A group of twelve brave Lab Postdocs went for the interesting sport of cleaning the ice for incoming stones: curling! This Olympic sport is the fastest growing sport in the world and the virus has now infected us postdocs as well! After a safety instruction and an explanation of the rules, we first practiced pushing the rocks over the ice, attempting to not fall (didn’t always succeed). When we mastered that, we added the curl to the mix – swinging those stones around so they spin to the right place. And last but not least – sweeping the ice, reducing the friction to influence the path and curl of the stone! It’s all science in this sport.
Then we went for the big game – two teams of six competing to get the stones closest to the center, with tacticians, sweepers and throwers filling out the mix. It proved to be a very fun – albeit a little difficult – game. We even managed to land some stones (almost) right on spot!
As the rules dictate, the winners bought the losers the first round of beer in a trendy Oakland pub!