Ephraim Hertzano, a Romanian toothbrush manufacturer, originally designed this game in 1940 when playing cards had been outlawed. Originally fashioned out of Perspex airplane canopies, Hertzano later took the game to Israel where he and his family moved after World War II. In 1977, the game - played much like rummy - became the best-selling game in the United States. Today, players still take turns trying to match tiles either in consequential order or all of the same number on the playing board.