Weird Facts About Monopoly

The game of Monopoly has been around since 1909, and with it has come fanatic fans and fantastic variations of the game. Here are some oddities about the world's most popular board game:

In 1983, 350 members of the Buffalo Dive Club played Monopoly for 1,080 hours ... and they did so underwater.

A Monopoly game was held inside an elevator for ten days.

Another game was played for 36 hours with all players hanging upside-down.

Students at Juniate College in Huntington, Pennsylvania turned a part of their campus into a city block sized Monopoly game. Players rolled huge foam cubes and informed each other of game moves via walkie-talkies while on bicycles.

In 1978, the Neiman Marcus department store, known for its extravagant gifts, created a $600 chocolate Monopoly game.

In 1991, the Franklin Mint offered a $550 Monopoly game with silver and gold pieces.

The most expensive Monopoly game was made by Alfred Dunhill. It sold for $25,000 and included gold and silver houses and hotels.

Illinois Avenue, the B&O Railroad, and "Go" are the three most landed-on board positions.

The game board streets in original Monopoly are named after streets in the gambling resort city of Atlantic City, New Jersey. In 1972, when an Atlantic City Commissioner wanted to change the names of Baltic and Mediterranean Avenues, he was met with a vocal demonstration from hundreds of fanatic Monopoly fans along with a letter from the president of Parker Brothers, the board game company. Needless to say, the Commissioner changed his mind.

But, time waits for no one. Both the Reading and Pennsylvania Railroads are no longer in business. And St. Charles Place was leveled to make room for a casino.

In Atlantic City, the game's Marvin Gardens is actually spelled "Marven Gardens."

The English version of the game board reflects the streets of London's Mayfair section, not Atlantic City.

When Fidel Castro took power in Cuba, he ordered all Monopoly sets destroyed.

In 1964, a 95-pound Monopoly board was sold for underwater use.

Today, there are many variations of Monopoly sold by Parker Brothers licensees. My personal favorite is Elvis Monopoly where, instead of Boardwalk, players land on Graceland and, instead of Mediterranean Avenue, players land on Elvis's humble Tupelo birthplace. Game pieces include pairs of Elvis sunglasses and guitars.

Parker Brothers lawyers are suing companies selling unauthorized and, in some cases, blatantly offensive versions of the game; such as Ghettopoly, where "playas" build crack houses on game properties.

SOURCES:

http://www.hasbro.com/default.cfm?page=ci_history_monopoly

http://www.hasbro.com/monopoly/default.cfm?page=funfacts

"Ka-ching! The World Monopoly Championship", Mark Miller, Salon, URL: (http://archive.salon.com/people/feature/2000/10/20/monopoly/index.html)

http://www.amazon.com/MONOPOLY-MN013000-Elvis-Monopoly/dp/B00006416L/ref=sr_1_13/104-6904332-6309526?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1177151506&sr=1-13

"Monopoly monopolizes the world", Buck Wolf, ABC news, URL: (http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/WolfFiles/story?id=421078)

http://www.courierpostonline.com/ac150/