and movement of the rope is limited. When the opponents are played out, the driver shouts "pull" and rhythmically waves their hat or handkerchief for their team to pull together. Slowly but surely, the other team is forced into surrender by a runaway pull. Another factor that affects the game is the players' weights. The heavier someone is, the more static friction their feet have to the ground, and if there isn't enough friction and they weigh too little, even if they are pulling extremely hard, the force won't go into the rope. Their feet will simply slide along the ground if their opponent(s) have better static friction with the ground. In general, as long as one team has enough static friction and can pull hard enough to overcome the static friction of their opponent(s), that team can easily win the match. Injury risks In addition to injuries from falling and from back strains (some of which may be serious), catastrophic injuries may occur as a result of looping or wrapping the rope around a hand or wrist, or impact from snapback if the rope should break. This may cause permanent damage to the body, requiring finger, hand, or even arm amputations. Amateur organizers of tugs of war may underestimate the forces generated and thus, may be unaware of the possible consequences if a rope snaps under extreme tension. Injury is primarily due to the large amount of potential energy stored in the rope during the competition. As both sides pull, tension is placed on the rope causing it to stretch as described by Hooke's law. If a rope exceeds its breaking point the potential energy is suddenly converted to kinetic energy and the broken ends of the rope will snapback at great speed, which can cause serious injuries. This phenomenon has been studied in ship operations as mooring ropes pose the same risk should they snap. For this reason, specially engineered tug of war ropes exist that can safely withstand the forces generated. Notable incidents In popular culture The American game show Tug of Words uses a virtual tug of war as its central scoring mechanism. Notes Bibliography Henning Eichberg, "Pull and tug: Towards a philosophy of the playing 'You'", in: Bodily Democracy: Towards a Philosophy of Sport for All, London: Routledge 2010, pp. 180–199. External links Tug of War International Federation The Tug of War Association (England) Tug