Archeologists in the early 20th century found that cave people played with small balls of clay and so begins the history of marbles. Early marbles were made of polished stone until the 1840s when a German glassblower perfected glass marbles. By 1903, glass marbles were mass produced in the United States.
 
Playing marbles involves a large “shooter” and smaller “ducks”. One popular game is ring taw, where a ring is drawn on the ground with the smaller marbles placed inside. Players then take turns flicking their shooter at the ringed marbles using their thumb. Each player gets to keep the marbles they knock out.
 
A world championship competition has been held in England since 1932. That first competition was won by Ellen Geary, a young girl from London.