Article: Mortal combat.(First Word)

When I was a kid, nay brother Tom and I watched a fateful documentary about cattle-herding gauchos in Argentina. Rather than use a lasso to tie up their cattle, they throw a device called a bola, which is just two weights on either end of a string. The string hits the leg, and the weights wrap around the legs a moment later. Instant hogtie.

Naturally, this was something we had to try for ourselves, so we poked holes in tennis balls and forced knotted rope ends through them. Voila. Tennis ball bola. Since they were so easy to make, within a week every kid in the neighborhood had one. Small bola wars soon followed, and I have to say, we all got pretty good at it. ...

Related newspaper, magazine, and journal articles:

 
 
Newsweek Harper's Magazine The Washington Post Chicago Tribune Crain's Chicago Business PRNewswire Pediatric News The Nation Advertising Age The Economist (US) A FREE trial gives you access to over 80 million articles! Access over 6,500 publications with a FREE trial!