The Harlem Globetrotters made a basket from a 583-foot tower thanks to science

Tuesday was World Trick Shot Day, a holiday that celebrates, well, trick shots. The Harlem Globetrotters, trick-shot enthusiasts and creators of this holiday, celebrated the occasion by traveling to the Tower of the Americas in San Antonio, and dropping a basketball from 583 feet through a hoop. Of course, as the Globetrotters tend to do, they succeeded.

But how did they manage to make this happen? Aside from lots of practice, the way the ball moved as it dropped is all thanks to the Magnus effect, which was also used in this 2015 trick shot, as explained by YouTuber Veritasium:

Congratulations to the Globetrotters on a successful World Trick Shot Day, but also congratulations to science, the unsung hero of all trick shots.