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Bowling is one of the
most popular sports played worldwide
[1].
There are over 100 million people, in more than ninety countries,
who are engaging in the sport of bowling
[3] . Bowling has been traced
back to the Stone Age, Egyptians, and Romans
[1] . Records show that
the sport of bowling go as far back as 7,000 years to Ancient Egypt.
In those days, a bowling ball was considered a round object and a
bowling pin resembled marble bars. Apparently, these bowling balls and
pins were found in ruins of a pyramid. From Egypt, bowling moved to
Babylonia, Northern Italy and finally to the time of Julius Caesar. There are many variations of bowling. For example, the Italians referred to bowling as "bocce" which is very similar to lawn bowling. Lawn bowling is an English game that originated over 800 years ago. In addition to lawn bowling, the English also played other variations of bowling such as half-bowls, skittles, and ninepins. In 1455, indoor bowling first took place in London [1].
When did bowling come to America? Bowling did not reach America until the first Dutch settlers came to America. Although bowling was played with ninepins in Europe, when bowling was introduced in America, a tenth pin was added to the game of bowling. The tenth pin was added mainly, because in the 1840's, Connecticut Legislature outlawed ninepins because of its widespread of gambling [1] .
Bowling pins were set up
by pinboys who labored under grueling conditions
for only five cents a game [2] .
But, in the 1940's, bowling took on a
new revolutionary twist. The automatic pin-spotter was introduced to the
game of bowling [1].
This was the most significant technological
advancement that had taken place in the game of bowling. This new
technology brought bowling into a new era and since then, bowling has
continued to advance in its equipment and technology. For example,
many bowling centers today have added bumpers to their bowling lanes primary
for small children. The bumpers are placed in the gutters to prevent
children from rolling gutter balls. Then in the 1990's, many bowling
centers began offering Galactic Bowling. Galactic Bowling is when
bowlers bowl with black lights, pins that glow in the dark, and special
effects lighting and music. Because computer technology has advance so
rapidly, many bowling centers today also have computerized scoring which
keeps track of bowling scores automatically. Today, one out of every
three Americans bowls. In the United Stated, organized and competitive
leagues remain the foundation of bowling. Furthermore, more than 70%
of these leagues are mixed with men and women, competing in the game
of bowling.
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Created by Towanda Y. Jones
http://polaris.umuc.edu/~tjones2
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