Q&A

When was Mensa formed?

• SHORT ANSWER

A meeting on a train led to its creation in 1946

• LONG ANSWER

Australian barrister Roland Berrilld Berrill got chatting to British scientist Lance Ware on a train, and together they came up with a new society for those with a high IQ. This idea picked up steam after the train journey was over, and, on 1 October 1946, Mensa was founded. The only criteria was an IQ in the top two per cent of the population. The name comes from the Latin for ‘table’, but is also similar to ‘mind’ and ‘month’ – fitting for a society of great minds who meet around a table. It would be hard to get around a table now, though, with 145,000 members worldwide.