Illegal Bowling

[@cadencockburn]

Hopefully this doesn't come off as an irrelevant comment, but my Uncle Martin was actually the founder and former lead artist for Envisomation, the company responsible for creating those tacky bowling animations we've all come to know and love. I thought I'd share a little interesting piece of history as to how those came about, which is to say, it was by accident. My uncle was obsessed with traditional, hand-drawn animation his whole life, but was unfortunately not naturally gifted at creating it. However, come the late eighties, he was able to be an early adopter of learning how to produce 3D animation. This is because in the pioneer days of 3D, the difficulty came more in the learning curve for 3D programs, and less in so the technical artistic challenges that come with frame-by-frame 2D animation. Martin told me about how he initially designed a sphere (which was not a quick render, by any means) and crafted an animation of it rolling. From that point on, it's pretty easy to assume what happened next. But in case you can't infer the next several events, I'll explain them anyways. Martin's initial idea was to create 3D advertisements for marbles, which were being revived as a big trend in the nineties. He created ten individual marble animations and pitched them to both Cattailz Interactive and Hasbro, but was unfortunately rejected by both companies. They found the animations to be too crude and (although this interaction predates the term I'm about to use) uncanny valley for them to be aired on mainstream television. Naturally, Martin took to the bottle for a solid couple of months. However, aside from the divorce with his beautiful wife that ensued, this reliance on alcohol became a good thing. Every night he'd down an inhuman amount of everclear, bike to the local Pinhead's Bowling Emporium, and roll balls down the lane until he'd black out and wake up in the parking lot. One of these mornings, my poor uncle awoke with two broken arms. He was no longer able to bowl, but he'd still spend every night sitting at the venue's bar, wishing there was another form of entertainment in the building to take his mind off of the pins that he was unable to knock over. Naturally, he repurposed those old marble animations into the wacky bowling ones that we're all familiar with in the present day. Pinhead's across the country purchased these animations, and Martin created Envisomation as a result. Later on he would sell these animations to other top bowling establishments such as Spanky's Bowling Company and The Infinity Lanes. While my Uncle Martin may not be a household name, he is most definitely my own personal hero. So next time you knock down four pins and see the choppy 240p animation of a bowling ball massacring bowling pins dressed up as aliens, think of Uncle Martin. Think of persistence, think of ingenuity, and think of all the other underdogs out there in the world. If he were still alive today, I have no doubt in my mind that he could have pursued local politics and would have solved the global hunger crisis single-handedly. I love you, Uncle Martin.

[@VraccasVII]

Thank you for sharing Uncle Martin's story!

[@RealEsther]

thank you mr. cockburn for this wholesome text

[@staticfanatic]

"envisomation" nets literally zero google results. this story is nice but i don't believe it.

[@MartinDerTolle]

Do you have access to the renders? If so can you upload them? Also I'm curious about what program was used for making them. I'm somewhat doubtful of the legitimacy of this comment, since there are no search results for Envisomation on Google. But I also doubt that you would make this up, props if you did though

[@reckermatouvc]

That's a very emotional story, Mr. Cockburn

[@muppetbabybobby]

The Malcom in the Middle reference was a nice throwback in the Kid Leaves Stoop cinematic universe

[@NariGenghis]

Hahaha I thought the same thing. Even with that same degree of sassiness, since he only has 3 videos as of now.

[@trustmeimapotato4708]

Kid leaves stoop?

[@muppetbabybobby]

@@trustmeimapotato4708 that’s the name of the youtube channel that uploaded this video?

[@trustmeimapotato4708]

Holy shit im so dense that I didn't look at the channel even though I've watched all of his videos XD

[@panqueque445]

The 9 pin bowling ban sounds like whoever drafted that law really liked bowling and worded it to make it easy to get around.

[@JeanneHamada]

Definitely makes it so their bowling bros can still play. Also fancy seeing you here

[@faceless2302]

In my head, it's most likely a deliberate abuse of power and corruption. If bowling had some criminal element connection then it's possible it was "banned" to look good to the public eye for reelections, and also set up as easy to circumvent by the politician in order to pocket some mob money from mobsters running bowling setups as legitimate business fronts. The mobsters can keep their business and the politician makes some cash and wins the reelection for looking like a hero.

[@L_Train]

Maybe or it's just short sighted. Say they wanted to ban the billiards game 9 Ball. The law would state that all games of 9 Ball are hereby banned. Well, you could just play the exact same game but number the balls 10-18 and call it 18 Ball. Perhaps in both cases the loophole could ban "all forms or imitations of" said activities.

[@animalhouse8849]

I love all the old CG animations in this video. Those were always my favorite part of bowling as a kid.

[@thesupervideogamenerdmore3171]

They are not old. They use the same 90s engine and animations.

[@Alex-vm6ef]

They are easily still the best part of bowling

[@UrDomb]

If curling is an Olympic sport then bowling should be too

[@OtakuUnitedStudio]

It was for the 1988 Summer Olympic Games.

[@BigEvy]

I think both are pretty boring to watch. A great display of skill , but oh my goodness, it’s SOOOO boring to watch.

[@Misledgiant]

@@BigEvy agreed

[@kgpspyguy]

Shut the f*** up Donny.

[@martinsleis3852]

Don't pros like allways hit full?

[@panpsalt6757]

Every day you learn something new. Like the fact that BOWLING USED TO BE ILLEGAL

[@nignamedmutt7270]

This got me looking up silly laws. It's illegal in Kirkland Illinois for bees to fly over, or through the town's streets. In Idaho, It's illegal to shoot a policemen's tie off his neck. In Alabama It's illegal to walk backwards with an ice cream cone in your back pocket. The last one though.... is probably the most sensible(the police one is just too stupidly specific). Back in the day, horse thieves would put the ice cream in their back pocket, stand near someone else's horse, and afterthe horse got a taste, they'd just walk away and be all "WhAt's tHe BiG DeAl?! I WaS JuSt WaLkInG!!!!" I should mention, idk how many of these are still sctive(the last one is still active, I hope it isn't enforced lol)

[@rclark777]

As was football, pinball, boxing and women fishing alone on a Sunday.

[@LiEnby]

​​@@rclark777eah and women having any real freedom or like even rights.

[@BurgerFred1]

I just got the strange mental image of an ESRB label saying "Mature: Depictions of bowling"

[@EarthySmerky]

Wii Sports, Rec Room, Kinects sports and man more would get a big fat M Rating

[@girejorenh]

rated b for bowl

[@PlayerZeroStart]

@@EarthySmerky I don't think Rec Room would be affected, cause the bowling isn't part of the core package, it's created by other players. You could make the most violent, disgusting, blood-ridden world imaginable and it wouldn't affect the rating cause it's player-made content. Rating a game M for a fan-made bowling mini-game would be like suing an MMO for copyright infringement because the players used the tools to remake a character they like.

[@EarthySmerky]

@@PlayerZeroStart correction: Bowling is part of the core game

[@gengarguy8801]

@@PlayerZeroStart "Like suing an MMO for copyright infringement because players used the tools to remake a character they like." Nintendo taking down fan games on Roblox:

[@jaded151]

nice use of the bowling ally screens! those were lost online for the longest time actually, and it's great to see people remember them

[@OtakuUnitedStudio]

Hey there, Pickle Inspector.

[@gam8ligant]

pickle inspector jumpscare

[@messyjetski2549]

you can still find them playing at bowling alleys in small towns

[@Vailskibum]

I have a sudden urge to go bowling...

[@SirManfly]

Bowling 🎳 is racist 🤣🤣🤣

[@allot5530]

Cousin want to go bowling

[@projectciorba]

Bowl ;)

[@GP0011]

yes

[@vinnytheplayer5500]

Vale

[@MaxwellVador]

You’re filling EmpLemon’s hiatus nicely

[@mamarussellthepie3995]

My dad tells tales of a time where bowling was a community thing, and how he'd go with his chain smoking mom back in the 70's and 80's to the alley in town. . . Every single time we drive by the old bowling alley, I am reminded of a time where the internet did not exist!

[@Rackals]

Glad that bowling will be _spared_ from another ban

[@theunwelcome]

I hope they're not just waiting for an opportune moment to *strike*

[@dumbassesanonymous]

If they do i know a few people who will *split* from the us

[@fffrrraannkk]

@@theunwelcome As long as they stay in their lane we've got nothing to worry about.

[@lordofthesymbiotes78]

Everyone in this thread enough dad jokes

[@alexc8114]

If it isn't society really will be in the gutter

[@afterburner94]

1:42 can we all acknowledge the utter joy of seeing footage actually matching the topic spoken about at that very moment? Gracious edit.

[@pemo2676]

of all my time studying the tudors, i am FURIOUS that no one told me that bowling was banned except on christmas while supervised LITERALLY all my years of academy training, wasted

[@MasterMatter]

Funny, one of his wives Henry the 8ths was Anne Boleyn, bowling? That's my last name, always try to get free bowling because it's my last name, never works, good for a laugh

[@ghhn4505]

Never been a big bowling fan, but I never realized its importance and significance until watching this video. Great work.

[@LukeTheFantasticMii]

And now the comments sections is going out of control

[@pharmacywave404]

Shoutout to the Spyro music in the background

[@GurdevSeepersaud]

*bowls with 9 pins* "Stop right there! You've violated the law!" *adds extra pin* "...never mind"

[@apollothefirst]

“What you in for?” “Murder, you? “I went bowling”

[@arekusu.]

I'm glad I subbed to you, man. Interesting stuff. Can't wait to see where your channel goes. P.S. and a Wendigoon reference? Nice

[@codenamepyro2350]

Wendigoon is always appreciated

[@theopendoorev]

i literally just came back to subscribe to this channel yesterday, and in 5 hours he uploads?!

[@arekusu.]

@@theopendoorev maybe you're a clairvoyant or something, I dunno

[@paradoxmailbox]

wendigoon supremacy

[@Jedpee]

I wonder why this is in my recommended now

[@patrickmitchell9068]

Okay that's wild that 1. People try too ban bowling 2. How much impact bowling has had on tv

[@mattt.4395]

"too"

[@ShadowAkatora]

"Niko, It's Roman. Let's go bowling."

[@Hummeldon]

Fantastic video as always man. Always love to hear the Spyro music and sound effects too. Please keep doin your thing.

[@micheal5117]

very surprising this was made 9 months ago

[@valfrozz]

Very interesting how the map at 4:47 seems to resemble an inverted population map - that is to say, it seems as though the amount of bowling venues increases as the population density decreases

[@shonenjumpmagneto]

Huhhhh? Odd.

[@faceless2302]

welcome to the bowling alley conspiracy rabbit hole

[@mrziiz6893]

I love the use of the bowling screen animations! They fit in so well and it’s just a genius idea

[@jackcutter2]

Watching this after Twitter be like: 😬

[@liamhansolo1464]

Agreed

[@TheSultan1470]

What

[@limemaster4942]

Hey Niko let’s go bowling **gains 1 star**

[@PinoyBowlerGS92]

Bowling Fans cheering for Jason Belmonte *gains 5 stars*

[@PapaFlammy69]

Finally some good fkin content!

[@MsOops12]

Hey, it's nice to see you here

[@jobathatn1650]

2nd reply

[@NoahSties]

As someone who has bowled competitively since I was a child, this a fascinating and very well done mini-doc. :)

[@spinballwhizzkids]

love the use of the Spyro soundtrack and sound effects to support your edit. Very interesting documentary!

[@Yung_ammo]

The end of There Will Be Blood makes more sense now.

[@scottfly5917]

This is such a random topic, i also never realized how everywhere bowling is

[@DoritosAndMountainDew]

"I wanted to go bowling!" -Frozone, 2004

[@P_ckneck]

the hit king crimson song, 21st century bowling ban

[@2dan4me97]

1:04 can't say I was expecting King Crimson in this video

[@luizzeroxis]

Man I wish you posted the sources for all those weird 3d bowling animations, they look really... interesting

[@KidLeavesStoop]

Search "AMF bowling animations". The watermark appears towards the end of some of them

[@robbiewalker2831]

@@KidLeavesStoop 8:25: Hey, I like the movie, I just don’t think a sequel about Halloween is warranted. 9:20: Homestar: “Dang, Pom-Pom, you see that Golbol? That’s a nice Golbol!”

[@OtakuUnitedStudio]

For a moment there I was worried. "How could Stoop Kid have not used a clip from Kingpins?" And then 5 seconds later it played. Nice save.

[@sevendeadlysquids404]

"Hey Niko! Let's go bowling!" FBI OPEN UP!

[@dogman_2748]

This is the LCPD!

[@dddf27]

FIB*

[@eastbeast1379]

British Police

[@x-iei-x4725]

It's fib

[@dorocook1426]

the wendigoon joke caught me off guard

[@guyug6940]

Where

[@guyug6940]

Nvm i commented before I watched the whole vid like a dumbass

[@muggysubset3872]

8:25 yooooo elf bowling!!! That unlocked an old memory, I remember the creators or something would pop up and start chanting toga…. Great game

[@speedracer739]

Dude you are sooo underrated, I’m proud to say I was here from the start :)

[@Termina_]

I just found your texture archaeology video and expected to see a pretty big channel, was surprised to see you only had 35k subscribers. Your content is really high quality and fun to watch, hopefully more people will find these vids soon.

[@ArichDKC]

It's fate. I'm not even kidding -- I was invited to play bowling today, a rarity (I've only bowled I think 4 times in the past 15 years) but couldn't make it. Tonight about 20 min ago I was thinking of this channel and the Texture Archaeology video; I felt like rewatching it. The Simpsons Box video popped up as recommended (though I had seen it a few times a few months back)--and I decided to just click your channel and I saw there was a bowling video! Truly spectacular.

[@kristianTV1974]

I thought 'Grimey' lived 'above a bowling alley, and below another bowling alley'? (One of my favourite ever Simpsons lines). So I doubt he'd freak out about bowling being illegal!

[@mayhair]

he played that clip at the end of the video

[@eightH8H]

this appeared in my recommended and I know exactly why

[@thek_king]

THIS Dancing Bowling ball cursed af.

[@Garvant_]

I saw you're first video and thought "oh yeah this guys gonna be big" your content is top class

[@akwardawsomness]

not what i expected but hey, gonna watch it anyways, lmao

[@Qwilfish211]

I got an ad for a bowling game while watching this video

[@goldenhydreigon4727]

"Hey Niko, its your cousin. Let's go bowling." -Roman

[@elzeyd8962]

Not now Roman Im fighting the russian mafia

[@kennyphebus2528]

Looking forward to seeing this channel grow

[@sillybilly4710]

Bro your titles are clickbait but also not at all. I feel like I click on em just to decipher the mystery and the title is honest everytime lmao.

[@grande1900]

Seeing this in 2022, it's... strange.

[@percyneedstea6030]

I love your videos so much, simply because it's things I've never even thought about but am now interested in. Seriously, these videos are great and I love your content!

[@Guruc13]

Now this, this is a great time. Thank you for the editing, it's amazing. I can't believe I remember the bowling episode of Malcom. Take care, and thanks again!

[@DrewDoesThings]

Subscribing all those months ago was a wise choice. Another great video!

[@cstearry]

I was talking shit about how the skatepark was similar to the bowling alley today (a lot of sitting around drinking beers) and then I saw a weird history video about how bowling was illegal (“skateboarding is not a crime”) and skateboarding is in the Olympics this year(today actually) and then I found this video and I want to write my own essay.

[@OceanViewMusic2000]

Those animayed bowling clips were a perfect fit with your script

[@Sigh95]

Maybe it’s because of the automated machines involved, but I always just assumed bowling was like a 20th century invention. Had no idea how old it actually was.

[@RemnantCult]

Bowling is one of those skill based sports that I find fascinating and is probably the most approachable and cheap to get into.

[@PinoyBowlerGS92]

As well as less number of possible injuries than in any other complex sports

[@Dilbert1999]

How's it cheap to get into? Every game you play costs money unless you own your own bowling alley.

[@mrjellyfish6406]

At 4:17 my mind turned off and all I could focus on was the Spyro music playing in the background

[@name.is.myname]

Seeing rec room brought up in this video really brightened my day. Being a teenager and not having too many finances to worry about has allowed that game to become me and my girlfriend's primary source of income and my absolute favorite pass time. I know this seems a bit out of place but I just thought I would share my happiness with you :)

[@TheKToaster]

Sorry for the dumb question, but how do you make money in that game?

[@Pataganja]

Always a great day when you upload bro. I wish you had more content to binge! Best breakout KZbinr!

[@Hazamelis2]

I love how you always use Spyro music tracks, I just discovered that game this month.

[@callme_Sweetpea]

00:40 "even in America". America bans the most harmless things, so I chuckled at "even in America". Kinder Eggs is the most lethal thing on this planet, according to Americans, but please, have this M16 with your breakfast cereals!

[@OzzieTheHead]

I instinctively hit comment after hearing that

[@rubz1390]

Didn't realise bowling was that big in the US.

[@Blue-fg8vt]

We sacerfice children who can't bowl too our hamburger overlords. It's why our child obesity rate is so high.

[@tammyshead]

Waited sooo long for a new video, keep up the really good work

[@inyrui]

love your variety of content. you'll definitely blow up soon

[@thatguywithmyface]

Definitely watching this when I get off work

[@nick90s10]

did you watch it?

[@thatguywithmyface]

​@@nick90s10... I ... don't remember

[@Andy23497]

after recent events it should've

[@mb-mz4tg]

I freaking like this channel so much

[@shinypaintf588]

you're quickly becoming a fave of mine, i went to check what other videos you had and i already watched all without noticing

[@jekanyika]

6:22 Don't leave me hanging like that.

[@nvrndingsmmr]

Immediately recognized the Stewart Copeland Spyro music in the background. I love it!!

[@JJ-rl3zm]

Another upload!

[@p_Hak]

I can't beleive that bowling is the reason that Remedial Chaos Theory from Community exists. The more you know.

[@BenjaDoesGames]

The fact that a game revolving around rolling a ball towards objects on the ground was illegal just makes me question society

[@idna832]

You'll have to pull my copy of Monsters inc Bowling for Screams out of my cold dead hands

[@Swancorner]

Love your videos, dude

[@shiny_swan]

I'm proud to be a subscriber of this channel at its 4th month of life

[@XxjeffersonDkidxX]

*"Niko it's Roman, let's go bowling!"*

[@mori4549]

You're wayyyyyy too underrated man, keep it up!

[@dinospumoni5611]

damn your choices of clips to put behind what you're saying are excellent the fucking archery one with the bowling ball shooting an arrow at bowling pins lmao, the use of the bowling scoring screen as section headers, great stuff

[@flameguy21]

Imagine banning grandma (and everyone else) from playing Wii Sports. And I thought the world couldn't get any crazier. Edit: Scratch that, Wii Sports being rated T/M is a somehow even more bizarre timeline.

[@nkken3412]

lol i literally just subbed a few hours ago, and then the first vid in 3 months drop

[@davidferguson8040]

Oooh its you! I remember your other videos! Welcome back man

[@bikeh]

Bro this guy is so underrated

[@cirlu_bd]

you upload rarely, but you upload good ! Didn't expect to like this video so much, but as I had already watched your 3 other vids several time I finally gave it a shot despite my non-interest for the subject, and damn I got well entertained ! gg !

[@zLcx]

Great video, very much enjoyed it, keep it up!

[@acelessbros.3111]

That Wendigoon joke was hysterical. You deserve an accolade for that one

[@Jack-ht3fr]

Even in my country that historically never had bowling, now bowling alleys are common (since the 90's) because of the American movies.

[@instagritsinbound]

This is an interesting insight in to a subject I'd never given much hard thought. Happy I subbed!

[@ProtoPropski]

It sucks, most of the towns I moved to in the last 10 years has had Bowling Centers shut down, recently due to Covid before we arrived. I haven't played Bowling in an actual alley, in almost 15 years

[@RatbagTheCoward]

Thought I was going nuts when I heard Season of Ice music in the background. Really unique choice! Gonna revisit that game sometime lol.

[@reeseiannacone8074]

You had me at bowling being illegal but now I'm also learning... HOW FUCKING OLD IS BOWLING AGAIN?

[@isakts8576]

I love how this video contains lots of those strange bowling screen videos

[@Skullkan6]

This is probably my favorite video of yours.

[@tonytrilex2555]

How do you only have 4 videos you are really good at making these!!!