You have made it to Friday ya’ll, good for you! Here comes the weekend.
Today’s facts are brought to you by the letter, D for darts. I have always enjoyed throwing “real” darts at a board. They feel good in your hand. Make no noise when entering the board. And man there is just something about hitting a bullseye that feels Awesome!!!
Darts
- Darts were historically used in warfare in ancient history; skirmishers used darts of varying sizes, similar to miniature javelins. It was the practice of this skill that developed into a game of skill.
- There is a speculation that the game originated among soldiers throwing short arrows at the bottom of a cask or at the bottom of trunks of trees. As the wood dried, cracks would develop, creating “sections”.
- Before the First World War, pubs in the United Kingdom had dartboards made from solid blocks of wood, usually elm. They had to be soaked overnight to heal the holes made by the darts, and it was a messy business for the pub owner.
- Quality dartboards were first made of sisal fibers from the century plant or American Aloe plant.
The bundles of fibers were compressed into a disk an bound with a metal ring. The darts part the fibers but do not damage them. - Darts are popular in Britain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, the Scandinavian countries and the United States.
- A regulation board is 17 3/4″ in diameter and divided into 20 radial sections.
- Darts were initially cut down arrows or crossbow bolts!!
- The first purpose-made darts were manufactured in one piece from wood; wrapped with a strip of lead for weight and fitted with flights made from split turkey feathers. These darts were mainly imported from France and became known as French darts.
- Modern darts have four parts: the points, the barrels, the shafts and the flights.
- Barrels come in 3 basic shapes: cylindrical, torpedo, or ton.
- For competitive purposes, a dart cannot weigh more than 50g including the shaft and flight and cannot exceed a total length of 300mm.
- Playing Dimensions
- Height– The dart board is hung so that the center of the bullseye is 5 ft 8 inches (1.73 m) from the floor. This is considered eye-level for a six-foot man.
- Distance – The oche (line behind which the thrower must stand) should be 7 ft 9¼ inches (2.37 m) from the face of the board.
- Scoring darts depends on what game you are playing, and there are a lot of games!
- Regulation play dart board and possible scores:
Remember, you are NOT alone! Until next time — Jenn
SoulNotAlone 