
Carnival scam science, and how to win [video] - sds111
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tk_ZlWJ3qJI&feature=youtu.be
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acomjean
I thought it didn't matter if you won or lost because the prizes are worth
less the the cost of playing :

Ira Glass on a age guessing game at a park run by someone named Sarah:"

Later, Sarah privately confirmed for me that she did intentionally take a
dive. Which is fine with Cole, because it turns out, it doesn't matter if the
kids guess right. The game costs $5 to play. The prizes cost less than $5.
Sarah can be wrong with every single guess, and they'd still make a nice
profit. In fact, it's good to lose, because people carrying prizes around the
park are a walking advertisement for all the games."

[https://m.thisamericanlife.org/radio-
archives/episode/443/tr...](https://m.thisamericanlife.org/radio-
archives/episode/443/transcript)

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heeen2
Every retail business sells items for profit. I guess the chance involved in
games enables or justifies the wishful thinking that the prices were more
valuable than the bet.

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paulryanrogers
Isn't this the whole point of gambling in casinos where the house has the
edge?

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cpayne624
I've always looked at the carnival game $ as the price for enjoying playing
the game. The "prize" is inconsequential.

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rwc
This is also the right attitude for casino gambling.

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jonathanfoster
The actual video is by Mark Rober and man you gotta check out his YouTube
channel [1]. I've been in a technical slump here recently and watching his
videos totally re-energized me. He reminded me how great it feels to explore,
build, and solve problems. Another great video is his automatic bulls eye
dartboard [2].

[1]
[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCY1kMZp36IQSyNx_9h4mpCg](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCY1kMZp36IQSyNx_9h4mpCg)

[2]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHTizZ_XcUM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHTizZ_XcUM)

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kumarvvr
Love the bit about the center of mass and stability. It really shows when you
are a good engineer.

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sigi45
I really don't think those things are 'games'.

I lost every interest in playing them as soon as i learned that they are
rigged.

The most anti-social thing are those crane machines. I never knew that they
are allowed to change the strenge of the crane.

Srlsy wtf?

I keep my money and play only something like air hockey, which is fun or eat
candy stuff or ride a coaster.

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empath75
Also in the ladder game, the attendant holds the ladder for people until they
get around half way up to make people feel like they almost got it every time.

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IliasIB
Isn't that common sense though?

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MarcScott
Common sense doesn't really factor into these things, or Las Vegas wouldn't
exist.

It's essentially no different from any form of gambling. The odds in any
casino are stacked against you, yet people still bet money, either because
they think they that "this time I'll win", or simply because they enjoy
playing the game.

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Lewton
Blog spam, actual link:
[https://youtu.be/tk_ZlWJ3qJI](https://youtu.be/tk_ZlWJ3qJI)

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sctb
Thanks, we've updated the link from [http://wonderfulengineering.com/nasa-
engineer-shows-how-carn...](http://wonderfulengineering.com/nasa-engineer-
shows-how-carnival-games-scam-you/).

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Buttes
I don't think I need a NASA engineer to tell me that.

