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Vacationing has a long tradition for working folks the world over. Most of us look forward each year to taking any break(s) we may have earned from the routines of everyday living. We all anticipate and welcome regular periods of relaxation during which we say to ourselves, “I’m on vacation now, and I will do only things that make me happy. Besides, I need a break.”
As I started looking into this topic, I learned that a formal concept called the […]

Continue Reading about Happiness Is a Good Vacation Published on:
September 6, 2011

Home video games turn 45 this week. That’s right, on August 31, 1966, Ralph Baer originated the idea of playing a video game on a television. An electrical engineer and employee of defense contractor Sanders Associates, Inc., Ralph had toyed with the idea of using a television to play some sort of game before, but, now, the thoughts crystallized into a definite concept.
As Ralph records in his memoir, Videogames in the Beginning:
During a business trip for Sanders to New York […]

Continue Reading about Happy Birthday Home Video Games! Published on:
September 1, 2011

Did you play card games as a child? If so, you probably played a version of Old Maid. The term “old maid” is English and means an unmarried childless woman or spinster. Used as early as 1761 for the title of a play by Irishman Arthur Murphy, it also means an unpopped kernel in a pot of popcorn. And most dictionaries carry one more meaning for it: “A child’s card game.”
If we ignore, for a moment, the stereotypical and sexist […]

Continue Reading about Single Ladies: The History of Old Maid Published on:
August 30, 2011

Holy relationship crisis! Batman, is Robin your sidekick or your partner? Think you can get away with calling him just a chum? Empty words for a guy who’s always had your back. Heroes fighting for justice and peace should defend a new cause: equal rights for so-called sidekicks.
As Batman looms over the National Museum of Play’s American Comic Book Heroes exhibit here at The Strong, I can’t help but think of poor Robin—surely you’ve noticed that he wears no pants? […]

Continue Reading about Standing Up for Sidekicks: An Appeal to Heroes Published on:
August 23, 2011

Before I joined the Collections Team at The Strong, I worked as a host on the Guest Services Team. I cannot begin to count the number of times I overheard a museum visitor point at a Barbie Dream House, a Lionel train set, or any of the thousands of artifacts on display, and exclaim, “I had that exact toy growing up!” This proved to me, time and again, that adults and children alike have meaningful experiences at the museum. Though […]

Continue Reading about New at the Museum: Video Kiosks! Published on:
August 16, 2011