cordilleran
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Forget the Micmac Indians. Although they enjoyed themselves with a similar winter pasttime, large flat rocks were the projectile of preference.
Look to the Scots -- or the Canadian Brits -- who in about 1800 found a way to wile away a frigid day on the ice and take winter boredom to a new level.
Whether you call it ice hurley or shinty, the game's the same: projecting a puck into your opponent's net. But there was a lot of experimentation before the game of ice hockey evolved into Stanley Cup status.
Rocks wouldn't do. The were too unwieldy due to variances in shape and density. Technology demanded uniformity and the Whittemore Brothers stepped into the competitive ice rink, so to speak.
What you have in your possession is an early prototypical ice hockey puck made of pot metal, literally anything that would melt and congeal in the kiln. It's weight helped it to adhere to the ice nicely. Granted, it took a little more muscle to move it about but men moved mountains in the day. There was only one problem. Should it become airborne in competition it would likely cause serious injury. Needless to say, early practitioners of the winter sport would definitely not qualify as Pepsodent models.
With new techniques in synthesizing rubber in the 1860s, metal hockey pucks soon lost favor with ice hockey aficionados and were relegated to the dustbin of history.
(NOTE: this information is written and dedicated to Rick, who urged me to write in a clear and concise manner in keeping with contemporary journalistic style).
Look to the Scots -- or the Canadian Brits -- who in about 1800 found a way to wile away a frigid day on the ice and take winter boredom to a new level.
Whether you call it ice hurley or shinty, the game's the same: projecting a puck into your opponent's net. But there was a lot of experimentation before the game of ice hockey evolved into Stanley Cup status.
Rocks wouldn't do. The were too unwieldy due to variances in shape and density. Technology demanded uniformity and the Whittemore Brothers stepped into the competitive ice rink, so to speak.
What you have in your possession is an early prototypical ice hockey puck made of pot metal, literally anything that would melt and congeal in the kiln. It's weight helped it to adhere to the ice nicely. Granted, it took a little more muscle to move it about but men moved mountains in the day. There was only one problem. Should it become airborne in competition it would likely cause serious injury. Needless to say, early practitioners of the winter sport would definitely not qualify as Pepsodent models.
With new techniques in synthesizing rubber in the 1860s, metal hockey pucks soon lost favor with ice hockey aficionados and were relegated to the dustbin of history.
(NOTE: this information is written and dedicated to Rick, who urged me to write in a clear and concise manner in keeping with contemporary journalistic style).
