The earliest examples were made from stones; they were also made from clay or glass. In Roman literature, there are references that the game of marbles was played with nuts. Roman children playing with nuts. Game of Marbles, Karol D. Mass production became possible in the nineteenth century when a German glassblower invented special marble scissors. In , a factory owned by Sam Dyke of Akron, Ohio, thanks to his simple invention of a wooden block with six grooves, started to create a million clay marbles per day.
Other businessmen jumped on the bandwagon and Akron soon became the marble capital of lateth century America. In , mass production of glass marbles began, thanks to a machine invented by Akron's M. His machine consisted of a screw conveyor made up of two grooved cylinders spun next to each other. A "slug" of molten glass was placed between the cylinders on one end and it was gradually carried down to the opposite side, simultaneously cooled and shaped into a sphere by the rolling grooves.
The design worked so well, it has remained essentially unchanged and is still the most common way to make marbles today. Watch marble production on "How It's Made":. Marbles were really popular throughout the early part of the 20th century, but World War II rationing, plus the utter chaos of the European Theatre, put a damper on the sport.
It enjoyed a brief resurgence in the s, and continues to be played today, but it has never been able to reclaim its title as a childhood institution. To the layman, a marble is just a marble. But if you're an experienced player, you probably have a half-dozen slang terms to describe the sphere in front of you. Marbles usually earn their nickname based upon what they look like, what they're used for, or the material used to make them.
For example, "aggies" are marbles that are made from agate, a type of stone. An "alley" can be a marble made of alabaster, but it can also be another term for a "shooter" or "taw," the large marble used to knock around the smaller ones, which are sometimes called "mibs" or "ducks. Sometimes the figurine is an animal, a character like Santa Claus , or even a real person like Teddy Roosevelt, at left. And if you can spot any of these marbles on sight, you're probably a "mibster," a term for someone who plays marbles.
In-game slang includes many phrases that have made it into the everyday lexicon. For example, to "knuckle down" means to put your hand in a position to shoot your marble, keeping at least one knuckle on the ground at all times. Tickets go on sale to members on Sept. If you have attended an event in the past, you can bring one Gingerbread house back to decorate. Additional gingerbread houses will be available for purchase.
Published: Updated: Evening with Elves The popular Christmas event is 6 p. Gingerbread Jamboree The event, where you decorate reusable gingerbread houses, will be held on Dec. Close Comments. View all. Although some of the first balls were made from clay and stone, these are not necessarily the ones that are most desirable.
Normally, the marbles that dealers want most are the ones handmade from glass in the s. Some of these were over two inches in diameter, especially the ones from approximately to These were made for an adult game that was played on carpets in Victorian homes.
Many of the early handmade and factory-produced American marbles are also very collectible. A marble from the Christensen Agate company, which went out of business after the Depression, is called the guinea. It was never that popular with children, so very few were made. There still are a couple of American marble factories.
The toys are also manufactured in Mexico. A number of artisans in the United States now make handmade marbles, which are pieces of art rather than playthings. Some of them are as large as six inches in diameter. Their vibrant, rich colors and unique designs make them one-of-a-kind beautiful objects to enjoy.
0コメント