From ancient Roman generals to modern sports referees, the coin toss has been humanity's favourite way to let fate decide for over 2,000 years.
The first coins were minted in the ancient kingdom of Lydia (modern-day Turkey). Made from electrum, a natural gold-silver alloy, these early coins quickly became more than just currency. People began using them to make random decisions, giving birth to the practice we now call coin flipping.
The Romans called it "Navia aut Caput" meaning "ship or head" - referring to the ship on one side of their coins and the head of the emperor on the other. Roman generals would flip coins before battle to divine the gods' will, and children played "heads or ships" in the streets. Julius Caesar himself was said to have resolved disputes with a coin toss, giving the winning side a divine mandate.
In medieval England, the game evolved into "Cross and Pile" - the cross being the Christian symbol on one side and the "pile" being the reverse pattern. It became a popular gambling game and was even used in legal proceedings to settle minor disputes. King Edward I reportedly flipped coins to decide between petitioners seeking royal favor.
The first recorded use of the phrase "heads or tails" in English appears in literature. As coins became standardised with a monarch's head on one side, the terminology stuck. The phrase spread throughout the English-speaking world and remains the standard today.
American football officially adopted the coin toss to determine which team kicks off. This tradition has continued for over 130 years and remains one of the most watched coin flips in the world, with Super Bowl coin tosses viewed by hundreds of millions globally.
Orville and Wilbur Wright used a coin flip to decide who would attempt the first powered flight. Wilbur won the toss but his attempt on December 14th failed. Three days later, it was Orville's turn - and he made history with the first successful powered flight at Kitty Hawk.
NASA considered using a coin flip to decide who would be the first human to walk on the moon. Ultimately, the decision was made based on the lunar module's hatch design, but the fact that a coin flip was even considered shows how deeply ingrained the practice is in human decision-making.
The first online coin flip simulators appear on the early internet. Using pseudo-random number generators, these digital coin flips opened up new possibilities and questions about true randomness and fairness in the digital realm.
Modern coin flip websites like FlipCoin use cryptographically secure random number generators (crypto.getRandomValues()) to ensure true randomness. These digital flips are actually more fair than physical coins, which can have slight biases due to manufacturing imperfections.
The city of Portland, Oregon was named after a coin flip between founders Asa Lovejoy (who wanted "Boston") and Francis Pettygrove (who preferred "Portland"). Pettygrove won best of three.
Winner: PortlandRock star Ritchie Valens won a coin flip for the last seat on the plane that would crash, killing him, Buddy Holly, and The Big Bopper - "The Day the Music Died."
Tragic OutcomeItaly and the Soviet Union drew 0-0 after extra time. Before penalty shootouts existed, the match was decided by a coin flip. Italy won and went on to win the tournament.
Winner: ItalyA tie in a New Mexico state legislative race was officially decided by a coin flip, as permitted by state law. This is still legal in many US states for tied elections.
Democracy in ActionLegend has it that Google founders used a coin flip to help decide aspects of their unconventional IPO, though the exact details remain a closely guarded secret.
Tech HistoryAt least six Iowa precincts used coin flips to break ties between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. Clinton won all six - a 1.56% probability if the coins were fair.
Winner: Clinton (6/6)"Omote ka ura" (front or back) uses the chrysanthemum seal as "heads"
"Kopf oder Zahl" (head or number) refers to the denomination side
"Pile ou face" (pile or face) dates back to medieval times
"Chit ya pat" with the national emblem serving as the official "heads"
"Cara ou coroa" (face or crown) references the old imperial coins
"Orel ili reshka" (eagle or tails) uses the two-headed eagle as heads
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