You're listening to Part-Time Genius, a production of kaleidoscope and IHeart Radio.

Guess what, Will?

What's that, Mango?

Did you know that the game, Candyland, comes from a polio ward?

I have to say, I cannot think of two things more different than Candyland and Polio, Mango.

I know, it sounds entirely insane, but in 1948, a teacher named Eleanor Abbott invented Candyland

during a polio epidemic.

Apparently, Abbott got sick and was confined to this hospital where children were being treated

in iron lungs,

which, you know, just sounds horrible.

Iron lungs, for those of you don't know, were these early types of respirator,

where the kids were basically immobilized, and mostly they're just lying on their backs,

unable to see anything except the white ceiling above them.

And to counter all of this, Abbott creates this

bright, cheerful game where the only goal, the only goal is to move around the landscape of

treats. And her original version of the board even showed a boy in a leg brace starting to walk.

Wow. That's pretty cool. And I almost feel bad admitting this now, but I always

thought Candyland was kind of boring. Is that controversial to say? I don't know. I mean, let's be

clear. It is super dull. The game basically requires no effort and has no strategy, but it was made

as mindless entertainment. It was really this way for kids to imagine again and past time.

But, you know, reading about Candyland made me wonder about all these colorful cardboard boxes and family rooms across the country and the incredible stories hiding inside them, many of which don't involve deadly diseases.

So let's dive in. Hey there, podcast listeners.

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