Physicists use complex mathematics to calculate a projectile's trajectory--lots of sines, cosines, and the like. But sometimes you just get lucky, as you can see in this fun new video showing the YouTube trick-shot artists known as the Legendary Shots, who reload their homemade wooden catapult to sink a few amazing baskets.
"We used physics to a degree, but it was mostly just trial and error," Carson Stalnaker, one of the guys responsible for the catapult and the video, told the Huffington Post. The guys "had all taken physics in high school," he said, adding that it helped to have several engineers on the team.
The Legendary Shots built their catapult as teens in December 2010, based on a model they found on YouTube. The materials cost about $300. According to Yahoo Sports, the Alabama-based group used two 110-pound garage springs to provide the force needed to hurl not just basketballs but also paintballs and even cuts of meat.
In May of 2011, the group made a short video of their catapult sinking a basket. More than three years later, they decided to take the catapult out of retirement and put it back in front of a basketball hoop.
With pretty impressive results.
"We wanted to end our summer on a high note and over the course of a week we put this video together," the guys wrote in the YouTube description. "We're very proud of it because it's something we built doing something we love."
Take it away, catapult.
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