Many stone-skipping aficiandos seek out thin and flat stones, to maximize their number of skips. Important new research indicates “potato-shaped” rocks may provide more dramatic results.

“If you’ve got a heavier rock, you can get a super-elastic response, where you get a single mega-bounce rather than lots of little bounces,” said Palmer. “There’s this almighty leap out of the water.

“It changes the game. It’s very satisfying if you can achieve it.”

That’s Dr. Ryan Palmer, an applied mathematician at the University of Bristol, and a man clearly doing what he loves.