Stuff That Matters In Life

I like to read biographies of famous people from the children section of the library. The easy reading highlights interesting facts about well-known people that are not so well-known to me.

At dinner one day, while my family was talking about games to play in the swimming pool, we asked the question, “Why is that game called ‘Marco Polo’?” Then I wonder why he is so well-known. I know he’s an explorer to China, but didn’t know much beyond that.

So I checked out Marco Polo, To China and Back by Steven Otfinoski from the children section of the library.

I now know why he’s so famous.

But the book did not explain about the pool game.

A quick Google search gave a couple of explanations which are probably just guesses. My guess is that some kid learned about Marco Polo at school, thought the name has a nice ring to it and started blabbing that while playing in the pool one day. Next thing you know, it became a game.

Anyway, now I want to read Marco Polo’s own book, The Travels of Marco Polo, that made him famous.