Mapping Tic Tac Toe-dom

Full Episode description

When Ian Frazier was a kid, he (like most 6-year-olds) mastered the art of tic tac toe. Pretty soon, every match was a draw, and the game lost its magic.

Then one day, many years later, he met a 6-year-old named Igor who lived deep in Siberia. On a whim, Ian drew a tic tac toe board in his notebook and showed it to Igor…who had no idea what it was. Ian taught him how to play, then joyfully went about clobbering his new opponent.

Then, Ian started asking around…and it turned out none of the Russians he talked to had heard of tic tac toe. Could it be that huge swaths of the globe just didn’t play? Jad and Robert wanted to find out just how widespread this seemingly universal game really is–so they rallied listeners from all over the world to help them do some legwork.

Ian Frazier’s most recent book is Travels in Siberia.

—

We’re cooking up something new and looking to get your feedback. Join our Radiolab for Kids listener panel by taking this 5 minute survey (https://airtable.com/shrjoLpn13qCHlXh0). We’re listening and want to create more awesome stories for you and your families!

Radiolab’s newsletter comes out every Wednesday. It includes short essays, recommendations, and other fun ways to interact with the show. Sign up (https://radiolab.org/newsletter)!

Radiolab is supported by listeners like you. Support our show by becoming a member of The Lab (https://members.radiolab.org/) today.

Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @radiolab, and share your thoughts with us by emailing radiolab@wnyc.org.