It's because at the top of the leap the player is momentarily stationary as the initial upward velocity of the jump has been removed by the gravitational acceleration but the downward movement is yet to begin. At that moment the player has the maximum power and control over the header and seems to hang in the air.
Footballers aren't the only sportsmen to take advantage of this. A climber using momentum to extend their reach and reduce the strength needed for a move will aim to reach the hold at this "deadpoint", just as a cricketer going for a catch above their head will try to reach the ball at that point, and a basketball player going for the basket will dunk at that point.
pansapians
It's more about timing. As a (not very good) player, on the rare occasions I have managed to achieve what felt like hanging in the air. It's down to timing your jumps so that at the absolute top of the jump you are in the correct position to head the ballso it appears that you have more time than your opponents. Michael Jordan used to have phenomenal timing in this respect ("hang time" in basketball).
I would also suggest that there is a period just before and after you reach the apex of your jump that you are ascending/descending slowly so that there is an optical illusion.
Trundler
I am sorry to say that this phenomenon is rarely seen among the players of Stockport County.
Edgeley
What's the scariest film – The Exorcist?
The first time I saw Don't Look Now (Nicolas Roeg, 1973) it left me frightened in a way no other film has ever quite done. I knew something awful was going to happen. It is obvious from the whole tone of the film that this is not going to be a happy ending – but when it comes, there is a feeling of horrible inevitability and total shock at the same time. The remarkable thing is that it has the same effect over and over, at least for me; I've seen it six or seven times and I still find my heart in my mouth as the ending approaches. The whole film has a horrible cold and clammy feel to it, and the opening scene in particular is a masterclass in cinema.
MichaelRC
For me, Alfred Hitchco*ck's 1940 film Rebecca has to be one of the scariest. The intimidating Mrs Danvers and the spookiness of Rebecca's bedroom with massive drapes billowing in the breeze means I am unable to watch one of my favourite films alone.
Linda Aspin, Darwen, Lancs
Ghosts, aliens, vampires etc had already been done before (Nosferatu, by the way, freaked me out as a kid) but the subject of exorcism was relatively unknown at the time, at least on film: The Exorcist still ranks as scariest in my book.
RamonPinpin
If you want a really scary movie don't go past Tomas Alfredson's Let the Right One In. Don't watch it alone. You have been warned.
Jim and Jan Rayner, Lincoln
Why can I only find things in my workshop when I give up looking for them?
Is that you, darling? I keep telling you, standing in the middle of the room while asking me if I've seen the item doesn't constitute a search. You need to systematically go through the various locations in the room and try to recall when you last handled the item. You don't eventually "find" the item, having done nothing rational to locate it, you just come across it where you left it.
asnow
The only sure way to find any missing item is to almost tear the house to pieces looking for it. Then, weeping with frustration, go to a shop and buy a new one. You're guaranteed to find the original within 20 seconds of returning.
codfondler
More to the point: why do I find things in the last place I look?
RobDee
