Why is the original version of Trivial Pursuit called the Genus edition? This term, used here, has no meaning. Was it a typo they let slide? - Jinx
Defined (from Dictionary.com)
Genus - (Logic) A class of objects divided into several subordinate species; a class more extensive than a species; a precisely defined and exactly divided class; one of the five predicable conceptions, or sorts of terms.
Would not the original game by a class of objects divided into several subordinates?
Wow. I actually rememberd something from Jr. High biology:
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species
Corporations can be pretty cheap and stupid, but I can’t imagine that a fledgling game trying to hit it big put out by a major manufacturer would let a typo, especially one in the game name itself, get out into the mass market, ESPECIALLY a trivia game. (“Gee, lookit that; the title of this game’s spelled all wrong! How good or smart can the questions possibly be?”)
I’m going with ShibbOleth’s theory.
It’s not a theory.
Genus ~ general – Trivial Pursuit (in particular, the Genus editions) span a wide range of general knowledge. Unlike, say, the Babay Boom or Silver Screen editions, which were sets concentrated on more specialized fields of knowledge.
–Cliffy
[ten character minimum]FFS[/ten character minimum]
I always thought that the name “Genus” was based on the same root word that gave us “genesis”. In other words the “first” edition.
Doesn’t make sense with the Genus II edition, and “genus” and “genesis” aren’t from the same root. “Genus” and “general” are from the same root. Cliffy’s explanation is correct.
Yeah, but is it Moors or Moops ?
This makes me feel a little better, I guess. I thought my students were the only ones thinking it says (or means to say) “Genius Edition.” Of course ShibbOleth is right: it has to do with the many genera of categories. This is opposed to, say, the All-Sports Edition or the Silver Screen (all movies) edition.
If it were a mistake, I doubt they’d have come out with Genus II through Genus VI.
