Bowling

             Bowling has a long rich history and is one of today's most popular sports. The earliest evidence of bowling dates back to ancient Egypt. In the 1930s a British anthropologist discovered equipment for a game resembling bowling that had been buried with an Egyptian child. If he was correct then bowling has been around since about 5200 B.C. .
             Modern forms of bowling can be traced back to the Middle Ages. In Germany, village dances and celebrations of baptism included a form of bowling. In England bowling began to be considered more important than archery. Since archery played a vital role in survival, Parliament outlawed bowling. In 1841, the Connecticut legislature outlawed "bowling at nine pins" due to all of the gambling that was going on. Bowlers evaded the ban by adding a pin and thus started the ten-pin game we now play today.
             There are three main things you need to bowl. You need a bowling ball, a lane, and pins. The bowling ball is made of hard rubber or plastic. The weight of the ball may vary from 6 pounds to 16 pounds. Bowling centers furnish balls for bowlers to use but many bowlers buy their own bowling balls.
             The lane is 69 feet long from the foul line to the head pin and 41 inches wide. The approach, where the bowler stands, is 15 feet long. There are also shallow, hollowed grooves called gutters that run along either side of the lane. There are two types of lanes used today: wood and synthetic. The wood lane is made up of two different types of wood. The approach and the first 15-17 feet of the lane are made of hard rock maple. The last 4 feet of the lane is also made of maple. The area in between is made of pine. The other type of lane used today is synthetic. These are sometimes referred to as "plastic lanes" but actually the synthetic surfaces are high pressure laminates with a melamine coating.
             The pins are made of maple, but may be either all wood or plastic-coated.