Impress your friends with these Bingo facts
Consider yourself to be a big fan of Paddy Power online Bingo? Well, we bet you don’t know about some of these surprising facts! Broaden your horizons and wow your friends with your newfound knowledge of the classic game.
- The invention of Bingo cards
Sometime after the game of Bingo hit North America, in 1929, Edwin S. Lowe, a toy salesman from New York, hired a mathematics professor called Carl Leffler, from the University of Columbia, to help him create over 6,000 combinations of Bingo cards, paving the way for the game that we know today. Whereas the basic concept of the game was developed around 1530, in Italy, and referred to as Il Gioco del Lotto D’Italia.
- Crazy inventor
As the co-creator of the Bingo cards, Carl Leffler allegedly drove himself insane after becoming completely obsessed with the creation of those 6,000 combinations, determined to ensure that none of them were repeated. Some people are just married to their work, aren’t they!
- Statistics
According to data collected over the years, Americans spend well over $90 million per week on their Bingo cards and games alone. Well, like they say, in for a penny, in for a pound!
- Combinations
There are approximately 552,446,474,061,128,648,601,600,00 possible number arrangements that you can find on each of your Bingo cards. So, lady luck really needs to be on your side if you stand a chance of winning a prize.
- Education
Bingo cards were once used by Germans as an educational tool in the 1800s, helping to teach people how to multiply and learn their timetables. They could brush up on their mathematics whilst also have a bit of fun marking off numbers on their tickets.
- Regulars
48% of all regular Bingo players have been found to indulge in a game or two of the classic every single day, as part of their routine. That daily game of Bingo is much like their first coffee of the day, or even brushing their teeth each morning – it’s an essential part of their day.
- Celebrity status
Bingo is a vastly popular game, even catching the attention of well-known famous folk, such as:
- Kylie Minogue
- Denise Van Outen
- Kate Moss
- Robbie Williams
- Cristiano Ronaldo
- Gary Barlow
- Elle MacPherson
- Cher Lloyd
The most noteworthy one of the bunch is most definitely Gary Barlow. Before he found his fame with the hit-band Take That, Barlow used to make a living as a Bingo caller in his younger years. His love of the game has remained strong throughout years, as he also incorporates the game into his tours, as a way to entertain his crew.
- Age-old classic
Bingo is actually one of the oldest games to be found in our history, having come way before our other favourites. Bingo is a shocking 365 years older than the first mechanical slot machine ever developed – the Liberty Bell, in 1895.
- Bingo capital
Out of all the areas in the United Kingdom, Bingo is found to be the most popular in Scotland. One in every five Scots regularly indulge in a game or two, whereas in the South of England, only one in 20 people play.
- World records
Bingo holds many different records around the world, one of the most impressive being created in 2006, when a huge Bingo event was held in Bogotá, Colombia. A staggering 70,080 people took part in this event, which was then recognised by the Guinness World Records committee.