

So we invite you to join us on our numismatistical journey. Hopefully you'll enjoy it and you may even be inspired to start a coin collection of your own!

Sincerely,
Elizabeth and Matthew