| The act of trying to knock over a series of | | | | impossible for them to meet in the bowling |
| pins by rolling a round object towards them | | | | alleys where they usually gathered. |
| may not be new, but this great activity is as | | | | |
| challenging and engaging today as it was in | | | | To get around this law, the gamblers in the |
| the past. Archaeologists have found evidence | | | | area simply changed the rules of the game. |
| of bowling-type games from as long as five | | | | They added an extra pin to the bowling setup; |
| thousand years ago. This makes bowling one of | | | | thereby making their alleys into tenpin |
| the oldest sports on record, dating all the | | | | bowling alleys. The tenpin bowling alleys |
| way back to the civilization of the ancient | | | | were technically legal to own and operate |
| Egyptians. Every time you pull on your | | | | simply because they hadn't existed when |
| bowling shoes and head for your favorite lane | | | | Connecticut banned the game of ninepins. The |
| to try and hit a few strikes, you are | | | | game of tenpins proved to be more fun than |
| participating in a ritual that has amused and | | | | its predecessor, and ten is the number of |
| challenged humans since the year 3200 BC. | | | | pins that we still play with today. |
| | | | |
| Although the unique pedigree of bowling | | | | Once ten pins became the standard for the |
| hardly sounds like a recipe for one of modern | | | | game, the only aspect of bowling that |
| America's favorite family pastimes, the truth | | | | remained old fashioned by today's perspective |
| remains that the game is roughly ninety | | | | was the ball. The first modern bowling ball |
| percent derived from ancient Egypt and ten | | | | was not introduced until 1905. Before that |
| percent derived from nineteenth century law | | | | time, most bowling balls were made of a wood |
| dodgers. Add a splash of turn of the century | | | | called "lignum vitae," which was prized both |
| technology, and you have the modern game of | | | | for its light weight and its durability. |
| bowling. | | | | However, wooden bowling balls did not have as |
| | | | much spring or bounce as the materials we use |
| From what historians have been able to piece | | | | today. |
| together, the basic game of bowling did not | | | | |
| change very much between its inception at the | | | | The first rubber bowling ball hit the market |
| dawn of human culture and the middle of the | | | | in 1905, and was immediately popular. By 1914 |
| nineteenth century. At that time, the ancient | | | | a new rubberized plastic compound was created |
| game of ninepin bowling had caught on all | | | | specifically for use in bowling balls. This |
| over Europe and had made its way to the | | | | compound was known as Mineralite and its use |
| United States where it was a very popular | | | | transformed the game, enabling faster rolling |
| sport in the underworld community and became | | | | speeds and greater precision. This created |
| a favorite target for gamblers. This led the | | | | whole new styles of bowling techniques, many |
| government of the state of Connecticut to | | | | of which are still in use today by both top |
| pass an 1841 law that prohibited owning a | | | | bowlers and by young children who are just |
| ninepin bowling alley. This was an attempt to | | | | starting out. |
| fragment the gambling community by making it | | | | |