Some
say that dice are the oldest gaming implements in the world. But
we're not necessarily talking about cubes with dots on them – we're
talking about fruit stones, flat sticks, sea shells, nutshells,
pebbles, and bones. People gathered these natural items, marked them (at least one side), shook them, and then rolled them or cast them down. (Maybe even blew on them, for luck!) Using knucklebones or sheep
anklebones for dice was so common, people still sometimes call
playing dice games “rolling the bones.”
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| Knucklebone Die |
Dice
games probably were played before the time of ancient Egypt, but
that early history has been lost. We do know that the ancient Egyptians,
Romans, and Greeks played dice games, and medieval Europeans as well.
Dice games also existed in ancient China, and dominoes probably
descended from dice there and then spread to the West. From the 1800s
on, cubical dice have become very common, and more recently
polyhedral dice became popular.
Play
Dice Games!
Also on this date:
National
Cookie Day
The
Muppets' Cookie Monster has declared December 4 “National Cookie
Day,” so be sure to munch on cookies while playing dice games! Or
hold a cookie swap day with your team, scout troop, or class.
(Everyone makes a batch of their favorite cookies and then wraps up
cookies in bundle of one to five cookies, depending on the size of
the swap and the number of cookies available to share. At the swap,
each participant gives every other participant one bundle of cookies
– and gets back bundles from all the others. Enjoy having LOTS of
different cookies to try!)
Celebrate
Chester Greenwood, the inventor of earmuffs.
Celebrate
Thanksgiving, Marshall Islands style.
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