Who Was Marco Polo and How Did His Name Become a Famous Pool Game?

"Marco!"

"Polo!"

Many of us remember shouting these words in the swimming pool growing up without knowing anything about the man behind them. One person, with their eyes closed, would yell "Marco!" while the rest of the players, with their eyes open, would respond with "Polo!" helping the seeker locate them in the water, all while racing around to avoid being tapped. 

But what, exactly, did this game have to do with the Italian explorer?

Let's follow Marco Polo along his journeys to discover when (and if) the game intersects his life.

MARCO POLO'S LIFE

Marco Polo was born in 1254 in Venice, Italy, to a wealthy family of merchants. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, when he was 15 or 16 years old, he traveled with his father and uncle to the Mongol court, located in modern-day Israel, where they were tasked with delivering letters to the Mongol Emperor. From there, they journeyed through what is now southeastern Turkey and northern Iran, eventually reaching the Persian Gulf; an excursion young Polo would later document in a book called "Il Milione," which translates to "The Million" in English and is commonly referred to as The Travels of Marco Polo.

But their journey was far from over.

They traveled through eastern Iran and Afghanistan, where their expedition stalled for an entire year for reasons not clearly documented (though it’s alleged they were either struck with illness or detained). 

Historians who have read his accounts believe Polo also traveled to what is now modern-day Pakistan and Kashmir; the exact route remains uncertain as he and his family crossed the Central Asian Highlands. They eventually arrived in the Uygur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang, China, and found themselves on the Silk Road among believers of different religions (Buddhists, Christians, Muslims, etc.).

Parts of their travels through China remain undocumented, but it's thought they eventually reached the Mongol court, where they presented the letters to Yuan Dynasty emperor Kublai Khan. For 16 or 17 years, the Polo family remained in "the emperor’s dominions," living in various locations across China.

Many questions about their livelihoods and locations during these years remain unanswered. When Polo was 20, Kublai, very fond of the young man's travel stories, would send him on "fact-finding missions" across the empire. It's said he traveled as far as modern-day Burma on these expeditions.

Some interpret from his writings that he was appointed governor of Yangzhou between 1282 and 1287, but even that is debated.

Around 1290, the Polos accompanied one of Kublai’s daughters, a Mongol princess, to Persia, traveling by ship to multiple islands along the way, with the ultimate goal of returning to Venice and reuniting with their family. After a few bumps in the journey, including being robbed in what is now Turkey, they finally returned home to relatives who thought they had died and were surprised by their homecoming.

Not long after, Marco Polo was "taken prisoner by the Genoese" and imprisoned in Genoa, where he met fellow prisoner Rustichello, who helped him write about his travels through Asia. He was soon freed, returned to Venice, and lived a quiet existence until his death at age 70.

It wasn't until the 16th century that his biography, still filled with uncertainties and disputed tales,  became revered by many scholars and explorers. Yet others dismissed his travel stories as pure fiction, pointing to the many gaps along his route. 

FROM DESERTS AND SEAS TO THE SWIMMING POOL

So how is it that, thousands of years later, we turned the name of this merchant explorer into a swimming pool game?

According to Smithsonian Magazine, though much of his book remains open to interpretation, he described a "strange experience" he had in the Gobi Desert where he was "haunted with voices said to be from demons or spirits" that "fill the air with the sounds of all kinds of musical instruments."

It's also said that during a violent storm along the Polos’ expedition to deliver the Mongol princess to Persia, many ship passengers were lost at sea. Since visibility was low, they called out each other's names. 

Perhaps it went a little something like, "Marco!" "Polo!"

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