Twister's Journey from Risqué to Record-Breaking

Twister, a beloved party game created by Milton Bradley in 1966, was originally conceived by Reyn Guyer as a marketing tool for Johnson Wax shoe polish. After Johnson Wax turned it down, Guyer enlisted designers Charles Foley and Neil Rabens to enhance the concept. Foley proposed arranging colored dots in rows, while Rabens suggested that players place their hands and feet on the mat. Initially called Pretzel, the game was renamed Twister to differentiate it from a dog toy. Despite facing backlash for being too risqué upon its April 1966 launch and rejection from retailers like Sears, Twister gained immense popularity after Johnny Carson and Eva Gabor showcased it on The Tonight Show on May 3, 1966. By 1967, over three million copies had been sold. In 1987, Heidi Bailey, a student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, set a Guinness World Record with a game involving 4,160 players. Twister was honored with induction into the National Toy Hall of Fame in 2015. Contemporary versions include Twister Splash and Twister Air, which features augmented reality.