Why Were the Bumpers Invented Before the Flippers?

I'm still stomped as to why the bumper was invented ten years before the flipper. However, please read my History of Pinball and visit my Photo Gallery of Pinball Machines. Did you know that on January 21, 1942, Pinball was banned in New York City because it was viewed as a game of luck (gambling) rather than a game of skill? Mayor Fiorello Henry LaGuardia celebrated by destroying a number of pinball machines in public. The ban was lifted in 1976. Photo: Pinball Machine ©image*after

• November's Famous Inventions