June 3, 2010 10:34AM 

# Don’t Try This at Home, Kids 

By [David Boaz](https://www.cato.org/people/david-boaz) 

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Q. What role did formal education play in the success of Chris Haney, the co-creator of the board game Trivial Pursuit, which he and Scott Abbott sold to Hasbro for $80 million?

A. Born Aug. 9, 1950, in Welland, Ontario, [Mr. Haney often described himself](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/02/AR2010060204491.html) as a beer-swilling high school dropout whose biggest mistake was quitting school at 17. “I should have done it when I was 12,” he said in interviews.

##### Related Tags 

[Education](https://www.cato.org/education), [Center for Educational Freedom](https://www.cato.org/center-educational-freedom) 

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