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The History of Bingo
Practically everyone has played the game of Bingo at some point. But most of us don’t stop to wonder about the history of this popular game. Actually, the history of Bingo is rich and lengthy, reaching as far back as the early 1500’s. Although the game’s present form originated in more recent times, looking back to 16th century Italy gives us a background of Bingo’s beginnings.
Bingo as State Lottery and Learning Tool
Lo Gioco del Lotto d’Itallia- that’s what Italy’s government in 1530 called their state-run lottery. This lottery wasn’t like lotteries of present day. The cards of del Lotto were more like Bingo cards, with columns and rows. Each space on the card contained either a random number, or an empty space. As the caller pulled out randomly-numbered wood tokens from a sack, he would call the numbers out loud for all to hear. Players would then consult their cards, and cover any corresponding numbers. To win del Lotto, a player had to cover an entire horizontal row.
Although del Lotto was the first Bingo-style game, other European countries followed suit with their own versions. In France, in the mid 1700’s, people played Le Lotto. And in Germany in the 1800’s, Bingo-style games became popular learning tools for children.
Beano – Bingo!
It wasn’t until the early 20th century that this game became a widespread American pastime. Edwin Lowe, a toy salesman from New York, was the man who brought us the Bingo we know today.
It all started at a small county fair in Atlanta, Georgia. Lowe was passing through on a business trip, and he happened upon a carnival booth that was full of excited game players. As the pitchman pulled numbers out of a cigar box, he would call them out loud, and players would excitedly cover the numbers on their card. What were these happy people playing? Well, they called it Beano, because they used beans to cover up winning numbers. If someone managed to cover an entire row, he would cry out, “Beano!” and he’d win a small prize.
Making Bingo Big
Immediately, Lowe realized that this game would be a hit. Upon returning to New York, he began having small get-togethers where a game of Beano was the entertainment of the evening. The current name of the game was said to be inspired by an over-excited player who mistakenly called out “Bingo!” instead of Beano after covering a row.
Putting his skills to work, Lowe began producing these games in two versions - a set of 12 cards, and a set of 24. It quickly became apparent that these amounts were not enough. People who wanted to have large Bingo gatherings had to buy multiple boxes of the same cards- which would usually lead to multiple winners. That’s when Lowe hired mathematician, Carl Leffler, to produce 6000 new cards with different number combinations.
Once this task was completed, churches and-social clubs discovered the game’s incredible fund-raising potential, and began to hold regular bingo gatherings for fun and funds.
Playing Bingo Today
Nowadays, Bingo is a popular activity for all types of people. There are still church games and casual players, but there are also Bingo halls, where people can play their favorite games and socialize with other who share their interests. Players can even visit a Bingo Community online or book passage on a Bingo Cruise- a week-long vacation filled with Bingo fun in the sun.
Who would have thought that a game originally called Beano could become so popular?
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