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Posts with tag bowling alleys

Top 25 things vanishing from America: # 11 -- Bowling alleys

Filed under: Extracurriculars

This series explores aspects of America that may soon be just a memory -- some to be missed, some gladly left behind. From the least impactful to the most, here are 25 bits of vanishing America.

While you may be seeing your local bowling alley closing down or getting very old and decrepit, the sport of bowling is not disappearing -- it's morphing into other things. Most people think of bowling as what has become a tradition in U.S. -- ten pins at the end of an alley that get hit by balls that have two or more drilled holes in them. BowlingBalls.US claims there are still 60 million Americans who bowl at least once a year, but many are not bowling in stand-alone bowling allies. Today most new bowling allies are part of facilities for all types or recreation including laser tag, go-karts, bumper cars, video game arcades, climbing walls and glow miniature golf. Bowling lanes also have been added to many non-traditional venues such as adult communities, hotels and resorts, and gambling casinos.

If you've got the urge to bowl and want to find a bowling alley near you, go to Bowling Centers USA. New York has the most bowling alleys with 410 listed in the directory. Following clsoe behind are Michigan (393), Wisconsin (356) and Illinois (368). Only Washington DC has zero bowling alleys left, but those living in DC can travel to Maryland (95) and Virginia (101) if they feel the need to bowl.

Yes, ten pin bowling still has its followers, but there are other forms played both inside and outside. Popular indoor versions of bowling include candlepin bowling (eastern Canada and New England) duckpin bowling (mid-Atlantic and southern New England states), five-pin bowling (Canada), nine-pin skittles (Europe) and bumper bowling (primarily played at children's parties). Popular outdoor bowling varieties include lawn bowling, bocce ball, and petanque.

Read the entire series

Industries entering a world of pain

Filed under: Extracurriculars, Simplification

Scrolling through Forbes' new slideshow of America's Fastest Dying Industries can easily get the mind wandering on a Big Lebowski tangent. Okay, maybe that's a stretch. But, the fact that our nation may suffer a dearth of bowling alleys and beer seems a little disconcerting.

As part of this new feature, in conjunction with AOL Small Business, Forbes lists 10 U.S. industries that will most likely see a drop in output, revenue and employment in the next four years.

According to Forbes, the industries that had the foresight to adjust to change and diversify are doing the best. "While technology is changing the face of many industries," writes the magazine's Joshua Zumbrun and Brian Wingfield, "the firms within them are often doing quite well." AT&T and Verizon, for instance, are not worried about their outdated "land lines" since their wireless subscriber numbers are surging.