the.com/bolas
three rocks and a rope that taught running animals about sudden commitment issues.
means A throwing weapon made of two or three weighted balls joined by cords, hurled to wrap around and entangle the legs of running animals.
from From Spanish bolas, plural of bola, 'ball,' which traces back to Latin bulla, 'a round swelling or bubble' (the same root that gives us 'bull' as in a papal bull, and 'bullet'). The weapon takes its name from those clustered balls, and English borrowed the word from Spanish-speaking South America, where gauchos of the Pampas wielded the bolas to bring down cattle and rhea.
- origin
- Perfected by South American gauchos and Indigenous hunters
- physics
- Spins midair, then wraps legs on impact
- name
- Spanish for balls, plainly enough
- olympics
- Spider species hunt by throwing sticky bolas
- variants
- Two balls, three balls, even single-weight versions exist
bolas perdidas — argentine folk band from the 1970s known for chacarera music
bolas de nieve — cuban singer (1911-1971) famous for bolero and son cubano
bolas gaucho weapon — three-ball throwing weapon used by argentine and uruguayan gauchos for hunting and combat