It is believed that Bingo originated from Italy during 1530's and was called Il Gioco del Lotto d’Italia back then. The term 'Bingo' was derived during the 1929 when the game arrived in North America. Originally the game is called Beano because beans are used to mark the numbers and that's why people would yell 'Beano' when they win.
It was only called 'Bingo' when a toy salesman named Edwin S. Lowe overheard someone accidentally yell 'bingo' instead of 'beano'. Lowe is said to have gone on to print cards, increase the number of possible combinations with the help of Carl Leffler (Math professor in University of Columbia). When he returned to New York, he introduced the game into the gambling scene as 'Bingo'.
You can read more in these articles: article1, article2
Crazy to think Bingo’s name change was just a fluke! From ‘Beano’ to ‘Bingo’ talk about a lucky slip-up
Wow that actually makes so much sense with the beans lmao. I never thought I'd learn such information here 😂
Thank you @evcj_ for another interesting look at the origin of some of the best games. I have never tried to trace the origins of bingo and this is very informative.
Not a big fan of the bingo, but enjoyed the article.
@strahil Have you tried it more than once? I didn't like it at the beginning, but after I played couple of times it got me hooked up.
Wow! that's some cool history! Funny how a simple misheard word turned into the game we all know today. Shows how things can change just like that! 🤣
@dany Tried it only once and decided it was not for me. But I can change my mind.
It might be silly, but because of this info I might try this out with our next family reunion lol. Our family relatives loves to play bingo and I'll probably pull out some beans and surprise them about this.
Interesting, reminds of Peter Griffin in the cartoon series family guy shouting Bingo after he won. 😃
