From our March Madness desk

Thursday’s Wall Street Journal deconstructed the bracket racket:

Where Was the Bracket Born?

It’s a Cultural Icon, but Nobody Knows Who Invented It; E.R. Seymour Gets a Bye in Round Two

Helpful graphic:

Nut graf:

This simple design, which is used whenever a competition needs to winnow a large group of contestants to a single winner, has become a much-admired cultural meme. If there were a hall of fame for sports graphics, the bracket would be the first inductee.

But as ubiquitous as brackets have become, they’re also the center of a surprising mystery: Nobody knows for sure where the idea came from.

But the idea for this piece is pure WSJ.

And while we’re at it, check out WSJ columnist Jason Gay’s “The 23 Rules for Winning March Madness” piece on NCAA basketball tournament pools.

It’s a hoot.