Origin of Traffic Jam Group Initiative

How often as a program leader have you asked the question ‘Where did this activity come from?’ when you came across a new group activity? I must ask this dozens of times a month as I search for new material, and work alongside my peers.

Rarely can you trace an activity to its root source, but here is just one example. Here is photographic evidence of the origin of Traffic Jam group initiative, one of the all time classics which I learned from Karl Rohnke in his seminal Silver Bullets publication.

Today, I discovered the basic construct of Traffic Jam embraced in an activity called the ‘White Australia Game’ which was launched 100 years ago, in 1914.

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Click here to see the online news article. Please overlook the racist platitudes of the game (a sad reflection of a racist government policy at the time,) and rather focus, on the advent of the game.

What is one of the oldest known, verifiable sources you have for a group activity?

Contributor Mark