I passed stones once; but the doctors informed me that it was a common medical condition and not a game. As an American, it also cost me $600 per stone.
As an American you should have just pissed them out. We arnt Canadians. We don't play around with our stones like it some kind of game kojo. Edit M cope is the coldest mother fucker on the Internet
I think the Market for kurling stones isn't really large enough that they can gouge prices too heavily despite having a supply monopoly. There maybe 20 countries in the world at most that have regular kurling tournaments. People just won't bother getting into the games if they make it too expensive.
@@C22772 Yes they would. But they wouldn't be the first sport to switch out traditional materials for cheaper materials that can be more easily sourced and manufactured. They'd probably even be one of the last.
I had never heard of curling until sitting at my pub and the winter olympics were on the tele. The volume was turned down but I noticed many people focused on it. All the sudden they all erupted in cheering and it was a jump scare like no other. Then someone explained the game to me and by the fourth match I was hooked. Been following it every since and it's my number one sport at the winter olympics
People think it's a difficult sport to understand, when it's quite the opposite. I usually tell people, when getting into a new sport...just worry about how to score The rest you will pick up over time.
Pffft, I have multiple rocks in my backyard that have lasted for millions of years. (I can handcraft them into a shape and sell them to you for a few mil)
-Handmade curling stones made out of rare granite. - The stones come from one island in the world. -You have to ship to these stones to someone in the mainland by boat to make the curling stones. -They only cost $600?! That’s an insanely reasonable price.
@@Davisrullzs And people pay Thousands to millions on smaller but shinier rocks that are surprisingly common as well aka Diamonds. Remember De Beers get Diamonds by truckload but only release a fraction of it to keep the "value" high.
I worked with the company for three years, and unfortunately was one of the people who had to be let go at the beginning of the pandemic. I can safely say that the price of the stone is a bargain for the time, effort and craftsmanship that goes into not only making, but every stage of the process. From Ailsa Craig to the finished product, it certainly takes a momentous effort and quality from the team to make the stone as "perfect" as it currently is!
@@smoothcriminal7118 Because the taboo surrounding pay is entirely made up by rich business owners to hide the fact that they underpay many of their employees? There's nothing wrong with discussing pay.
@@Whoami691 in germany we also have the saying „you shall not speak about money“ id agree on saying that its culturally dependant but not only in the US
Ngl, $600 sounds like an incredible deal for a big, heavy work of art painstakingly and precisely made by a skilled artisan out of rare stone harvested from a remote island…
To other people, curling is a boring sport. To me, it's parents putting their sweeping skills to the test. It's great to see curling embrace its Scottish roots like the Olympics using stones made from authentic Scottish granite, the British curling team always having Scots, and bagpipes played before the beginning of each session as part of ancient tradition. I'm not Scottish myself, but it doesn't take long to see why Scottish culture is appreciated so much, it's too cool not to like!
It is also spreading around the world, watched Canada play Turkiye, Japan, New Zealand and tomorrow Korea at the women's world championships just the last 2 days.
I have no idea why, but this sport caught me when I was a young child watching it at the Olympics and 30 years later, it's still the only sport I watch during the Olympics.
I come from a curling family. South Central Wisconsin born and bred and my family now is on our 6th generation of curlers. I love learning all of these weird things.
A few years back I remember I stumbled upon and enjoyed watching the Russian woman's curling team play. Then I figured out that the brooms and a players actually had an effect on the play and started to enjoy the game.
I can honestly say that I have never in my life thought that the hand manufacturing of curling stones is even a thing or that one company taking granite from one island has lease over the Olympic Games! You know, every once in a while you come across a completely random nugget of information that just shocks you not only with how incredibly unique it is but with the notion of how unlikely it is that you would have ever pondered it yourself to the point where you might have looked it up online or something online. So, in other words, I probably would have gone my entire life completely oblivious to this process or this company or the history behind this unless I saw this video today. This is very cool and I am delighted to have come across this video!!!
The Trefor quarry mentioned at 5.43 was founded by my family. My grandfather Huw Darbishire was the General Manager for a time and the post was taken over by his brother Stephen Darbishire until the quarry was bought by Bath and Portland Stone. I have a photograph of my mother drilling a boulder with an Holman Silver 3 drilling machine sometime in the early 50's so that it could be split into smaller pieces. I spent many happy days there as a boy watching all the many facets of the production of granite for memorial stones, curling stones and road chippings.
Honestly I feel like $600 for one is actually a pretty good deal. That's what good manufacturing costs these days, if it were made by automated robot machines in China and not by hand then sure charge $150 for it, or cost plus 20% or so. Sure in that case cost is lower, but this is hand made by the exact same artisans every time - a monopoly, and I think given that, the price is fair.
@Repent and believe in Jesus Christ go away, stop trying to spread religion to give attention to your youtube channel for personal gain. You're no different than crypto scammers.
reminder that machines are more precise AND faster than these same artisans in question, so, with the proper adjustments, settings, and materials, those "150$" "made by automated robot machines in China" curling stones would be MORE consistent than these ones, since they'd be made in indistinguishably identical movements
@@a_lexine measurement-wise they may be more consistent than those made by an artisan. However, as any mason would tell you, when cutting rock a machine can cause fractures for seemingly no reason. That's why it's better to leave it to people because they can prevent these from happening.
Seems like a scam. There should just be specific demensions and weight and bouncyness. İt shouldnt have to come from a specific quarry. Should be made like poolballs or bowling balls.
Curling was so fun back when I lived in Alaska. But it was so hard and I was rather crap. Can't believe how much goes into being a good curler, and I appreciate watching the games so much more now
The women's worlds are on now. If you watch closely there are now 2 sweepers but only one sweeps most of the time, one type of broom cuts the ice to add more curl for the rock to grip, and the other polishes the ice to let the rock slide and run straighter. The sweepers can carry a rock up to 12 feet and can swing it side to side as much as 6 feet. The throw, and spin added to the handle can also create many different swing paths. It takes enormous skill and strategy to be even a decent player, plus strength and endless cardio.
I'm surprised these guys have been producing stones for so long. like, it's amazing that there is still a demand for stones that are simply eternal after their manufacture. what athletes do with them, that they need new stones? it's a damn stone that slides on ice, its bottom can't wear out
The stones wear out after a lot of play. The striking edge (the part that hits the other stones) gets thicker and thicker after lots of play and eventually the stones don't bounce off each other very well and can't be played with (on Olympic or championship level)
They are resurfaced/scuffed each day of play, and are replaced quite frequently in competition. Most sets of stones only are used competitively for a year, maybe 2.
When I saw the title I thought that the stones would cost like 15~20k each. $600 seems like a really reasonable price considering it's pure granite and it can last for decades
Yeah but the olympics last a few weeks and then move to another country. So they get to sell a new tournaments worth minimum every 4 years. Pretty sure they love making those stones because they bribed the olympics committee into having a monopoly. I don't believe for a second they are the only people capable of making them, or their super special granite is the only material that can be used. Its just corruption hiding behind a mask of snooty pretention.
Six hundred dollars? I was expecting somewhere between $1,000 and $2,000, considering the logistics, extraordinary quality, and craftsmanship involved in these beautiful works of art 🎨
@@badmaniak Can you cut stone like that? You say that as if Stonecutting is an easy craft that doesn't involve hours of hard work and training to pull off.
You can get exactly the same quality stones from other places. But the monopolists invented that whole bs story that you can get the stones only from that faraway island and bla bla bla
I'm curious as to how the sport was invented in the first place and how these rocks were discovered and determined to be the best option to use considering their rarity in the world.
I'd found out about these earlier thanks to an excellent article on BBC Travel! Glad to see it covered, although in an event as big as the Olympics, $600 feels "relatively" cheap (compared to the other stuff in the series)
Nothing feels more Canadian to me than being in a small prairie town where they only have a few hundred people but they have a curling club and a hockey arena 🙂
For me this video takes the exclusive credit for the discovery of an interesting sport coming from a people as nice and culturally rooted as the Scottish. I'll definitely watch out for the upcoming world curling competition.
That's depending on the curl that the player uses when "throwing the stone". If the density of the rock is not even, or more dense to 1 side, the curl will veer off either right or left. Hard, into the side of the sheet, or off it's proposed path set by the player. In all probability, eliminating the stone from play before it reaches the destination down the ice.
The players are so well practiced that they can tell which stones will perform in which ways, and choose which to use to accentuate their ability. The worst is having to use 2 stones that are not evenly matched.
For those calling it lame, apply that same logic to EVERY other sport: - Throwing a ball back and forth and some tackling...and call it American football - Cars going in circles...racing - Catching and batting a ball and throw in some adults scramming to snatch balls from children...baseball - hitting a puck back and forth...ice hockey The point is not all sports are for everyone. People can enjoy curling while others can enjoy ice hockey. What happened to COEXISTING?
There is usually 4 sheets with two sets each, coming to 64 rocks (usually they have two sets of spares too, but I won’t count them) meaning the total cost is just under $40,000.
@@PanduPoluan The World Curling federation has a few sets of stones dedicated to international play. I’d be surprised if they’ve even ordered new ones in the past decade.
never watched a curling game in my life and always thought its a s h i t t y sport i still do but hey these stones are cool af and they definitely take a lot more work to be made than i realized. Really cool video.
Pebbles meaning tiny drips of water frozen above the flat surface of the frozen ice, applied by a professional ice groomer spraying it somewhat like a priest "blessing" his flock.
The fact the granite only comes from that island only adds to the mystique of the game. It ensures the consistency of how the stones react to impact. There really isn’t many games where the playing conditions are going to be the same anywhere quite like this. I love the sport and enjoy watching it. It’s really shuffleboard with controlled variables and played by individual specialists. A puzzle game played in real time. I bet it’s fun to play.
as i see it they should make them from an artificial material made with the properties they need, with a process that can be replicated anywhere, so that competitors can make their own stones, lower the price and make the sport more accessible for other people
Curler here, it is fun and you should try it if there is a curling club near you. learn to curls are usually not very expensive and likely you can borrow every thing you need
Wow I’ve seen that island before while I was on a ferry from Northern Ireland to Scotland to watch a football match when I was a kid and years later I’ve found out it has a interesting story😂 the island even looks kinda like a curly stone
one of the biggest problems in sports these days is the cost of participation. we're basically excluding the vast majority of the talent from competition
I don't understand the scoring nor do I particularly care about the sport. That being said, Curling in the Winter Olympics is such riveting entertainment. Now that I've seen the level of effort and care that goes into the stones, I think Curling just leveled up in my mind.
Scoring is super easy - one point for every stone closest to the centre than the opponent's stones. It's a simple game to play, incredibly difficult to play well. At the higher levels, it's very demanding physically.
Yeah scoring is actually real simple, the coloured rings confuse you at first generally and make you think there is some importance to them, like more points for closer rings, but really they are mostly used so it is easy to tell if one rock on one side is closer than another on the other side without having to get the measurer out every time. The only markings that really matter, is the "button" which is the very center dot of the rings and what people have to aim to be closest to to score, and the outer circumference of the outermost ring, as only stones within the rings count for scoring. Otherwise there are some lines which have importance to the rules of play but are mostly unimportant for understanding what is going on as a spectator.
@@jaberwoky_ The cardio in elite curling is similar to a marathon. I happen to live in a city with several world champions and have been lucky enough to spend time with amazing athletes that curl. One thing though, that tiny girl figure skating... she is a better athlete than almost everyone at the olympics...just saying.
wtf I’ve literally never watched any curling before, i dont even know how it works or what the rules are, but i still watched the entire thing and found it pretty interesting
I discovered curling a couple years ago watching the Olympics. At first I was laughing at how ridiculous it seemed, but had my mind blown after seeing an impossible shot. I literally jumped out of my seat.
Sad when the time comes when this particular stone resource will be depleted. Products and technology like these are awesome don't get me wrong. Just wish there was a way we could also ensure we don't run out of it
There is, by not steeping ourselves in stupid ass traditions. It's a curling stone, they can make it out of a bunch of different things that would meet the requirements. For example cement
At least in Canada most cities have at least 2 or 3 curling clubs, Toronto and Montreal have 10+. With something like 5+ sheets of ice per club. Each sheet needs 16 stones. Do the math and that's quite a lot of stones. The stones don't last forever, they need to be replaced when they get worn out. Then add the Olympics every 4 years and clubs in other counties and I think there's enough demand
sounds like something that Finland would do xP Wife Carrying and Phone Throwing and all kinds of weird 'national sports' - i wouldn't be surprised if there was asock throwing contest
Well, it is a winter sport. Here in Canada, there are over 1,000 curling clubs and more than 15,000 competitive curlers. I'm not sure of the number of Canadians who step onto a sheet of curling ice each year but it has to be close to a million. 26 nations are members of the World Curling Federation.
Olympic curling seems like the kind of game Mr. Miyagi would have invented to trick Daniel into sweeping his floors. I'm a curling master...on Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games that is. The word curling first appears in print in 1620 in Perth, Scotland, in the preface and the verses of a poem by Henry Adamson. The sport is also known as "the roaring game" because of the sound the stones make while traveling over the pebble (droplets of water applied to the playing surface) Saying Canada is the most successful at curling is just plain wrong when it is clear that the DPRK is the best at EVERY sport! We don't need medals to prove our worthiness because then we're just showing off.
South Korea is doing quite well at this year's worlds. Canada meanwhile is tearing along at 10-0. No sign yet from a DPRK team, as they likely couldn't find a water-worthy boat nor enough food to get all the way to Canada to participate.
When | saw testimonies all over the place I thought it was all made up stories till | was convinced and gave it a try and honestly I don't regret the move I made because I invested in a big way
Cool vid. Kinda disappointing seeing the comments though. So few people seem to have bothered to check out the mechanics behind curling to understand the skill involved. The person who does the actual cast of the stone down the ice has to precicely aim, factoring in any rebounds off other stones to get theirs where they want it to go/push the other team's stones away from the middle while keeping your own as close the centre as you can. They also have to apply just the right amount of force while remaining completely steady as they push-off. For the other team members "sweeping" the ice in front of it, they're controlling the stone's speed. If they see the stone is slowing down too fast, they scrub the ice in front of it to reduce the friction and keep it going. If they see it's on-pace for where it needs to stop, then they stop scrubbing the ice in front of it. There's a whole bunch of real-time physics being dealt with on this :)
You missed the curl added to the path by turning the stone, and the different surfaces of the brooms which can make the stone go further or curl more while it is gliding.
![Blox Fruits Dragon Rework Update [Full Stream]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/EqDAp8udhm0/mqdefault.jpg)
I passed stones once; but the doctors informed me that it was a common medical condition and not a game. As an American, it also cost me $600 per stone.
@@flmang so did the stones they passed 💀
Lmfaooooo 😭 💀
Blue or Green ones?
As an American you should have just pissed them out. We arnt Canadians. We don't play around with our stones like it some kind of game kojo. Edit M cope is the coldest mother fucker on the Internet
Kidney stones?
considering they basically monopolized the prodcution of those stones, thats a surprisingly reasonable price
I think the Market for kurling stones isn't really large enough that they can gouge prices too heavily despite having a supply monopoly. There maybe 20 countries in the world at most that have regular kurling tournaments.
People just won't bother getting into the games if they make it too expensive.
If they made it too expensive curling tournaments would find other manufacturers.
@@TonkarzOfSolSystem yeah but since they were the only ones allowed to mine the island they'd have to change materials or something
Compared to my tennis or even table tennis rackets, I would say they are not that expensive. xD
@@C22772 Yes they would. But they wouldn't be the first sport to switch out traditional materials for cheaper materials that can be more easily sourced and manufactured. They'd probably even be one of the last.
I had never heard of curling until sitting at my pub and the winter olympics were on the tele. The volume was turned down but I noticed many people focused on it. All the sudden they all erupted in cheering and it was a jump scare like no other. Then someone explained the game to me and by the fourth match I was hooked. Been following it every since and it's my number one sport at the winter olympics
People think it's a difficult sport to understand, when it's quite the opposite. I usually tell people, when getting into a new sport...just worry about how to score The rest you will pick up over time.
The only slightly more important sport at the olympics is hockey, also dominated by friendly Canada lol.
When they said expensive, i was expecting a lot more than $600 dollars. The finished product is a work of art.
!!!
You need 16 stones to play. So 600*16 = 9600 dollars plus expedition price (more than 320 kilograms) and taxes means more than 10k for a single set.
600 for a stone
@@nicoladc89 Ya shipping those have gotta be expensive.
Being rich must be nice eh? $600 for a shiny rock w/ a handle IS expensive. They only hiked up the price bc they know the Olympics can afford it 😂
Considering they can last for decades, and that they are handcrafted, I'd say it's worth the money
Considering you got Lateralus on your profile pic, i'd say your comment is worth a like
It's a rock!
Pffft, I have multiple rocks in my backyard that have lasted for millions of years. (I can handcraft them into a shape and sell them to you for a few mil)
@@trucutru3 try it then
@@trucutru3 man is so smart, man knows everything
-Handmade curling stones made out of rare granite.
- The stones come from one island in the world.
-You have to ship to these stones to someone in the mainland by boat to make the curling stones.
-They only cost $600?!
That’s an insanely reasonable price.
Clearly its machine made with hand-assisted polishing and assembly.
My man, it's 600 dollars for a glossy rock.
That's what I was thinking...thats a steal of a price 🎉
meanwhile apple monitor stand cost 999$
@@Davisrullzs And people pay Thousands to millions on smaller but shinier rocks that are surprisingly common as well aka Diamonds. Remember De Beers get Diamonds by truckload but only release a fraction of it to keep the "value" high.
$600 is way less than i was expecting. No wonder so many small towns in Canada have curling rinks along with hockey rinks
That and you don’t need a $500,000+ ice resurfaced to clean the curling ice every period
@@nothing2see315 Just a hoser with a backpack :D, and the clipping machine.
A bowling ball in this granit and then we are talking...
You need more than 1, though
Olympic stones. This video is about Olympic stones.
I worked with the company for three years, and unfortunately was one of the people who had to be let go at the beginning of the pandemic. I can safely say that the price of the stone is a bargain for the time, effort and craftsmanship that goes into not only making, but every stage of the process. From Ailsa Craig to the finished product, it certainly takes a momentous effort and quality from the team to make the stone as "perfect" as it currently is!
Why do they call themself "Masons"? I thought its the name of magnificient and hidden organization of politics and buisiness elite, ruling the world.
@@AnotherOpinionatedIdiot why would you ask stranger about his wages?
@@smoothcriminal7118 Because the taboo surrounding pay is entirely made up by rich business owners to hide the fact that they underpay many of their employees? There's nothing wrong with discussing pay.
@@smoothcriminal7118 Only in America is it taboo to ask.
Because that way they can underpay you and you don't ask questions.
@@Whoami691 in germany we also have the saying „you shall not speak about money“ id agree on saying that its culturally dependant but not only in the US
Answering a question I never had for a product I never thought about. Still a fascinating process. And great to see a Scottish craft still surviving.
It doesn’t have a lot these days. Unfortunately the SNP has turned it into the worst drug addicted country in Europe and people are struggling
@@portman2396 The SNP? You're talking through your arse.
@@allwrighty100 touched a nerve
@@portman2396 sadly you speak the truth. The snp are both dividing and destroying the country and doing little else.
@Scotty good luck with that SNP fairytale. No evidence. No plan. No money. Can’t wait to see it. 🤣🤣🤣 🤡
Ngl, $600 sounds like an incredible deal for a big, heavy work of art painstakingly and precisely made by a skilled artisan out of rare stone harvested from a remote island…
Even the island looks like a Curling Stone, then you know the rock has got to be good!
A set of stones can last decades. So, they are expensive but a curling club isn't ordering a new set every year.
There are clubs for this senseless "sport"?!
@@arthc.castillo8982 Oh but 300 pound grown ass men tackling each other is senseful? Americans...
@@xx_noone_xx look at all my sense!
Maybe some sports aren't done to make sense bro
@@arthc.castillo8982 this is no different than any sport in the world
To other people, curling is a boring sport. To me, it's parents putting their sweeping skills to the test. It's great to see curling embrace its Scottish roots like the Olympics using stones made from authentic Scottish granite, the British curling team always having Scots, and bagpipes played before the beginning of each session as part of ancient tradition. I'm not Scottish myself, but it doesn't take long to see why Scottish culture is appreciated so much, it's too cool not to like!
It’s DUMB!
LOL...
Got a rock in the backyard you can shove on the ice. Riverrock bro, smooth as baby bottom 👌 annnnnd you don't have to spend money on it
I can't even call it a sport, its too lame
It's kinda lame
This is the type of random knowledge that I love to learn. Thanks for this
This is great that a traditional game and its dependent industry is not only able to survive, but it infact is thriving..
Thriving? The Olympic committee probably has this company by the balls.
İ don't like it. Hope they go bankrupt.
@@garrysekelli6776 Even if we don't like something, that does not mean that we should pray for their mis fortunes...
It is also spreading around the world, watched Canada play Turkiye, Japan, New Zealand and tomorrow Korea at the women's world championships just the last 2 days.
Wow, didn’t know they were stone. Never take learning for granite 😃
That joke is marbleous.
@@Tuck-Shop It's a rock solid joke not gonna lie.
Such an igneous attempt at humus made me sedimental.
These replies rock
I’m too stoned to make sense of these puns right now
2:50 "i believe i can flyyyy"
I didn't know what they were made of. I always took them for granite.
Such an underrated comment lol
@@btg323 Because it only works in spoken language, not in writing. Such an over rated comment!
@@m.dewylde5287 Lol. Then read the comment out loud, bud.
@@btg323 Or, maybe you don't know how the word "granite" is pronounced.
@@m.dewylde5287 Or, maybe you just can’t appreciate a pun.
I have no idea why, but this sport caught me when I was a young child watching it at the Olympics and 30 years later, it's still the only sport I watch during the Olympics.
It caught me as well when I was 13. I had to give it up 53 years later.
Glad I'm not the only one who expected it to be way more than $600 a stone
Well as long as idiots pay to watch it you can expect any price.
I'm pretty sure the stones they're using at the Olympics cost way more than $600 each. Club stones, perhaps.
I come from a curling family. South Central Wisconsin born and bred and my family now is on our 6th generation of curlers. I love learning all of these weird things.
A few years back I remember I stumbled upon and enjoyed watching the Russian woman's curling team play. Then I figured out that the brooms and a players actually had an effect on the play and started to enjoy the game.
The Russian team came to live in Edmonton in western Canada to train and learn for a year. They were really great people and awesome athletes.
No matter how pointless a profession ultimately is, seeing people in that profession care so deeply about their craft is always awe-inspiring
In what way is it pointless?
Most professions are pointless.
@@randybobandy9828 Nah
@@northpaul707 ya.
@@randybobandy9828 I suspect you don't understand what the word "pointless" means.
I can honestly say that I have never in my life thought that the hand manufacturing of curling stones is even a thing or that one company taking granite from one island has lease over the Olympic Games! You know, every once in a while you come across a completely random nugget of information that just shocks you not only with how incredibly unique it is but with the notion of how unlikely it is that you would have ever pondered it yourself to the point where you might have looked it up online or something online. So, in other words, I probably would have gone my entire life completely oblivious to this process or this company or the history behind this unless I saw this video today. This is very cool and I am delighted to have come across this video!!!
The Trefor quarry mentioned at 5.43 was founded by my family.
My grandfather Huw Darbishire was the General Manager for a time and the post was taken over by his brother Stephen Darbishire until the quarry was bought by Bath and Portland Stone.
I have a photograph of my mother drilling a boulder with an Holman Silver 3 drilling machine sometime in the early 50's so that it could be split into smaller pieces.
I spent many happy days there as a boy watching all the many facets of the production of granite for memorial stones, curling stones and road chippings.
Very cool. Thnx for that bit of history!
@@chaplainmattsanders4884 you're very welcome
Very interesting addition. Sounds like fond memories.
Awesome!
What, what are the odds? Thanks for sharing that.
Honestly I feel like $600 for one is actually a pretty good deal. That's what good manufacturing costs these days, if it were made by automated robot machines in China and not by hand then sure charge $150 for it, or cost plus 20% or so. Sure in that case cost is lower, but this is hand made by the exact same artisans every time - a monopoly, and I think given that, the price is fair.
@Repent and believe in Jesus Christ go away, stop trying to spread religion to give attention to your youtube channel for personal gain. You're no different than crypto scammers.
reminder that machines are more precise AND faster than these same artisans in question, so, with the proper adjustments, settings, and materials, those "150$" "made by automated robot machines in China" curling stones would be MORE consistent than these ones, since they'd be made in indistinguishably identical movements
@@a_lexine Did you even watch the video
@@a_lexine measurement-wise they may be more consistent than those made by an artisan. However, as any mason would tell you, when cutting rock a machine can cause fractures for seemingly no reason. That's why it's better to leave it to people because they can prevent these from happening.
Seems like a scam. There should just be specific demensions and weight and bouncyness. İt shouldnt have to come from a specific quarry. Should be made like poolballs or bowling balls.
Curlings a fun sport. I did it growing up and have not played for a long time but I look back on it and enjoyed doing it a lot.
These stones are work of art. I won't buy one, but sure respect the artisans who make these perfect stones
You don't buy one. You buy 16. You need a full set to play the game (8 red and 8 yellow). So that's about 10k.
@@K1ddkanuck A quick search online confirms you can indeed buy a single stone. Imagine if one cracked, you'd have to buy 16 more to replace it?
@@K1ddkanuck my man buys a whole library when a single book gets a scratch
@@Omni0404 I think his point is that if you're new to the hobby you wouldn't buy just one.
@@18skeltor OP was talking about getting one for artistic value not starting the sport.
Curling was so fun back when I lived in Alaska.
But it was so hard and I was rather crap.
Can't believe how much goes into being a good curler, and I appreciate watching the games so much more now
The women's worlds are on now. If you watch closely there are now 2 sweepers but only one sweeps most of the time, one type of broom cuts the ice to add more curl for the rock to grip, and the other polishes the ice to let the rock slide and run straighter. The sweepers can carry a rock up to 12 feet and can swing it side to side as much as 6 feet. The throw, and spin added to the handle can also create many different swing paths. It takes enormous skill and strategy to be even a decent player, plus strength and endless cardio.
This video made me really look into curling. I'm hooked now!
"Harvest" is a fun little rebranding of mining.
No, it’s not. Mining requires massive investment and infrastructure… These curling stones would not be sold for $600 if that were the case.
i have 0 idea what curling is but its satisfying hearing those rocks slide across the ice
I'm surprised these guys have been producing stones for so long. like, it's amazing that there is still a demand for stones that are simply eternal after their manufacture. what athletes do with them, that they need new stones? it's a damn stone that slides on ice, its bottom can't wear out
They hit other curling stones too.
As stated before, stone hits other stones= bad
It feels like they eat them or something that they always need new ones
The stones wear out after a lot of play. The striking edge (the part that hits the other stones) gets thicker and thicker after lots of play and eventually the stones don't bounce off each other very well and can't be played with (on Olympic or championship level)
They are resurfaced/scuffed each day of play, and are replaced quite frequently in competition. Most sets of stones only are used competitively for a year, maybe 2.
Quick answer, there expensive because the Olympics are involved
Affirmative
They’re*
OR because they are made by manual labour in an industrialized nation🙄
Theiyre're
They're
1:07 It's fitting that from a distance the island with the granite used for curling stones looks like a giant curling stone.
Talk about the ultimate hustle...cornered the market smooth
When I saw the title I thought that the stones would cost like 15~20k each. $600 seems like a really reasonable price considering it's pure granite and it can last for decades
Yeah but the olympics last a few weeks and then move to another country. So they get to sell a new tournaments worth minimum every 4 years. Pretty sure they love making those stones because they bribed the olympics committee into having a monopoly. I don't believe for a second they are the only people capable of making them, or their super special granite is the only material that can be used. Its just corruption hiding behind a mask of snooty pretention.
Wow, did not know any of this! Guess I was just taking it for granite
Boo
I can do one, that guys made of rocks!
Geology rocks!
Who knew! I guess I won't be taking curling stones for granite anymore!
Boi what the hell boi 😂
Six hundred dollars? I was expecting somewhere between $1,000 and $2,000, considering the logistics, extraordinary quality, and craftsmanship involved in these beautiful works of art 🎨
If you were expecting between 1k and 2k, i wouldn't say 600 is too far off.
It says "so expensive" so i expected at least 50k per rock.
To be fair, you need 16 stones for a playable set, so the cost is more like 10 grand.
@@mtark9988 600 is too expensive for basically "a rock". With nothing else than stonecutting. ;)
@@badmaniak Can you cut stone like that?
You say that as if Stonecutting is an easy craft that doesn't involve hours of hard work and training to pull off.
I mean I think 600 bucks is actually pretty cheap considering the logistics and skill needed to make the stone
It's also just stone so can't really be super expensive
@@ramencakes5196 The diamond industry blacklisted you for that comment 😀
You can get exactly the same quality stones from other places. But the monopolists invented that whole bs story that you can get the stones only from that faraway island and bla bla bla
@@MCXM111 Uh, no. Blue Hone is the superior granite for curling stones.
As an American:
_Ah. The winter solstice is upon us. Curling season has begun. We hath remembered this sport_
As a Canadian... geez its 90F outside why don't we go curling and cool off... Winning is an attitude lol
please take a second and admire the amazing floor cleaning abilities of the guy who runs with the stone.
Their houses must be spotless.
@@johnc3525 They had to outlaw vacuums as the Americans wanted to cheat.
I love Olympic Curling. The skill that players display is phenomenal.
It doesn’t belong in the Olympics. Many athletic sports belong there, not this.
Oh, you've seen Canada curling!
When I got this video in my recommended I thought that it was about mythology because I misread Olympics as Olympus.
I'm curious as to how the sport was invented in the first place and how these rocks were discovered and determined to be the best option to use considering their rarity in the world.
Because the sport was invented here in Scotland and they used the nearest source of top quality granite i.e Ailsa Craig
You are curious but cant look that up yourself? Doesnt seem like you are all that curious.
@@Alexandros.Mograine. Same reason most people are on these platforms. To socially interact. tHat'S wHy It'S cAlLeD sOcIaL mEdIa....d*mb*ss.
Lies again? Contender Series Cold Storage
Because Scotland invented the game, and then Scots came to Canada and we perfected the play of the game.
I love how the island in the first shot looks like a giant curling stone
This is one of those videos that's way more interesting than you'd expect!
I'd found out about these earlier thanks to an excellent article on BBC Travel! Glad to see it covered, although in an event as big as the Olympics, $600 feels "relatively" cheap (compared to the other stuff in the series)
$600 per stone and you need 16 for a set. So it's about $9600.
@@hurricane9851 Plus 1 or 2 back up sets, and that covers 1 ice sheet, and most arenas have 4, with most curling clubs having 6-10 sheets.
I used to core concrete. I can't imagine how long it takes to run the bit through that granite!!
I bet it takes
Quite a bit
"...but its a rock." - Dot, A Bug's Life
Nothing feels more Canadian to me than being in a small prairie town where they only have a few hundred people but they have a curling club and a hockey arena 🙂
Amazing how Canada is not winning every gold, Sweden with just a handful of curling teams is way more successful right now
@@KickassTechnology Canada's women's team is 10-0 at the world championships today... so...
@@vampfashions so what?
Curling feels like an AI generated sport
I was thinking toddler generated, but that works too
To be fair if you told someone, who didn’t know of the sports, a vague description of any sports it would seem like an A.I made it.
Curling is literally the furthest you could get from AI in a sport...throw rocks across ice. Cave men would understand the concept.
That's fascinating. There is something so beautiful about that.
For me this video takes the exclusive credit for the discovery of an interesting sport coming from a people as nice and culturally rooted as the Scottish. I'll definitely watch out for the upcoming world curling competition.
As a mason/stone engraver, I was geeking out watching this and now wish to visit Kays to one day help make a curling stone
4:09 Im shocked that this guy does not know what a cheese wheel is.
The process of making the curling stones is more interesting than the game itself.
So true.
Watching paint dry is more interesting than the game itself.
It is more fun to watch than a damn superbowl
Is balance of the stone an issue? If one edge of a stone weighs more, would that effect how it curls? I didn't see any mention of this.
It sure does
That's depending on the curl that the player uses when "throwing the stone". If the density of the rock is not even, or more dense to 1 side, the curl will veer off either right or left. Hard, into the side of the sheet, or off it's proposed path set by the player. In all probability, eliminating the stone from play before it reaches the destination down the ice.
The players are so well practiced that they can tell which stones will perform in which ways, and choose which to use to accentuate their ability. The worst is having to use 2 stones that are not evenly matched.
I live right on the west coast of scotland just south of ayr, and it's pretty cool being able to see Alisa Craig from my window every morning
For those calling it lame, apply that same logic to EVERY other sport:
- Throwing a ball back and forth and some tackling...and call it American football
- Cars going in circles...racing
- Catching and batting a ball and throw in some adults scramming to snatch balls from children...baseball
- hitting a puck back and forth...ice hockey
The point is not all sports are for everyone. People can enjoy curling while others can enjoy ice hockey. What happened to COEXISTING?
My man just said ice hockey was just hitting a puck back and forth…
All those sports you mentioned involves a lot more physicality than curling which people tend to enjoy seeing in sports.
@@chrisl9934 what about chess 5head?
@@KingOfTresune And then 2 guys kicking the crap out of each other with knives strapped to their feet.
$9,600 is the final price that the Olympic Games has to pay after ALL this work to make the stones? Seems cheap as heck lol
Per set. There are many sets
There is usually 4 sheets with two sets each, coming to 64 rocks (usually they have two sets of spares too, but I won’t count them) meaning the total cost is just under $40,000.
@@phyviction589 But does the Olympic Committee only ordered 4 sheets for the _whole_ Winter Olympics?
@@PanduPoluan The World Curling federation has a few sets of stones dedicated to international play. I’d be surprised if they’ve even ordered new ones in the past decade.
never watched a curling game in my life and always thought its a s h i t t y sport
i still do but hey these stones are cool af and they definitely take a lot more work to be made than i realized. Really cool video.
Strong opinion for someone who has never even watched a game. Give it a chance - it really is an amazing sport.
I dont know why i got this recommended but here i am now. A curling stone pro
Pretty competitive vs the price of an Olympic road bike, and looks a lot more durable.
Kay's Curling, Kay's cooking. Both from Scotland. We need this crossover episode
Here in Hawaii there is a game called "ulu maika" it's similar to this sport but with the ulumaika game you roll the stone on its edge like a tire.
sounds like lawn bowling. Are you aiming to be the closest to the marker in the middle?
@@lukeboulter8735 yes! I like that term "lawn bowling" you put two wood stakes in the ground and roll the stone in-between
And I’ll just assume no ice is involved 😁
@@rftulie no ice. The stone puck is similar though
$600 is incredibly reasonable for the masterful craftsmanship. I think the argument for expensive comes from the fact that you buy them in sets.
The rocks (min 16 per sheet), the arena, the shoes, brooms, bar (yeah, but its curling) all add to the cost.
5:24 You forgot to mention pebbles on ice. They play an important role in Curling
Pebbles meaning tiny drips of water frozen above the flat surface of the frozen ice, applied by a professional ice groomer spraying it somewhat like a priest "blessing" his flock.
The fact the granite only comes from that island only adds to the mystique of the game. It ensures the consistency of how the stones react to impact. There really isn’t many games where the playing conditions are going to be the same anywhere quite like this. I love the sport and enjoy watching it. It’s really shuffleboard with controlled variables and played by individual specialists. A puzzle game played in real time. I bet it’s fun to play.
They sweep frantically in front of a rock sliding on ice, I don't understand how it's so cool
as i see it they should make them from
an artificial material made with the properties they need, with a process that can be replicated anywhere, so that competitors can make their own stones, lower the price and make the sport more accessible for other people
There is no mystique lol. Some janitor was probably bored one day and make a new sport.
@@leandrotami lol why does this sport need to be accessible
Curler here, it is fun and you should try it if there is a curling club near you. learn to curls are usually not very expensive and likely you can borrow every thing you need
What happens to all of the old stones? Do they go to some stone cemetary?
they go to stone heaven
They get sent to Ireland and put on the giants causeway.
Will be supplied to sports club newbies, for practice.
Am I the only one who feels kinda bad these guys are undervaluing their product?
Wow I’ve seen that island before while I was on a ferry from Northern Ireland to Scotland to watch a football match when I was a kid and years later I’ve found out it has a interesting story😂 the island even looks kinda like a curly stone
I can see it from my front window :) Pretty stark island, great views of it from Troon etc
I wonder if aliens look at us like idiots
We look at aliens like idiots.
one of the biggest problems in sports these days is the cost of participation. we're basically excluding the vast majority of the talent from competition
I don't understand the scoring nor do I particularly care about the sport. That being said, Curling in the Winter Olympics is such riveting entertainment. Now that I've seen the level of effort and care that goes into the stones, I think Curling just leveled up in my mind.
Scoring is super easy - one point for every stone closest to the centre than the opponent's stones. It's a simple game to play, incredibly difficult to play well. At the higher levels, it's very demanding physically.
Yeah scoring is actually real simple, the coloured rings confuse you at first generally and make you think there is some importance to them, like more points for closer rings, but really they are mostly used so it is easy to tell if one rock on one side is closer than another on the other side without having to get the measurer out every time. The only markings that really matter, is the "button" which is the very center dot of the rings and what people have to aim to be closest to to score, and the outer circumference of the outermost ring, as only stones within the rings count for scoring. Otherwise there are some lines which have importance to the rules of play but are mostly unimportant for understanding what is going on as a spectator.
@@jaberwoky_ The cardio in elite curling is similar to a marathon. I happen to live in a city with several world champions and have been lucky enough to spend time with amazing athletes that curl. One thing though, that tiny girl figure skating... she is a better athlete than almost everyone at the olympics...just saying.
wtf I’ve literally never watched any curling before, i dont even know how it works or what the rules are, but i still watched the entire thing and found it pretty interesting
I discovered curling a couple years ago watching the Olympics. At first I was laughing at how ridiculous it seemed, but had my mind blown after seeing an impossible shot. I literally jumped out of my seat.
I curled a few times before. I was naturally really and incredible amounts of force and nearly broke 3. They’re very nice to the touch and heavy.
Funny - I curled for 53 years and played a lot. In all those years, I never saw a stone break or even chip.
It's so expensive that I can afford only one stone. And I can tell you it's quite difficult to compete with others when you have only one stone...
With one stone you can make a whole team, and then you can get more stones lol
Yes RUclips I will definitely watch a 8 1/2 minute video about curling stones!!!
the times i have driven on that coast , and never knew Ailsa Craig' was used for this purpose .
Sad when the time comes when this particular stone resource will be depleted. Products and technology like these are awesome don't get me wrong. Just wish there was a way we could also ensure we don't run out of it
There is, by not steeping ourselves in stupid ass traditions. It's a curling stone, they can make it out of a bunch of different things that would meet the requirements. For example cement
@@bagochips834 cement? Fuckin cement
If Scotland ever runs out Canada is virtually 2/3 stone.
Bro it’s 3 AM and I have a 5 page essay due today why am I here😢
There seems to be a lot of stones made.. how much of a demand is really there if they last for 20+ years?
At least in Canada most cities have at least 2 or 3 curling clubs, Toronto and Montreal have 10+. With something like 5+ sheets of ice per club. Each sheet needs 16 stones. Do the math and that's quite a lot of stones. The stones don't last forever, they need to be replaced when they get worn out. Then add the Olympics every 4 years and clubs in other counties and I think there's enough demand
Can we have a sport that throw socks ?
Cornhole?
sounds like something that Finland would do xP Wife Carrying and Phone Throwing and all kinds of weird 'national sports' - i wouldn't be surprised if there was asock throwing contest
Middle Easterns would win every year and it’d get boring fast. Like Tom Brady is in the super bowl again oh wow what a shockerrrrr
Shot putt. Tah dah
Just not a happy sock.
7:54 , the added explanation makes litterally no sense, but go off king
The making of the tools is more interesting than the sport
I have been watching all kinds of sports since childhood but never heard of this one before. And it's an Olympics game!
Well, it is a winter sport. Here in Canada, there are over 1,000 curling clubs and more than 15,000 competitive curlers. I'm not sure of the number of Canadians who step onto a sheet of curling ice each year but it has to be close to a million. 26 nations are members of the World Curling Federation.
@@jaberwoky_ They said in the women's worlds broadcast today that there are close to 75 countries now heavily involved in competitive curling.
lol yesterday after watching the series "three pines" I wondered how much curling stuff cost and today youtube gives me the answer xD
Dude stopping the stone with his foot almost gave me a heart attack
😂
Seeing a 100lb girl stop the stone with her foot would likely kill you then lol
Olympic curling seems like the kind of game Mr. Miyagi would have invented to trick Daniel into sweeping his floors. I'm a curling master...on Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games that is. The word curling first appears in print in 1620 in Perth, Scotland, in the preface and the verses of a poem by Henry Adamson. The sport is also known as "the roaring game" because of the sound the stones make while traveling over the pebble (droplets of water applied to the playing surface)
Saying Canada is the most successful at curling is just plain wrong when it is clear that the DPRK is the best at EVERY sport! We don't need medals to prove our worthiness because then we're just showing off.
South Korea is doing quite well at this year's worlds. Canada meanwhile is tearing along at 10-0. No sign yet from a DPRK team, as they likely couldn't find a water-worthy boat nor enough food to get all the way to Canada to participate.
Very interesting to learn about the Curling stones.
No comments?
$10k for a full olympic set? Really not that expensive
And that my friend is called a monopoly 😂
Canada has enough granite to replace these stones, but then, why would anyone want to.
They love what they do and they're not taking anything for granite.
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This was fun to watch!
Didn‘t know how these stones are made. :)
Cool vid. Kinda disappointing seeing the comments though.
So few people seem to have bothered to check out the mechanics behind curling to understand the skill involved. The person who does the actual cast of the stone down the ice has to precicely aim, factoring in any rebounds off other stones to get theirs where they want it to go/push the other team's stones away from the middle while keeping your own as close the centre as you can. They also have to apply just the right amount of force while remaining completely steady as they push-off. For the other team members "sweeping" the ice in front of it, they're controlling the stone's speed. If they see the stone is slowing down too fast, they scrub the ice in front of it to reduce the friction and keep it going. If they see it's on-pace for where it needs to stop, then they stop scrubbing the ice in front of it. There's a whole bunch of real-time physics being dealt with on this :)
Basic
You missed the curl added to the path by turning the stone, and the different surfaces of the brooms which can make the stone go further or curl more while it is gliding.