In 1962, University of Illinois student John Spinello, studying industrial design, was assigned the project of designing a toy. He earned the highest grade in the class with his box-shaped, electric toy. It was metal with holes and crooked lines drilled through the top and came with a metal rod. Players had to have a steady hand to get the rod in the openings without touching the sides. If the probe did touch, a circuit would be completed between two oppositely charged metal plates and would set off a loud bell.

Spinello's godfather, Sam Cottone, was a top model-maker at Marvin Glass Associates (MGA) and when he saw the game, he brought Spinello to the president of the company. Marvin Glass's initial reaction was negative, but once he tried the game and set off the bell, he said he would buy the rights to the game for $500 and give Spinello a job at the company.

The last version of the MGA game was called "Death Valley" where players still used the metal probe, but were "in search of water" (in the many possible watering holes) on an exploration through the desert.

When the game reached the Milton Bradley Company, the game was redesigned while keeping the core, structural concept. The game went from the deserted Death Valley to the hospital operating room, and thus the game of OPERATION that we know today was created.

It was designed with a buzzer and a light bulb instead of a bell. Tweezers replaced the metal probe and the holes were filled with plastic pieces, such as a pencil for Writer's Cramp and a horse for Charley Horse. Players had to steadily place the metal tool inside the hole, while also removing the cause of the patient's pain without hitting a nerve and causing him more grief.

In 1965, the game came out on the production line with a patient identified as "Cavity Sam," presumably named after what cardiologists call SAM (Systolic Anterior Motion), an ailment that occurs in a ventricular cavity of the heart. Cavity Sam came with a red rubber-coated light bulb for a nose, but also he had bigger problems as he was troubled by 12 medical ailments, including: Ankle Bone Connected to the Knee Bone, Bread Basket, Spare Ribs, Butterflies in the Stomach, Water on the Knee, Funny Bone, Charley Horse, Writer's Cramp, Wish Bone, Wrenched Ankle, Adam's Apple and Broken Heart.

In celebration for the game's 40th anniversary, in 2004 America added to Cavity Sam's troubles by voting for his next affliction, Brain Freeze, which beat out Tennis Elbow and Growling Stomach in the contest. The new piece was announced on NBC television medical comedy "Scrubs" during an episode where the TV doctors played the newest version of the game.

In recent years, the OPERATION game line has expanded to include a number of licensed games based off of Marvel and Nickelodeon properties. OPERATION: Spider-Man Origins Edition, OPERATION: Hulk Edition and OPERATION: SpongeBob Square Pants Edition put the iconic characters of Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk and SpongeBob Square Pants on the operating table and asked players to extract silly ailments from Broken Web Shooter to Green Thumb to Barnacle Brain.

OPERATION: Rescue Kit game was introduced in 2007 and challenged players with four different games, new ailments and also gave young surgeons additional time to keep operating with the Oxygen Pump feature.

In 2008, an updated edition of the classic OPERATION game will introduce even more fun and laughter to the "O.R." Cavity Sam returns to the operating table with 13 unusual and embarrassing "Funatomy" parts, or ailments, that are stretchy, shiny, slippery and squishy. Each part, from Toxic Gas to Phone Finger, has a sound associated with it that directs game play. Players must listen carefully for the sound of the "Funatomy" parts. Was that the sound of a toilet flushing? Quick - operate on the Bad Plumbing ailment! If the operation was a success, the doctors-in-training press Cavity Sam's nose and the game will let out a "Ta-Da!" sound that congratulates them on a job well done.

Beginning in September 2008, players can take the OPERATION game to another level with online and PC games from Electronic Arts. Gamers can download a digital version of the game at www.pogo.com. Or, fans can play the PC version at home on their computer.