Mar 29, 2011
Thai vendor defies the laws of gravity while pouring tea for customers
(via Fire & Knowledge)
Update: I’ve been called out in the comments for saying he defied gravity. It’s true…I titled the post unthinkingly. I should have said he owned the laws of gravity. Like a boss, as they say.
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I can do that. NBD.
That’s quite a show. Wonder if the tea is still hot after that performance. BTW, I missed the defiance part. Wrong video? Looked like this guy was pretty well depending on gravity.
All of my Malaysian friends would be angry at me if I didn’t say this tea – along with the flair required to make it – is a Malaysian thing and didn’t originate in Thailand.
That said, that man can “pull” some tea fo real.
I’d say he’s being rather obedient to the laws of gravity and not in the least defiant. Operating under the spirit of the law and not the letter of it.
The guy at the stall on the left looks like a westerner.
Wonder how much he spilled learning to do that.
I bet this gets the tea just the perfect temperature. I want to practice with lukewarm water first.
Okay all you cool, snarky intellectuals– allow me to be the first to say, “WOW!!! OH MY GOSH!!!”
And also, he’s turning so smoothly! Do you think he’s doing that solely (ha) with his own two feet or is there a lazy suzan on the ground there behind the table?
I think “defies” is appropriate. The vendor is defying gravity’s authority much in the same way my children defy mine.
While both the vendor and my kids ultimately cannot overcome the power that they are resisting; they submit only after a great deal of twisting, turning, and flailing. They comply with excessive flair and drama in order to drive home the message that submission is their choice.
In my experience, acts like these cause three simultaneous reactions for outside observers:
You feel an intense sense of awe resulting from the speed and power maelstrom;You question whether the perpetrators are even from this world;You question why the authority in question would even bother trying to control them in the first place.
If this guy is indeed defying gravity, then every acrobat, dancer, and gymnast would – by the same logic, defy gravity, which they don’t. They are using gravity as a tool, in the same way a fish uses water to swim.
mesmerising! thanks for sharing