Ralph Edwards would say later that he got the idea for a new radio program after playing the parlor game Forfeits.[1] The show premiered on NBC radio in March, 1940 and was an instant hit with listeners.

On the show, people had to answer a trivia question correctly (usually an off-the-wall question that no one would be able to answer correctly, or a bad joke) and had about two seconds to do so before "Beulah the Buzzer" was sounded (in the rare occasion that the contestant answered the question correctly before Beulah was heard, another question was asked).