Who Made It?

The game, Operation, was a college project. An industrial design student at the University of Illinois was tasked with designing a game or toy. The game was a hit with his fellow classmates and the idea was soon bought by Marvin Glass and Associates for 500 dollars (approximately 4000 dollars today)!

In the late 1800s, engineers invented an amphibious bicycle known as the “Cyclomer.” It was fitted with four stabilizing, inflated ball wheels that fold down when the user reaches water. Earliest demonstrations of the Cyclomer took place on the Rhine.

Jenga may sound like a made up word, but it's not! It actually comes from the Swahili word 'kujenga' which means 'to build'! The name was chosen because the game has its origins in Africa and because the whole point of the game is to continue building an ever more precarious tower from wooden blocks.