One of the ideas behind Magie's Landlord's Game was to teach the virtues of the Single-Tax Movement: In 1871, journalist and political economist Henry George argued that a single, uniform tax on all land regardless of whether lots stood bare or were blanketed with business would encourage development. For Morning Edition, NPR's Juan Williams examines the evolution of Monopoly and discovers that the game as Magie created it was part of a very different world view. In its current and well-known incarnation, the game is so firmly capitalist that it was once banned in Russia and China and is still outlawed in North Korea and Cuba. From that first spark of inspiration in the head of one Elizabeth Magie, the game has been connected to the political and economic issues of the times. From its inception near the end of the 19th century, the creation of the game spanned more than 30 years. The real story of Monopoly is, of course, more complicated. It's a nice little story, but it's not entirely true. The unemployed repairman fills his pockets with wads of real money. The game catches on with aĬash-starved public looking for cheap entertainment. An unemployed Depression-era radiator repairman invents a game in which down-on-their-luck Americans trade pricey properties and connive their way to fantastic riches. His is a nice little story, with an appropriately capitalist theme. 25, 2002 - Charles Darrow has long been credited with the invention of Monopoly. Postal Service honored the Monopoly game with a commemorative stamp. In 1995, Parker Brothers formally acknowledged the original misspelling of "Marvin Gardens" and apologized to the residents of the neighborhood of Marven Gardens in Atlantic City. The sack of money token was added in 1999, the first new token since 1952. More than 20 tokens have been cast since the game was introduced in 1935 such as the horse, dog, car, elephant, purse and lantern. In 1972, the Atlantic City Commissioner of Public Works threatened to change the names of the real Baltic and Mediterranean Avenues, but public outcry resulted in a veto of the bill. The three most-landed-on properties: Illinois Avenue, "GO" and the B & O Railroad. The total amount of money in a standard Monopoly game: $15,140. Real money for escapees was slipped into the packs of Monopoly money. Escape maps, compasses and files were secretly inserted into Monopoly game boards and smuggled into POW camps in Germany during World War II. The longest Monopoly game ever played: 1,680 hours (70 straight days). Games sold: More than 200 million sets worldwide. The game is published in 26 languages and is available in 80 countries. An estimated 500 million people worldwide have played Monopoly since 1935.
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