8 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Monopoly

It's not supposed to be the game that never ends, and its origin story is a LIE (kind of! Actually, it's complicated)! Here are 8 truth-bombs about the world's most famous board game, Monopoly, that author Mary Pilon drops in her new book, THE MONOPOLISTS.

1. It was invented by a woman

janetmock.tumblr.com / Via tumblr.com

American game designer and inventor Elizabeth "Lizzie" Magie can (and should) be credited as the inventor of today's Monopoly. She created its precursor, The Landlord's Game, with the teachings of economist Henry George in mind.

2. The point of the game was to teach about the evils of capitalism (rather than in favor of it!)

gph.is / Via gph.is

Maybe the goal NOW is to be the Banker and build all the condos on Atlantic Ave (LOL sorry cherished friends and family, give me that $$$). But the original concept of the game was to illustrate the teaching of Progressive Era economist Henry George.

George (wait! this is important, don't leave) was a proponent of the Single-Tax Plan, which is the belief that there should be one tax for property. And that's it! With one tax on property, natural resources and opportunities would belong equally to all residents of a community.

3. The origin story told by the Parker Brother is a LIE (kind of!)

Okay, yes Charles Darrow - the man Parker Brothers told us was the inventor of Monopoly - was a real person. And he did entertain his family during the Great Depression with a game very similar to Monopoly. But, the game's secret history was accidentally unearthed by an economist in the 1970s.

Inventor of "Anti-Monopoly" (aka me after 4 hours of the game), Ralph Anspach found that Darrow had actually copied down the rules of the game from a neighborhood friend, Charles Todd. And HE discovered the rules of the game from friends who played it in Atlantic City. WHERE a manipulated game of Lizzie Magie's earlier game was being played! OMG!

4. The Quakers of Atlantic City played a significant role in modifying the game

conservativefriend.org

One of the first editions of Monopoly was sold at Wanamaker's, a general store in Philidelphia owned by John Wanamaker, a Quaker. It was then played in the community, and eventually taken down to Atlantic City - a big vacation spot for Quakers from Pennsylvania.

Which is why the streets on the board of Monopoly are set in Atlantic City - they mirror the Quaker social network of the late 1920's.

5. The game has Presidential connections

gph.is / Via thisisnotreallypresidentlincoln

Abraham Lincoln is strangely connected to Monopoly's political origins. Lizzie Magie's father, James, was a big fan of Lincoln's political teachings even traveled around with Lincoln when he was still just a lawyer from Illinois. James also used his position at a prominent newspaper to gather support for Lincoln when he decided to run for President.

Lizzie's political views were greatly influenced her father, and Lincoln, from an early age.

6. Early players used buttons or miscellaneous objects as Monopoly tokens

Jenny Goodall / Via dailymail.co.uk

Early players were encouraged to just use "whatever is in their pockets" as tokens for the game. A tie clip, earrings, a penny...all things that are ~still~ in pockets today! Believe it or not, some things never change.

Oh, except you, iron token. Miss you.

Today's Monopoly tokens (RIP Iron) were incorporated into the game when Charles Darrow sold his version to the Parker Brother in the 1930s.

7. If you mess with Parker Brothers, they will literally bury you(r product)

gph.is

As a result a of lawsuit between Ralph Anspach, inventor of Anti-Monopoly, and Parker Brothers - which Parker Brothers won - the representatives from the company buried (in the ground! the dirt! the mud) over 40,000 Anti-Monopoly board games in a landfill in Minnesota.

They are believed to still be there.

8. Upton Sinclair was a fan of the game

In the 1900's there was this town called Arden in Delaware, which was basically a summer resort + haven for progressive thinkers who were fans of the single-tax movement (yes!). Prominent left wingers and revolutionaries lived there for a while, including Sinclair - who called his house The Jungalow!!! - and played Magie's The Landlord's Game in their downtime. Lizzie and Upton later became friends in NYC.

So yeah, he was a fan.

That's all folks! Now go buy the book!

Via bloomsbury.com

There are maybe a million (a trillion?) more fun Monopoly facts we could include here, but really you should just go get the book: THE MONOPOLISTS by Mary Pilon Available everywhere Feb 17th!