Bottle Flipping
Remember when bottle flipping was super popular?
I was teaching high school and it was SO annoying. Every time I turned around there would be some group of kids all staring intently at a partially-filled plastic water bottle while someone tossed it in the air with all the gravitas of James Earl Jones voicing Darth Vader. As time went on, they were so in the habit of doing it that they would start flipping bottles almost unconsciously, eyes glazed over and the fucking bottle crashing and crinkling.
My students asked me one day if I'd landed the bottle flip before, so I informed them I'd never tried.
They were flabbergasted, because apparently the hobby of 14-year-old boys should also be the hobby of their 30-year-old math teacher.
I remember complaining that it was really annoying, actually, and I wanted them to knock it off because it was driving me crazy.
I also remember that this was a day or two after I'd taken a student's water bottle away because he wouldn't stop flipping it. I had put it on the doorknob so that when he left the room he could grab it. For some reason, I recall that the entire class and I all agreed that this was a masterful move.
Anyway, they BEGGED me to try it. "Just once, Miss! If you just try it, just once, we'll never bother you about it again!"
I looked at them and said, "If I try it, just once, will you never FLIP the stupid things in my classroom again?"
They tried to argue that if I landed the flip, then they wouldn't do it anymore, but I held firm. "Nope. I will try it, just once, IF you agree that you won't flip bottles in my class anymore."
They agreed. Not sure if they thought I wouldn't do it or if they were just caught up in the moment, but as long as I attempted to flip a bottle, they would never flip bottles in my class again.
This crowd of 14-year-old boys gathered around, provided me with a bottle, and I prepared to toss it in the air.
I remember thinking how cool it would be if I landed it, and how I never thought it looked all that difficult but it must be, since they missed so often, and preparing myself to disappoint my audience.
I landed the toss. I landed it perfectly. My students lost their minds. There was hooting and hollering and wailing and dramatics. They reenacted this gif:
