How long has Bingo been with us? Isn't that so unexpected - Italy in 1530 or so.Cards, tokens, and the calling out of numbers - sounds like Bingo. Games like this were used to teach children spelling, animal names and multiplication tables in German in the 19th century.
In North America, its history is associated with travelling carnivals in the early 20th century.
And the name's history - perhaps one of the popularizer Lowe's friends shouting out Bingo in excitement. I guess she was supposed to shout out Beano.
There used to be commercial Bingo Halls. There was a time when churches and charity organizations used these as fund raisers. But things have changed - smoking not allowed in public, lottery licenses required for games of chance, and so on. And then we've moved on to other activities and games of chance.
Bingo is still in the mindset of the U.S. Most of the Guinness World Records are from the U.S. - they include the biggest bingo card in 2019, world's highest bingo game in 2009, fastest bingo jackpot in 2010, and so on.
Bingo gets around - it makes its appearance in novels. Here's one:
The Bingo Hall Detectives – Jonathan Whitelaw
"Jonathan Whitelaw brings the vibrant world of bingo to life, turning it into a stage for intrigue, secrets, and unexpected alliances. The story follows a reluctant detective who gets drawn into a case involving missing money and suspicious characters. As he investigates, he realizes that bingo halls are more than just places to play. Thus, they are communities where people form close-knit bonds. However, they can also hide dark secrets."
Do you remember when Bingo Halls were full, and the players were mostly smokers. With the bans on smoking the charity gambling revenues from bingo dried up. And that's all over the world. The UK called it Housey-Housey, although bingo has been its name for centuries.
I found this version that seem hilarious just to read about.
Bossy Bingo (also known as Cow Patty Bingo)—a raffle event conducted using a large area divided into many squares. Participants draw a number representing a square. A cow is then placed in the designated area. The prizewinner is the person holding the number of the square upon which the cow´s bowel movement lands.
There are lots of differences between countries. Callers announcing the numbers have traditionally used some nicknames to refer to particular numbers if they are drawn. The nicknames are sometimes known by the rhyming phrase 'bingo lingo' and there are rhymes for each number from 1 to 90, some of which date back many decades. In the UK in some clubs, the 'bingo caller' will say the number, with the assembled players intoning the rhyme in a call and response manner, in others, the caller will say the rhyme and the players chant the number.
I found the bingo lingo Calls for Australia: 1 – Kelly's eye. This bingo saying could be a reference to Ned Kelly, one of Australia's greatest folk heroes – but many think it's just military slang. 2 – One little duck. ... 3 – Cup of tea. ... 4 – Knock at the door. ... 5 – Man alive. ... 6 – Tom Mix/Half a dozen. ... 7 – Lucky seven. ... 8 – Garden gate.
There are long lists of bingo jokes:
How do you get nine grandmas to swear? Make the tenth one shout "bingo!"
My doctor told me I had a Bingo tumor. He said "Don't worry. It's B-9.".
A picture from a past spring - at Longwood's conservatory in 2013, with the beautiful Himalayan Poppies in bloom.
