Eyes down, dabbers up – today, 27 June, is National Bingo Day.
Despite its reputation as something of a senior citizen pastime, the game has always had a special place in British culture and it doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere soon, with fans including the likes of Matthew McConaughey.
And when you can become a millionaire from playing the game, who wouldn’t fancy a chance?
Even though technically National Bingo Day is only being marked in the US, today is still a great excuse to learn who came up with bingo and how it became so popular in the UK.
How did bingo start?
It’s difficult to trace a definite origin of bingo, but most stories suggest that the game first began in Italy, originating from their traditional lottery game ‘Il Giuoco del Lotto d’Italia’ in the 1500s.
From there, the game was picked up by wealthy Frenchmen in the 1700s, who played a version known as ‘Le Lotto.’
This version featured 27 squares, laid out in three rows and nine columns. With numbers from 1-90 randomly arranged in the boxes, it’s this iteration that has grown into the game played in bingo halls and online today.
Like today’s version, ‘Le Lotto’ saw a caller pick a wooden number token and read the number out loud.
If players had this number on their card, they’d cover it and the first to cover an entire horizontal line would be crowned the winner.
The term bingo – and the act of yelling out bingo when you had a full line – was thought to come from North America.
A traveller and toymaker, Edwin Lowe, saw people playing the game as it had grown from Le Lotto, in which they’d try to cover a line horizontally, vertically or diagonally with beans once the number had been called out.
When the lines were full, they shouted ‘beano!’
He decided to make his own version of the game, introducing it to friends in New York using a rubber numbering stamp, a card board and dried beans.
As the game grew in popularity, it’s said that someone excitedly yelled Bingo instead of beano – and the bingo we know today was born.
Can bingo halls open on 4 July?
For anyone missing the game, Mecca – one of the biggest Bingo companies in the UK – confirmed 36 of their halls will reopen on 4 July.
The rest will have a staggered reopening throughout July and August.
Jonathon Swaine, managing director of retail at Mecca Bingo, said: ‘We want to reassure the Mecca Bingo community that we are working together to take every precaution necessary to create a safe environment in which to play the nation’s favourite game.
‘We’re also investing in new entertainment formats in our clubs, to give everyone even better experiences. We are excited to reopen our doors, welcome back our communities and hear “House” called once again.’
The list of Mecca halls reopening can be found here.
Where did the bingo calls come from and what are some common bingo calls?
As the game was quickly picked up and became a popular pastime in the UK, we put our own spin on it.
The numbers got nicknames, given to them through a combination of rhyming slang, historical references (for example – number 9 is Doctor’s Orders, because that was the slang given to laxatives by the troops) and tongue-in-cheek references.
To this day, bingo callers will call the numbers out in their own way – and it’s become something of a twee tradition.
Common bingo calls
- Kelly’s Eye
- One Little Duck
- Cup of Tea
- Knock at the Door
- Man Alive
- Tom Mix
- Lucky Seven
- Garden Gate
- Doctor’s Orders
- Cameron’s Den
- Legs 11
- One Dozen
- Unlucky for Some
- Valentine’s Day
- Young and Keen
- Sweet 16
- Dancing Queen
- Coming of Age
- Goodbye Teens
- One Score
- Royal Salute
- Two Little Ducks
- Thee and Me
- Two Dozen
- Duck and Dive
- Pick and Mix
- Gateway to Heaven
- Over Weight
- Rise and Shine
- Dirty Gertie
- Get Up and Run
- Buckle My Shoe
- Dirty Knee
- Ask for More
- Jump and Jive
- Three Dozen
- More than 11
- Christmas Cake
- Steps
- Naughty 40
- Time for Fun
- Winnie the Pooh
- Down on Your Knees
- Droopy Drawers
- Halfway There
- Up to Tricks
- Four and Seven
- Four Dozen
- PC
- Half a Century
- Tweak of the Thumb
- Danny La Rue
- Stuck in the Tree
- Clean the Floor
- Snakes Alive
- Was She Worth It?
- Heinz Varieties
- Make Them Wait
- Brighton Line
- Five Dozen
- Bakers Bun
- Turn the Screw
- Tickle Me 63
- Red Raw
- Old Age Pension
- Clickety Click
- Made in Heaven
- Saving Grace
- Either Way Up
- Three Score and 10
- Bang on the Drum
- Six Dozen
- Queen B
- Candy Store
- Strive and Strive
- Trombones
- Sunset Strip
- Heaven’s Gate
- One More Time
- Eight and Blank
- Stop and Run
- Straight On Through
- Time for Tea
- Seven Dozen
- Staying Alive
- Between the Sticks
- Torquay in Devon
- Two Fat Ladies
- Nearly There
- Top of the Shop
MORE: Save £1,378 in a year with this bingo money challenge
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source https://metro.co.uk/2020/06/27/national-bingo-day-history-game-funny-bingo-calls-12911552/
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