A Serendipidous September 7th

While traveling in promotion of The Playmakers recently, I picked up a voice mail message from Tom Wannamaker, one of the board of directors for The Raggedy Ann and Andy Museum. Tom wanted some signed copies of The Playmakers in time for the 34th Annual Broomcorn Festival in their hometown of Arcola, Illinois. Since I was away from the office, (but a bonehead as you will soon read) I called him back and told him that I could not send him signed books until I returned, unfortunately after the festival.

Jump ahead a few days to September 7th. I am driving south on Interstate 57 with a truckload of books when I see a sign for Arcola. Arcola? Arcola, Illinois! (Insert Homer Simpson “Doh!” here). I pulled off the exit and fiddled for my cell phone. It was 9:00 in the morning and the museum was not open for another hour so I decided to call Tom at home. He answered and graciously gave me directions to his and his wife’s charming abode.

Tom is married to Joni Gruelle Wannamaker, the granddaughter of Raggedy Ann and Andy creator Johnny Gruelle. Tom and Joni could not have been more amiable as they greeted me with a cup of hot coffee and tales of their family legacy. Joni signed some of her books and two canvas tote bags (adorned with hand-drawn versions of Raggedy Ann and Andy) for my daughters. Soon it was time to head over to the museum.

The Raggedy Ann and Andy Museum is a must-see for any doll fan or fan of illustrative art. Johnny Gruelle was a gifted illustrator and many of this works are on display including early books featuring Mr. Twee Deedle and this gorgeous mural. I saw early versions of Raggedy Ann and Andy and even some of the original dolls hand-made by the Gruelle family in the 1920s.

Tom was delighted to give the tour. As he spoke, something dawned on him. His eyes darted to his watch and he announced a very special anniversary. Raggedy Ann was patented by Johnny Gruelle on September 7, 1915.

I recognize the name “Arcola” just in time to pull off the highway on Raggedy Ann’s 85th birthday. Now I ask you, what are the chances?!

Who? Clue? Who?

This fall, Home & Garden Television will air a sequel to their successful special from last year entitled Toys We Grew Up With. The producers of the show, Thea Flaum Productions, flew me up to Chicago to talk on camera about Wham-O, Uno, Rubik’s Cube a few other classics. Dan Lombardi and his crew were great fun and we agreed to keep in touch after the interview. As Dan builds his show, he is running into many of the same difficulties I had in building my book when it comes to acknowleding these inventors. Many are so unknown that finding pictures of them is akin finding photographical evidence of Big Foot.

For the Uno chapter of my book, I was able to track down a picture of Uno’s co-inventor, Merle Robbins through his family, who graciously allowed me to share the photo with Thea Flaum for their TV show. However images of many other inventors proved impossible to find. Dan called me looking for a picture of Eleanor Abbott, the inventor of Candy Land and Anthony Pratt, the inventor of Clue. Neither of us ever found what we were looking for. It wasn’t as if we were on the hunt for a hair follicle or toenail clipping. This wasn’t DNA evidence, this was just a picture! Dan and I both tried Parker Brothers/Hasbro (the US manufacturer of the game) and Waddington’s Games in England with no luck. We weren’t alone…

According to a New York Times article by Robert McG. Thomas, Jr., Waddington’s executives found themselves tangled in their own Clue mystery in 1996. Planning to celebrate the sale of their 150 millionth Clue game worldwide, they could not locate Anthony Pratt. They set up a hotline and called upon the English populous to help solve the mystery of the missing inventor. Finally, the case was cracked when Waddington’s received a call from a cemetery superintendent who reported that Anthony Pratt had been buried there in 1994. His headstone read “Inventor of Cluedo.” — The Playmakers.

The sheer anonymity of some of the inventors in The Playmakers is remarkable when you consider the impact their creations have had generations of families. Over 150 million games sold and a picture of the inventor is impossible to come by?!

Well, if we can not picture Anthony Pratt, we can certainly picture the suspects he made famous. And if we cannot see him, we can at least see to it that his legacy carries on. Thank you Anthony Pratt, wherever you are.

Click here for the current Playmakers Opinion Poll (Mrs. White is boring so we have “eliminated” her).

Radio Flyer Americana

On my recent book tour I relished the respites in rural communities along the way. I have made it a habit to mail my daughters postcards from the different states in which I travel, but I found my very own postcard in Indiana when I saw this Radio Flyer wagon on a porch. The sun was coming up and I was making good time, so I just took a few moments and daydreamed…

I could almost hear the screen door slam, smell the apple pie and feel the sway of the porch swing. I could almost smell the flowers, and hear the laughter of the kids who rode in this wagon. Almost…

Then I thought about who might live in such a quaint home. I thought of how long I’d been standing there gawking. I thought that perhaps an elderly woman was inside at that very moment, dialing the police to complain about a tall, strange man taking pictures of her house.

I thought I’d better get back on the highway.

John Spinello, Inventor of Operation comes to CHITAG

The Chicago International Toy & Game Fair was great. I came to the city a few days early to promote the event and tell Chicagoland that John Spinello, the inventor of Operation was coming over to play. John Williams of WGN and Kevin Matthews of KCKG were as spectacular as ever and allowed me the chance to introduce their listeners to a Chicagoan with a great story to tell.

In 1962, John Spinello was an industrial design student at the University of Illinois when he was given the assignment to design a toy. He scored the highest grade in the class with his electric game where players took a metal probe and carefully inserted it into different holes within an electrified box without touching the sides of the metal-framed openings….Two plates, one a positive charge and the other negative, were positioned parallel to each other and only a ¼ inch apart. When the metal scribe touched the bottom and the top plate, the scribe completed the circuit and the 12-volt lantern battery set off a 6-volt bell. “It was over-engineered,” John confessed. “It was loud!” But therein lies the fun of the game. Sparks flew, the bell rang and people jumped. — The Playmakers

John was awesome! He ended up staying the entire day, playing the prototype of Operation with fairgoers and personalizing the Operation chapter of the book. His prototype was a hit with kids, who jumped and laughed when the buzzer went off. He signed a copy of an original 1965 Operation game which we gave away at the end of the day. His advice? Play Happy!

So many people came up to him, shook his hand and thanked him for inspiring the creation of a game that they loved so much. It was wonderful to see another disserving inventor get some long, overdue recognition!

Next year is the 40th Anniversary of Operation.

ADDITION TO THIS POST 4/12/05

Someone requested a peek at the patent for Operation so HERE IT IS! At first, John’s game was called Death Valley. The object was to insert an electric probe into a series of spaces, holes and channels as you progressed along a board designed to look like a desert. As you searched for water (presumably in the many holes) you tried to avoid touching the metal sides of the openings. It was within the walls of Milton Bradley Co., that the premise of the game went from the desert to the operating table.

Visiting the Cabbage Patch

**NOTE** I can’t help you find a certain named Cabbage Patch Kid born on a certain date. You can try either Original Appalachian Artworks (706) 865-2171 (the originators of the CPKs) or Play Along (954) 596-2210 (the licensees or current manufacturers of the CPKs). Good Luck!

What a strange and wonderful trip it was. On the way to Chicago from Florida, I decided to take an hour and a half detour once I hit Atlanta and head up to Cleveland, Georgia and Babyland General Hospital – home of the Cabbage Patch Kids.

Built within a former doctor’s clinic, Babyland General is a charming, dream-like place. Once inside, I was greeted by a lady in a nurse’s uniform who politely told me I could begin my self-guided tour at any time. Bye-bye reality.

Call them funny looking, but don’t call them “dolls.” Cabbage Patch Kids may have a certain homely allure, but it was the elaborate fantasy surrounding them — the pretense of their being real — that drove their popularity from the start. While other dolls crawled, ate, cried, slept or mimicked some other human bodily function in an effort to create realism, Cabbage Patch Kids sustained an illusion that was bigger than anything the dolls themselves could do. They weren’t for sale, they were “available for adoption.” They weren’t found in any stores, only at “Official Adoption Agencies.” They weren’t made, they were “born” in a hospital staffed by women in white nurses’ outfits and a man with no medical degree named Dr. Roberts. — The Playmakers

I walked down the hall, past the preemies and knocked on the office door belonging to Dr. Xavier Roberts. No one answered. In the next room hung bottles of Imagicillin, the magic elixir that supposedly gives the Cabbage Patch Kids their inexplicable allure. Onward I strolled, looking for the magical Cabbage Patch when I stumbled upon a stork. Did he bring the dolls? I thought they were “born?” Oops, I meant “babies.” Doll is a bad word in Babyland. Once in the main room the Cabbage Patch proved to be more of a tree, under which grew little Cabbage Patch heads.

Then I heard the words I will never forget: “Paging Nurse Susan. Paging Nurse Susan. Mother Cabbage Patch is 10 leaves dilated and ready to give birth. Please report to the Cabbage Patch.” A few moments later and I witnessed the live birth of a Cabbage Patch Baby. It changed me forever. Note: Home movie coming soon!

Ironically, I would see the Cabbage Patch Kids again at the Chicago International Toy Fair a few days later, but more on that trip tomorrow…

A Warm Welcome at CHITAG

There are “remarks,” there are “speeches,” and then there are “Keynote Addresses!” The Chicago International Toy and Game Fair was a blast. A full report is forthcoming, but in the meantime here’s how I welcomed the crowd. I was not pelted by rocks or garbage and several kind souls complimented me, but I think it was a nod to the brevity…

Welcome to the Chicago International Toy and Game Fair or as we call it CHITAG. It’s the second CHITAG show in the “Second City.” Now New York may have more people, but this town has more fun. The largest toy trade show in the Western Hemisphere is in New York. Toy Fair. 50,000 people — but it’s not open to the public. Thousands of toy and games and not a kid in site. Well not here. CHITAG is your chance to preview some of the hottest toys and the coolest games before you see them in stores this holiday season. CHITAG and Chicago are second to none.

It’s ironic that we’re here playing on Labor Day weekend. Work is valued in our country, as it should be. But play is not valued enough. We hear it in the way we speak. We say things like “Good work!” and “Way to work.” Work is positive, worthwhile. Play on the other hand is often thought of as frivolous, a waste of time. “Quit playing around,” “Don’t play with that.” Well as any parent or teacher will tell you, PLAY is not a four-letter word! Play is how we learn and often toys and games are the vehicle through which that happens.

From the moment we grasp our first rattle, playthings help us to discover our world. We learn fine motor skills with Lego blocks and Lincoln Logs, counting and colors in Candy Land. Later, toys allow us to envision our futures, behind the wheel of a toy truck or through the eyes of a favorite doll. Then as young adults, we connect with friends and family over games like Apples to Apples and This Vs. That – two games incidentally that you can play here this weekend.

Toys and games have value and that’s what Mary Couzin had in mind when she conceived of this show. Inspired by Essen Spiel in Europe, a game and toy fair that attracts nearly 150,000 people, CHITAG is a rare opportunity to not only play with great toys and games, but meet the inventors responsible for bringing these marvelous playthings to life!

In this country, if you create a piece of music that sells a million copies, you’re on the cover of Rolling Stone. If you write a novel that sells that amount – you’re the New York Times best-seller list. But if you create the game of Operation – a game that hasn’t sold a million copies, or 10 million, not 20 million, or 40, but over 50 million copies – you’re relatively unknown? Unknown perhaps, but no longer uncelebrated. John Spinello the inventor of Operation is here this morning! (Stands up and takes a bow) I love that game! John is not alone. There are many other inventors here and maybe, just maybe they’ve invented the next 50 million seller. Maybe you’ll be the first to play it here at CHITAG.

Besides the inventors, other “characters” will be walking the show, including the Cabbage Patch Kids. Exhibitors have come from all over the world to bring you this fun. We’ll have entertainment on this stage throughout the fair, including hip hop feel good music from Dr. Cool and Pride and hits from Boots & Lace. There will be a live game show later and check the middle of your program for the Fiendishly Fun Toy & Game Quiz, which will also come to you from this stage. There are trips to Hawaii being given away as well as toys, CDs, games and books.

Today you can even participate in a game of Twister – but not just any game of Twister. We’re looking for 2,500 players to take part in the largest game of Twister ever assembled in the Windy City. This is all in preparation for next year when Mary Couzin and the people at CHITAG try to break the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest Twister game ever! So if you know your left from your right and your primary colors, you can join in on the fun too!

Toys and games are magical. When we are at play, we discover something about ourselves; we bond with our family and friends. We compete and win and lose and think and plan and learn and laugh…. We are most alive when we are at play.

So welcome to the Chicago International Toy and Game Fair! Let’s Play!

Back to Basics

The legendary LEGO brick revolutionized building play by giving kids more possibilities than the wooden blocks, Erector Sets, Tinker Toys and Lincoln Logs that proceeded its release in 1958. LEGO bricks coupled together easily, enabling even the youngest architects to create elaborate and semi-permanent buildings, quite literally in a snap. Maybe that’s why our latest poll was no contest. We asked, “What’s the best construction toy ever invented?” Here are the results:

As LEGO diversified to reach older kids, the brick went high-tech. In 1998, with the help of scientists from MIT, LEGO created a computerized building system called LEGO Mindstorms. The Bionicle came next and inspired a vast number of products based on the line include trading cards, video games, board games, pens, a sneaker made by Nike and a full-length feature film which was released this year. But as this article states, after a recent slump in sales,
LEGO is going back to the foundation on which it was built.

So it appears as though “The Brick is Back,” but as millions already know (and as our poll would indicate) it never really left. They are still stepped on by parents, sucked up into vacuums and lost under couch cushions everywhere.