Scouting began in Great Britain in 1908, after Lord Robert Baden-Powell wrote a book titled "Scouting for Boys." A cavalry officer during the Boer War, he wrote about the games and techniques he used to train his troops in scouting.

His idea was to have young boys naturally organize themselves into groups of six or seven with one acting as the leader. They would learn skills associated with survival and camping and pledge to help people, be loyal to their country and obey a Scout law. The Scout law differs depending on the scouting organization, but is typically concise and easy for the Scouts to understand and memorize. It is supposed to serve as a code of conduct for Scouts to use throughout their lives.

The ethos of the Scouts didn't just appeal to the boys, and Baden-Powell and his wife created the Girl Guides in 1910. This would later become the Girl Scouts in the United States and lead to the birth of the much-loved cookies.