Tag Archive: Portland

With just two possible outcomes, a coin toss is one of the best ways of resolving any dispute. Not only that, but everyone has some small change handy. This means a result can be decided within seconds. It doesn't matter if the thrower catches the coins or lets it fall to the floor, the result still stands. The ancient Romans used this. And today, all football matches have the referee tossing a coin to decide which team kicks off the game. It's the same story in cricket with who starts to bat.

Going back to Ancient Rome, we can find that they used the humble coin toss as a means of decision making. Though it wasn't called heads or tails in those days, the principles were exactly the same as those found today. Some players like the coin to simply fall to the ground after being flipped up into the air. Others prefer the more elegant solution of snatching the coin as it spins and falls. With a flourish, they then smack it onto the back of their hand, to reveal the results seconds later.