When you freeze at your first rock paper scissors tournament you’re stuck playing rock. And as luck would have it, your opponent covers your anxious fist with paper and you’ve lost the round. Players in the Seattle rock paper scissors scene have different theories for the popularity of the sport. One says “People are looking for sort of strange things to do just because they’re entertaining.” Another, “rock paper scissors is so silly that it’s hard to look cool doing it, so people just relax and have a good time.” There may not have been much relaxation in the 2005 Sotheby’s versus Christie’s rock paper scissors match that decided which auction house would handle an art collection worth over $20 million. The game was proposed by the president of the company who owned the art collection and instead of using their hands the opponents wrote their selection on paper. Christie’s did research and consulted 11-year-old twins to formulate their scissors strategy. Sotheby’s depended on chance and went with paper. Nice try, but Christie’s wasn’t about to freeze up and go with rock.