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toys and games - events| 1299 | Italy | Italian tarot cards are first mentioned in a manuscript. They are used both for gaming and fortune telling, and the modern pack of playing cards derives from them. | | 1931 | | Alfred Mosher Butts of Rhinebeck, New York, invents the word game Scrabble under the name Criss-Cross. The first sets do not go on sale until 1946, under the name Lexico. Two years later the name Scrabble is adopted. | | 1948 | UK | The British solicitor's clerk Anthony Pratt develops the board game Cluedo. It is later marketed in the USA under the name Clue. | | 1958 | USA | The hula hoop is developed by the Wham-O Manufacturing Co. of San Gabriel, California. | | 1959 | USA | The Barbie doll, designed by Californian entrepreneurs Ruth and Eliot Handler, is launched in the USA. | | 15 December 1979 | Canada | The Canadian journalists Chris Haney and Scott Abbott invent the board game Trivial Pursuit; after initial commercial reluctance, a breakthrough comes when they sign a deal in 1982 with Selchow & Richter, the developers of Scrabble. This earns them an estimated $200 million. | | 1986 | world | Nintendo video games, including Super Mario Brothers, are launched and quickly gain worldwide popularity. Sophisticated programming and graphics ensure their success and by 1990 sales exceed $3 billion. | | 1995 | USA | The US electronics companies CyberMaxx and Virtual 10 launch virtual reality headsets for home use in the USA. | | 1997 | Japan | The Tamagotchi toy, a pocket-sized electronic (or virtual) pet that requires daily attention from its owner to continue to function, is launched in Japan. It quickly becomes very popular worldwide, both with children and adults. |
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