You found me out. Actually, no trickery is involved. Try it yourself. 🙂
By holding it exactly the way you did (distance from table, and angle from horizontal) – yes! OK, 2 out of 4, 2 out of 3… (but our roll was rummaged out of the trash…give me a minute, I can think up some more reasons ;-))
I can understand why long tubes would be harder. Not only does it have to right itself but it can’t bounce as much, with all that mass at the top. More momentum (I think, physics not being my area). Well, the next time our paper towels run out I’ll give it a try. Regardless, it’s having a very steady hand that makes this exercise successful, even dropping it from exactly the right height and angle. You are steady.
Plus, I was lucky. I figured to record for 10-20 drops and maybe get 2-3 in a row I could splice out and use. I got the first 2 to work. Then, I quit recording. 🙂
I haven’t tried your trick, but in around 1973 I had a strange experience that this reminds me of. I was sitting down reading an 8″ x 10″ or 8.5′ x 11″ piece of paper when it slipped off my lap, landed on the floor edge-on, and stayed there upright instead of falling over the way anybody would expect it to. I guess there was just enough of a slight curvature in the paper and just the right air currents near the floor to keep the paper standing on edge. What a fluke, I thought to myself. Out of curiosity, I picked the paper up, held it at lap height, and let go. Once again it landed on an edge and stayed there. In all the ensuing years I’ve never been able to duplicate that occurrence, but somehow it happened twice in a row back then.
That would certainly be rare. Those rare events in life that produce unexpected counter-intuitive results stayed vivid in our memory. They have ‘special’ neuron synapses dedicated to the event.
How I See It 
With magnets I could…
exactly!
I heard the clicking sound of magnets…
You found me out. Actually, no trickery is involved. Try it yourself. 🙂
By holding it exactly the way you did (distance from table, and angle from horizontal) – yes! OK, 2 out of 4, 2 out of 3… (but our roll was rummaged out of the trash…give me a minute, I can think up some more reasons ;-))
You did really well. And, thank you for giving it a try.
I’ve used other kinds of tubing which work. Long and skinny ones are most difficult.
I can understand why long tubes would be harder. Not only does it have to right itself but it can’t bounce as much, with all that mass at the top. More momentum (I think, physics not being my area). Well, the next time our paper towels run out I’ll give it a try. Regardless, it’s having a very steady hand that makes this exercise successful, even dropping it from exactly the right height and angle. You are steady.
Plus, I was lucky. I figured to record for 10-20 drops and maybe get 2-3 in a row I could splice out and use. I got the first 2 to work. Then, I quit recording. 🙂
I haven’t tried your trick, but in around 1973 I had a strange experience that this reminds me of. I was sitting down reading an 8″ x 10″ or 8.5′ x 11″ piece of paper when it slipped off my lap, landed on the floor edge-on, and stayed there upright instead of falling over the way anybody would expect it to. I guess there was just enough of a slight curvature in the paper and just the right air currents near the floor to keep the paper standing on edge. What a fluke, I thought to myself. Out of curiosity, I picked the paper up, held it at lap height, and let go. Once again it landed on an edge and stayed there. In all the ensuing years I’ve never been able to duplicate that occurrence, but somehow it happened twice in a row back then.
That would certainly be rare. Those rare events in life that produce unexpected counter-intuitive results stayed vivid in our memory. They have ‘special’ neuron synapses dedicated to the event.
Reminds me of playing “Quarters” in college….ahem… not that I ever did that.
ahem…of course, of course…nudge, nudge 🙂