Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Fun Bowling Facts

I finally got to spend a lazy Saturday afternoon on the couch watching sports. After I turned on the TV and flipped through a couple of channels, I realized there wasn't any football to watch. Luckily, I was able to get a small football fix with the previews for Sunday’s Super Bowl. Once I watched a couple of different stations, I decided they were all pretty much saying the same thing, so I started searching for something else to watch.

I had plenty of college basketball games to choose from, but I didn't think any of them were going to be as good as the primetime game between Indiana and Michigan so I didn't bother. I ended up being wrong and missed out on Oklahoma State's big win over then No. 2 Kansas, but oh well, my life will go on.  

Bowling ball and pin
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Instead of watching college basketball, I spent a good chunk of my afternoon watching bowling. I know, it’s probably one of the last things a lot of people would decide to watch, but that’s what I did. I doubt it’s something I will do again, at least not in the near future, but it was an interesting experience. 

Watching on Saturday made me realize how popular bowling actually is. Obviously it doesn't have a high viewership like other sports do, but a lot of people play just for fun. After I came to this realization, I decided to learn a little more about bowling. Good ole Google gave me an abundance of information, but below are the facts I found interesting.
  • The height of a bowling pin and the circumference of a pin at its widest diameter are both 15 inches.
  • Bowling balls were made out of wood until rubber balls gained popularity in the early 1900s.
  • Twelve is the maximum number of holes a bowling ball can have.
  • The first indoor bowling alley, Knickerbockers, was constructed in New York City in 1840.
  • Inazawa Grand Bowling Centre holds the Guinness World Record for the world’s largest bowling alley with 116 lanes!
I also came across this article on bowling lingo which was pretty funny so check it out if you want to know a little more about bowling!