Thursday 6 February 2014

February 6th: Monopoly first went on sale


Monopoly

Monopoly was first sold on this date in 1935, so here are 10 things you may not know about Monopoly:
  1. The longest Monopoly game ever lasted for 70 days. The record for the most people playing monopoly at one time was 3,000.
  2. Monopoly is available in 111 countries, in 43 languages.
  3. Rich Uncle Pennybags is the mascot, the man with the top hat and moustache. The character locked behind the bars is called Jake the Jailbird. Officer Edgar Mallory sent him to jail.
  4. Monopoly sets were used to smuggle Escape maps, compasses, files and money for escapees into POW camps in Germany during World War II. 
  5. Editions have been produced for most major cities in the world. There is also: a Braille version for the visually impaired; a "Star Trek" edition; a Junior edition which is simplified for small children; a make your own edition which can be customised by the owner, and many more. An edible edition made of Chocolate was produced in 1978. 
  6. The most expensive version was produced by San Francisco jeweller Sidney Mobell and was worth $2 million. The board was 23-carat Gold, the and dice studded with diamonds.
  7. Monopoly Here and Now: World Edition was produced in 2008. It includes notable locations throughout the world, and its own currency, the Monopolonian. The locations were chosen by public vote. The smallest city to be included was Gdynia, Poland. 
  8. Tokens from a Monopoly set were flown into space aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis in 2007. 
  9. The current playing pieces are: Battleship, car, Thimble, boot, Scottie dog, Top hat and Cat (added in 2013, replacing the iron).Other pieces that have appeared in the past are: a man on horseback, wheelbarrow, Lantern, Purse, Rocking horse, Sack of money and cannon. The deluxe version had a locomotive, and editions in Australia and Canada included a koala and a beaver respectively. 
  10. New tokens are often chosen by public votes. Tokens that didn't quite make the cut include: Piggy bank, bi-plane, guitar, diamond ring, helicopter or robot.
Picture by  ScooterSES

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