Does anyone know why it’s the 8 ball that was picked as the ball that you don’t want to hit? Wouldn’t something more sinister like 13 make more sense?
I would think it’s simply because it’s the middle ball. One player is trying to sink all of the solid colored balls (1-7), the other tries to sink all of the striped ones (9-15), the 8 ball nicely divides the two groups.
In addition to being in the middle, it’s also clearly the “odd ball” because it’s the only one that isn’t a member of a striped-solid pair of the same color - no black-striped ball. You will note that the solid colors and stripe colors proceed in the same sequence, too, so that the striped ball of a given color is 8 plus the number on the solid of the same color.
Of course, in 9-ball, the eight ball is one of the solid balls, and it’s the lone striped 9 that’s the special “money ball” (9 ball is played with the 1 - 9 only).
I suspect the coloring and numbering arose the way it did so as to allow a lot of game variants.
In Snooker, it’s the 7 Ball which is coloured black. The numbered balls are numbered (1 each) 2 through 7, and the red balls (not numbered, total of 15 red balls) count for one point each. I’ve no idea what bearing this has on the 8 Ball being coloured black, but my WAG is “everything.”
Y’know, the solids are actually stripes, just really wide ones. :D:D:D:D:D
Awww… I thought this was gonna be a coke thread…
I thought this was going to be a Magic 8 Ball thread.
Ask Again Later…
The last time I played eight-ball, my worthy opponent was not impressed with my protest that, technically, the cue-ball was a solid, and I should therefore not be penalized for sinking it.