A Box of Marbles - A Game of The Past

I wonder if kids even play with marbles now-a-days.  We had marbles when we were kids, but I don't think people buy them for kids anymore - probably because they do not talk, sing or teach you how to do math.  Well they can teach you math, but marbles can't talk and tell you if you are right or wrong.  Oh, yeah, and I'm sure they are considered too dangerous for today's kids.

I didn't realize there were so many games associated with marbles.  Mostly, we just thought they were pretty and tried to hit the marbles and see how far we could get them to go.     

We found this box of marbles that our mother had ordered from The Great American Marble Company.  Seems they were trying to get people to rediscover marbles.  They called it a sport and said that marble-like objects have been found in 2,500-year old Egyptian tombs.  Famous Marble players include George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln.  From across the pond, there was a gentleman from England called "Hydrogen Thumb."  Isn't that hilarious?

If you are going to play Marbles, you will need to know the language.  Aggies, mibs, bumboozers, hunching and snoogers - what does that mean?  Oh, that information is included with the box of marbles.

There are well over 50 marbles games and the rules and instruction for several of those games are also included with the box of marbles from The Great American Marble Company.  

While The Great American Marble Company offered different size bags of marbles, they also offered this box made of white pine, handcrafted and sanded, with over 100 small marbles and six shooters.  I did count the marbles and there were 117 small marbles including swirlies, cat's eyes, clearies and solid glass.  All made in the U.S.!