Well let’s be clear, ‘Marco Polo’ didn’t come from Italy

Today’s question: Where did the swimming pool game Marco Polo come from? Nobody knows. We only know that it’s an American game that started sometime in the 1960s. Just in case you don’t know, Marco Polo is a pool game in which one player is tagged “it” and closes his/ her eyes and calls out, “Marco’’ and the others yell “Polo,” So Marco has to find one of the Polos by sound.

Of course, Marco Polo was the son of a 13th-century Venetian jewel merchant who joined his father and uncle on an adventure along the Silk Road from Italy to China. Such a trip was really something at the time.

One idea about the game’s origin is that, like Marco Polo, the “it” player is never really sure where he or she is.

I doubt if that’s true. I would guess it’s just because Marco Polo is fun to say in sort of call-and-response way.

I’m wondering what happens to all those balloons that are released into the sky. When they deflate or burst they must come down to earth sometime. Isn’t that a bad thing when they get into our oceans, lakes, etc.

I hate to be a party pooper, but balloons really aren’t a great idea. Once they float away they pose a danger to wildlife, especially marine life, that might eat them and die because their digestive systems block up.

In its natural state latex is biodegradable. In the processed state it is not.

Plain old latex balloons start to degrade in the ocean after about five months. Big, shiny Mylar balloons last for years and years.