31 January: Bingo

The Federation of European Bingo Associations was formed on this date in 2005. Here are ten things you might not know about the game of Bingo.

1. The game of Bingo evolved from an Italian national lottery which has been played since 1530. French aristocrats developed a taste for the game, where it was known as ‘Le Lotto’. Bingo as we know it was first popularised by a New York toy salesman called Edwin S Lowe when he heard about a game being played at fairs in Germany in the late 1920s. He reproduced the game for his friends, and named it “Beano” as players would use beans to cover the numbers as they were called, and call out “Beano!” when they won. Only one of his friends called out “Bingo!” by mistake and it stuck.
2. The word itself originated as slang used by British customs officers, used when the search of a suspected smuggler proved successful.
3. In the UK, 8% of the population play Bingo on a regular basis. 10% of all women and 5% of all men. And it’s not just old people, either, as many believe. Over one third of online bingo players are in the 25-34 age bracket. It’s also way more popular in Scotland, where one in five people play regularly, compared to one in twenty in the south of England.
4. Without Bingo, Catherine Zeta Jones might never have found fame: her dad won enough at Bingo to pay for her theatre school. A number of celebrities started their careers as bingo callers, including Simon from boy band Blue, Shane Richie, Russell Crowe, Kian from West Life and Chris Tarrant. Her Majesty the Queen was allegedly a Bingo fan, too, although when she won, she didn’t call “House!” (an alternative to calling out “Bingo!”) but would call “Palace!” instead.
5. Bingo cards were used in Germany in the 1800s as an educational tool to help students learn their multiplication tables.
6. In the UK, more money is spent on bingo tickets every year than on all footballing events combined.
7. Bingo cards are produced in strips of six, because it allows every number from 1 to 90 to appear across all six tickets. This way, a player can cross off a number each time one is called.
8. The most common winner’s name, statistically, is Margaret. So if your name is Margaret, you are more likely to win at Bingo than anyone else.
9. The average bingo game lasts between 3 and 6 minutes.
10. Bingo calling is almost a language in itself. “Eyes down” is what a caller says to indicate the game is about to begin and each number between one and ninety has a nickname or two. Often these represent rhyming slang such as “clickety-click” (66) or “Garden gate” (8). Others represent what the number look like, such as “legs eleven” (11) “two little ducks” (22) or “two fat ladies” (88). See below for some of the more interesting names for Bingo numbers.

1: Kelly’s Eye: military slang, possibly a reference to Ned Kelly, from Ned Kelly's helmet, the eye slot resembling the number 1.

9: Doctor’s orders: Number 9 was a laxative pill given out by army doctors in WWII.

10: At time of writing, Rishi’s Den, a reference to 10 Downing Street, the home of the UK Prime Minister. (previously Maggie’s Den, Boris’s Den, etc).

13: Unlucky for some, reference to 13 being seen as an unlucky number. Conversely, 7 is called as “Lucky 7”.

17: Dancing Queen. Not only a rhyme but the number appears in the lyrics of the Abba song.

21: Key of the door. A nod to the age of majority in the UK previously being 21. (It’s now 18.)

23: The Lord is My Shepherd. The first words of Psalm 23.

30: Dirty Gertie. A rhyme derived from the given name Gertrude, a nickname for the statue La Delivrance installed in North London in 1927. There was also a bawdy song called Dirty Gertie from Bizerte, a bawdy song sung by Allied soldiers in North Africa during the Second World War.

40: Life begins.

50: Bullseye, refers to the darts score; or 5–0, 5–0, it's off to work we go, referring to Snow White’s seven dwarfs.

53: Here comes Herbie! 53 being the racing number of Herbie the VW Beetle. Players reply, "beep beep!"

56: Was she worth it? Refers to the pre-decimal price of a marriage licence in Britain, 5/6d. The players shout back "Every Penny!"

57: Heinz varieties. Refers to "Heinz 57" slogan.

76: Trombones. Refers to the song Seventy-Six Trombones from the musical The Music Man.

77: Sunset Strip. From the 1960s television series 77 Sunset Strip.

80: Gandhi's breakfast. "Ate nothing", referring to his fasting.

90: Top of the shop. The highest number in bingo.

Character birthday

Sparkler, aka Ingrid Wheeler, is a nuclear physicist whose powers originate from exposure to radiation at the nuclear power plant where she worked. However, as well as the ability to emit high energy particles, the exposure has also given her cancer, which she knows will kill her eventually. Angry at the lax safety standards which led to the accident, and the refusal of her doctors to prescribe a drug which was effective against her cancer in the US, but was deemed not cost effective, she teamed up with Guy Fawkes, a man who was also angry at the government. Fawkes and Wheeler gathered like-minded individuals around them and formed the Gunpowder Lot, a group intent on overthrowing the government which they believed had wronged them all in various ways.