Are you a Pinball Wizard?

Today's guest blog is brought to you by Nick from the Pinball Blog. Who knew about all of these interesting facts regarding a pastime we have all taken part in?. 

Today's 10 Links a Day: 10 Things you might not know about pinball

1. There is still one pinball manufacturer actively making machines - Stern Pinball
   
   
2. The Addams Family pinball machine (1992) had the highest production run of any machine with over 20,000 units being made. It's still a sought after and collectable title today. (link to promo video on you tube)
   
   
3. In 1964, 17 year old Randy Gardner set out to break the record for sleep deprivation . Although his mental ability changed significantly during the attempt, he was still able to play pinball on day 10. 
   
   
4. Both the European Pinball Championship and the Pinball World Championship take place in the UK in 2009.
   
   
5. Pinball enthusiasts aren't exactly the hottest bloggers but Pinball designer Dwight Sullivan and event organiser Nick Bennett are among the few.
   
   
6. Did you know there is an average of 15 songs in a modern pinball machine. Along with 3500 parts, 1200 screws, nuts and washers, and 1/2 a mile of wire, taking a year to design. 
   
   
7. The first pinball machine with flippers was Humpty Dumpty in 1947 and the first pinball to talk was Gorgar in 1979
   
   
8. The French, British & Americans all have roots in the history of pinball , but it was British inventor Montague Redgrave (who had settled in America) who is widely accepted as making the first tentative steps towards what we regard today as pinball.
   
   
9. Ex-NBA player Todd MacCulloch is now a professional pinball player.
    
   
10. Pinball was illegal in New York from 1942 until 1976, when an enthusiast named Roger Sharpe brought two machines before the City Council. Years later he recalled for Newsday : "I gave a little discussion and then started to play. And. I told the Council members and the media, 'Look, there's skill, because if I pull the plunger back just right, the ball will, I hope, go down this particular lane'. And you could call it either skill or divine intervention, but the ball went down that lane, and that was it. The Council passed it six to nothing.