The art of throwing "pancakes" originated at least in ancient times: the ancient Greeks loved to amuse themselves by throwing shells, stones and clay shards found on the shore into the sea.
In the Middle Ages, this tradition apparently continued. For example, in England, from the 12th century onwards, the game of "ducks and drakes" was popular. Players had to throw a stone or an oyster shell along the surface of the water, after which they began counting: when the object bounced the first time, they said "duck", the second time - "drake", and so on.
In America, the game of pancakes, known as stone skipping, was perhaps popularized by George Washington himself: one legend tells how he threw a silver dollar into the Potomac River.
Nowadays, throwing "pancakes" and "frogs" has ceased to be entertainment and has turned into a serious sport.
He has many fans all over the world, and those who want to demonstrate their skills can take part in specially organized competitions.
One of these tournaments took place in 2007, and it was not without consequences: it set a world record for the number of times a stone was touched when thrown parallel to the surface of the water.
This was achieved by a resident of the American state of Pennsylvania, who achieved the result of 51 touches of water.
The stone traveled 76 metres, and after experts carefully studied the video of Byars's stone throwing to determine the exact number of hits, the new record was entered into the Guinness Book of Records.
