Mensa was founded in England in 1946 by Roland Berrill, a barrister, and Dr Lance Ware, a scientist and lawyer. They had the idea of forming a society for bright people, the only qualification for membership of which was a high IQ. The original aims were, as they are today, to create a society that is non-political and free from all racial or religious distinctions. “Mensa” means “table” in Latin, and the organisation was so named because Mensa is a round-table society. Today, there are around 145,000 Mensans in roughly 100 countries throughout the world - including the Isle of Man.