HISTORY BALL

In Africa, on the banks of the Nile River from time immemorial lived scarab beetles. The ones that roll up ground balls. Maybe Scarabs for 5000 years before Christ, people have learned to sculpt balloons of Nile silt?

Ball game - one of the most ancient forms of exercise. The ball began in ancient times in its history many times changed. His woven from grass, palm leaves, made from fruit trees, animal hair, were made of animal skins, woven from reeds, twisting of the tissues were cut out of wood, were made of leather, stuffing grass and sawdust. Ball and things like it, archaeologists have found around the world. Affects a variety of games and exercises with the ball in different nations

In ancient Greece, Rome and Egypt, the ball is not only loved, but ... respected. In Greece, it was considered the most perfect subject, as it was similar to the sun, so it had magical powers. Greeks sewn balls of leather and stuffed with some elastic material, such as moss and feathers of birds. And later guessed inflating air leather ball. This ball is called the "follis". Small Follises used for hand-held games, and large balls played games like football.

One day, two thousand years ago, in Rome, it happened. Gym teacher, called him Attsius passed by a butcher's shop, drew attention to the huge bull bubble. Pressurized air and tied with a rope, he was hanging over the front door - for beauty. The wind ruffled his bladder and bob on the wall, and it bounced! Bumped and bounced!? "Idea" - must have thought Attsius bought bubble, sheathed his house cover of the skin, and get the ball - light and bouncy!

The ball found in ancient Egyptian tombs (3500 BC), made out of leather and stuffed with dry straw, and the image on it reliefs suggest that the ball and ball games were used for a fun pastime. These children were playing ball pharaohs and their subjects. And in Egypt, "football", each of the two teams playing on the side of the gods. And won not for his own glory, but for the sake of the gods. They had the ball out of the tree, and drove it into the goal curved sticks. Were in Egypt as balls of leather and bark. A ball of fragile sandstone was only possible to throw caution to each other - from hitting the ground it could be broken.

In the North American Indians the ball was not a toy, and a sacred object, personifying the Sun, Moon and Earth. Eskimos ball game was also ceremonial activities that occur during the festival, which marks the victory over the mischievous mythical creature named Sedna.

The ball is made of rubber, "rode" to Europe from Central America. Local Indians made it from the resin, which is extracted from the bark of trees and cuts called "rubbers" (from the words "Kaa" - the tree and the "a-choo" - "cry"). We, the resin is known as "rubber". Rubber ball caught the eye of the traveler Christopher Columbus. The famous explorer was surprised to see that big and heavy ball bounces so high on impact. Columbus' sailors brought the ball to Spain, and the resilient bun quickly echoed throughout the civilized world. By the way, the game of American Indians with a rubber ball was actually ritual. But far from harmless. The game ended with the sacrifice, and the sacrifice was captain of the losing team.

The Aztecs were fans of ball games. According to some versions of the ball is made of rubber, on the other - of stone, in which case they play without the injured limb was impossible. The goal - to get the ball on the opponent's side of the field. If you could throw it in one of the two rings on the field, the team won once. Allowed to touch the ball only the knees and hips. Add spice to the game that the losing team was sacrificed. Results on the bet. You can put anything you like - even himself (as a slave). There are cases when the rulers lost entire cities.

In Japan, playing ball, both men and women.

To this day, in some countries, along with modern rubber, leather, inflatable balls, preserved balls, made "on an old recipe." In Japan, for example, has a favorite toy - a small speckled ball "temari". Children play with the onset of spring, welcoming the first sunny days - the memory of what was once the ball has been a symbol of the sun. Ball "temari" turned from wood and entwined with multicolored silk threads that form beautiful patterns.

The materials used for different goals, but the form was all the same - round. With the exception of a rugby ball. In the English town of Rugby loved to play ball. But, rag ball was fragile. Then the merchant William Gilbert took and sheathed leather pig bladder. The result was light and durable oblong ball.Still used in this form of the game ball.

In 1855, Charles Goodyear introduced the first ball is made of rubber. The use of rubber bolstering the strength of the ball.

Among the medieval sports were popular games such as "Jeu de Paume" in France, something resembling tennis, where the ball hit his hand, and "Sul" - the prototype of football that originated in England (IX century). Russian type game rounders came to Europe from India via the Middle East through trade and got its spread mainly among the rural population.

In Russia, the balls were different. In excavations in Novgorod found balls of different sizes, made of leather. Their children played in the XIII century. Jabberwocky last century played balls of light birch or heavy balls of tightly folded cloths. In the northern provinces of balls woven bast - straps made from the bark of birch, linden or willow. These balls inside were empty or stuffed with sand. In some areas, the balls were made of wool. Tuft of wool first rolled up until the ball does not make dense, then threw it into the boiling water, then it was taken out of the water, re-rolled and dried. This ball is light and soft, and on its elasticity was not inferior rubber.