John Turturro as Jesus Quintana in The Big Lebowski glow-in-the-dark bowling The National Bowling Stadium in Reno, NV

In an early episode of The Simpsons, Homer gives Marge a bowling ball for her birthday, intending to use it for himself. However, Marge vows to learn how to bowl, almost getting seduced by her bowling teacher.

In 1991, bowling equipment manufacturer DBA unveils The Lane Walker, the first computer-driven lane cleaning and oiling machine, which can be programmed to clean up to 50 lanes without stopping.

Bowling is a medal sport at the 1991 Pan American games.

Comedian Drew Carey, an amateur bowler, features the sport on The Drew Carey Show and stages an annual contest, where the winner wins a trip to Los Angeles and a chance to “bowl with Drew.”

Bowling lanes host laser bowling, cosmic bowling, glow-in-the-dark bowling, “rock and bowl” and fog bowling to lure younger players to the lanes.

John Goodman pulls a gun out to threaten a competitor who stepped over the foul line in the Coen brothers’ film The Big Lebowski.

The $47.5 million National Bowling Stadium opens in Reno, Nevada, in 1995, with 1,100 permanent seats overlooking 80 state-of-the-art lanes and a giant scoreboard.

Bowling puts actor Randy Quaid on its magazine cover and interviews him about the lowbrow bowling comedy Kingpin. "If we can't laugh at bowling, what can we laugh at?" Quaid asked.

After 35 years, ABC-TV drops the PBA Pro Tour from its sports lineup in 1997.