As I prepare to leave The Strong after 37 years on the museum’s curatorial staff, I’ve been reflecting on highlights from my career. The museum has seen incredible changes over those decades and moved from a sleepy museum focused on how everyday Americans lived between 1820 and 1940 to a vibrant institution that draws more than 600,000 guests every year to explore the ways play has changed lives through American history and continues to transform all of us each day.
As […]
Search by Category
The Computer that Took on Jeopardy!
By Adam Nedeff, researcher for the National Archives of Game Show History
In a well-publicized 1997 showdown, world chess champion Gary Kasparov competed against Deep Blue, a chess-playing computer built by IBM. Deep Blue won. Kasparov vehemently complained that the computer hadn’t been programmed so much to play chess as it had to specifically compete against him, but it was a huge victory for IBM.
Still, IBM acknowledged that success in a game like chess wasn’t such an extraordinary achievement. Eric […]
Cats, Cards, and Calamity!
Cats have been beloved members of our families for centuries. Their curious and often silly nature makes them the subject of many works of art, sources of humor, and entertainment. The Strong was recently gifted a delightful collection of 74 “Mainzer Dressed Cat” postcards, which feature brightly colored scenes of anthropomorphic cats dressed in human clothing and engaging in a variety of humorous activities, in situations that often threaten an impending calamity.
This collection of cards was designed by Swiss painter […]
Committed to Memory: The Glynn Scrapbook, Part 1
It’s 2025. Are you reading this on your smartphone or computer? It’s apparent that modern society is attached to its digital devices. When it comes to memories and our social media accounts, we all experience the same cycle. We take a photo with our phone. The photo gets added to the Photos app, buried among thousands of previously snapped images. It’s new today, but within a week, this image will be buried by tens—possibly hundreds—of newer ones. We upload it […]
Continue Reading about Committed to Memory: The Glynn Scrapbook, Part 1
Jeopardy Coincidences
By Adam Nedeff, researcher for the National Archives of Game Show History
If you were watching Jeopardy! on June 23, you saw a game that ended with a strange coincidence. The Final Jeopardy! clue:
In 1896, the Vassar-educated wife of this man wrote, ‘Thousands of dollars may be paid for a copy of Shakespeare’
Contestant Emily Croke was the only one who wrote the correct question: “Who is Folger?”
After being declared the winner, Croke revealed to host Ken Jennings, “That was my […]
Remembering Wink Martindale
By Adam Nedeff, researcher for the National Archives of Game Show History
Legendary game show host and producer Wink Martindale passed away on Tuesday, April 15, 2025, at the age of 91. The team at the National Archives of Game Show History looks back at his life and amazing career. (Martindale completed an oral history with the Archives in 2023.)
A NAME THAT YOU’D BAT AN EYE AT
When James & Frances Martindale brought a baby boy into the world on December 4, […]
Fanfare for the Fan
While transferring a few artifacts between storage spaces here at The Strong National Museum of Play, something I had not seen in quite some time caught my eye. Seeing the church fan was like bumping into an old friend. I want to share a few fond memories about its playful properties.
When I was knee-high to a grasshopper, the hours spent listening to old men sing long meter hymns off-key, followed by even older men yelling prayers, interspersed with an A […]
Brownies: From Folklore to Kodak Cameras
While cataloging some older books found within the museum’s collection, I kept coming across ones that had “Brownie” in the title. These books were written and illustrated by Palmer Cox, and the artwork within had whimsical characters (almost resembling Elf on the Shelf) travelling and causing mischief. Curious about who these characters were and the story behind them, I started doing some research and uncovered some surprising connections between them and some Rochester New York history!
As someone who indulges in […]
Continue Reading about Brownies: From Folklore to Kodak Cameras
Why Celebrities Like Game Shows
By Adam Nedeff, researcher for the National Archives of Game Show History
“What’s in it for THEM?”
Have you ever watched Password, The $100,000 Pyramid, Match Game, or any other celebrity game shows and wondered why the celebrities are there? They can’t win the car, the cash, nor the washer/dryer combo, and with the workload involved for the TV shows on which they’re already appearing regularly as cast members, being on a game show is costing them a precious day off. A […]
