Friday, February 17, 2012
Booty: A Game of Bumpers With You, Sir...
For centuries, bumpers or as it was later known, pool, was a favorite sport among the wealthy and elite. Most people, not just the male of the upper-crust species, were partial to betting - if not addicted to it - and as anyone who plays these days knows, pool is a great game to bet on. You don't even have to be playing to lay down the coin. Many of our seafaring heroes were as wild about the game as monarchs like Charles II, Louis XIV and most of the English Georges. Horatio Nelson famously played quite well, even lacking an arm. I understand that wasn't the only thing he was good at despite his so-called "handicap".
Not a one of those gaming enthusiasts could have imagined the device pictured in action above. From Dman3150 on YouTube via the first mate, I offer a gyroscopic self-leveling pool table in action aboard the cruise ship Radiance of the Seas, and in dirty weather no less.
Warning: if you are prone to seasickness, watching all 1:29 minutes of this curious footage might not be the best idea.
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7 comments:
I don't know about Nelson, but I certainly want one of those.
Can you imagine how cool it'd be to be able to show guests your Haunted Pool Table?
As always, Undine, I like the way you think. It would doubtless be especially disconcerting in a candlelit room after the brandy had been brought out :)
Ahoy, Pauline! I like Undine's idea too! I still think it looks like it would pretty tricky to play on this table (especially for a lubber like me)...
I hate to keep bringing this up - like the lush I am - but also while drinking. I can stand up just fine in a heavy sea, even after a few cocktails, but playing pool on that thing would not just be a "no" it would be a "hell no".
How cool is that! I'd get good use out of it (precious little space, though - we'd have to install it in the pilothouse; betcha the skipper would ixnay that idea).
Seconding what Undine said - a harrowing game of haunted pool! :-)
Thank you for sharing.
Oh, and what else could Admiral Lord Nelson do with only one arm? Ummm - arm wrestling? ;-) hahaha!
Wally! So good to hear from you. Glad to hear your safe ashore once again.
I understand Nelson was quite the skylark in the rigging right up until Trafalgar. Something to be said for that. I'd happily leave the comments on "arm wrestling" to Emma, however...
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