Water Bottle Flipping: Is the bottle half full or half empty?

May 15, 2017

By Lea Reinberger

How many times have you been sitting bored in class and have flipped a water bottle? Probably more than you want to admit. How many times has it landed upright within the first try? Probably less than you would admit. North Carolina high school student Michael Senatore felt the same way, except when he flipped his first water bottle in chemistry class, he landed it upright which started the trend: water bottle flipping.

Like almost every trend in the twenty-first century, this trend started on social media when a video became viral of Senatore flipping a water bottle at his high school talent show in North Carolina. The video immediately received  millions of views  from people all over the world, which  started the obsession of bottle flipping.

Now we can see bottle flipping everywhere. It even has become its own computer game. Some people can flip a bottle and land it on a roof or even land a bottle upright while they are doing a backhand spring. The possibilities on how and where to land a water bottle seem endless.

While most people have one lucky flip and land the bottle upright, they then try it again and again and fail.  Others can land the bottle over and over again upright. So what is the trick? Is there maybe a bottle that works better than others?

Senatore told  The Charlotte Observer, a news site, that he fills his bottles up to the third intended line from the bottom with water. If the bottle is too full or too empty, the bottle has no chance to land upright because it either bounces up or is too light. Senatore said, “I can flip most bottles…but if I’m going to flip it and feel confident about it, it’s going to be Deer Park.”

Kids, teens, and even some adults enjoy to try the ultimate bottle flip challenge almost everywhere. You can see it in every lunchroom and classroom. It even has come so far that some teachers ban water bottles from their classes. It is an annoying noise when a bottle flips and will disturb the class. On the other hand, some parents are glad that it just takes a water bottle to entertain their children.  

Whether you like it or just think this trend is annoying, we will not get entirely rid of it any time soon. It is just too much fun to challenge yourself and other people. It can get banned from school, but we should be prepared to keep seeing water bottles all over the world, especially on social media where daily new, crazy bottle flips appear. So what are you waiting for, grab yourself a water bottle, maybe your bottle will land upright this time.

 

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