The insane speed of a shuttlecock, with 300 mph, is from feathers of goose or duck, which has 16 feathers stumped on the cork, making badminton shuttlecock one of the most curious pieces of sports equipment to be found anywhere. Besides, the weight of the shuttlecock is just few grams as it must be durable enough to keep their shape even after getting whacked hard by the players.
Around the world, the plastic shuttles are mostly used by only amateurs, but professional shuttlers on the other hand, use only craftsmanship’s handmade shuttles.
The feathers are plucked from live geese (duck in India) which causes unbearable pain from every pluck of feather; the pain as same as pulling a clump of your hair. Each feather shaft is full of blood and it bleeds horribly.
After plucking feathers, the good feather is then identified followed by choosing the whiter ones, which should weigh between 1.7 grams to 2.1 grams, or else they will be discarded. The feathers are then measured for its angle.
This process is the same for each feather of the shuttle because if a single feather is off the measurement, it would wobble during its flight. Eventually, thousands of feathers are discarded.
Left and right feathers are not mixed. A shuttlecock must be made of either left wing or right wing feathers as they differ with curvature. Only six or seven feathers from each wing can be used for shuttlecocks and left-wing feathers are said to produce the best results.
The contours and curvature of the left feathers allow the shuttle to spin and fly more consistently. Lower-grade shuttles are made with other feathers from a goose or even duck feathers, and then formed to match a left-winged feather.
According to reports, in every professional game three dozens of shuttlecocks are used which is equal to feathers of 54 geese.
Once the 16 feathers are trimmed, they are stuck by hand into the cork. The feathers are laced together by a machine. The cork is then sealed with a durable white covering.
In few renowned manufacturing units, the final product is made to fly and are sorted according to the speed, by the experts.
And they said that geese and ducks are widely chosen as a dish around the world and is not wasted.
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