A strange little side quest
There is a neat bit of history hiding behind the kind of play you find in Drawing Carnival. The first crossword puzzle book appeared in 1924 in a cautious initial printing of 3,600 copies, complete with a free pencil. The broader history adds one more wrinkle. The Oregon Trail began in 1971 when three student teachers created a computer simulation to help Minnesota schoolchildren learn American history. Grombi files that under: small game, surprisingly large backstory.
