Ever wondered how basketball stars manage to sink a jump shot just-so? John Fontanella, an instructor at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, has the explanation for you.

By comparing videotapes of himself with, er, a slightly more accomplished basketball player, Fontanella calculated that the best players attempt to minimize the speed of the ball when it reaches the basket. That makes intuitive sense, he says – players want a ‘soft’ shot that sinks right into the basket. But when you hear it described in the context of gravity vs. drag vs. lift vs. buoyance — well, it’s enough to think Shaquille O’Neal might learn enough to improve his free throw percentage.