Who Invented the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon Game?

TL;DR

The concept of six degrees of separation originated from a Hungarian author in 1929, and the popular game involving Kevin Bacon started as a college party game and gained worldwide recognition through talk shows. Bacon is currently ranked 455th in terms of linkability. Additionally, the SixDegrees.com social media site was an early precursor to modern social networking platforms.

Transcript

The basic premise of any person being within six degrees of relationship to each other traces back to at least 1929, mentioned in the short story “Chain-Links” from the book Everything is Different, by Hungarian author Frigyes Karinthy. In the story, Karinthy was putting forth the idea that, with advances in technology, despite vast distances betwe... Read More

Key Insights

• 🉐 The concept of six degrees of separation originated from a Hungarian author in 1929 and gained popularity through various experiments and studies over the years.
• 👾 The game involving Kevin Bacon started as a college party game and gained widespread recognition after appearances on talk shows.
• 👾 Linkability rankings show that while Bacon is well-known for the game, he is not currently the most linkable actor in Hollywood.
• 🖐️ Early social networking sites like SixDegrees.com laid the foundation for modern platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn.
• 👾 The Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon game demonstrates the interconnectedness of people, both in the entertainment industry and in social relationships.
• 🧑‍🏭 Technology advancements, such as Google and the Oracle of Bacon, have made it easier to find the degrees of separation between actors.
• 🤑 The success of the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon game shows the power of viral trends and how they can spread through media appearances and word of mouth.

Questions & Answers

Q: How did the concept of six degrees of separation gain popularity?

The concept gained popularity through John Stewart's talk show and an appearance on The Howard Stern Show, where the students showcased the game, and it spread from there.

Q: Is Kevin Bacon still considered the most linkable actor?

No, Kevin Bacon is currently ranked 455th in terms of linkability, with actors like Eric Roberts, Michael Madsen, Samuel L. Jackson, Danny Trejo, and Willem Dafoe being more linkable.

Q: Did Kevin Bacon initially like the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon game?

Initially, Kevin Bacon didn't care for the game, but later he changed his mind and even wrote the introduction for the book "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon."

Q: What was the earliest social networking site similar to modern platforms?

SixDegrees.com, created in 1997, was one of the earliest social networking sites that included profiles, friends lists, and status updates. However, it shut down a few years later.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• The idea of people being within six degrees of relationship to each other was first mentioned in a short story by Frigyes Karinthy in 1929.

• Kevin Bacon's connection to the concept started as a college game in 1994, where players tried to connect actors to Bacon in six degrees or fewer.

• The game gained global popularity after the students appeared on talk shows hosted by John Stewart and Howard Stern.