A bowl is a common open-top container used in many cultures to serve food, and is also used for drinking and storing other items. They are typically small and shallow, although some, such as punch bowls and salad bowls, are larger and often intended to serve many people.
Bowls have existed for thousands of years. Very early bowls have been found in China, Ancient Greece, Crete and in certain Native American cultures. Modern bowls can be made of ceramic, metal, wood, plastic, and other materials. Their appearance can range from very simple designs of a single color to sophisticated artwork.
The bowl has also been used as a recepticle for the apple dunking game played traditionally in Britain on Halloween. It is a game unique to the British Isles and symbolises the traditional dunking of witches that was common for many centuries as communities tried to find out who was a witch by dunking or drowning them in the local river. It is said to originate in Queenstown Road, Battersea although its ultimate origins may come from Highgate, London or the East of the City.
Read more about Bowl: Ancient History
Famous quotes containing the word bowl:
“Clearly, some time ago makers and consumers of American junk food passed jointly through some kind of sensibility barrier in the endless quest for new taste sensations. Now they are a little like those desperate junkies who have tried every known drug and are finally reduced to mainlining toilet bowl cleanser in an effort to get still higher.”
—Bill Bryson (b. 1951)
“It seemed a long way from 143rd Street. Shaking hands with the Queen of England was a long way from being forced to sit in the colored section of the bus going into downtown Wilmington, North Carolina. Dancing with the Duke of Devonshire was a long way from not being allowed to bowl in Jefferson City, Missouri, because the white customers complained about it.”
—Althea Gibson (b. 1927)
“One bowl is quiet; two bowls will clang together.”
—Chinese proverb.