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How to Sort Marbles

The game of marbles that children still play today was also played by ancient Romans. Marbles were even in existence in ancient Egypt. A German glassblower in the 1840s invented marble scissors, a device used to make creating marbles easier and their popularity has not slowed. In Akron,Ohio, there is a museum dedicated to marbles and their history. Because there are different types, colors, designs and materials used in their making, marbles can be sorted by category.

Things You'll Need

Cups or divided tray
Marbles

Instructions

- 1
  Take the cat's eye marbles and put them all together. A cat's eye marble is made of glass and injected in the middle with a different color, which makes it look like a cat's eye.
- 2
  Pick out all the steelies. Made of steel, steelies are sometimes colored, but you can tell it is a steelie because it is heavier then other marbles. Place all the steelies together.
- 3
  Sort out the commies. Commies are also known as "common" marbles. They are small and made of clay. Also, they are not colored in any way. Place all the commies together.
- 4
  Pick out all the shooters. Shooters, boulders and bumbos are all the same. These names are given to the largest marbles--the ones that measure from 5/8 to 3/4 inch. All the shooters stay together even if they are made of different colors or composition.
- 5
  Sort the pee wees. Pee wees are any marble smaller than 1/2 inch. Group the pee wees all together,even though they come in all different colors.
- 6
  Take all the clearies and put them in your cup. Clearies or "crystals," as they are sometimes called, are made of glass. These marbles come from all over the world and are made in different colors and designs.
- 7
  Look for any puries that you might have. Puries are an opaque marble made of any single color. Group these marbles together.

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