Jack Be Nimble Trivia Quiz

Answer: Toss juggling

Toss juggling is the technical term for the type of juggling when multiple objects (usually more objects than hands) are being manipulated by throwing (tossing) them into the air and catching them again.

While juggling balls are perhaps the most commonly seen of this style of juggling, it really counts for any objects tossed into the air. Also commonly seen in toss juggling are bean bags, clubs, knives, and rings, although really anything can qualify.

I think my favourite juggling combination from a comedian act was an egg, an apple, and a bowling ball. The juggler would take a bite from the apple with every toss sequence, and (of course) ended his act by smashing the egg into his mouth.

Answer: Shower

Each of the named patterns (shower, cascade, fountain, columns) are basic 3-ball patterns, and some can also be adapted for more objects. Other patterns include 'box,' 'Mills Mess,' 'windmill,' various '423' patterns, and 'Rubenstein's Revenge.'

Of course, this is not an exhaustive list, as even these 'basic' patterns have variations and reversals. A talented juggler can move smoothly between many different patterns to make for a varied and enjoyable performance.

Note: the quoted description of the juggling pattern came from Wikipedia.

Answer: Cascade

Before purists attack me, understand that any repeated number or pattern is shorthanded, so in siteswap, a '333' pattern is simply shortened to '3.' This also represents the reverse cascade, and even Mills Mess. Unfortunately, one of the limitations of siteswap notation is that it doesn't describe all aspects of juggling. As described on the Juggle Wiki: "There are elements of juggling tricks that siteswap does not describe, including the positions of the throws, the positions of the catches, the paths the props take between being thrown and caught, how the props rotate in the air, and things that are added to the juggling but aren't actually part of the pattern."

In its simplest form, the numbers represent the following (list taken from jugglingedge.com):

0 - an empty hand
1 - a quick pass across, as in a shower
2 - a quick "throw to the same hand" (normally just a hold)
3 - a three-ball cascade throw
4 - a four-ball fountain throw
5 - a five-ball cascade throw... and so on up to 9, then
a - a ten-ball fountain throw (write a instead of 10 so we don't confuse "ten" with "one-zero"; read a as "ten")
b - an eleven-ball cascade throw... and so on.

And the siteswap notation for the other listed patterns?

Fountain: 4
Columns: (4,4)(4,0)
Shower: 51

Answer: Bounce

Bounce juggling is another type of toss juggling, but is more limited in what objects can be thrown. As the name implies, the objects (almost always a type of rubber or silicone ball) must be able to bounce back up to the hands. In another respect, bounce juggling might be considered easier than upwards toss juggling, in that the balls are caught when they are at their slowest point of motion.

Answer: Contact juggling

With contact juggling, efforts are made to have one or more balls maintain contact with the body at all times. The names of the different techniques are pretty self-explanatory, as body rolling, head rolling, and palm spinning describe what is done quite well. My favourite of the techniques is 'isolation moves,' where the juggler makes the effort to move the body around where the ball is located to make it look like the ball is stationary.

Often, a transparent or coloured acrylic ball (typically larger than the usual juggling ball) is used, or an LED ball that can light up.

Answer: False

The most challenging type of juggling is actually a mostly individual thing, as people will excel or struggle with different types of juggling. That said, juggling rings is generally considered to be easier than juggling clubs, but more difficult than regular toss juggling (with balls), largely due to their size and throwing mechanics. Due to their narrow edges, they can also sometimes cause chafing or cutting when caught, which leads some to use gloves when using rings.

With their spinning motion, rings will maintain their orientation when thrown, which allows for some fun tricks that are unique to the equipment.

Answer: Combat juggling

Alternative names for combat juggling include "Gladiator" and "What the Hell." The competition is as basic as it sounds, essentially being a 'last man standing' sport. Competitors are only allowed to 'attack' their opponents' clubs/juggling, and not the body.

The sport can be conducted in one-on-one competitions, but is more commonly held in a melee situation, with every competitor on the 'field' at the same time.

The World Juggling Federation (WJF) was established in the year 2000 to promote juggling as a sport.

Answer: True

When actually done as a competitive sport, the rules of joggling are simple enough (per Wikipedia):

1. A juggling pattern must be maintained while running.
2. If an object is dropped, the joggler must return to the point he dropped and continue.

The International Juggling Association was founded in 1947, and has held the World Joggling Championships every year since 1980. Races cover different distances, as well as different levels of difficulty (3-ball, 4-ball, 5-ball, etc).

Answer: Cigar boxes

The practice of juggling cigar boxes is believed to have its origin with Japanese prisoners-of-war who had small wood blocks as head rests for sleeping. Of course, they weren't called 'cigar boxes' at that point, but when these rectangular blocks were first incorporated into Vaudeville acts in the late 1800s, they used actual cigar boxes that had been sealed up to maintain their shape.

Today, of course, 'cigar boxes' are prefabricated as rectangular boxes designed for juggling use.

The stop-and-start type of juggling is different, in that the boxes are typically held together in a row, and the manipulation has boxes flipping or being switched, but always returning to the original row, rather than being in a continual aerial motion like in toss juggling.

Answer: Passing

How passing works depends on a number of factors, including the position of the jugglers, the number of props, and the type of props. The standard passing pattern has two jugglers facing one another, each with three props. The passing pattern looks like a box or rectangle, with the passing prop being thrown from the right hand and caught in the other juggler's left.

There are a number of different passing patterns, with some of the more popular (6 club) patterns being:

4-count: "Every others"
3-count: "Waltz"
2-count: "Everies" or "Solids"
1-count: "Ultimates" or "Thunder shower"
"Pass, pass, self"
"Book ends"
"Jim's"
"Chocolate bar"

Things only get more complicated from there.