10 Unusual Uses for Tennis Balls

Step 11: Put Stuff Inside

Tennis balls are hollow and easy to cut into. This makes them perfect vehicles for intra-office correspondence, hiding precious valuables at the gym, or any other activity that might require ballistic containment.

Just cut a slit into the side of the tennis ball. Cram in your message. Hurl it to your intended recipient.

OR

Cut a slit into the side of the tennis ball. Cram in your cash. Stuff it under some dirty socks in your gym bag next to the Tinactin.

Comments

[imboredalot]

Or you can play a game where you hit the ball with a racket to the opponents side of the net in the goal of making your opponent miss the ball.

[wilgubeast]

Never heard of anything like that. Pics?

[imboredalot]

[fifipoodlebum]

GO ON TIM!

[austinbacak]

Here is another great use for tennis balls.

I once was playing tennis and upon finishing I went to my car to realize that I had locked my keys inside. I took a tennis ball and cut a quarter-sized hole into it. I placed the hole over my car door key-hole and hit the ball with my hand sending a burst of air into the key-hole and watched as my door lock popped up. I was in my car in seconds.

This worked every time on my 1999 Toyota 4runner, I have not tried it on any other vehicles.

[finton]

I second the Mythbusters comments others have made. What's more, I can only assume your lock is busted for that to work as all the key locks I've ever opened require a twisting motion after all the tumblers have been correctly lined up by the key. Blowing air into the lock is not an unlocking method that would fill me with, um, belief.
Would you post a video of you doing this without someone in the background operating a remote? I'd love to see this proved possible (but see Mythbusters). If you post your address, perhaps some local 'ibles members could come over and test the idea while you're asleep (better leave the car somewhere accessible). : ]

[Tim Temple]

I hate to pop bubbles, but don't forget -- the Mythbusters have to remain on good terms with local law enforcement to handle explosives and use their range. Thus some "conclusions" they come up with were suggested to them by law enforcement.

[anuckels]

I hope someone does this to my car and takes it. I need a new one anyhow.

[espdp2]

This sounds unlikely... May I ask, if you locked your keys in the car, exactly WHAT did you cut a hole in your tennis ball with?

[KadenP]

A guy comes up with this ridiculous story and THAT is the fault you find? Ever hear of a pocket knife? :)

[ttaylor10]

This was debunked on Mythbusters. I was tried on 100 makes and models of cars and failed every time.

[hossweightlifter]

I'm sorry but mythbusters have busted this one.

[wilgubeast]

Sweet! I was looking for someone who could confirm this for me. In doing the research for this, I came across a few conflicting anecdotes about the tennis ball car door trick. Can you post a video showing this trick in action?

I'm of the opinion that this is a really, really unlikely means of opening one's vehicle. But I'd love to see it actually work. Because I'd like a '99 4runner and happen to have a bunch of tennis balls on hand.

[TN777]

The tennis ball opening a locked car door doesnt work. The web video u mite have seen- fake. Someone was standing behind the camera with the keys and unlocked it.

[finton]

If austinbacak is actually saying that Mythbusters is wrong, why would you want a car that can be easily opened without the key (and then it or the contents stolen)???

[TaylorSPL]

Old Audi's used to use a pneumatic locking system which the tennis ball trick does work on. It does not work on any cars that use real linkages to connect the lock to the latch/handle.

[reynosof]

Check out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNaSTipOYy8

[witmoreluke]

The car has an electronic locking system, and somebody else has the key. I believe it to be faked, because locks aren't designed to be airtight, and the pins on the inside most definitely aren't. I don't believe that this is a true demonstration, but you have the video, so you can form your own opinions.

[J-Ri]

Definitely faked.

Is it possible that the air may temporarily line up the tumblers in the lock? Maybe. It's far from likely, given that equal air pressure across all of them would push them all the way out, then they would spring back in at the same rate.

What is absolutely impossible is that the gentle breeze that would have been generated by her pressing in on the ball (or a blast of 200 PSI from an air tank, for that matter) would rotate the lock mechanism the 45 to 90 degrees necessary for the linkage to be moved. I'm not sure what they claim having power locks does... a power lock system is exactly the same as a non-power lock. On older vehicles that had power locks as an option, the linkage, latch, lock cylinder, etc. are usually identical whether or not it had power locks. With power locks, there is usually one extra rod and an actuator, that snaps into a clip that is there on the one without power locks. The only difference is that the lock actuator adds drag on the linkage, making this more likely to work on something without power locks. Except you need the power locks to make this look real... a hand on the inside pulling up on the lock would make this a much more obvious fake.

[croberts15]

I slit 4 tennis balls open, filled them with pennies, sealed the slits with duct tape and used them for juggling balls. Heavy juggling balls. Excellent and they did not bounce when dropped, they thudded.

[build52]

you can unlock a car with it

[St Jimmy]

Mythbusters busted that

[tledgerwood]

not completely, you see they didn't use a tension wrench,thus making it, should it be true, like putting the key in, but not turning it

[build52]

anything else we should know.

[thegreat58]

Here's a tennis ball story for you. From the pages of Mechanics Illustrated in years gone by. Some guy builds a car out of steel reinforced concrete, it's so heavy it had to have solid tires, he says it's the worlds safest car, the interior is totally lined with tennis balls cut in half and glued to all inside surfaces. To demonstrate how safe it is, he has a head on collision with a yard locomotive, and derails the train, unfortunately on impact all the tennis balls became unglued, and the car owner was smothered, true story! The car was called "The Monitor" after the Union Army unsinkable battleship.

[dirty_valentine]

Another great use is to cover your ball hitch with a tennis ball. Cut about a 1 1/4" hole in the tennis ball, then cut 4 slices around the hole so that the tennis ball slides over the ball hitch. Now grease the insides of the tennis ball and cap your ball. This keeps your ball nice and shiny and well lubed for your next trailer trip!

I enjoy your writing style very much Wilgubeast. Keep up the great work!

[Happyn3ss]

One, that's my name. Two, you forgot the most important use. Playing Tennis. Nobody plays tennis anymore, making it somewhat unusual.

[walshlg]

Got "Trigger" points in your back with stress? (mine is Right side upper back just below where I can reach). Take a tennis ball or 3, put them in a knee high sock and whack yourself with them, = Ahhhhhhhhh, relief.

[Kociubinska]

When I was young glider pilot, the gliders had tennis balls used for shock absorbers.

[Kociubinska]

A couple of tennis rackets would greatly improve inter-office communications.

[Ryutso]

I've seen this done at ball games where the vendor in the aisle will toss a tennis ball to the person buying the cotton candy or beer for them to place money in.