Quick Fact – Beano v. Bingo
1944 “Are you in favor of banning beano when played for prizes?” This was one of Massachusetts’ 1944 ballot questions. By the 1940s, beano — played with beans as markers, hence the name, and popular on the carnival circuit — had evolved into bingo. How? Brooklynite Edwin S. Lowe, after learning of beano at a Georgia carnival…