The Cincinnati Bengals won in dramatic fashion on Sunday, as they took down the Seattle Seahawks, 27-24. The Bengals locked up the victory with a 42-yard Mike Nugent field goal in overtime, which marked his second field goal of the game – his first one occurred at the end of regulation to send the game into OT.
Nugent’s game winner was a little close for comfort, as he hit the left upright before the ball went through.
This is what 5-0 looks like.
Mike Nugent. Overtime. FTW! #SEAvsCIN http://t.co/T7ERrrp0hU
— NFL (@NFL) October 11, 2015
It was a little funky, and according to scientist Neil deGrasse Tyson, this happened because of science. Tyson – who is no stranger to using Twitter to explain random things with the help of science – explained that the earth’s rotation had a hand in Nugent’s kick going through the uprights.
Today's @Bengals winning OT field goal was likely enabled by a 1/3-in deflection to the right, caused by Earth’s Rotation.
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) October 11, 2015
In the N. Hemisphere, Earth’s Coriolis force deflects airborne north-south projectiles to the right. About 1/2-in per 50 yds.
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) October 11, 2015
The @Bengals stadium isn’t oriented exactly North-South. And the field goal was 42-yds. Yielding a 1/3-in deflection, not 1/2
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) October 11, 2015
If you need a definition of the Coriolis effect, which doesn’t actually have anything to do with the direction that toilets flush in, here’s some more info on the phenomena. If you want deGrasse Tyson to use science to explain why the Bengals haven’t won a playoff game since 1990, well, someone already tried and wasn’t successful.
@neiltyson use science to explain their playoff success
— christian スタンド使い (@____WaffleHouse) October 11, 2015
As it turns out, science can explain most things; but some things are still inexplicable.
