Ulaanbaatar, MongoliaFriday, November 6, 2009
We live at the edge of giant new housing complex whose name translates to "Rich Mongol Apartments." Construction seems to be nearing completion--or at least going into a "sleep phase" for the winter. At any rate, they recently planted a number of trees and installed what appears (in the summer) to be a fountain. But wait, what are those huge white things arranged around the center of the fountain? Dinosaur molars? (Mongolia is, after all , home to many of the world's most famous dinosaur finds.)
No, indeed, they are giant versions of sheep ankle bones, which are used in Mongolia in a game of chance called shagai. There are 4 different ways that the ankle bones can end up when they are rolled: horse, camel, sheep, or goat. As Wikipedia suggests, they seem to be one of the world's first dice games.
I recently developed a probability lesson for my students based on shagai, and we all had a fine time "shooting" ankle bones instead of dice. It makes for a much more interesting lesson because the probabilities of the 4 "faces" are not equal--unlike the 6 faces of a die.
Here is more from Wikipedia on shagai.
Here is more from Wikipedia on shagai.Pictured here: the huge apartment complex that is our home...
