Editing Twenty questions (section)

==Radio and TV quiz==
===United States===
In the 1940s, the game became a popular radio panel quiz show, ''[[Twenty Questions (American game show)|Twenty Questions]]'', first broadcast at 8&nbsp;pm, Saturday, February 2, 1946, on the [[Mutual Broadcasting System]] from New York's [[Longacre Theatre]] on West 48th Street. Radio listeners sent in subjects for the panelists to guess in twenty questions; [[Winston Churchill]]'s cigar was the subject most frequently submitted. On the early shows, listeners who stumped the panel won a lifetime subscription to ''[[Pageant (magazine)|Pageant]]''. From 1946 to 1951, the program was sponsored by [[Ronson (company)|Ronson]] [[lighter]]s. In 1952–1953, [[Wildroot Cream-Oil]] was the sponsor.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Dunning |first1=John |title=On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio |date=1998 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0195076783 |pages=685–686 |url=https://archive.org/details/onairencyclop00dunn/page/685/mode/1up/ |access-date=30 May 2020}}</ref>

As a television series, ''Twenty Questions'' debuted as a local show in New York on [[WWOR-TV|WOR-TV]] Channel 9 on November 2, 1949. Beginning on November 26, the series went nationwide on [[NBC]] until December 24, after which it remained dormant until March 17, 1950, when it was picked up by [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] until June 29, 1951.{{Citation needed |date=November 2024}} Some of the early TV episodes were simulcast on WOR-TV, WNBT-TV and Mutual radio.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Franken |first=Jerry |date=December 17, 1949 |page=10 |title=Twenty Questions |magazine=Billboard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4kQEAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA194&dq=%22Eloise%20McElhone%22&pg=PA194#v=onepage&q=%22Eloise%20McElhone%22&f=true |accessdate=December 8, 2024 }}</ref> 

Its longest and best-known run, however, is the one on the [[DuMont Television Network]] from July 6, 1951, to May 30, 1954. During this time, original host [[Bill Slater (broadcaster)|Bill Slater]] was replaced by Jay Jackson. After this run ended, ABC picked up the series once again from July 6, 1954, to May 3, 1955. The last radio show had been broadcast on March 27, 1954.

=== Canada ===
''[[Twenty Questions (Canadian TV series)|Twenty Questions]]'' aired locally on [[CJAY-TV]] in Winnipeg, Canada from March to June, 1961 and then on the new [[CTV Television Network|CTV]] network beginning in September, 1961; its host, Stewart Macpherson, went on to become the original host of the UK version.

=== Hungary ===
In Hungary, the game is known as {{lang|hu|Barkochba}}, named after [[Simon bar Kokhba]], the leader of the second-century Jewish uprising against the Romans. The story goes that the Romans cut out a spy's tongue, so when he reached bar Kokhba's camp, he was only able to nod or shake his head to answer bar Kokhba's questions. The number of questions is not limited to twenty.

{{lang|hu|Barkochba}} was played by Frigyes Karinthy and his company in Budapest back in 1911. So the game started in Hungary from the New York café in Budapest.

{{lang|hu|Barkochba}} was staged as a television game show {{lang|hu|Kicsoda-Micsoda?}} (later renamed {{lang|hu|Van Benne Valami}}) on the Hungarian national television [[Magyar Televízió]] from 1975 to 1991. It was the first show presented by [[István Vágó]], who would later host the Hungarian versions of ''[[Jeopardy!]]'' ({{lang|hu|Mindent vagy semmit!}}) and ''[[Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?]]'' ({{lang|hu|Legyen Ön is milliomos!}}).

=== Ireland ===
A bi-lingual (Irish/English) version of Twenty Questions aired on [http://www.rte.ie RTE] Radio 1 in the 1960s and 1970s. It was hosted by [[Gearóid Ó Tighearnaigh]], written by Dick O'Donovan and produced by Bill O'Donovan (occasional panelist) and included Dominic O’Riordan, Tony Ó Dálaigh, Seán Ó Murchú and Máire Noone on the panel. It proved enormously popular, travelling the length and breadth of Ireland, hosted in local clubs and community halls.

=== Norway ===
[[Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation|NRK]] aired its own version continuously from 1947 to the early 1980s. In 2004, the radio series was revived and regained its popularity, leading to a 2006 TV version. The Norwegian {{lang|no|20 spørsmål}} continues on NRK radio and TV, and a web-based game is available at [http://www.nrk.no/ the official NRK website]. A 2006 board game based on the series is currently the prize sent to listeners who beat the panel.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nrk.no |title=NRK |publisher=Nrk.no |date=2009-06-20 |access-date=2009-07-25}}</ref>

=== Poland ===
Polish version, {{lang|pl|20 pytań}} was shown in [[TVP1]] in 1960s, hosts were Ryszard Serafinowicz and Joanna Rostocka. In Polish version there were three 3-player teams: mathematicians, journalists and mixed team from [[Łódź]]. Show was cancelled due to scandal, when it turned out that mathematicians used [[binary search algorithm]] to answer the questions,<ref>{{Cite web |url= https://giklik.pl/20-pytan-jak-dwoch-matematykow-doprowadzilo-do-usuniecia-programu-z-ramowki/ |title= „20 pytań”. Jak dwóch matematyków doprowadziło do usunięcia programu z ramówki |trans-title= "20 questions". How two mathematicians caused to remove the show from the programming |author= Sebastian Jadowski-Szreder |date= 2023-12-21 |access-date= 2024-09-29 |language= pl |publisher= GikLik}}</ref> using to it [[Wielka Encyklopedia Powszechna PWN]].

=== United Kingdom ===
The [[BBC]] aired a version on radio from 28 February 1947 to 1976 with TV specials airing in 1947 and 1948 plus a series from 1956 to 1957. On radio, the subject to be guessed was revealed to the audience by a "mystery voice" (originally [[Norman Hackforth]] from 1947 to 1962; he was later a regular panelist).<ref name=Obituary>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-norman-hackforth-1315049.html|title=Obituary: Norman Hackforth|newspaper=[[The Independent]]|date=1996-12-18|access-date=2009-08-26}}</ref> Hackforth became well known amongst the British public as much for his aloofness as his apparent knowledgeability.

The series was originally presented by [[Stewart MacPherson (broadcaster)|Stewart MacPherson]]. The panel comprised [[Richard Dimbleby]], [[Jack Train]], [[Anona Winn]] and [[Joy Adamson]], in later years comedian [[Peter Glaze]] also. A later presenter, [[Gilbert Harding]], was ousted in 1960 by producer [[Ian Messiter]] when, after having drunk a triple gin-and-tonic he had originally offered to Messiter, proceeded to completely ruin the night's game &ndash; he insulted two panelists, failed to recognise a correct identification after seven questions (after revealing the answer upon the 20th question, he yelled at the panel and audience), and ended the show three minutes early by saying "I'm fed up with this idiotic game ... I'm going home".<ref>[http://www.ukgameshows.com/ukgs/Twenty_Questions UK Game Shows: "20 Questions"]</ref> He was replaced by [[Kenneth Horne]] until 1967, followed by [[David Franklin (broadcaster)|David Franklin]] from 1970 to 1972.

A revival ran for one season in the 1990s on [[BBC Radio 4]], hosted by [[Jeremy Beadle]]. A version with a rival line-up,<ref name=Austerity>{{cite book|title=Austerity Britain 1945–51|author=David Kynaston|author-link = David Kynaston|isbn=978-0-7475-9923-4|page=583|year=2008|publisher=[[Bloomsbury Publishing|Bloomsbury]]}}</ref> produced by commercial station [[Radio Luxembourg (English)|Radio Luxembourg]], is not acknowledged by the BBC.<ref name=Obituary/> Another revival, under the title ''Guess What?'', was hosted by [[Barry Took]] for a single series in 1998.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.radiolistings.co.uk/programmes/g/gu/guess_what_.html |title=Guess What? |website=RadioListings |access-date=2013-07-23}}</ref>

A televised version ran from 1960 to 1961, produced by [[Associated-Rediffusion]] for [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] and hosted by [[Peter Jones (actor)|Peter Jones]] (who later hosted in 1974). The "mystery voice" later became a running gag on the radio series ''[[I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue]]''.

The [[BBC World Service]] also broadcast a version called ''Animal, Vegetable and Mineral'', chaired by [[Terry Wogan]] with a panel including [[Rachael Heyhoe Flint]] and [[Michael Flanders]].{{Citation needed|date=March 2015}}

In the movie ''[[The 20 Questions Murder Mystery]]'' (1950) then members of the team, including Richard Dimbleby and Norman Hackforth, appear. Together with two newspaper reporters, they work to find the identity of a serial killer who sends in questions for the panel that prefigure his next victim.