Seven identical bowling balls weigh the same as three identical canoes. If two of the canoes weigh a total of 56 pounds, how many pounds does one of the bowling balls weigh?
Let $b$ be the weight of one bowling ball and $c$ be the weight of one canoe. We have that $7b=3c$. Multiplying both sides by $\frac{2}{3}$, we have $\frac{2}{3} \cdot 7b=\frac{2}{3} \cdot 3c \Rightarrow \frac{14}{3}b=2c=56$. Solving this last equation for $b$, we have that one bowling ball weighs $\boxed{12}$ pounds.