Craig Baird
A
thread 1/9
At some point in your life, you have probably played Trivial Pursuit.

Did you know it was created by a Montreal Gazette photo editor and a Canadian Press sports editor?

Let's learn more!
10:32 AM - Mar 17, 2024
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Craig Baird
A
thread 2/9
Chris Haney, who worked for the Montreal Gazette, met Canadian Press editor Scott Abbott when they were covering the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.
10:32 AM - Mar 17, 2024
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Craig Baird
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thread 3/9
On Dec. 1, 1979, while at Niagara-on-the-Lake (some sources say Montreal), the two men found a game of Scrabble and they began to think about an alternative game.
Over a round of beers, they came up with the idea for a trivia game.
10:32 AM - Mar 17, 2024
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Craig Baird
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thread 4/9
The basics of the game were mapped out within an hour, including the six-spoked circular board and various categories.

When a toy fair came to Montreal, the two men used their press cards to get in and interview experts stating they were writing an article.
10:32 AM - Mar 17, 2024
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Craig Baird
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thread 5/9
They received information from the experts, which they then used to expand their game.

After adding Haney's brother and a friend, they raised $40,000 from 32 people. Haney went to Spain and spent his time developing the trivia for the game.
10:32 AM - Mar 17, 2024
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Craig Baird
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thread 6/9
In that country, he spent 16 hours a day developing the questions.

Trivial Pursuit was trademarked on Nov. 10, 1981 and 1,100 games were released for sale by retailers at $15 each. Their company, Horn Abbot, spent $75 to make each of the games early on.
10:32 AM - Mar 17, 2024
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Craig Baird
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thread 7/9
Sales of the game were slow at first but word of mouth spread. In 1983, the cast of The Big Chill, played Trivial Pursuit during breaks on set.

It was in 1984 that the turning point happened. That year, 20 million copies of the game were sold, bringing in $600 million for the company.
10:32 AM - Mar 17, 2024
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Craig Baird
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thread 8/9
At one point in the 1980s, the game was outselling Monopoly.

By the time Haney died in 2010, the game had sold 100 million copies in 26 countries and 17 languages. It had made $1 billion in sales since its creation.

In 1993, Trivial Pursuit was inducted into the Games Hall of Fame.
10:32 AM - Mar 17, 2024
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Craig Baird
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thread 9/9
If you enjoy my Canadian history content, you can donate at https://www.buymeacoffee.c...
10:32 AM - Mar 17, 2024
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Sarah Gioia
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In response to Craig Baird.
The first edition I played was from Canada!
10:57 AM - Mar 17, 2024
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