Handheld punch-board parlor games, like Coo Coo and its companion The Fortune-Teller in Rhymes, were the icebreakers du jour at cocktail parties of the 1920s and '30s. They were sold by the checkout at five-and-dimes.
First designed for gambling, punch boards quickly became the go-to scam for gangsters and mobsters like Jack Ruby (yes, the man who kiled Lee Harvey Oswald ), con artists, and lottery operators hoping to swindle the gullible.
(thanks Lisa)The Presurfer
Society Magazine
