When each winner screams out Bingo! they call out the winning line, and if the numbers match, they select a prize from those displayed on a side table. I was drawn to one prize. This one...
I asked fellow members what it was. When no one knew, I asked the Bingo players. None of them knew, but there were plenty of guesses. So I did what every curious individual does nowadays. I asked AI. Actually, I took a photo of it using the picture icon on my phone's Google search bar.
The answer blew me away. No one had guessed it. It was a bocce ball picker upper.
A what?
So there you have it. It's a telescopic lawn bowls lifter. One mystery solved brought another into its place. What is a bocce ball (bowl) lifter doing as a prize in our backwoods, very rural, Ruritan Club's Bingo Night?
I'd heard of bocce. It's a sport, in fact, a Paralympic sport, one of two sports recognized by the Paralympic Games that aren't also Olympic sports. It's from the ancient, classical Greek and Roman world, which make sense that it has strong ties to Italian communities here in America. There's one near here, on the other side of the Catawba River from me: Valdese, North Carolina, settled by Italian immigrants in the late 1800's.
They brought this game with them, and their descendants still play it. The 2026 state tournament was there a few days ago. The gist of the game is to throw balls to land the closest to a smaller target ball. It's more complicated than that, a challenge that makes it a game of strategy and skill. How this strange-looking instrument ended up in our possession, I have no idea. That is not a question, I imagine, that an AI search will answer.
So much has been negative about AI lately, rightfully so, but there are uses for curiosity seekers like me. As an author, whenever I submit any materials, I am asked if AI was used for any of the creative elements of the book, the writing, illustrations, or the book cover. I truthfully answer "No." I am the true creator of what I present.
Instances like looking for the bocce ball picker upper have been the way I used AI. I check for names of plants by taking pictures of the leaves, and Bingo! there's an identification. How sad...I'm realizing now that inventions intended for the betterment of life can just as easily be used for any evils mankind might come up with. This brave new world isn't all that it's cut out to be.
Who can rein in AI? That is the question. In the meantime, if another weird item comes across my sights, I know where to look for an answer.
Gretchen
What an interesting find! If you want to observe BOCCE players in action or even play a game or two yourself, come visit me at Trilogy Lake Norman. The Bocce Club is extremely active and has even won some NC tournaments! It's a fun game to play. The only strenuous part is bending over to pick up the ball/s after you throw. :-)
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