How Candy Land Was Invented During The Polio Epidemic
April 21, 2020
Candy Land is one of the most popular games ever invented. The board game continues to sell about 1 million copies every year.
But do you know how it was invented?
The game was designed in 1948 in the midst of the polio epidemic -- a disease that placed tens of thousands of children inside iron lungs, and many thousands more around the country quarantined at home.
A young San Diego schoolteacher named Eleanor Abbott invented the game while inside a polio ward, as a patient herself, with the hope of giving the immobilized children around her a momentary sense of freedom and mobility.
As a way of further connecting with the kids, Abbott featured on the game board an illustration of a boy with a leg brace.
The children loved the game so much they suggested that Abbott submit the game to Milton Bradley Company. In 1949, the game was bought by Milton Bradley and published as a temporary fill in for their then main product line, school supplies.
Candy Land became Milton Bradley's best selling game. And to this day, Candy Land continues to be popular, more than 65 years after the disease was eradicated.
It makes you wonder, what will be invented during this pandemic?
Click Here For The Most Popular On Sunny Skyz
Couple Rescues Prairie Dog From Their Dog's Mouth, Then Decides To Adopt It
My Girlfriend Gifted Me My Father’s Handwriting To Keep Forever
We Can’t Stop Looking At These Adorable Baby Loon Photos Taken On A Lake
This Couple Built A Grass Patch For Their Cat, And She’s Obsessed With It
This All-Black ‘Goth House’ In Indiana Is Going Viral. Wait Until You See The Inside
Meet Igor: The Fluffy Poltergeist Dog With The Most Unhinged Adoption Bio Ever
Baby Elephant’s Trunk Steals The Show In Adorable Treat Time Video
What Happens When A Man With A Hose Meets A Group of Kids? Pure Magic
Chicken Or Pigeon? The Internet Can’t Believe This Bird Is Real
Mom Surprises 4-Year-Old Son With First Apartment After 14 Months In Homeless Shelter
Bear Vs. Sprinkler: Hilarious Garden Moment Caught On Camera