|
UK
Casino Times
> Articles
22 July 2005
You Bet On What? (Part
2)
Weird Wagers From The
Past
We take a look at some of
the strangest bets from the history of gambling.
Players in internet
casinos and gamblers in general will know that the
popularity of novelty bets is growing.
However, there's nothing
new about placing bets on things that aren't directly
related to traditional gaming or sports, and these unusual
wagers have been going on throughout history. Here's a
selection of the strangest.
Ice
Breaker
In 1917, surveyors from
the Alaska Engineering Commission were trying to pass the
time by betting on when the ice on the Tanana River would
break so that boats could get through with their supplies.
The Nenana Ice Classic was born, a lottery that still exists
today.
Participants have to guess
when the ice will break up to the month, day, hour and
minute. To ensure precision, a tripod is planted in the ice
when the river freezes and attached with string to a clock
on the shore. The clock stops when the tripod moves as the
ice breaks up. So far, the lottery has paid out nearly $10m
in prize money. But before you start thinking about placing
a bet or two, bear in mind that you have to be a resident of
Alaska to play.
Walking All Over The
World
Businessman and playboy
Harry Bensley was bet £21,000 in 1907 at the National
Sporting Club in London that he couldn't walk around the
world unidentified. There were lots of bizarre conditions
attached to the bet, which was made between Bensley, John
Pierpoint Morgan and Hugh Cecil Lowther, 5th Earl of
Lonsdale. These included Bensley only being allowed one
change of underwear and having to complete the journey
wearing an iron mask from a suit of armour.
According to legend,
Bensley then spent six years on the road. Accounts of how
far he got vary, with some saying that he traveled as far as
Japan and some that he completed 30,000 miles of the
journey, ending the venture in Italy with the outbreak of
the First World War.
Horse
Back
In 1735, a German visiting
Britain won a bet when he succeeded in riding a horse
backwards from London to Edinburgh. It is said to have taken
him four days.
Over The
Moon
More recently, in the
1960s, a man called David Threlfall placed a bet at
William
Hill on a man
setting foot on the moon before January 1, 1970. The
bookmaker gave him odds of 1000/1 and Threlfall walked away
£10,000 richer when Neil Armstrong took the giant leap
for mankind in 1969. Now, of course, you can get odds on the
likelihood of the moon landings being a huge Cold War
hoax.
Fogg
Bound
In Around the World in
Eighty Days, Jules Verne tells the (fictional) story of
Phileas Fogg, who accepts a bet of £20,000 from his
friends at the Reform Club to attempt to circumnavigate the
world in this time. The story may have been based on the
adventures of George Francis Train, who managed to perform
the feat for real in 1870.
Click Here
To Read Read Part 1 Of This Series
Placed a crazy bet
yourself? Drop
us an e-mail and
tell us about it!
Return
to Articles index
Also see:
UK
Online Casinos
Reviews of the leading, approved UK online casinos. Includes
details of the free money welcome bonuses offered to new
players by the online casinos.
Online
Casinos Guide
New to online casinos? We take you through the process in a
friendly, easy-going way.
CasinoTimes.co.uk
is updated every day with the latest online casino and
gambling news.
Click
Here
to bookmark us and check us out daily!
|
