Pingsider is a web video series put out by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) that chronicles interesting aspects of the sport. In this episode, they travel to Double Happiness (DHS) in Shanghai, China, to learn how table tennis balls are made. Stacks and stacks of boxes of plastic discs are weighed, measured and checked for quality before heading off to be shaped into individual halves by round copper heads. Once they look like half of an actual ball they’re trimmed, paired and then glued together to form a complete ball. The finishing touch in the production process is removing the seam around the ball to leave it completely round, but they’re staying tight-lipped about that because it’s a trade secret. Before leaving the factory each ball needs to rest for a period of weeks before going through a rigorous quality control process that measures hardness, veer, weight and roundness. We had no idea so much work went into creating a single table tennis ball.
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Huckberry’s Essential Holiday Gift Guide
Unzip your coat and have some mulled wine on the house—you’ve arrived at your final gifting destination: The Holiday Gift Guide. It’s like your friendly neighborhood one-stop holiday shop, except instead of balsa wood ornaments, ours is packed with thoughtful gifts for everyone on your list. Future heirlooms, small-but-significant stocking stuffers, and gear for getting out there (or staying in)—are all right here. There’s no music playing in the background though, so you’ll just have to hum Bing Crosby while you click around instead.
