Number 8: Are there different kinds of daubers? It’s only in the late 20th century that bingo daubers came about as a way to ensure that one clumsy bingo player wouldn’t ruin everyone’s day. (Some of these have even returned to poplar use recently with the advent of mechanised cash bingo.)

Over time, other marking methods came into vogue, including cards with sliding windows over the numbers or small, clear plastic disks in bright colours. All it took was a slight bump of the table to create a jumble of beans and a slew of inaccurately marked bingo cards. It was during the early 20th century that the game found its way to the shores of North America and quickly became wildly popular – with tournaments often sponsored as fundraisers by churches and NGOs.ĭuring the height of this mass popularity, the downside of using beans as markers quickly became apparent. In the early days, as the numbers were called, players marked their cards with beans – leading to the game’s first 20th century name: Beano. Dating all the way back to Italy in the 1500s, it made its way to France, Great Britain, and other parts of Europe in the 1700s. You may already know a bit about the history of bingo. Number 9: Where did bingo daubers come from?

Daubers of 80 to 120 ml are designed to last from four to eight bingo sessions without needing to be refilled. But real bingo aficionados are likely to prefer daubers with a larger capacity. Inexpensive daubers can be purchased in bulk and generally contain about 45 ml of ink. As numbers are called, a player uses the dauber to mark each called number on his or her cards with a transparent circle or other mark. More than a felt-tipped pen, a dauber is a small plastic bottle with a sponge-like tip and filled with translucent ink.

So without further ado, here are Winkly’s top-ten bingo dauber facts for those in the know… Number 10: What are bingo daubers anyway?īingo daubers are essentially a specialised type of ink pen used to mark paper bingo cards. While the notion of marking a bingo card may seem like a simple business, there’s much more to bingo daubers than you ever realised. Even more than a tool, bingo daubers have become the true bingo enthusiast’s ultimate fashion accessory, good luck charm, and form of self-expression.

Sparkly bingo dabbers