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The Odd Fellows began in eighteenth century England and rapidly became a worldwide fraternal order. In America to an extent they attracted the working class and did not enjoy the popularity that the Freemasons did among the professionals and elite. Like the Masons, they created women's orders and military units, supported the United Nations with a youth program, and established homes for elderly and orphanages. Although still a nationwide presence, they have been much diminished in an era where television and computers compete for time. Elsewhere, like other secret societies, they have declined -- although in Scandinavia they have retained a claim on the ruling class and have extraordinary temples.