No free photograph
Merle Robbins
American inventor · United States · On the map · Scientists · Lived 1911 to 1984 · aged 72
Merlin "Merle" Robbins was an American barber from Reading, Ohio, who invented the card game UNO. In 1971, he invented UNO to resolve an argument with his son Ray, a teacher, about the rules of Crazy Eights. The original decks were designed and made on the family dining room table.
Merle Robbins is read about 81 times a day, in 10 languages.
A typical day, 30 days to 8 October 2026
The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 120 days, one point a day.
Something wrong?Also in Deutsch
About this person
He and his family mortgaged their home to raise $8,000 and created the first 5,000 UNO decks to sell. At first, he sold them from his barber shop, while his son Ray gave them away to his students. In 1972, he sold the rights to UNO to International Games for $50,000 plus royalties of 10 cents per game.
