| istory of bowling dates back thousands of years. It is | | | | bowling pin set ups can now be found in almost every |
| believed by many that a passion for hitting a bowling | | | | country in the world, with an estimated 95 million fans |
| pin with an object actually struck humanity sometime in | | | | across the globe. |
| the Stone Age. This passion has never gone away, as | | | | The standard bowling pin of today has come a long |
| evidenced by the worldwide popularity of the sport. | | | | way, as well. Rather than stone or crude wood, a |
| As man evolved, so too did the game and its | | | | typical American bowling pin is made out of fine maple |
| trademark bowling pin design. Whereas the first pins | | | | wood. This type of pin is created using a lathe to form |
| likely were made of stone or another crude material, | | | | the shape. Once this is done, the wood is coated with |
| the pins of today have come a long way. Modern pins | | | | plastic and then covered with gloss. The idea is to |
| are precise creations typically made of wood. Each | | | | create a uniform set up that is fairly standard from |
| one is uniform in design specification down to the | | | | alley to alley. |
| thickness of the necks and the height they stand. | | | | The American bowling pin is a pretty strict creation. |
| The history of bowling marched forward from the | | | | The standards set by the American Bowling Congress |
| Stone Age into actual royal courts. The first mention of | | | | call for very stringent specifications. A standard |
| the game in written history involves English King | | | | bowling pin stands precisely 15 inches in height and is |
| Edward III who, in 1366, actually banned the game to | | | | not more than 4.75 inches wide at its fattest point. |
| force his soldiers to focus more on their archery | | | | They weigh in at less than four pounds a piece. |
| practice. From Edward's court, the game moved on to | | | | Although the standard American bowling pin is what is |
| the time of King Henry VIII. It was in Henry's time the | | | | found in most alleys, there are other options out there |
| game became one enjoyed greatly by nobility. | | | | in pins. The games played with them are a bit different, |
| In Colonial America, the game made an appearance | | | | but they still revolve around the same concept of |
| and was often associated with gambling. The bowling | | | | bowling to knock them down. Other types of pins used |
| pin count in this earlier form of the game involved nine | | | | in bowling games include the candlepin, the duckpin and |
| pins, rather than the 10 of today. | | | | the set up for five-pins. |
| The game enjoyed widespread popularity that stuck | | | | Bowling is a sport that has been enjoyed by people |
| following the invention of the automatic bowling pin | | | | through the ages. From the days before recorded |
| spotter in the 1940s. This little creation revolutionized | | | | history to the modern, computerized alleys of today, |
| the game and made it much easier for frames to be | | | | the heart of the game has always involved a bowling |
| reset. The game has become so popular, in fact, that | | | | pin in one form or fashion. |