Airsoft Gun History

The history of "airsoft" originated in Japan during the mid-1970s, mainly because it was illegal to own firearms by private individuals. The first airsoft guns available were spring-powered replicas of firearms that fired 6mm, plastic pellets or BBs. The gun then spread to China, Hong Kong, Korea, Taiwan and the Philippines and became very popular chiefly because of firearm restrictions in these countries.

The first airsoft guns were those air driven pellet guns, cap-type guns and spring driven pellet guns. The early Japanese air driven pellet guns were based on semi-automatic pistols. They were spring powered. The plastic pellet was propelled by air when the spring piston was released. In the cap-type guns, powerful an explosive cap was used to make the sound of gunfire and to eject the spent cartridge. In spring driven pellet guns, a spring was used to propel the pellet held between two small locks and released when the gun was fired.

Airsoft by definition is a sport where players simulate military or law enforcement combat by using airsoft guns (which look a lot like real guns, to add to the realism) and other airsoft gear. The game of airsoft was developed in Japan, where firearms were (and still are) almost impossible to get without resorting to illegal means. An alternative was developed, and that alternative was airsoft. Because of this, it is no surprise that airsoft is actually most popular in East Asian countries such as China, Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea (North Korea is more interested in using real guns!)

Unlike paintball, it is incredibly hard to tell if somebody has been hit. No splatters are made on the skin or clothes, and unless the person screams in agony or pain, you will not know if they are hit. That is why the game of airsoft relies on the “Honor System”, where players lift their gun up and say, “Hit”. Also, one player on each team is usually designated as a medic, to revive players so they can resume play. Weapon hit rules vary depending on the game. Usually, a weapon being hit is the same as the player being hit, but if the person has a sidearm, rules can be modified so that the person just is not allowed to use their primary and must instead only use the sidearm.

The three types of airsoft guns are spring, electric, and gas. Spring guns are usually cheap but can get very expensive if they fire at a high FPS. Electric, also known as AEG, guns are powered by a battery and the main advantage is that they are automatic, but are generally not very powerful unless upgraded. Gas guns are the most powerful, and gases supported include carbon dioxide, propane, green gas, red gas, and high pressure air (HPA).

Want a cheap yet effective, quality airsoft gun? Then check out http://www.mrairsoft.com, which sells lots of cheap airsoft guns.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Justin_Kander

Mattel, the famous American toy company had already marketed a product called “Shootin Shells” way back in the 1950s. These guns were identical to the spring driven pellet guns and had Stik-M-Caps that explode to emulate the sound of gunfire. In the 1980s, Daisy BB Gun Company manufactured spring gun models called Replisoft and Soft Air shot at each other by opposing players.

The popularity of airsoft guns in the United States and Europe began in the mid-1990s. There is continued growing interest in the west. In 2003, Daisy started manufacturing and marketing airsoft guns once again in the United States. “Powerstrike” is the brand name used by the company. Other manufacturers are following in Daisy’s footsteps and a host of different models have entered the United States airsoft gun market.

Airsoft Guns provides detailed information about airsoft guns, airsoft gun history, airsoft gun pellets, airsoft machine guns and more. Airsoft Guns is the sister site of Dirt Bikes Info.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kristy_Annely

Monopoly History

The history Monopoly is a storied one. The game was first mass produced by Charles B. Darrow in 1934 and then sold to Parker Brothers in 1935. The rest is history, right??? WRONG!!!!! Let me explain.

In 1903 a woman named Elizabeth Maggie (pronounced "McGee") came up with an idea for a board game she called The Landlords Game. She was a follower of economist Henry George and the game was designed as a learning tool to teach his single tax theory. The game was played on a board made up of 40 spaces arranged ten per side. The four corner squares were Mother Earth collect $100, Goal, Public Park, and Go To Goal. In the center space on each side of the board was a railroad. The rest of the spaces consisted of properties to be purchased and fines that had to be paid. Starting to sound familiar?

The Landlords Game was granted a U. S. patent in 1904 and saw production in 1906. Although sales were less than stellar the game did gain a type of cult following in the northeast. Most games were hand made and the rules were amended as the players saw fit. These players also added a touch of home to the game by changing the names of the properties to local ones.

The 1904 patent expired in 1921 and Ms Maggie (now Phillips) made changes to the game (probably inspired from the changes players had made over the last 20 years) and was granted a new patent in 1924. The new game had two sets of rules: one for the the Landlords Game and one for Prosperity (rules very similar to Monopoly).

Now the game was growing in popularity and began being called auction monopoly or just monopoly. A few individuals even copyrighted their own sets of rules. In 1932 Dan Layman took his version of auction monopoly and sold it to Electronic Laboratories in Indianapolis as the game Finance (his lawyers told him the name monopoly was in the public domain and could not be protected). This was the first version of auction monopoly to be mass produced. Electronic Laboratories soon licensed the game to Knapp Electric. (For more on The Landlords Game and the early history of the folk game monopoly see www.tt.tf)

Ruth Hoskins learned the game from Dan Layman and took it with her when she moved to Atlantic City. She and her friends played the game and changed a few aspects. A few of the spaces were rearranged (an erroneous memory perhaps) and most notably, the property names were changed to Atlantic City street names. Jesse Raiford was in this group of friends and is credited with doing much of the work on the game. This version was known as monopoly.

Raiford knew a man named Charles Todd and taught him the game of monopoly (at this time this version was still an auction type monopoly. There were no fixed prices for the properties, everything was auctioned to the highest bidder). Charles Todd had grown up with Charles Darrow´s future wife, Esther. The Todd´s invited the Darrow´s to their home for a monopoly night. Darrow was smitten. Darrow asked Todd for written copies of the rules. Todd had his secretary type these up and he gave them to Darrow. Charles Darrow never spoke to Charles Todd again.

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The History of Blackjack

ver the years the origin of Blackjack, like many other games, has eluded researchers for a long time and which continues to be hotly debated to this day. Till date there has been no clear consensus, but most agree it probably originated in French casinos around 1700, where it was called Vingt-et-Un which, translated, means twenty-one. Most believe it was probably derived from the French card games, Chemin de Fer, and French Ferme, which were in vogue at that time.

Another of its version was prevalent in Spain, which was called ‘One and Thirty’. The basic rule of the Spanish version was to reach 31 with a minimum of three cards.

A theory that’s also doing the rounds is that Blackjack was an invention by the Romans. It is believed that Romans used to play this game with wooden blocks of different numerical values. This theory holds some weight as Romans loved gambling, but that by no means confirms the theory.

Among the various versions of the game, ‘Vingt-et-Un’ or ‘21’ continued to grow in popularity and reach. It gradually spread to North America thanks to French colonists and soon after it was played throughout the continent. The rules were then different from those of modern or contemporary blackjack. Just to elaborate, in this form of Blackjack, only the dealer was permitted to double. Also, a betting round was there between each of the playing cards dealt.

The game was still termed ‘21’ when it gained popularity in Nevada in 1931 as the State first chose to make gambling legal. To draw more people to the game, some casinos then offered a special bet: A hand featuring either of the black jacks (the Jack of Spades or that of Clubs) plus the Ace of Spades would pay 10-to-1 odds on the lucky player's bet. Although casinos later discontinued this peculiar payout, the name ‘blackjack’ or ‘black jack’ remained, as the game is known today.

Blackjack was not conceived by any one person at one definite point of time. On the contrary, blackjack has evolved over centuries; it continues to evolve and grow even today, thanks to the Internet. Fuelling its popularity the online casino industry has developed various versions of the game which has truly revolutionized it.

Sources:

SportBet.com: Blackjack History
Wikipedia: Blackjack
GameAccount.com: History of Blackjack