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Thursday
March 18, 2010 Since 1922 |
Lingo is more my game-o
By Natalie Whatley
Correspondent Published October 3, 2009 In a recent spate of bingo playing — twice in one month counts when I’d only played twice in the last ten years – I found myself sitting in a room, mind wandering off task as usual, and pondering what started it all.
The company at my table, which included the president (Mike Wadley) and treasurer (Jeff Whatley) of the group hosting the games, were not at all to blame for my lack of enthusiasm. We didn’t converse much because concentrated effort and good listening skills were required – especially when the caller veered from “straight bingo” and had the players trying to form letters and symbols. The tension was thick, and it was always easy to tell when many were getting close as the chatter in the room escalated.
And before anyone gets upset, this was a family event put on by the Bayer Employees Recreation Association and in no way constituted gambling – risking money on a game of chance or to hazard something of value on an uncertain event – which we all know is not legal here in The Great State of Texas. All I had to do was show up and play; no risk whatsoever save for the sodium in the pizza I couldn’t refuse which caused me to retain about five gallons of water the next day. It wasn’t pretty.
As the second bingo evening wore on and prizes were claimed from the table, the lone non-winner in our family became quite upset, “Bingo, the sport that I stink at!” Which immediately got me questioning whether or not is was a sport. Technically, the answer is no. But I think we’ve all seen some who take it serious, so I say it all depends on how one plays.
I took it so non-serious that I didn’t even want to yell, “Bingo!” when chance provided me a winning combination. Having everyone in a room looking at me causes what psychologists refer to as an anxiety attack, so I kicked Jeff and had him say it for me. Then I still had to stand in the middle of the room while my card was verified. Talk about stress!
What we know as the game of bingo today actually originated in 16th-century Italy as the state-run lottery “Lo Giuoco del Lotto D’Italia”, which still runs every Saturday. From Italy the game spread throughout Europe and was popular at carnivals and fairs. The American version came about through toy salesman Edwin Lowe when he learned of the game “beano”, while visiting a carnival on his way to Georgia in 1929.
Being in the toy business, Lowe made some cards and started using the prototypes to play with friends. One lady became so excited over having winning numbers that she jumped up and yelled, “Bingo!” Lowe thought the name was catchy, and it became an instant hit in the states.
Problems arose when Lowe’s original cards had number combinations that repeated too frequently and greatly increased the odds of winning. Great for the players seeking prizes, but not so good for those hosting the games. Lowe fixed the problem with the help of mathematician Carl Leffler, who was able to produce 6,000 cards – each had numbers jumbled in such a way that the chance of winning was small. The very same cards and number combinations are used today.
Finally, no discussion on the word bingo would be complete unless we also recall the song many of us sang as children. You know . . . “There was a farmer had a dog and Bingo was his name-o. B-I-N-G-O . . .” Just thinking about it brings the vision of toothless smiles on a school bus and the sound of little hands clapping.
At any rate, while I enjoyed the time spent with others, I’ll just sit and observe next time. There was a writer had a job and lingo was more her game-o. Bingo!
Natalie Whatley resides in Baytown with her family.
Correspondent Published October 3, 2009 In a recent spate of bingo playing — twice in one month counts when I’d only played twice in the last ten years – I found myself sitting in a room, mind wandering off task as usual, and pondering what started it all.
The company at my table, which included the president (Mike Wadley) and treasurer (Jeff Whatley) of the group hosting the games, were not at all to blame for my lack of enthusiasm. We didn’t converse much because concentrated effort and good listening skills were required – especially when the caller veered from “straight bingo” and had the players trying to form letters and symbols. The tension was thick, and it was always easy to tell when many were getting close as the chatter in the room escalated.
And before anyone gets upset, this was a family event put on by the Bayer Employees Recreation Association and in no way constituted gambling – risking money on a game of chance or to hazard something of value on an uncertain event – which we all know is not legal here in The Great State of Texas. All I had to do was show up and play; no risk whatsoever save for the sodium in the pizza I couldn’t refuse which caused me to retain about five gallons of water the next day. It wasn’t pretty.
As the second bingo evening wore on and prizes were claimed from the table, the lone non-winner in our family became quite upset, “Bingo, the sport that I stink at!” Which immediately got me questioning whether or not is was a sport. Technically, the answer is no. But I think we’ve all seen some who take it serious, so I say it all depends on how one plays.
I took it so non-serious that I didn’t even want to yell, “Bingo!” when chance provided me a winning combination. Having everyone in a room looking at me causes what psychologists refer to as an anxiety attack, so I kicked Jeff and had him say it for me. Then I still had to stand in the middle of the room while my card was verified. Talk about stress!
What we know as the game of bingo today actually originated in 16th-century Italy as the state-run lottery “Lo Giuoco del Lotto D’Italia”, which still runs every Saturday. From Italy the game spread throughout Europe and was popular at carnivals and fairs. The American version came about through toy salesman Edwin Lowe when he learned of the game “beano”, while visiting a carnival on his way to Georgia in 1929.
Being in the toy business, Lowe made some cards and started using the prototypes to play with friends. One lady became so excited over having winning numbers that she jumped up and yelled, “Bingo!” Lowe thought the name was catchy, and it became an instant hit in the states.
Problems arose when Lowe’s original cards had number combinations that repeated too frequently and greatly increased the odds of winning. Great for the players seeking prizes, but not so good for those hosting the games. Lowe fixed the problem with the help of mathematician Carl Leffler, who was able to produce 6,000 cards – each had numbers jumbled in such a way that the chance of winning was small. The very same cards and number combinations are used today.
Finally, no discussion on the word bingo would be complete unless we also recall the song many of us sang as children. You know . . . “There was a farmer had a dog and Bingo was his name-o. B-I-N-G-O . . .” Just thinking about it brings the vision of toothless smiles on a school bus and the sound of little hands clapping.
At any rate, while I enjoyed the time spent with others, I’ll just sit and observe next time. There was a writer had a job and lingo was more her game-o. Bingo!
Natalie Whatley resides in Baytown with her family.