VICTORIAN TENNIS RULE BOOK REVEALS GAME PLAYED BY THREE
TENNIS was a game made for three according to the first Victorian rule book. Our ancestors started playing the game outdoors for the first time thanks to a Birmingham lawyer who experimented with the sport. Instead of the Wimbledon as we know it with strict singles and doubles teams with no mixing of the sexes the early Victorians were MORE liberal. In a version called the Unicorn one player could play against two opponents. And while ladies were discouraged from playing - they were permitted to battle against the men. This means if Wimbledon was played the Victorian way we could be looking at a big female name like Serena Williams playing the likes of Murray AND Djokovic. History buffs of the sport insist the 1874 'Lawn tennis or Pelota rules of the game' by Thomas Henry Gem was the first of its kind. Former PE teachers Sue Elks, 69, and Christopher Elks, 68, from Wythall in the West Midlands explained the difference the modern game has with the tennis of yesteryear.
Other great stories
ANGRY GIRAFFE DESTROYS BIKE
AN ANGRY giraffe gave a bush-riding cyclist a scare when he stomped his £2K bike into the dirt .
ADORABLE OWLS CUDDLE UP FOR THE CAMERA
HUDDLED together on a branch, a pair of adorable Javan scops owls soak up the sun .
ENTER THE LOST WORLD
Some will get up close and personal with Mother Nature’s deadliest animals to get the perfect shot, posing the question, what lengths will a photographer go to for that all important picture? But in this case, the question should be what depths .
BABY WITH HALF-A-HEART MAKES THIS MOTHER'S DAY EXTRA SPECIAL
A miracle baby born with half-a-heart will make this Mother's Day extra special for her mum - as she was given just 24 hours to live .
PHOTOGRAPHER CAPTURES UNIQUE PATTERNS OF THE HUMAN EYE
A Romanian photographer has captured the unique patterns of hundreds of human eyes in a series of striking macro shots .
OSCAR PISTORIUS MURDER TRIAL
Oscar Pistorius entered a courtroom Monday for the start of his murder trial, walking past the victim's mother who says she came to court so she can ‘really look him in the eyes .
HOURS FROM DEATH: TOXIC SHOCK SYNDROME NEARLY KILLED ME AFTER LEAVING TAMPON IN FOR FIVE DAYS
A mother-of-one has told how she nearly died after contracting toxic shock syndrome from a tampon .
FROZEN BUBBLES CREATE STUNNING ICE CRYSTALS
A soap bubble lands on the frosty ground and creates a shimmering snow globe as crystals form around it .
DAD SET ME AND MUM ON FIRE - MUM WAS BURNT 65% OF HER BODY AND DIED TWO YEARS LATER ON MY 21ST BIRTHDAY
Amanda Bohm, 22, and her mum, Janet, 58, were the best of friends .
ANCIENT ABANDONED WEBSITES THAT STILL WORK TODAY
A host of websites that are almost twenty years old are collecting a cult following thanks to their retro appeal .
AMAZING 3D DRAWINGS
THIS may look like a dolphin through jumping hoops, but it is in fact nothing more than a clever 3D pencil drawing .
BRITAIN'S LOST MILITARY HOSPITAL
WELCOME to all that remains of Britain's once state-of-the-art military hospital where plastic surgery was pioneered for injured WW1 troops who survived the SOMME .