101+ Uses of a Shotput®

shotput n. 1. An athletic event in which the contestants attempt to throw or put a shot or heavy ball as far as possible. 2. One such throw; a heave. 3. The standard ball used in this competition; the shot. -shot'-put'ter n.
-The American Heritage Dictionary

  1. to put shot
  2. an air balloon weight
  3. an anchor
  4. an ant killer [Pete Stich]
  5. an anti-depressant pill (a little hard to swallow?) [Benjamin Bush]
  6. an aquarium decoration [Andy Baldman]
  7. an artificial knee joint [Pete Stich]
  8. arm wrestling training1 [Jeffrey G. "Jeff" Hodgkinson]
  9. an atom smasher for low-budget scientist [Bryon Severns]
  10. a ball float in a livestock waterer [Eric Reid]
  11. a ball-peen hammer [Pete Stich]
  12. a basketball [without dribbling, just passing and shooting]
  13. a battering ram
  14. a bathysphere
  15. a BB (for a very large BB gun) [Benjamin Bush]
  16. a beach ball
  17. big ball bearings [Jeff Imbaro & Andy Baldman]
  18. a birthday gift
  19. a bocci ball [Pete Stich]
  20. a bookmark
  21. a bottle cap
  22. a bottle opener, brute force [Pete Stich]
  23. a bowling ball
  24. a breast implant
  25. a butt hinge
  26. a cannon ball [Phil Rhodes]
  27. a cane handle
  28. a cat toy [Andy Baldman]
  29. a cattle prod [Tom Laramee]
  30. a celestial model
  31. a cereal additive -iron kids can use [Bryon Severns]
  32. a chair
  33. a cheap date
  34. those chinese balls that you roll around in you hand
  35. a Christmas tree decoration [Andy Baldman]
  36. a circus ball for small people [Pete Stich]
  37. a clown nose [Autumn Oczkowski]
  38. a coat hanger/hook
  39. a companion for a small child [Ed and Lesley Marin]
  40. a computer mouse ball (a very big computer mouse) [Benjamin Bush]
  41. a contraceptive device, brute force [Ed and Lesley Martin]
  42. a cookie jar cover, to help keep the little ones from eating cookies [Eric Reid]
  43. the counter weight on a see-saw, so you can ride one without two people [Eric Reid]
  44. for crowd control
  45. a crystal ball [Pete Stich]
  46. as currency
  47. a cyclops eyeball [Pete Stich]
  48. a dirt compacter [Eric Reid]
  49. a disco ball
  50. a door knocker
  51. a door stop
  52. a doorknob
  53. a drive mechanism for a robot [Raymond S. Talley]
  54. a drum stick head, for a gong
  55. earrings for a blond [Denis Crepeau]
  56. as exercise equipment [Andy Baldman]
  57. an eye prosthesis [André Neubauer]
  58. a fake eye [Bryon Severns]
  59. a fish tank ornament
  60. for fishing tackle
  61. for playing Dodgeball [Benjamin Bush]
  62. a fire extinguisher [Pete Stich]
  63. a football
  64. the foundation for a snowman [Phil Rhodes]
  65. a G-Shock watch tester [Pete Stich]
  66. a golf ball [Andy Baldman]
  67. a guillotine
  68. a halo
  69. a hammer
  70. a heat rock [Pete Stich]
  71. hide-and-go-seek
  72. a hood ornament [Andy Baldman]
  73. a hot potato
  74. a hurricane/tornado gauge [Pete Stich & bob]
  75. an ice crusher
  76. an idol of religeous worship [Benjamin Bush]
  77. an imaginary friend
  78. an imaginary island
  79. in case of divorce...just add chain...new wife [Denis Crepeau]
  80. in case of divorce...just add chain...new husband [Nina Wahl]
  81. a juggling ball
  82. a key chain
  83. a killer spitball [Denis Crepeau]
  84. a level [Autumn Oczkowski]
  85. a locksmith, if you lock your keys in the car, just throw it through the window [Eric Reid]
  86. a low maintenence pet [Benjamin Bush]
  87. the main marble in a marble game [Pete Stich]
  88. a mannequin head
  89. a massage object [Andy Baldman]
  90. a meat tenderizer [Andy Baldman]
  91. a medallion
  92. a medicine ball
  93. a milestone
  94. a murder weapon [William J Morrissey]
  95. a nutcracker
  96. an object used for thievery in high school [Peter Rutcho]
  97. one of AC/DC's "big balls" [Denis Crepeau]
  98. an orb
  99. a paper weight
  100. a perch
  101. a pizza topping [Benjamin Bush]
  102. as plastic fruit for a fruit basket
  103. the perfect wedding/birthday present
  104. a pestle
  105. a phony berry
  106. a phony butt cheek
  107. a phony melon
  108. a phony testicle
  109. a ping pong ball
  110. a place holder, for the big game
  111. a police barricade [Pete Stich]
  112. a polo ball [Andy Baldman]
  113. a portable seat
  114. a potato masher
  115. a remote control for a TV, of course you'd have to throw it [Dan Scully]
  116. a rolling pin [Pete Stich]
  117. a salt lick [Pete Stich]
  118. a satellite for hard-hitting news [Bryon Severns]
  119. for self defense
  120. a scuba diving weight
  121. a scarecrow (?) [Dan Scully]
  122. for shaping baseball caps [Pete Stich]
  123. a shoe horn [big shoes]
  124. a sink plug
  125. to smash garlic [Pete Stich]
  126. a snow plow
  127. a soccer ball
  128. a softball
  129. a spare wheel
  130. a spear head
  131. a spring compressor [Pete Stich]
  132. a stamper
  133. a stocking stuffer
  134. a sun in a diorama2 [Autumn Oczkowski]
  135. a swimming aid for cats, tie to ankle (not recommended) [Denis Crepeau]
  136. a target for shooting practice, if you had a really good tosser [Eric Reid]
  137. a teapot lid
  138. a testical prosthesis [Andrè Neubauer]
  139. a tetherball
  140. the top of a flag pole
  141. a torture device [Pete Stich]
  142. a trackball [Phil Rhodes]
  143. a tractor pull [Pete Stich]
  144. a tractor weight [Eric Reid]
  145. a traffic signal [Pete Stich]
  146. a tranquilizer/sedative [Jeff Imbaro]
  147. a trash compactor
  148. a trophy
  149. a unit of weight measure [Pete Stich]
  150. a volleyball for muscleheads [Pete Stich]
  151. a water balloon deterrent [Jeff Imbaro]
  152. a weapon [Andy Baldman]
  153. the weight on a banjo clock
  154. a wrecking ball
  155. the tool used to crush grain
  156. a ringer for a bell [Pete Stich]
  157. hollow it out and put a gerbil inside [Pete Stich]
  158. medieval weapon with a metal handle and a ball with spikes on the end, 2 versions: 1 with chain, 1 with solid handle
  159. to demonstrate Archimedes Principle
Can you think of a use? Please send your idea(s)/contribution(s) to: Robert S Laramee. No, I do not know all of the people who sent a contribution!

BOB'S FUTURE BOOK (ONE OF)

Someday I hope to accompany an illustration with each use of the shotput. I used to have a digital illustration of 2 uses: (1) the shotput being used as a key chain and (2) the shotput being used as a cattle prod. Unfortunately, these illustrations got lost when I moved the web page. Does anyone have them or know where I could get them? Once, on a TV program I saw, a huge project was described to archive the entire contents of the world-wide-web on a periodic basis, say, once per month. The ultimate goal was to create a history of the web. There was a web page about the project as well. If my memory is correct, all you needed to know was the URL of the site of interest, in order to retrieve it from the archive. Does anyone know about this project? Unfortunately, archive.org only stores the history of URLs that are still in business, i.e., that still exist. In fact, it might be more useful to store the history of web pages/sites that no longer exist.

I had a third illustration for the imaginary island, but I gave it away as a birthday gift (what a gift!). The drawings were modeled after an indoor shotput I used to have that was yellow. Are there any publishers out there who are willing to back me up on this one?

READER FEEDBACK

1Contributed by Jeffrey G. "Jeff" Hodgkinson 
 
 Actually I belong to an Arm wrestling club and we have several shotputs from 8 – 16 lbs.  
 As part of our training, about 5-6 of us will form a circle facing each other about 6 feet 
 apart.  Starting with the 8lb’er we throw it at each other with a high arc so as to fall 
 about a foot in front of the person.  The idea is to catch the shotput with one hand using 
 an overhand grip and follow the shotput down and stopping it before it hits the ground then 
 throw to the next person with the overhand grip.  With each throw we alternate hands and 
 after about 2 rounds we increase to the 10 – 12 – 14- 16lb’er then progressively work back 
 down to the 8 lb’er again.  This builds tremendous grip strength in the hands, wrists, and 
 fingers especially when you resist the downward path of the shotput when catching it as 
 much as possible.  The 16lb’er is real fun as few guys can do it repeatedly before fatigue 
 sets in…  
 
 Thought you’d like to know for your list
 
 JGH

2 This idea deserves special note, as I had never heard of a "diorama" before. For those of you who are curious, here is the definition from www.m-w.com:
Main Entry: di·ora·ma
1:a scenic representation in which a partly translucent painting is seen from a distance through an opening
2 a :a scenic representation in which sculptured figures and lifelike details are displayed usually in miniature so as to blend indistinguishably with a realistic painted background b:a life-size exhibit (as of a wildlife specimen or scene) with realistic natural surroundings and a painted background

RELATED LINKS

  1. Google Screenshot contributed by mattlax96 "at" excite.com
  2. THE ALTIS, Portraits of the Immortals , basically the most beautiful shot putter in the world.
  3. The Uses of Shotput makes the Google top 10 search results! Here's the search:

    Scroll down a little bit, and there's our shotput page:

    Thanks to Dave Greten, a.k.a., the Bones, for spotting that one.