How Twister Went From "Sex in a Box" to a Party Classic

When Twister launched in April 1966, major retailers like Sears refused to stock it. Critics called the new game "sex in a box" because players had to get so close to each other on the mat.

Inventor Reyn Guyer had originally designed the game as a promotional tool for shoe polish, imagining players standing on colored dots that matched polish shades. After the shoe polish company passed, Guyer teamed up with designers Charles Foley and Neil Rabens to refine the concept into what became Twister.

Milton Bradley saw potential in the simple design requiring just a mat, spinner, and willing participants. But the public wasn't ready for a game that put strangers and friends in such close physical contact.

Everything changed on May 3, 1966, when Johnny Carson played Twister on "The Tonight Show" with actress Eva Gabor, who wore a low-cut gown. The next morning, stores that carried the game had lines 50 people deep waiting to buy it.

By the following year, more than three million copies had flown off shelves. The game that was too scandalous for toy stores became a household staple through the '70s and '80s, making Games magazine's "Top 100 Games" list three years in a row.

The Ripple Effect

The game's popularity inspired people to bring others together in creative ways. In 1987, marketing student Heidi Bailey at UMass Amherst wanted to show that students could organize positive events, not just protests.

Bailey and her yearbook team spent months planning a massive Twister game. They played Back to the Future on a VCR in the student union to draw crowds, then told them about the event. They even convinced a local car dealership to paint Twister dots on cars in their lot.

On May 2, 1987, their efforts paid off. A total of 4,160 players gathered on a beautiful, sunny day to break the Guinness World Record for the largest game of Twister ever played.

What started as a rejected promotional concept became proof that sometimes the best ideas are the ones that push boundaries and bring people together in unexpected ways.