I've always loved Monopoly. As kids, we had mum's vintage Monopoly set; we'd fight over having the little dog piece, be far too competitive and my sister would usually yell and leave the game accusing me of being a cheater (It doesn't say in the rulkes that you can't rob the bank....just saying). I always ended up with the hat, don't remember why, but still use it to this day.
So it goes without saying that coming to London was a little too exciting for me. My best friend thinks it's weird and insisted that no-one else cares about the streets being in Monopoly. I rode the Piccadilly Underground, (coloured dark blue) to find that I could get out near Mayfair and Park Lane, the dark blue properties in Monopoly.
Walked to Leicester Square, pictured Yellow, got excited on Northumberland Ave imagining the purple- Imagine at Trafalgar Square- it was getting a bit much. I took the tube to Angel station in Islington and could only see light blue colours. This one excited me the most, for some reason, I can't explain why but after this visit I decided that I wanted to go to all of the places on the Monopoly board. I googled Marylebone Station (having visited Liverpool St and King's Cross) and decided I was going to do this right...I pulled out the big guns - I used Wikipedia.
Interesting Fact -
"In 1941, the British Secret Service had John Waddington Ltd., the licensed manufacturer of the game outside the U.S., create a special edition for World War II prisoners of war held by the Nazis Hidden inside these games were maps, compasses, real money, and other objects useful for escaping. They were distributed to prisoners by secret service-created fake charity groups.
1) How freaking cool is that?!?!
2) How freaking dumb were the Nazi Prison Wardens? "yeah we'd better check these games out, you never know what could in there. I see, little dog, racing car, hat, compasses, maps, money, TOOLS OF ESCAPE - all looks fine to me, what a great game. Play on, boys"
Sadly, though, there's more to the Story of Monopoly.
1) It's not British - it was invented in 1904 by a woman named Elizabeth J. Magie Phillips, who made the game to explain tax theories and to highlight the negatives about private monopolies. She also can't spell Maggie correctly. Little did she know, her game would cause huge arguments in my family and many other families across the world. Bless.
2) It was originally set with American place names but was changed in the late 1930's to make it relevant to Britain.
3) Prepare yourself for this... The Angel, Islington is not, in fact the Angel, Islington. It's a freaking pub some else. Here I was, inspired by my recent visit by that very station, excited to perhaps visit Euston and Pentonville Rd to make a set (shut up I'm awesome) but no. It was a freaking pub in North London named after an Inn.
Oh, sure, visiting all the places can be done. This guy did it. But really, what's the point- Angel, Islington, you have crushed my dreams and ruined my life. If only you were true to your place name. If only Monopoly was British like I thought - If only I could win second place in a beauty contest and win £10. Alas. It is finished.
So it goes without saying that coming to London was a little too exciting for me. My best friend thinks it's weird and insisted that no-one else cares about the streets being in Monopoly. I rode the Piccadilly Underground, (coloured dark blue) to find that I could get out near Mayfair and Park Lane, the dark blue properties in Monopoly.
Walked to Leicester Square, pictured Yellow, got excited on Northumberland Ave imagining the purple- Imagine at Trafalgar Square- it was getting a bit much. I took the tube to Angel station in Islington and could only see light blue colours. This one excited me the most, for some reason, I can't explain why but after this visit I decided that I wanted to go to all of the places on the Monopoly board. I googled Marylebone Station (having visited Liverpool St and King's Cross) and decided I was going to do this right...I pulled out the big guns - I used Wikipedia.
Interesting Fact -
"In 1941, the British Secret Service had John Waddington Ltd., the licensed manufacturer of the game outside the U.S., create a special edition for World War II prisoners of war held by the Nazis Hidden inside these games were maps, compasses, real money, and other objects useful for escaping. They were distributed to prisoners by secret service-created fake charity groups.
1) How freaking cool is that?!?!
2) How freaking dumb were the Nazi Prison Wardens? "yeah we'd better check these games out, you never know what could in there. I see, little dog, racing car, hat, compasses, maps, money, TOOLS OF ESCAPE - all looks fine to me, what a great game. Play on, boys"
Sadly, though, there's more to the Story of Monopoly.
1) It's not British - it was invented in 1904 by a woman named Elizabeth J. Magie Phillips, who made the game to explain tax theories and to highlight the negatives about private monopolies. She also can't spell Maggie correctly. Little did she know, her game would cause huge arguments in my family and many other families across the world. Bless.
2) It was originally set with American place names but was changed in the late 1930's to make it relevant to Britain.
3) Prepare yourself for this... The Angel, Islington is not, in fact the Angel, Islington. It's a freaking pub some else. Here I was, inspired by my recent visit by that very station, excited to perhaps visit Euston and Pentonville Rd to make a set (shut up I'm awesome) but no. It was a freaking pub in North London named after an Inn.
Oh, sure, visiting all the places can be done. This guy did it. But really, what's the point- Angel, Islington, you have crushed my dreams and ruined my life. If only you were true to your place name. If only Monopoly was British like I thought - If only I could win second place in a beauty contest and win £10. Alas. It is finished.
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