Trade 23: Acuball for wine

This was one of my favourite trades!

As a climber and boulderer (and an inveterate desk sloucher) I often get a sore back and other muscles which need tender but firm attention.

When I saw this peculiar item:

I was intrigued and felt compelled to trade for it. What did it cost me? The bottle of wine from Trade #9. [You might say then that this is the completion of a triangle trade for some Hemingway, Bulgakov and Melville].

Farewell, vino!

Here’s what I received:

(not shown here but also included was the little microwave-ring)

What the heck is it??

“Dr. Cohen’s acuball” is a softball-sized, nubbly plastic massage ball. The way it works is you put it on the ground and you roll around on top of it.

I know what you’re thinking: What a gimmicky rip-off! You traded a bottle of wine for a plastic ball?!

And when you google for the acuball, that impression doesn’t exactly change, either. Check out the marketing video; it screams late-night-TV-product:



The funny thing is, it turns out that I love my acuball. I honestly have no idea whether it works or not, therapeutically or clinically speaking. I’m quite ignorant about myofascial release, pressure points, etc.

But my subjective experience? It’s wonderful for massaging my back and glutes—as in, it feels painful but amazing.

I love rolling around on it. And yes, it works better than a lacrosse ball. The nubbins help isolate and target very specific spots, plus there’s a bit of give, whereas a lacrosse ball is super hard and tends to slip around. I also prefer it to a roller.

I haven’t tried heating it up yet; I don’t really see the point.

I can’t deny it seems super-hokey. But it really feels good. If you’re into self massage tools like Thera-canes etc., try the acuball out. It sells online for like $30.

I almost forgot to mention—one cool benefit from Bunz trading is that you get to see different parts of the city. This trade took me along Dorval Road in the west end, where I got to see this house completely decked out in Christmas lighting:

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Next—Trade 24: Post-it Notes for microcassette player loan
Previous—Trade 22: Tokens for 50 National Geographics

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