Fun Facts About Bowling

Bowling has been around for a long time but just how long? Well, according to the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame, a British anthropologist found evidence of items related to bowling in a grave in Egypt. So, based on that find, it is said that bowling has existed since around 3200 BC. That was a really, really long time ago. Modern bowling as we know it today is far younger. Indoor bowling lanes made their debut in New York City in1840.

Bigger Is Better

Japan is the home of the largest bowling alley in the world. The Inazawa Grand Bowling Centre has an amazing 116 lanes. The second largest bowling centre, not surprisingly, is in Las Vegas. Right next to Vegas, in Reno, there is an actual bowling stadium.

Here are some other neat bowling facts in rapid succession:

• When all the pins are knocked down on the very first roll, the player gets a strike.
• A spare is when all of the pins are knocked down on the second roll.
• A ham bone is when a person bowls 4 strikes in a row.
• A wild turkey is when a person gets 6 strikes in a row while a golden turkey is when they achieve the coveted 9 strikes in a row.
• Bowling balls can weigh anywhere between 6lb and 16lb.
• Connecticut banned 9-pin bowling in 1841 in an attempt to curb gambling so 10-pin bowling was invented to bypass that law.
• In 1950 the first bowling games aired on television.
• Women began bowling in 1880 even though it was socially unacceptable to do so.
• The first bowling tournament for women happened in St. Louis, Missouri in 1917. There were 100 women that took part in the historic event.
• Many movies have been focused around the sport like Kingpin, Alley Cats Strike and The Big Lebowski.

Now get out there and have fun bowling!