The birthday month of BINGO has been designated to be December, and we couldn\u2019t B (47, B-47…) happier. Happy Birthday BINGO! Now, we\u2019re not talking about the legendary farmer\u2019s dog Bingo, we\u2019re talking about the famously fun game that gives you a free space in the center of your playing card and the chance to yell its namesake when you win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Among communities of Baby Boomers and older, BINGO is a routine part of their daily lives, and a game many of our residents are quite passionate about, having played it in many different places, from church, summer camp, and even BINGO parlors years ago. And why not? It has been a fun, entertaining game for all ages for many years! Centuries actually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here\u2019s a little history lesson of one of America\u2019s favorite games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BINGO is nearly 500 years old. Its origins can be traced back to Italy in 1530, when it was known as \u2018LoGiuoco del Lotto D\u2019Italia\u2019. Two-hundred forty years later, the French caught on in the 1770s and adopted the game, naming it \u2018Le Lotto\u2019. Fast forward to the 1870s, and the Germans turned \u2018Le Lotto\u2019 into an academic game for children, tying in lessons in various subjects. But BINGO\u2019s appeal didn\u2019t touch Americans until the dawn of the Great Depression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BINGO started in the United States in 1929 (yes, less than 100 years ago), and was first played at a carnival in Atlanta, GA… where it wasn\u2019t known initially as BINGO at all. Believe it or not, it was called BEANO. It took a New York salesman named Edwin Lowe, teaming up with mathematician Carl Leffler, to develop around 6,000 combinations of numbered game cards to get the game to where it is today, and a fluke changed its name forever. One day while Lowe was playing BEANO with friends, testing out his numerical combinations on the BEANO game boards, a guest mistakenly shouted out the word \u2018BINGO\u2019 instead of BEANO, and low and behold, the new name stuck and we have BINGO as it\u2019s known today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the 1930s, a Catholic priest approached Lowe about using BINGO as a church fundraising game, and that\u2019s why BINGO and the Catholic community in America have been so often associated together. And speaking of that clever New York salesperson Edwin Lowe, he also created another game popular with the senior community, the dice-rolling game known as Yahtzee. Note that both of these games end with the winners yelling the name of the game…nice!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 1973, Lowe\u2019s company was sold to Milton Bradley for the tidy sum of $26 million dollars. Today, that\u2019s the equivalent of about $175 million bucks. Milton Bradley is most famous for the family favorite The Game of Life<\/em>, although they\u2019re also known for Don\u2019t Break the Ice<\/em> and Twister<\/em> to name a few.<\/p>\n\n\n\n BINGO remains a popular daily mainstay activity among seniors, especially in retirement and assisted living facilities as it\u2019s played for recreational therapy, socialization and let\u2019s be honest, FUN! Residents remember the game from their younger days, it\u2019s very simple to participate and understand for all age groups, and the game participant limit is only for how many cards you have. Younger generations have adopted the game as well, incorporating the BINGO methodology, but bringing music into it and renaming it SINGO, or in some cities, Music BINGO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Want to pick up a game, either the original style, or a hybrid? Google \u2018Bingo in my area\u2019 and you\u2019re likely to find someplace to get your game on. One only has to stop into a Senior Living facility to see how fierce the competition can get!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Grab a card or two and celebrate BINGO\u2019s birthday for the WHOLE MONTH of December! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The birthday month of BINGO has been designated to be December, and we couldn\u2019t B (47, B-47…) happier. Happy Birthday BINGO! Now, we\u2019re not talking about the legendary farmer\u2019s dog Bingo, we\u2019re talking about the famously fun game that gives you a free space in the center of your playing card and the chance to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":332,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n