On the run: lack of sport drives fans to madcap world of marble racing
Lockdown has been good for Jelle's Marble Runs, which has acquired more than 1m YouTube subscribers
Can't believe I watched this all the way to the end," Gary Lineker tweeted early into Britain's coronavirus crisis. The lack of live sport is clearly getting to me." He attached a 2-minute YouTube video in which a handful of marbles career down a twisting channel dug into sand, accompanied by a breathless commentary: Marbles in the blocks ... and they're off!"
Once an unseen figure sets the marbles loose, there is no human interaction in the race, the positions of the coloured competitors decided purely by chance and the chicanes of the course. The early lead is taken by a light blue marble called Comet, until an unlucky collision knocks it back to fourth place. And now Comet, just like that, fights back to the lead," roars the commentary. The marble goes on to enjoy an emphatic win.
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