History of Ping Pong

How ping pong has shaped world peace and computer technology

Is it the game or is it the name that accounts for ping pong's worldwide popularity? Likely it's a bit of both. The sing song quality of the game's title can be attested to by its use in the musical arts. Puccini's opera Turandot, for example, features three likable characters named Ping, Pang, and Pong. Even world politics have been shaped by ping pong, notably through the famous "ping pong diplomacy" that bettered U.S.-China relations during the Nixon administration of the 1970s. The game may have changed, but the history of ping pong remains as strange as ever.

Who invented ping pong?

Ping pong was a collective invention that emerged from the British upper classes of the late 19th century. Books of that era, such as Arnold Parker's 1902 primer Ping-Pong, the Game and How to Play It, indicate that ping pong existed as early as 1881. Table tennis and Gossima (likely related to the lightness of gossamer) were the first titles given to the game, and the first playing materials used in ping pong history were invariably books, cigar box lids, and champagne corks, suggesting a rainy day diversion for lawn tennis players or bored colonial soldiers.

The term ping pong was trademarked in 1901 by J. Jaques & Son Ltd., right around the time that celluloid balls were introduced by James Gibb. Modern style ping pong rackets followed in 1903, when E.C. Goode stuck sheets of pimpled rubber to a wooden blade.

Modern ping pong changes

As ping pong's popularity has grown, changes have been made to tournament rules to make ping pong's rapid game play more accessible to spectators. In 2000, the International Table Tennis Federation changed the official size of ping pong balls from 38 mm to 40 mm to slow the action, and games were reduced from 21 points to 11 points to make them more exciting. Players are also no longer permitted to hide the ball in their palm during service.

Unusual ping pong facts

Ping pong played a large role in the development of both arcade games and the personal computer. Atari's Pong, a ping pong game released in 1972, was the first video game to achieve significant commercial success. Home and arcade versions of Pong would make electronic ping pong the gaming phenomenon of the 1970s.

As for the link between ping pong and the personal computer, it was while designing new versions of Pong for Atari that Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak developed the skills that would result in the creation of the Apple computer.

The 70s were a good decade for ping pong. In April, 1971, nine American ping pong players spent a week in China playing exhibition matches against the best Chinese ping pong players. (No, Forrest Gump was not actually one of them.) This ping pong diplomacy paved the way for President Richard Nixon's historic visit 10 months later.

Ping pong has since become the world's largest participation sport, according to the International Olympic Committee, which made ping pong an Olympic game in 1988. Today, over 40 million people play ping pong competitively worldwide.

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