Come to think of it, the small gymnasium attached to St. Mary's church in my hometown had a low ceiling.

No it doesn't.


I'm the one who posted the physics info. My range of heights was based on a estimate of the time in the air:

2 seconds -> 16 feet
3 seconds -> 36 feet
4 seconds -> 64 feet

If someone wants to pull out a stopwatch, we could tell for sure but most esitmates put it between 3 and 4 seconds. So, I'd feel pretty comfortable saying that science puts it closer to 40 feet.

I read somewhere that is was 2.36 seconds. (Or thereabouts - I don't recall the exact digits after the decimal point. Even if it was 2.5s, it is 25 feet.)

From what I recall, that figure was posted by someone who has a history of quality posts, so I accepted their determination of ~ 2.5s.

What does your stopwatch say about the length of time that the ball was in the air?

I found the video and timed it myself. It sure looks like 2.5s is an accurate duration for the ball being airborne.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbgOF71ORiw shows how 2.36s is the airborne duration of the ball.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igjgUKP3Uhc

Is that a full speed video or a slowed down version? I never could find a full speed version trhat showed the whole toss

It looks full speed to me (other than when they clearly slow down the play).

Peace

Next up: an analysis of the Zapruder Film.

Very well. 25 feet it is.

if you get a good look at the entire play, one could surmise that the official on the grassy knoll was actually the one who threw the hankie.
cheers,
tro