Coin flipper

Tossing a coin is one of the most common ways that people resort to when they need to resolve a dispute or simply make a choice in favor of a particular solution.

The essence of the method lies in the fact that the coin, as a rule, has two different sides, and the tossing process ends with the coin landing on one of them. The participant in the dispute, who predicted which side of the coin will be on top after it falls, will be the winner.

History of coin tossing

Thanks to the research of historians, it became known that coin tossing was already practiced in ancient Rome. The inhabitants of the Roman Empire played a game whose name Navia aut caput is translated from Latin as "Ship or Head". The essence of the game was to identify the winner, who guessed which side the tossed coin would land on: the reverse, decorated with the image of a ship, or the obverse, on which the head of the emperor flaunted.

But, as it turned out, the ancient Greeks also loved a similar game. Its difference was that instead of coins in Hellas, shells were thrown, one of the sides of which was smeared with resin. The game was called Ostra Kinda, and the sides of the shell were associated with one of the times of the day - day or night (in Greek - nux kai hemera).

Later, the game, known to the inhabitants of ancient Greece, was adopted by the British. For many centuries, a game called Cross and pile was popular in England, in which a coin flew into the air after hitting it with the edge of another coin. The participants watched the process, trying to guess which side of the coin would be on top.

For centuries in the UK, a game called Cross and pile was in demand. The principle of the game was the same: one coin was hit edge-on against another, the first one jumped into the air, and the player guessed which side it would land on. A cross was minted on one side of the coin (hence the name of the game). Interest in tossing a coin does not fade away in modern Britain either - the mechanics of the game have remained unchanged, only the name has changed. In general, people from different parts of the world have made it a rule to name this occupation in accordance with what is depicted on the coins. So, today the British call the game Heads or tails, literally - the head or tail, which is associated with the image on the reverse of the English ten pence coin of a heraldic lion, raising its front paw and tail.

This principle remains unchanged in the popular Russian game Orlyanka, or Eagle and Tails. This name of the game in Russia appeared due to the eagle depicted on the obverse of the coin. As for the term "tails", it is customary for Russians to use this word to refer to the side of the coin with the designation of its denomination.

The tossing of a coin has also reached Australia, which is cut off from the rest of the countries, although here they made it a rule to throw up not one, but two halfpenny coins.

Interesting facts

Tossing a coin has become so commonplace that you can find a considerable number of interesting facts related to this action.

The mayoral election in the Philippine town of San Teodoro (Mindoro Oriental) stalled after a second round in which both candidates won an equal percentage of the vote. In order to make a final decision on the appointment of the head of the municipality, it was decided to flip a coin. The most interesting thing is that the results of the elections were recognized as fair and legal by both the participants themselves and the voters of San Teodoro.
Those who like to make a decision by tossing a coin have their own holiday. It is celebrated on February 8, and that is exactly what it is called - Coin Toss Day. The people who invented this holiday believe that tossing a coin is more than just entertainment. They are confident in the undeniable fatefulness of this ritual.
In the Canadian city of Toronto, there was a case where the side of the coin decided which organization would win a tender to paint a line on 1,605 kilometers of city streets.
The fate of the broadcast of the Australian Football League final in 2007 was decided in advance and depended on which side of the coin fell. The dispute involved two eternal competitors - the Seven and Ten TV channels. "Ten" won!
Local and national elections in the United Kingdom allow decision-making methods such as drawing a straw, drawing the highest card from the deck, or traditionally flipping a coin in the event of a tie in the event of a tie.
There is a negligible chance that a coin will land on its edge after it has been dropped. It is very scanty (1 chance in 6000), but theoretically this is possible.

Over the years of its existence, flipping a coin has turned from a simple entertainment into the most reliable and unbiased way of making a decision. This is due to the fact that, under certain control, correct tossing virtually eliminates falsifications and gives a truly independent result.

The coin toss mechanic is very simple. The most common is the traditional way: a coin is tossed up, making multiple rotations in space. Then the coin either falls to the ground or is caught by the person who threw it and falls on the back of the hand with a demonstration of the result. Whose interest is represented by the obverse, and whose interest is represented by the reverse, is discussed immediately before the toss itself.

Coin toss examples

The range of application of this process has no limits, but, most often we meet with a coin toss in the following situations.

Games

Ancient Greek Ostra Kinda, Roman Navia aut caput, Russian "Orlyanka" and British Heads or tails - all these games have a common principle and differ in minor nuances. But, the essence of the game does not change from this: the player either guesses the side of the coin that will be on top after it falls, or is mistaken.

Stakes

When monetary interest is added to the game interest, the process of tossing a coin turns into a typical game of chance, in which the result can bring the player either financial enrichment or loss of money.

One example of such an upgrade is the Australian game Two-up (Swy). Its essence lies in the fact that the participants of the game and its viewers bet on certain combinations. Next, the player takes a board with coins lying in opposite positions, then tosses them up until he achieves that both coins fall on the board with “eagles” up. If the result of the tossing is two "tails", then the player gives the board to the next player. The actions of the players, their observance of the rules and other attributes of the game are controlled by a specially appointed arbiter.

Betting

People tend to argue and make bets. One of the tools for such actions is often a coin toss - the easiest and most objective way to resolve almost any dispute amicably.

Lot

In many sports, in particular game sports, there is a need to determine which team will start the game. In order to solve this issue, they use the simplest and most proven method - toss lots, that is, toss a coin. Each team is assigned a side, in the event of which it gets the right to start the game first.

It is noteworthy that a successful landing of a coin can significantly increase the chances of a team winning the game.

Emotional analysis

The well-known Austrian psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud suggested that the greater meaning of a coin toss is not in the result itself, but in assessing how we feel about it.

Freud argued that we should not blindly follow what the coin pointed us to, but it is important to pay attention to the emotions that arose in us when we received the result. Have we experienced joy? Feeling frustrated? This allows us to assess our true attitude to the subject of the dispute. Such an analysis helps a person to make the only correct decision without the obligation to follow the result of a coin toss.

Real life examples

There are cases when a coin toss not only influenced a local event, but determined the subsequent course of history.

First flight

Famous aviators brothers Wilber and Orville Wright used a coin to decide which of them would be the first to take to the air in the aircraft they had designed. Luck in the coin toss was on the side of Wilber Wright, but it so happened that his flight on December 14, 1903 turned into a failure - the pilot crashed into a sand bar.

The aircraft was repaired and, three days later, the second brother, Orville Wright, took advantage of his attempt. This time the flight took place, and December 17, 1903 was the day when a man first took to the air in an airplane.

The birth of the name of the city of Portland

The fate of the name of the city of Portland in Oregon was really decided by the coin. Thus, New England natives Asa Lovejoy and Francis Pettigrove determined the right to come up with a name for a 640-acre parcel. Two out of three tosses were lucky for Francis, who decided to name the future city after his hometown, the eponymous Portland, Maine.

It is noteworthy that the copper coin, minted in 1835, which became a landmark for Portland, is still kept in the Oregon Historical Museum and bears the symbolic name of the Portland Penny.

Each of us can make sure that coin tossing is firmly entrenched in the culture of almost every nation of our civilization. Perhaps, almost any person living on our planet has ever made a decision, relying on the will of a coin tossed into the air.

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