I think it's finally time to take a serious look at bowling. Lately, I've had a yen to bowl. I can't quite explain it - things change, I guess. Maybe all this time I've just been in denial about really wanting to bowl. Or maybe there's just a time in life when one's attitudes change about bowling. Genetically programmed, something like that.

I haven't exactly made it to an alley yet, though. Now that I want to bowl, no one wants to bowl with me. I mean, people have said that if they did bowl, I'd be the first person they'd do it with. A few people have said they used to bowl but gave it up. I know there must be people out there who do bowl, but I'm just not encountering them.

Maybe I'm not very much like people who bowl and that's why I'm not running into them. I know it would be impossible to come up with an average bowler profile, but what qualities might it be likely for a bowler to have? What kinds of professions attract bowlers? What kinds of other interests might appeal or not appeal to people who like to bowl? Does the interest run in families? (Could it be genetic?)

Does anyone know when bowling started and who invented it? Has the idea of it arisen independently in different civilizations?