EBOOK
About
Dive into this vibrantly illustrated history of everything humans have invented to entertain ourselves, from Chess and Nintendo to Drag Queen Story Hour and Burning Man.
In “The Book of Fun, Polygon” co-founder Russ Frushtick divulges the hidden backstories and fascinating facts about your favorite video games, theme parks, festivals, sports, and more. With 80+ digestible, entertaining entries, it's not just fodder for your next dinner party-you might also discover your next great pastime, be it jousting, stunt acting, cheese rolling, or Swedish Bunny Hopping.
For fans of pop-history, pop-science, and the many things mankind has invented to waste time, The Book of Fun explores:
• Board Games: The world's oldest tabletop games (Senet, Go, Chess) and its most enduringly popular (Monopoly, Dungeons & Dragons, Settlers of Catan)
• Toys: The history of your favorite playthings, like Barbie, Beanie Babies, Slinky, Furby, and LEGO
• Video Games: The console wars of the '90s, the birth of game streaming, and unexpected Pokémon Go consequences
• Theme Parks: Stories behind Coney Island's Cyclone, Disneyland's opening-day woes, and the bizarre parks built in a nuclear power plant and a Soviet bunker
• Sports: The most fascinating athletic endeavors across the globe, from gladiatorial battles to Lucha Libre, pumpkin boat racing, and sumo wrestling
• Stunts: Harry Houdini, Evel Knievel, Jackie Chan, and the incredible stunt artists you may not know
• Festivals: From Carnival celebrations around the world to the stories of Woodstock, Burning Man, and a Spanish baby-jumping festival
• Dressing Up: The origins of jesters, Halloween, cosplay, drag queen style, and more
• Roadside Attractions: Wacky spectacles like the 65-foot-tall Lucy the Elephant in New Jersey, the Mystery Hole in West Virginia, and the Cabazon Dinosaurs in California
Introduction: Welcome to the History of Fun
BOARD GAMES
• Excavating the Oldest Board Games
• Go and Chess
• Monopoly
• The Great Monopoly Heist
• Dungeons & Dragons
• Silly Creatures in D&D History
• Catan
• Catain Starting to Feel Stale?
TOYS
• Ancient Toys
• Mini-Knights
• How Dolls Evolved from Corn
• China Dolls
• The Rise of Barbie
• Barbie Takes Off
• Rubik's Cube
• The Slinky
• Early Building Blocks
• Hello LEGO
• From Teddy Bears to Beanie Babies
• Water Guns
• Toy Robots
• Uh-oh, they're getting smarter...
• The Furby Phenomenon
VIDEO GAMES
• How Nuclear Power and Tennis Launched the Video Game Empire
• The Great Video Game Crash of 1983
• Nintendo to the Rescue
• The '90s Console Wars
• GoldenEye's Hospital Visit
• How World of Warcraft Prepared Us for a Pandemic
• Unexpected Pokémon Go Consequences
• The Birth of Game Streaming
• The Secrets of Video Game Development
THEME PARKS
• The World's Oldest Amusement Park
• The First Roller Coasters
• The Early Days of Coney Island
• Luna Park and the Cyclone
• Disneyland's Opening Day Disaster
• The Republic of Children
• Sanrio Puroland
• Soviet Bunker Park
• The Park Built in a Nuclear Power Plant
SPORTS
• The Gladiatorial Games
• Medieval Jousts
• Sumo Wrestling
• The Life of a Sumo Wrestler
• Origins of Soccer
• Cheese Rolling
• Lucha Libre
• Kaiju Big Battel
• Swedish Bunny Hopping
• The Windsor Pumpkin Regatta
STUNTS
• The Birth of the Daredevil
• Harry Houdini and the Art of Escape
• The Uninsured
In “The Book of Fun, Polygon” co-founder Russ Frushtick divulges the hidden backstories and fascinating facts about your favorite video games, theme parks, festivals, sports, and more. With 80+ digestible, entertaining entries, it's not just fodder for your next dinner party-you might also discover your next great pastime, be it jousting, stunt acting, cheese rolling, or Swedish Bunny Hopping.
For fans of pop-history, pop-science, and the many things mankind has invented to waste time, The Book of Fun explores:
• Board Games: The world's oldest tabletop games (Senet, Go, Chess) and its most enduringly popular (Monopoly, Dungeons & Dragons, Settlers of Catan)
• Toys: The history of your favorite playthings, like Barbie, Beanie Babies, Slinky, Furby, and LEGO
• Video Games: The console wars of the '90s, the birth of game streaming, and unexpected Pokémon Go consequences
• Theme Parks: Stories behind Coney Island's Cyclone, Disneyland's opening-day woes, and the bizarre parks built in a nuclear power plant and a Soviet bunker
• Sports: The most fascinating athletic endeavors across the globe, from gladiatorial battles to Lucha Libre, pumpkin boat racing, and sumo wrestling
• Stunts: Harry Houdini, Evel Knievel, Jackie Chan, and the incredible stunt artists you may not know
• Festivals: From Carnival celebrations around the world to the stories of Woodstock, Burning Man, and a Spanish baby-jumping festival
• Dressing Up: The origins of jesters, Halloween, cosplay, drag queen style, and more
• Roadside Attractions: Wacky spectacles like the 65-foot-tall Lucy the Elephant in New Jersey, the Mystery Hole in West Virginia, and the Cabazon Dinosaurs in California
Introduction: Welcome to the History of Fun
BOARD GAMES
• Excavating the Oldest Board Games
• Go and Chess
• Monopoly
• The Great Monopoly Heist
• Dungeons & Dragons
• Silly Creatures in D&D History
• Catan
• Catain Starting to Feel Stale?
TOYS
• Ancient Toys
• Mini-Knights
• How Dolls Evolved from Corn
• China Dolls
• The Rise of Barbie
• Barbie Takes Off
• Rubik's Cube
• The Slinky
• Early Building Blocks
• Hello LEGO
• From Teddy Bears to Beanie Babies
• Water Guns
• Toy Robots
• Uh-oh, they're getting smarter...
• The Furby Phenomenon
VIDEO GAMES
• How Nuclear Power and Tennis Launched the Video Game Empire
• The Great Video Game Crash of 1983
• Nintendo to the Rescue
• The '90s Console Wars
• GoldenEye's Hospital Visit
• How World of Warcraft Prepared Us for a Pandemic
• Unexpected Pokémon Go Consequences
• The Birth of Game Streaming
• The Secrets of Video Game Development
THEME PARKS
• The World's Oldest Amusement Park
• The First Roller Coasters
• The Early Days of Coney Island
• Luna Park and the Cyclone
• Disneyland's Opening Day Disaster
• The Republic of Children
• Sanrio Puroland
• Soviet Bunker Park
• The Park Built in a Nuclear Power Plant
SPORTS
• The Gladiatorial Games
• Medieval Jousts
• Sumo Wrestling
• The Life of a Sumo Wrestler
• Origins of Soccer
• Cheese Rolling
• Lucha Libre
• Kaiju Big Battel
• Swedish Bunny Hopping
• The Windsor Pumpkin Regatta
STUNTS
• The Birth of the Daredevil
• Harry Houdini and the Art of Escape
• The Uninsured