The team sport of water polo
 began in Britain in the 1860s. 
 Originally, players rode floating
 barrels painted to resemble horses
 and carried sticks with which to
 hit the ball; hence, the name. 
 Eventually, the barrels and sticks
 were discarded and what was
 left was the ball and the net, much
 like soccer.  The object of the
 game is to get the ball into the
 opposing team's net.   There are
 seven players on a team, and the
 game is divided into 4 periods of 5
 minutes each with a 2 minute rest
 between each period.  

Water polo was first played at the
 1900 Olympics.  Only men
 participated then and only men
 participate now.  The U.S. won
 Gold once, in 1904, but they have
 had some success through the
 years, amassing 8 medals. 
 Between 1932 and 1976, the
 Hungarians dominated the sport,
 winning 5 of 7 Golds.  The Italians,
 Soviets and Yugoslavians have all
 won Gold in recent Olympics.