Here is a quick and efficient money making scheme that engaged my attention for quite some time during our last trip to Sea World:
Yes, it’s about those milk bottle pyramids, stacked in a 2-1 pattern (sometimes 3-2-1 pattern), that appear so easy to knock down with a ball. OK, they are not really milk bottles now a days but, some wooden or (sometimes aluminum) fabrications that look like milk bottles. This milk bottle pyramid activity seemed very popular…not just with the kids, but also with their oh-that-looks-easy dads (believe it or not…it’s more popular with the dads than with the kids). 
I spent about 20~25 minutes watching the proceedings of a milk bottle pyramid booth (with multiple terminals). In that time, at least 20 people made attempts to knock those bottles off. Only a couple of them paid $3 (because most of them appeared to be throwing the ball thrice); the rest used up 5 bucks. Not ONE of them could knock the pyramid down. Technically, a few of them did knock the pyramid down, but read the text in the above image carefully…you have to knock the bottles *off the table*, just knocking down the pyramid gets you nothing. So basically, the carny (slang for a person who works with a carnival) must have made about $90+ while I was there!
This milk bottle pyramid scheme is not new; in fact, below is an image captured from How Carnival Racketeers Fleece the Public that attempts to explain the trick - published in August 1934 (via Modern Mechanix):
However, in the 20 minutes that I spent watching the proceedings at the milk bottle pyramid booth, I realized that there is much more to it than just weighted bottles. Below, is a schematic (with a brief explanation that follows) of the issues involved (in my opinion) in the milk bottle pyramid game.
- Weight of the ball. From what I observed, it didn’t seem like one of the bottles was heavier than the others. However, they all seemed a bit too heavy for the ball that was given to the participants. Because the ball was lighter, it didn’t transfer enough energy to the bottles to knock them “off the table”. Sure they tumbled at times, but it was more like “toppling over” than “knocking over”. Btw, some of the folks were throwing the ball with great arm movement…so they must be packing a lot of punch in it.
- Table construction. The ball and the bottles are just half the story; the features of the table seemed equally important. The table had a raised edge around the periphery. Since milk bottles are cylindrical in shape, it wouldn’t take much to roll them off the table after you topple them. The raised edge makes sure that this rolling does not happen.
- Dimensions of the bottle with respect to the table. The bottles were small enough to fit inside the raised edge of the table, if they were laid flat on the sides.
- Pyramid placement. The pyramid is placed neared to the person throwing the ball. This may seem like an advantage to the thrower, but in reality, I think it further prevents the bottles from falling off the table. If they were on the opposite side (farthest from the thrower), simply toppling them might nudge them over the table’s edge.
- Force and accuracy. People who were trying to throw the ball too fast and hard were missing the pyramid totally! Probably, too much force results in too little control over the direction of the throw.
- Chip on the shoulder complex. This term appears in the 1934 report (see the second image from the top) and might be a strong motivating factor for a lot of older people (kids’ dads) to try the milk bottle pyramid. “Chip on the shoulder” is defined as (source):”A belligerent attitude or grievance“. This coupled with overconfidence in throwing abilities provide plenty of good candidates for milking money.
- Bank on probability. More than a matter of skill, it seemed to me like it was a matter of probability with odds working heavily against the thrower. However, a walk around the park did prove that some folks (may be 3 or 4) managed to win prizes in such games (usually prizes are unique to certain booths…so it’s easy to figure out)…so it’s not like no one ever does it. Also, this is essential for the business, because you got to show people that they *could* win it too.
Plus, there are other things that you could do to mess with the thrower and earn more money. Things like increasing the distance between the thrower and the pyramid, making the surface of the table and the bottles a bit rougher (to increase friction), and perhaps some other innovative approaches (any suggestions?).
By the way, the activity must be providing very good return on investment (ROI), because there are hardly any capital costs (you don’t even need high school education) and operating costs. Your initial setup may cost a few hundred bucks for the bottles, table and the ball and some prizes for display, but once you start running the show, it’s almost an all-profit-no-loss venture.
So, want to be rich and successful quickly? This milk bottles-and-ball pyramid might just be your answer.
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I’d apply a little stick ‘em to the table :-). You probably don’t need to, but it would make it just a little tougher.
Magnets!
Golbguru,
Don’t think I’ll give up my day job yet for this get rich quick opportunity
LOL at carny.
p.s. dayum shame taking those kids money but, hey it’s a doggie dog world!
Golbguru,
The other approach that I see used is when the game operator shows potential players how “easy” it is to win, to convince them to play. It always gets some people to part with their money.
The technique seems to also apply to personal finance. Examples - “Find out how I made $10,000 per month in real estate with no money down and working 10 hours per week.” or “Make $500 a day stuffing envelopes at your home.” For only $29.95, they will send their latest membership packet.
Like the carnival, one should only do these for entertainment
One thing that I’ve heard of, especially at large theme parks with this kind of game (e.g. Six Flags), is that the game is easier in the morning and then harder in the afternoon and evening. This is so that people will be carrying around their huge stuffed animals all day, where other carnival-goers can see them. Then, at some point in the day, the carnies make the game harder. Maybe they switch to a lighter ball in the milk-bottle pyramid, or they move the basketball baskets backward a little bit (or the line from which you must shoot the basketball). Something not-so-obvious that makes the game harder over the course of the day.
I spent about $20 one time on the “swivel-rope ladder” game at Six Flags. The guy made it look so easy. He would just climb right up there and ring the bell. But every time I tried it, I would get almost to the top and fall over. I paid the money just to see if I could do it. A personal challenge thing. I couldn’t have cared less about the prizes. “Chip on the shoulder” syndrome no doubt!
wow.. that’s what we call making money
Seems like it’s giving very good return on investment. I mgiht try it out one day, or ask my relative to do this, ehehe!
I worked one of these milk bottle games when I was a teenager. It could be won but it wasn’t very easy. Probably about 5-10% of the people actually won. It wasn’t harder or easier depending on the time of day.
The trick to the rope ladder is they have a switch adjusting the tension. They will have it tight so they can show you how easy it is. When you try it is loose so it is almost impossible to do.
I think it similar to the English conversation business in Japan
1 foreiger with random degree
teaches
3-4 adults per hour.
Each lesson costs 1500-2500 yen per hour per person depending on the amount of lessons the customer has purchases (”Bulk” discount)
If the teacher teaches 8 lessons per day, 5 days per week and you have a staff of teachers on shifts so that you can make 6000-10000 yen per hour per teacher nearly 24/7, then this is what is called NOVA.
Saruhashi-san is laughing all the way to the bank…
I have always been tempted to cheat like they do and slightly modify the ball to make it heavier. Or even switch balls.
I work at an amusement park, specifically in the “carnival/midway games” area- the thing that people don’t understand is that these games are all possible. Amusement parks have much better standards that carnivals as far as these games go. If they are found to be “rigged”, the park can be sued for a large amount of money.
You are right, the bottles do all weigh the same (all pretty heavy though!) and the ball is light, but anyone who has an accurate throw and *some* power (little children often win the game with a wimpy but accurate throw) can win the game. also the bottles are placed in the middle of the stand if the game is being run correctly.
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