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This month, we're rolling-up the quintessentially American tradition of choosing the best of two possible options (no, not Trump vs. Biden), March Madness brackets:
It Started With Chess: Modern day bracketology can be traced back to an 1851 London chess tournament and a man named Howard Staunton. Faced with organizing a chess tournament between the elites of London chess that would feature the crème de la crème for the finale, he used a simple method of drawing names out of hats to pair each competitor. Since his method lacked player seeding, the two best players ultimately didn't face off in the finale, leading to its initial failure, however Staunton unknowingly set the groundwork for modern day bracketology.
Taverns & Taxes: In 1977 at Jody’s Club Forest in Staten Island, NY, the first known March Madness bracket pool was born, quickly becoming a hotspot each March with over 150,000 participants by 2006 and a prize pool of $1.5 million. The cinderella story took a turn when the IRS intervened after the winner claimed the prize money on his tax return, leading to an investigation into the bar's owner for tax evasion.
The Odds of Perfection: As the internet dawned, bracketology became a scholarly pursuit, led by luminaries like the late DePaul University math whiz and revered Bracketologist, Jeff Bergen. His daunting calculations revealed the odds of a perfect bracket: a staggering 1 in 9.2 quintillion. Yet, through cunning analysis, he suggested skilled bracketeers could slash those odds to a mere 1 in 128 billion. So, if you're betting on perfection this year, maybe grab a lottery ticket as a Plan B - and no, ChatGPT doesn't offer fortune-telling services.
Workplace Impact: Last year, approximately 60 million Americans - about half of all grown-ups - jumped on the March Madness bandwagon faster than you can say "slam dunk." And get this: One study estimates that the tournament's productivity drain costs businesses a jaw-dropping $1.7 billion each March. With that uplifting statistic, here's to happy picking and discreetly filling out your bracket like it's classified information!
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