Operation Operation
When the Man Who Invented "Operation" Needs One
Guest: Tim Walsh, game inventor, toy historian, and producer, “OPERATION: Operation, The Power of Play”
When John Spinello sold the idea for the game “Operation” in 1964 for $500, he didn’t realize how hugely popular the game would become. He himself struggled financially late in his life, and found himself urgently needing an operation he couldn't afford. Tim Walsh, game inventor and toy historian, tells the story of the people inspired by the 1960s game, including a surgeon who invented a medical device inspired by the game. Most poignantly, he shares the crowdsourced effort to get Spinello the operation he needed.
Barely Believable Stories from the Annals of Medical History
Guest: Thomas Morris, author, “The Mystery of the Exploding Teeth and other Curiosities from the History of Medicine”
A soldier who seemed immune to death, no matter how many injuries he sustained. A patient who performed his own appendectomy. A man who had had enough and decided to surgically remove his own bladder stone.
The Untold Story of the World’s Greatest Game
Guest: Mary Pilon, author, “The Monopolists: Obsession, Fury, and the Scandal Behind the World's Favorite Board Game”
What has long been one of America’s favorite pastimes is not as innocent as it seems. The history of Monopoly is messy and fraught with deception and scandal.