The Sidewalk Game
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When new sidewalks are poured they are stamped with the year and construction company, presumably so that if they aren’t properly made they know who to blame. Our family has taken to playing a “game” where we try to find sidewalks from our birth years.
The dynamics of this game are mildly interesting. You have the most matching sidewalks at the end of your birth year and it only goes down from there as they slowly get replaced. (Also for some reason only the ends get stamped, so once the two ends are replaced you can’t “win” with that sidewalk anymore even if the middle survives.) Additionally the stamp often gets harder to read as it ages and the sidewalk wears down. So the game gets harder and victories more exciting over time.
We end up noticing certain areas with lots of matching sidewalks where lots of new construction happened in our birth years. We also notice areas with years that are frustratingly close, but have no matches. In general we become a bit more aware of how old various neighbourhoods are. As a bonus game, keep track of the oldest sidewalk you’ve found.
All in all calling this a “game” is a stretch, but it is a slightly interesting addition to routine walks and lets us learn a bit about the neighbourhoods we walk through. Sometimes we even pose for photos with our sidewalks just for fun.