Ever get bored with board games? You know, the old-fashioned kind that people had to sit next to each other to play without Wi-Fi? Well, back in the day before iPads Wii, Nintendo, or even the dark desperate days of Atari, an architect in New York decided to do what architects do best: design something brand new. He was down on his luck anyway, between jobs and the lousy economy of the 1930s. And it didn't help that his name was Alfred Butts. Yep. Mr. Butts the Architect. And even though there was no PAYDAY in sight, he decided to roll the dice to keep his life from going KERPLUNK. But Mr. Butts didn't feel SORRY for himself. No, he used his CRANIUM to create a board game he called “Criss-cross Words” and then he shared his WORDS WITH FRIENDS in the form of a few handmade copies. Wooden letter tiles formed words that could be connected to words already in play. And it was fun! But Mr. Butts ran into trouble pitching the game to investors. They only saw RISK and didn't have a CLUE about the true potential. But here's the TWISTER: an entrepreneur named James Bruneau loved his handmade set, and took a CHANCE eventually buying the rights from Mr. Butts and changing the name to “Scrabble.” So what's in a name? Well, people started gobbling up the new game like a bunch of HUNGRY HUNGRY HIPPOS. Scrabble soon had a clear MONOPOLY in the wordplay category, giving Alfred Butts, James Bruneau, and now the Hasbro company a massive triple word score.

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.