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Journalism of Courage
A badminton shuttlecock may seem to be simple sporting equipment but this conical-shaped device is known for being particularly aerodynamically stable. A video that shows how high-end shuttlecocks are made is now going viral.
The undated video shows a person hand making a shuttlecock and testing it on an auto-rotation machine. It further shows the person shifting the feathers until the shuttlecock is aerodynamically stable and rotates evenly on a single point.
This video was shared online by popular Twitter account Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) on Sunday. The video was captioned, “A Badminton’s shuttlecock must be extremely aerodynamically stable. This is how the shuttlecocks are calibrated”.
So far, the clip has gathered over three million views and 60,000 likes. Many people noted that the shuttlecocks shown in the video might be highly expensive as they were so meticulously being assembled, as opposed to mass-produced shuttlecocks.
Making this point, a Twitter user wrote, “I played varsity badminton, and I doubt these were the feathered birds we played with since a tube of 12 only cost $30-$40. I’d wager the birds in this video are for very high level competition games.” Another person remarked, “One shuttle must cost more than $50 if this is the rate of production”.
A badminton shuttlecock is made of 16 feathers that are fixed into a rounded cork base. Traditionally goose or duck feathers are used to make them but now synthetic material such as plastic is being widely used.
