Let's see… “a short comment made in anger…” Gripe! No. Complain! Oh wait- Cross word… Yes! A moment of alphabetical triumph, brought to us by the letter “C” and an old school wordsmith named Arthur Wynne! Wynne was actually a violinist-turned-journalist from England, who immigrated to America at the turn-of-the-century and found work at (where else) a newspaper. Specifically, the New York World. Things were progressing brilliantly for the journalist musician with tea stains on his teeth, until that fateful day in 1913, when his boss came over and said something like, “Hey you sound like a smarty pants. How about inventing a savvy new game for the weekend fun page?” Whoa. It was an amazing opportunity. So Arthur did what we all do when we need a big idea: He went back to Ancient Pompeii! Well, sort of. Apparently when Arthur was a well-mannered schoolboy, he remembered playing a game called “Magic Squares” that supposedly came from Pompeii (as one of the few things that survived Mount Vesuvius). Anyway- the point of the game was stacking words on a grid so that they read the same across as they did up-and-down. So Arthur Wynne took that basic idea and gave it the old Arthur Wynne twist. Instead of just giving players words, he made them work by providing only a clue. He also made the grid bigger, orderly, and more elaborate (he was from England, after all). Arthur's first diamond-shaped puzzle was published December 21, 1913 and became the newspaper fun page equivalent of a blockbuster! Pretty soon, papers all over were printing their own versions of what was originally dubbed “word cross.” Thanks to an ironic typo, the game became world famous as the mighty crossword puzzle. Now, if i could just think of a three-letter word that means final…

Illuminating Moments in American History
From the accidental invention of the microwave to the love story of rubber gloves, these 68 animated video shorts (shadow puppet style!) chronicle the history of unexpected American innovation.

Produced, written, and directed by Nathan Marsh. Art and Animation by Joel West and Isaac Windham. Sound by Scott Sprague. Narration by Carol Munse.