Famous Rock Paper Scissors Moments

The $20 Million Auction (2005)

Japanese electronics magnate Takashi Hashiyama needed to choose between Christie's and Sotheby'sto auction his company's $20 million art collection, which included works by Cezanne, Picasso, and van Gogh. He didn't compare fees. He didn't review proposals. He told both houses to play Rock Paper Scissors.

Christie's consulted the 11-year-old twin daughters of their international director. The girls advised Scissors, reasoning that "everybody expects you to choose Rock." Sotheby's considered it "a game of chance" and chose Paper with no particular strategy.

Scissors cut Paper. Christie's won the auction and the estimated $4 million commission. An 11-year-old's RPS analysis outperformed a major auction house's strategic thinking. This is the single greatest moment in the history of competitive hand gestures.

The Federal Court Order (2006)

Lawyers in a Florida federal case couldn't agree on even the most basic procedural matters. U.S. District Judge Gregory Presnell had seen enough. He issued this order:

"...the Court will refer the disputed issues to a Special Master, i.e., a game of Rock Paper Scissors, to be played at the front steps of the Sam M. Gibbons U.S. Courthouse."

A sitting federal judge ordered grown attorneys to settle their dispute with Rock Paper Scissors on the courthouse steps. He called their inability to agree on trivial matters "a waste of judicial resources." The order went viral. The legal profession had mixed feelings. The RPS community did not have mixed feelings. We were thrilled.

The World Championship Upsets

The World RPS Championships (2003 to 2009) produced moments that would be dramatic in any sport. They just happened to involve hand gestures:

• Rob Krueger's three Rocks (2003):In the inaugural championship, Krueger won the semifinal by throwing Rock three times in a row. His opponent couldn't believe he'd repeat it. He repeated it. Sometimes the simplest strategy is the boldest one.
• Andrea Farina's "Avalanche" (2006): The first female champion used the Avalanche gambit (Rock-Rock-Rock) in the final, proving that named gambitsaren't just theory. They're weapons with names.
• The 2007 crowd read: In a semifinal, one player appeared to change his throw at the last millisecond in response to crowd noise. Officials reviewed and upheld the result, but the incident led to stricter simultaneous-reveal rules. The audience, it turns out, cannot be trusted.

The MLB Rain Delay (2007)

During a rain delay between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cleveland Indians, players from both teams gathered in the dugout tunnel and organized an impromptu RPS tournament. Broadcast coverage helped introduce more baseball fans to organized RPS. These were professional athletes, paid to hit baseballs, spending their downtime playing a hand game against grown men from the opposing team. It was beautiful.

The Soccer Referee (2018)

In a youth soccer match, Argentine referee Sergio Bermudez realized the coin for the opening kickoff had been lost. His solution: Rock Paper Scissors between the two team captains. The video went viral. Bermudez was reprimanded. The internet was furious on his behalf. Many people correctly pointed out that RPS is arguably fairer than a coin flip because it gives both players agency. A coin is just sitting there. It has no agency. It doesn't even have a hand.

The Poker Showdown

At multiple World Series of Poker events, players have used RPS to decide who posts a blind or picks a seat. Poker players approach RPS with genuine strategic intensity because they understand that human throw patterns are exploitable. These are people who read opponents for a living. They bring the same energy to a three-gesture hand game. Several have publicly discussed their RPS strategies, which is adorable and terrifying in equal measure.

Robot vs. Human: The Unbeatable Machine (2012)

Researchers at the University of Tokyobuilt a robot hand that could play RPS with a 100% win rate against humans. The trick: a high-speed camera recognized the human's hand shape within one millisecond of the throw and formed the winning gesture before the human could perceive the delay.

It wasn't really playing Rock Paper Scissors. It was reacting to Rock Paper Scissors. But it raised a genuine question about what "simultaneous" means when one participant can see the future. The robot has since retired undefeated, presumably to pursue other interests.

Why These Moments Matter

Every one of these stories has the same thing in common: people turned to Rock Paper Scissors because they trusted it. Whether the stakes were $20 million, a federal court case, or rain-delay boredom, RPS was accepted as a legitimate way to settle things. That trust has been built over centuries of global history. Rock Paper Scissors isn't just a game. It's a universal protocol for fairness. And occasionally for deciding who gets the Picasso.