Did you know that ice hockey pucks used to be made out of cow dung?

 Did you know that ice hockey pucks used to be made out of cow dung?

People of all ages love the fast-paced action of ice hockey.

While you may already know some basics about playing the sport, you’ll be surprised at some of these weird and interesting facts about the game.

Brush up on the facts below, and suggest an “ice hockey” category at your next trivia night.

1. The Earliest Hockey Games Were Played With Chunks of Frozen Cow Dung.

This dates back to the game’s outdoor roots. For understandable reasons, modern athletes prefer the vulcanized rubber disc we all know today … although the game might be a bit more interesting if they brought back the old method.

2. NASA Uses “Two-Ton Hockey Pucks” to Train Astronauts.

In space travel, the threat of free-floating equipment drifting off is a very serious one. Houston’s Johnson Space Center prepares astronauts for this problem at the Precision Air Bearing Facility (PABF), which works like a gigantic air-hockey table and includes what the Center officially describes as a set of “two-ton hockey pucks” hovering over the floor. These are pushed around by aspiring astronauts. You can read NASA’s official report on these here.