A door prize refers to a prize or gift given to people who attend a meeting, party, event, etc., especially one which is given on a random basis to one or some of the attendees.

History and etymology

The phrase "door prize" refers to a type of prize where the entering of the contest is accomplished by walking through the door. In most of these situations, participants will pay a small amount of money to come into a dance or convention, and then participants are given tickets. At some point the organizer will remove the matching ticket from the glass, and cancel it. If no one answers it, they will choose a new one. While it is unclear when this practice was first implemented, the first documentation of the practice is found in ''The Carpet Trade'' in 1867. This practice became popular in the

United States of America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...

in the 1950s, during the growth of the American consumer society following

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

References

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