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Did you know Monopoly was invented by a woman named Elizabeth Magie in 1903?

Originally ‘The Landlord’s Game,’ it was designed as a protest against the big monopolists like Carnegie & Rockefeller.

But it was Charles Darrow, an unemployed salesman, who eventually sold it to Parker Brothers after playing a version.

Parker Brothers credited Monopoly with saving their company. Magie died in 1948 without recognition. Darrow became very wealthy & his legend lives on. #history

#history
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

Matthew Merkovich :clippy:
Matthew Merkovich :clippy:
• •
@theseus I did know. I’m just waiting for a pirate, unauthorized version of her original game to be circulated by good people.
@theseus
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

BinaryUnit
BinaryUnit
• •

i had no idea thanks for sharing 😀

Just had to see the original board layout, here is a nice article with it, the irony in this is beyond belief

https://invention.si.edu/woman-inventor-behind-monopoly


The Woman Inventor Behind “Monopoly”

The invention process can be messy. Case in point: the invention of "Monopoly."
Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

Westerling
Westerling
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And this is why, if somebody ever forces you to play Monopoly, once one person starts accumulating all the wealth, you should incite the other players to form a collective and strip the land baron of his ill-gotten gains.
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

Sonja
Sonja
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unfortunately not the first man who took the credits away from a woman... 🤬
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

Christian Gudrian
Christian Gudrian
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There’s an episode of the Austrian/German podcast “Geschichten aus der Geschichte” (“Tales from History”) about this: https://www.geschichte.fm/podcast/zs236/

@GeschichteFM


GAG236: Monopoly – Die Geschichte eines Brettspiels - Geschichten aus der Geschichte

Wir springen ins Jahr 1904 in die USA. Elizabeth Magie bekommt ein Patent für das Brettspiel „The Landlord’s Game“, mit dem sie nicht nur den Kapitalismus ihrer Zeit kritisiert, sondern auch eine andere Wirtschafts- und Gesellschaftstheorie verbreite…
GeschichteFM GmbH
@Geschichten aus der Geschichte
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

unlucio 🌍 :mastodon:
unlucio 🌍 :mastodon:
• •
some untalented greedy twat getting rich over someone's ideas and talents, and not giving credit.
The history of capitalism in a nutshell
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

Ivor Hewitt
Ivor Hewitt
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There's an excellent SYSK and cautionary tales podcast all about it: https://omny.fm/shows/stuff-you-should-know-1/how-monopoly-works https://omny.fm/shows/cautionary-tales-with-tim-harford/do-not-pass-go

How Monopoly Works - Stuff You Should Know

Since more than 1 billion people have played it, you're probably familiar with the board game Monopoly, but we bet you don't know its secret origins as a left-wing socialist teaching tool.
omny.fm
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

Paul Chernoff
Paul Chernoff
• •

From my reading not quite true.

The Landlord’s Game was innovative and Magie should be better known, at least in gaming circles.

Magie was friends of the Parker brothers and I believe they even published her game. They made recommendations to her, such as patenting it as a game, she patented it as a learning device. Her game was tied to the ideas of Henry George and 100% tax on property.

The story is not as simple as presented here.

in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

Jonas R. (er/ihm)
Jonas R. (er/ihm)
• •

For those who want more details:

Parlett, David. "Lizzie Magie: America’s First Lady of Games" Board Game Studies Journal, vol.13, no.1, 2019, pp.99-109. https://doi.org/10.2478/bgs-2019-0005


Lizzie Magie: America’s First Lady of Games

doi.org
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

Elias Mårtenson
Elias Mårtenson
• •
she probably would have loved to see this, and I say that with the most ironic voice I can produce.
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

Sally Arnold
Sally Arnold
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there is an excellent kids picture book based on this story: Pass Go and Collect $200: The Real Story of How Monopoly Was Invented by Tanya Lee Stone, illustrated by Steven Salerno
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

:nixos: JGirCo :bisexual_flag:
:nixos: JGirCo :bisexual_flag:
• •
It was also originally made to promote Georgism. The intent was to add a second round with a land value tax in which the players could see how much fairer the game would be.
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

Aecernist
Aecernist
• •
Capitalism co-opts, profits from, and undermines the message of an anti-capitalist game. Pretty on-brand.
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

David Brown :prami:
David Brown :prami:
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monopoly is an evil game and in some weird way this is her penance for bringing it to the world.

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