Thomas Fletcher, age 14, of Nampa, Idaho, for his question:
WHEN WAS PING PONG INVENTED?
The speedy game of Ping Pong, or table tennis as it is officially called, is popular throughout the world. The first known mention of a game resembling table tennis is a "miniature lawn tennis game" listed in a London, England, catalogue in 1884.
In 1891, Charles Barter took out a British patent for cork balls, clamp posts and rectangular millboard rackets. The game was played on a table. Just a bit earlier, in 1890, an American named James Gibb saw an indoor tennis game in England and introduced it into the United States with the addition of celluloid balls.
A British firm manufactured table tennis equipment and registered the name "Ping Pong" in England in 1900 and in America in 1901. Soon afterward, the firm sold the American rights to a company in Salem, Mass., named Parker Brothers.
The American and British companies established a monoply and dictated rules and equipment requirements. This led to a revolt by internationally organized players in 1921. As a result, the unpatented name "table tennis" became the official recognized name for Ping Pong.
During the 1920s, interest in table tennis increased tremendously.
In January, 1926, the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) was formed and world tournaments were held annually. Since 1957, the ITTF has held world tournaments every two years. The U.S. Table Tennis Association has been a member of ITTF since 1933.
Table tennis is played on a table that measures nine by five feet. The top must be 30 inches above the floor and must yield a uniform bounce of eight to nine inches when a table tennis ball is dropped on it from a height of 12 inches. The surface must be dark colored with a three quarter inch white line painted along each edge.
A net running parallel to the end lines divides the playing surface into two courts of equal size. The net stretches between two upright posts six inches high.
The celluloid ball used in table tennis measures four and a half inches in circumference. It weighs one tenth of an ounce.
The players in table tennis hit the light ball with small wooden paddles that are usually covered with studded rubber.
To serve in a game of table tennis, a player flips the ball up from his palm and hits it with the paddle. The ball must hit on the server's side of the net, bounce over the net without touching it and then hit the table on the other side.
The receiver must return the ball by knocking it back over the net so that it hits the table only on the server's side. A player must always wait for the ball to bounce before returning it. He scores a point when his opponent serves incorrectly or fails to return the ball legally.
Serves rotate every five points. The first player to score 21 points wins, unless the score is 21 to 20. In that case, play continues until one player gains a two point lead.