You may or may not know some of these random facts about bowling. Bowling has a history so rich and deep, there are so many more facts to check out! So read up, and you might find a couple of these facts to be surprising!

1. “Knickerbockers” in New York is the first indoor bowling alley, built in 1840.

2. A pinsetter, or pinspotter, was a person who manually reset bowling pins to their correct position, cleared the fallen pins, and returned bowling balls to players.

3. Sir Flinders Petrie, a British anthropologist, found some objects in a child’s grave in Egypt that looked to be an early form of bowling. If his theory is correct, that would mean that bowling existed back in 3200 BC.

4. Bowling began as a 9 pin game. The game moved to the traditional 10 pins since the 9 pin game had been outlawed because of its link to gambling and drinking. It is still banned in every state other than Texas.

5. King Edward III outlawed bowling in 1366, so that his troops would stay focused on practicing archery.

6. Until 1905, bowling balls were made of wood! Can you imagine how difficult it would be to hit the pocket with a wooden ball? It's difficult enough to hit the pocket with a great bowling ball made of modern materials!

7. Bowling began using a ball without holes. The bowler would place the ball between their legs and then slide on their stomach to push the ball towards the pins.

8. Connecticut made bowling illegal in 1841, because it was often a source of gambling.

9. For his birthday present, bowling lanes were built on the West Wing of the White House for President Truman. President Richard Nixon later added a new bowling lane, because he and the First Lady loved to bowl.

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