The Other Pong

theodp writes "Before there was Pong, there was Ping-Pong. Table tennis began in 19th-century Victorian England as a parlor game for the upper-middle class, with cigar box lids used as paddles. Today, as BusinessInsider half-joked, federal law requires all tech startups to have a functional ping pong table. Photographer Alec Soth discusses his love of the game in a NY Times interview and shares some vintage photos of the sport from his new limited-edition book Ping Pong. So, why do people — especially lots of computer programmers — get obsessed with Ping-Pong? Table tennis is 'a way to do a physical sport that has actual athletic qualities but is kind of contained,' explains Soth. 'There's a real mental element to it. It's not chess, but your brain is engaged. It's a break from neuroses.'" As workplace stress relief games go, a ping-pong table is also a lot easier to carry than an air hockey set-up or a bowling alley.

Comments

Table Tennis

[Beardydog]

The only people I've ever met who liked table tennis were terrible people. I'm not sure if terrible people are drawn to table tennis, or if table tennis is a black scourge that seeps into men's souls and consumes the heart of them while it still beats, but there is an absolute correlation.

Re:Only amateurs and idiots

[nurb432]

But others may continue to say ping-pong

And continue to be uneducated idiots if they do so. The game is not ping-pong, and they are not welcome in the sport if they cant even call it the right thing.