Bowling

Hi Puzzlers,
I am happy to report to you that my Nanny’s bowling league took first place this season! Nanny and the gang are in their mid-to-late 70’s so I feel this is inspiring news. In the early 80s I played as a spare on a team but never fully caught the bowling bug, though millions of people worldwide over the last 5000 years have. Bowling has become a great American pastime. It is a sport of the people and of kings.

Bowling is one of the oldest sports in history. Ancient artifacts, similar to items used in today’s bowling, were unearthed from an Egyptian tomb dating back to 5200 BC. “Ancient Polynesians rolled stones at objects from a distance of 60 feet - the same distance as from foul line to headpin.” Some claim bowling originated in Germany around 300 AD and was used as a religious ceremony for determining the absence of sin. German monks introduced the “game” to the masses and it flourished as a “customary test of faith.”

By the 14th century, bowling, in its many forms, had become so popular it began to interfere with the national archery defense practices in England, causing King Richard II and King Richard III to ban the game from 1327-1399. “During the regime of King Henry VIII, the game gained popularity and was played as a symbol of nobility and social status.”

“In 1841, Connecticut banned ‘bowling at the game of ninepins’ because of widespread gambling. Other states followed suit. It is popularly believed that today's game of tenpins was devised to circumvent the laws against the game of ninepins. Bowling has been banned throughout the world for the "evil it leashes on society."

Over 100 million people in more than 90 countries play the game, making it one of the most popular and universally loved sports in the world.

Happy Puzzling!