Created by team 20570 for:

Table tennis is a sport that is interesting and diverse enough to have its own set of fun and amazing facts. Here is a partial list. If you have some you'd like to share, let us know.

Did you know...

• ...the current superpowers(1998) of international table tennis include Sweden, China, Germany, Belgium, and South Korea.
• ...Judy Hoarfrost, one of the members of the ping-pong diplomacy to China in 1971, co-owns a table tennis company called Paddle Palace with her brother Michael Bochenski in Oregon.
• ...back in the days of unregulated rackets, all sorts of strange materials were at the tables. Among the stranger ones include: 5 inch think sponge, pure wood, and sandpaper.
• ...the name ping-pong™ is trademarked by Parker Brothers, who wanted a huge sum of money from USATT for the rights to that name. In response, the community gave the sport its own name: table tennis.
• ...the name of the United States of America Table Tennis used to be United States Table Tennis Association.
• ...certain world-class players can put up to 9000rpm of spin on table tennis balls.
• ...table tennis balls aren't really hollow. They are pressurized slightly with a gas.
• ...more than 30 table tennis companies exist around the world, making a full line of accessories from paddles to warm-up suits.
• ...in Europe and Asia, table tennis is big business and is very popular overall. Top players are endorsed just like players are endorsed in USA by shoe and apparel companies.
• ...certain governments(like Sweden and China), actually pay their top players just to practice.
• ...in China, most children are evaluated for certain inherent talents early on. If they are found to be particularly proficient at something, like gymnastics or table tennis, they receive rigorous training in that area.
• ...the ping-pong diplomacy was preceded by a secret trip by Henry Kissinger to China, and was followed by a first-ever presidential trip to China(by Nixon).