US researchers say the slow-is-more-accurate rule generally applies.
In a series of calculations, they looked at the physics behind releasing a projectile with the human arm.
Their equations suggest a slow underarm throw is the best strategy for getting a piece of paper into a nearby bin.
Lead researcher Madhusudhan Venkadesan, assistant professor of mechanical engineering and materials science at Yale University, said faster throws tend to be less accurate.
This is because the ball travels in a nearly straight line, so any errors in the angle at which the object is released tend to be amplified.
In slow and curved flight paths, small errors in the angle of release have little effect, he said.
"What we find is that almost the slowest arc is often the most accurate," said Dr Venkadesan.
"We've compared these calculations to published data of people throwing into wastebaskets; we've compared it to a study in dart throwing."
In sports such as basketball or darts, the strategy depends on conditions and the trade-off needed between speed and accuracy.
For example, experienced darts players throw overarm at about 5.5 metres per second, optimally releasing the dart 17 to 37 degrees before the arm becomes vertical.
On the cricket pitch, fielders are more likely to strike the wicket with a fast underarm throw.
And in basketball, the underhand free throw, nicknamed "the granny throw", has a marginal advantage over overhand, despite almost disappearing from the game.
Accurate throwing is uniquely human - a skill relied upon by our ancient ancestors for hunting with spears or stone tools.
The researchers say monkeys also throw things, but they are really bad at it.
The study is published in the journal, Royal Society Open Science.
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People started fastening the padlocks to cables on St Botolph's Bridge, Boston, in Lincolnshire, after it opened in 2014.
The locks supposedly symbolise the everlasting bond between two lovers.
In recent years, the trend has spread across many parts of the UK - with bridges in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire targeted.
Lincolnshire County Council said it had to remove the locks because they could potentially damage the stainless steel cables.
A spokesperson for the authority said: "Unfortunately, some are starting to rust and it has become necessary to take them off to prevent further damage.
The trend has met with some criticism, with the No Love Locks campaign calling it "an epidemic".
One local woman also questioned whether the town was an appropriate place for such acts of love.
She told BBC Radio Lincolnshire: "I'm not sure Boston would be the romance centre of the UK."
The locks are being removed exactly a year after the bridge over the River Haven opened.
They will be kept at Boston Borough Council's headquarters in the town for 21 days if anyone wants to claim them back.

The BBC revealed in January it understood Adidas would terminate the deal as a direct result of the doping scandal sweeping the sport.
An IAAF statement on Friday said: "Our commercial relationship concludes at the end of 2016."
The original 11-year agreement started in 2008.
Sources told the BBC earlier this year it was worth, in terms of cash and product, as much as about $8m (£6.3m) per year.
Adidas said the decision was mutual and added "we would like to thank the IAAF for a successful and professional co-operation".
Scientists have calculated the optimal strategy for throwing something accurately - whether it's a dart or a crumpled-up piece of paper.
[NEXT_CONCEPT]
Love locks on a new river footbridge are being removed because of fears they are damaging the structure.
[NEXT_CONCEPT]
Adidas, the IAAF's biggest sponsor, has announced it is ending its sponsorship deal with athletics' world governing body three years early.