The Origin of Bowling

Bowling was "invented" in 1892 by a student at Darmouth College who, frustrated over the recurring dryness of the oatmeal served in the dining hall, rolled his bowl of hardened slop down the length of the dining table, upsetting an array of glassware at the far end. The game quickly spread outdoors, where students rolled large bowls of dry oatmeal down the campus lanes attempting to knock over wine flasks.

Perceiving a danger, the alarmed campus faculty devised a more palatable variation of the game, which featured a ball with five finger-holes, specially marked indoor "lanes," and wooden pins. The sport, still called "bowling," caught on across the United States.

During WWII rationing, the number of finger-holes was reduced to three.