Editing Mornington Crescent (game) (section)

== Origins ==
Mornington Crescent first appeared in the opening episode of the [[I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue#Broadcast list|sixth series]] of [[BBC Radio 4]]'s comedy panel show ''[[I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue]]'', broadcast on 22 August 1978.  Although five episodes transmitted in 1974–1975 are lost, Mornington Crescent seems to have made no appearance before 1978. It was played in every surviving episode of the sixth series. It has been played ever since.

The origins of the game are not clear. One claim is that it was invented by [[Geoffrey Perkins]],<ref>''The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy: The Original Radio Scripts'', Pan Publishing. {{ISBN|0-330-41957-9}}</ref> who stated in an interview that Mornington Crescent was created as a non-game.<ref>''[[Loose Ends (radio)|Loose Ends]]'', BBC Radio 4, Saturday 22 March 2008</ref> [[Barry Cryer]], a panellist on the programme from 1972 until shortly before his death in 2022, said that Geoffrey Perkins did not invent the game, and that it had been around since the 1960s.<ref>Radio 4 ''[[Today programme]]'' interview.</ref> According to Chairman [[Humphrey Lyttelton]], the game was invented to vex a series producer who was unpopular with the panellists. One day, the team members were drinking, when they heard him coming. "Quick," said one, "let's invent a game with rules he'll never understand."<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2008/may/03/3 | title=Simon Hoggart's Week | work=[[The Guardian]] | date=3 May 2008 | access-date=2008-05-18 |author-link=Simon Hoggart| first=Simon | last=Hoggart}}</ref>

A similar game called "[[Finchley Central (game)|Finchley Central]]" was described in the Spring 1969 issue of the mathematical magazine ''[[Manifold (magazine)|Manifold]]'', edited by [[Ian Stewart (mathematician)|Ian Stewart]] and John Jaworski at the [[University of Warwick]]. [[Douglas Hofstadter]] referred to the article in his 1985 book ''[[Metamagical Themas]]''. The game is referred to as an "English game" in an article on "non-games" as follows:
<blockquote>
Two players alternate naming the stations of the London Underground. The first to say "[[Finchley Central tube station|Finchley Central]]" wins. It is clear that the "best" time to say "Finchley Central" is exactly before your opponent does. Failing that, it is good that he should be considering it. You could, of course, say "Finchley Central" on your second turn. In that case, your opponent puffs on his cigarette and says, "Well,... Shame on you."<ref>{{cite journal|last=Beck|first=Anatole|author-link=Anatole Beck|author2=David Fowler|author2-link=David Fowler (mathematician)|date=Spring 1969|title=A Pandora's Box of non-games|journal=[[Manifold (magazine)|Manifold]]|location=Warwick Mathematics Institute|issue=3|pages=31–34|url=http://www.jaworski.co.uk/index.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090227154441/http://www.jaworski.co.uk/index.html|archive-date=27 February 2009|df=dmy-all}}</ref><!---The article is not available online, but is available from John Jaworksi by email--->
</blockquote>