(5/29/03 - ELIZABETHTOWN, PA) — Rock smashes scissors. Paper covers rock. Scissors cut paper.
Student insists there's a deeper meaning.
Thomas Shaffer, who organized a rock-paper-scissors tournament at his high school, says the game is based on patterns, so the odds of winning increase when a player better observes his opponent.
"At first I was one of the believers that it is a game of luck," Shaffer said. "I'll let you in on a little secret: Most people open with scissors. Novice players rarely throw the same thing twice in a row."
Shaffer recruited 75 classmates at Elizabethtown Area High School to compete, got the school to let him hold the contest in the gym and even convinced a sponsor to donate money for trophies. A dairy donated chocolate milk.
Shaffer managed to back up his bluster about the game's intricacies, making the final round by winning 19 matches in a row.
But in the end, he lost to Jeff Leggett.
"It's not about luck," Leggett said. "It's about being on your game. Some days you can't pick up patterns."
Shaffer is scheduled to graduate next week, but Leggett, a junior, said he will organize next year's tournament. You can join Unsolved Mysteries and post your own mysteries or
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