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By Adam Nedeff, Researcher for the National Archives of Game Show History
On July 27, 2022, Norman Lear will celebrate his 100th birthday. Among his numerous contributions to television: creating, developing, and producing more than 100 series, including All in the Family, Maude, Sanford and Son, and The Jeffersons; serving as a consultant for several episodes of South Park; and hosting a game show.
Wait, hold on, that can’t be right, can it?…Yes, Norman Lear was a game show host. In 1981, […]

Continue Reading about Showing Their Playful Side: Unlikely Game Show Hosts Published on:
June 22, 2022

The artist and photographer Taryn Simon once opened an exhibit with a now-widespread observation: “Archives exist because there’s something that can’t necessarily be articulated. Something is said in the gaps between all the information.” Simon gets at something important here, I think. We tend to think of the gaps in archives as, at best, markers of where we need to “fill in” the historical record in the pursuit of some absolute, final body of total knowledge. But gaps can also […]

Continue Reading about Looking for Labor, Listening to the Archive Published on:
June 2, 2022

The Strong recently acquired a few anthropomorphized fashion dolls. A dog with a human-like body and an extensive wardrobe is really something to behold. As much as I admired these dolls, I could not help but to ask why did these show-up in the toy aisle and were they successful?
Giving human characteristics to animals has existed for centuries. Ancient gods were frequently presented as hybridized human-like animals. In the 18th and 19th centuries, as naturalists discovered and classified new species […]

Continue Reading about Pampered Pooches: Anthropomorphized Dolls Published on:
May 26, 2022

By Adam Nedeff, Researcher for The Strong’s National Archives of Game Show History
On June 19, 1952, game show moguls Mark Goodson & Bill Todman introduced a new panel game, I’ve Got a Secret, intended to be a summer replacement for a mystery drama, Casey, Crime Photographer. The utterly basic premise: A contestant whispered a secret about themselves to the host. The panel had to ask yes/no questions to figure out the secret. And with such a simple formula, I’ve Got […]

Continue Reading about Game Show History: Who Has a Secret? Published on:
May 23, 2022

The video game company Her Interactive adopted the slogan “For Girls Who Aren’t Afraid of a Mouse.” The firm’s fan letters and focus group collections informed my research on how video games are a technological construction of human expression. Her Interactive was a company focused on creating games based on the reception they received from their audience—girl gamers. They wanted to make video games based on the Nancy Drew series of novels more story driven so that girls would be […]

Continue Reading about Heroines Just as Interesting as Heroes Published on:
May 19, 2022

As a child, I used to frequent The Strong museum and its many exhibits. I recall having no small amount of fun. Since then, the museum has changed quite a bit. The most iconic exhibits like Sesame Street and Reading Adventureland are still here, but some that I remember have been replaced over the years with other exhibits. However, there’s still a lot to love about the museum and everything therein. 
A favorite part of The Strong from my childhood was […]

Continue Reading about The Strong Museum: Past & Present Published on:
May 12, 2022

We welcomed four new inductees into the World Video Game Hall of Fame class of 2022: Ms. Pac-Man, Dance Dance Revolution, Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and Sid Meier’s Civilization. They span almost a 20-year period in game history, with Ms. Pac-Man coming out in 1981, Civilization released ten years later, and DDR and Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time debuting in 1998. Interestingly, that seventeen-year time span actually marks the most time-compressed period for any of our World […]

Continue Reading about How Does a Game Get into the World Video Game Hall of Fame? Published on:
May 5, 2022

Joe L. Frost, the renowned scholar and educator who advocated for the importance of free outdoor play, playgrounds, and recess, died on February 17, 2020. Frost was a charter member of the editorial advisory board of the American Journal of Play. In his more than 50 years of research, including writing 20 books and multitudes of articles and reports, teaching, consulting, and service, he became one of play’s greatest champions.
Born in Parks, Arkansas, on March 25, 1933, Frost grew up […]

Continue Reading about Remembering Play Scholar and Advocate Joe L. Frost Published on:
April 28, 2022

By Adam Nedeff, Researcher for the National Archives of Game Show History
Stay up to date with the world of game shows and The Strong’s National Archives of Game Show History with this recurring blog. This month, learn about May’s lineup of music game shows and the history of this playful subgenre.
In the month of May, Fox is hoping game show fans will tune in for tunes. Starting May 23, the network’s Monday prime time schedule will be wall-to-wall musical […]

Continue Reading about Play on with Music Game Shows Published on:
April 25, 2022