1 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:27,200 Speaker 1: If you're like millions of other people throughout history and 2 00:00:27,360 --> 00:00:31,960 Speaker 1: around the world, then you have probably at least once 3 00:00:32,080 --> 00:00:35,800 Speaker 1: played some sort of game with your friends, whether it's 4 00:00:35,800 --> 00:00:38,960 Speaker 1: a game of dice, a game of cards, or important 5 00:00:38,960 --> 00:00:42,680 Speaker 1: for our purposes today, a board game. Uh. And today's 6 00:00:42,680 --> 00:00:45,440 Speaker 1: episode is about board games, but not in the way 7 00:00:45,560 --> 00:00:48,400 Speaker 1: you think. Welcome to ridiculous history. My name is Ben, 8 00:00:48,680 --> 00:00:50,839 Speaker 1: my name is Noel, and I'm I'm a fan of 9 00:00:50,880 --> 00:00:53,600 Speaker 1: the old five finger fill at you know, where you 10 00:00:53,720 --> 00:00:55,840 Speaker 1: take a blade and pop it real quick between the 11 00:00:55,840 --> 00:00:58,640 Speaker 1: gaps between your fingers. Have you ever done that? Only 12 00:00:58,680 --> 00:01:01,280 Speaker 1: in video game form? So it's it's an available game, 13 00:01:01,360 --> 00:01:04,840 Speaker 1: and I believe Red Dead Redemption. I haven't found it 14 00:01:04,920 --> 00:01:08,400 Speaker 1: yet in the new one, but hopefully it exists. But yeah, 15 00:01:08,440 --> 00:01:11,480 Speaker 1: that's that's a pretty scary game. I've I've played that 16 00:01:11,560 --> 00:01:16,160 Speaker 1: game in real life before, and I never went fast 17 00:01:16,440 --> 00:01:21,399 Speaker 1: enough to actually cut myself. Seriously, was that back when 18 00:01:21,400 --> 00:01:26,000 Speaker 1: you spent time in that prison camp in the pow camp, 19 00:01:26,720 --> 00:01:28,880 Speaker 1: Well they called it church camp. But you know what, 20 00:01:28,959 --> 00:01:31,039 Speaker 1: I think, six on one hand, half a dozen in 21 00:01:31,080 --> 00:01:33,679 Speaker 1: the other. Not to derail the topic before we even 22 00:01:33,720 --> 00:01:36,840 Speaker 1: get there, but I just watched both documentaries about the 23 00:01:36,880 --> 00:01:40,240 Speaker 1: Ill Fated Fire Festival, and we talked about this and uh, 24 00:01:40,520 --> 00:01:42,040 Speaker 1: that was sort of like being in a in a 25 00:01:42,120 --> 00:01:47,039 Speaker 1: pow camp f y r E. The ill fated, the 26 00:01:47,080 --> 00:01:51,120 Speaker 1: ill fated festival that was most closely associated with jaw 27 00:01:51,200 --> 00:01:53,000 Speaker 1: Rules when it broke in the news. Well, and the 28 00:01:53,280 --> 00:01:56,960 Speaker 1: main guy who was the perpetrator of the whole hoax 29 00:01:57,200 --> 00:01:59,480 Speaker 1: is a guy named Billy McFarland I believe is his 30 00:01:59,560 --> 00:02:03,440 Speaker 1: last name. And yeah, he he was a real piece 31 00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:05,480 Speaker 1: of work. But here's one thing they didn't have it Firefest. 32 00:02:05,640 --> 00:02:08,720 Speaker 1: They had these gadesic dome kind of FEMA tents that 33 00:02:08,760 --> 00:02:11,000 Speaker 1: were left over they used that they had advertised as 34 00:02:11,120 --> 00:02:15,440 Speaker 1: luxury um I believe villas um. They had some really 35 00:02:15,480 --> 00:02:18,200 Speaker 1: sad looking cheese sandwiches. They had a lot of kind 36 00:02:18,240 --> 00:02:21,600 Speaker 1: of gross portapies. They didn't have was the game of Monopoly. 37 00:02:21,880 --> 00:02:26,880 Speaker 1: What they also didn't have was our super producer, Casey Pegram. 38 00:02:26,919 --> 00:02:31,840 Speaker 1: So there they were without Monopoly, and without Casey Pegram, 39 00:02:31,880 --> 00:02:35,240 Speaker 1: which I think is a is a grave injustice, possibly 40 00:02:35,280 --> 00:02:39,160 Speaker 1: could have solved the whole debacle. Quite possibly. We are, 41 00:02:39,320 --> 00:02:44,440 Speaker 1: by way of fantastic segues exploring the world of Monopoly 42 00:02:44,560 --> 00:02:46,640 Speaker 1: but again perhaps not in the way that you have 43 00:02:46,760 --> 00:02:50,240 Speaker 1: heard it explored before. For just a quick look at 44 00:02:50,240 --> 00:02:54,800 Speaker 1: the strange history of Monopoly. It was originally invented as 45 00:02:54,880 --> 00:02:58,560 Speaker 1: something called the Landlord's Game in nineteen o four by 46 00:02:58,639 --> 00:03:03,480 Speaker 1: Elizabeth Maggie, and it was a real estate and taxation 47 00:03:03,560 --> 00:03:08,040 Speaker 1: game that was really meant to inform people about the 48 00:03:08,160 --> 00:03:14,280 Speaker 1: dangers of unbridled capitalism. And when this game was more 49 00:03:14,360 --> 00:03:19,880 Speaker 1: or less stolen from her, the gameplay was modified so 50 00:03:19,919 --> 00:03:25,720 Speaker 1: that it rewarded unbridled capitalism. And nowadays Monopoly is a 51 00:03:25,800 --> 00:03:27,760 Speaker 1: love it or hate it game for a lot of people. 52 00:03:28,360 --> 00:03:34,800 Speaker 1: I've never experienced a huge falling out with friends, loved ones, relatives, 53 00:03:34,800 --> 00:03:38,960 Speaker 1: and so on playing Monopoly, but that's because I don't 54 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:41,480 Speaker 1: play with cheaters, and that seems to be one of 55 00:03:41,480 --> 00:03:46,520 Speaker 1: the big accusations against winners of Monopoly. I just think 56 00:03:46,600 --> 00:03:49,200 Speaker 1: that Monopoly is sort of the board game equivalent of 57 00:03:49,360 --> 00:03:54,360 Speaker 1: solitary confinement, and that it's really boring. You find it boring, 58 00:03:54,480 --> 00:03:57,920 Speaker 1: It takes a long time to finish. Yeah, I mean, 59 00:03:58,200 --> 00:04:00,120 Speaker 1: I could I could see that being a CRITICISI is 60 00:04:00,200 --> 00:04:03,600 Speaker 1: um It's not for everyone, but it's a tremendously popular game. 61 00:04:03,760 --> 00:04:06,240 Speaker 1: You know what I mean, Like, even even people who 62 00:04:06,400 --> 00:04:10,680 Speaker 1: aren't big fans of it have played it before. Absolutely, 63 00:04:10,680 --> 00:04:12,440 Speaker 1: It's very true. Do you think people still play it 64 00:04:12,520 --> 00:04:17,200 Speaker 1: now like fun? Absolutely? And they've made a huge business 65 00:04:17,200 --> 00:04:21,200 Speaker 1: similar to Trivial Pursuit, they have made a huge business 66 00:04:21,360 --> 00:04:24,800 Speaker 1: in selling themed Monopoly boards. That's true, but at least 67 00:04:24,800 --> 00:04:27,720 Speaker 1: with the Trivial Pursuit branded versions, they're like questions related 68 00:04:27,760 --> 00:04:30,239 Speaker 1: to that topic. With Monopoly, it's just like a different 69 00:04:30,480 --> 00:04:32,920 Speaker 1: looking board and instead of a shoe, you've got like 70 00:04:33,160 --> 00:04:36,400 Speaker 1: a Stranger Things baseball bat or something yeah, yeah, or 71 00:04:36,400 --> 00:04:40,280 Speaker 1: a demogorgan. Right. The thing that I always found, uh 72 00:04:40,440 --> 00:04:44,560 Speaker 1: interesting about Monopoly is that it is a pale shadow 73 00:04:44,760 --> 00:04:47,719 Speaker 1: of the board game life, which is I think much 74 00:04:47,800 --> 00:04:51,719 Speaker 1: more intriguing. But either way you look at it, Monopoly 75 00:04:52,480 --> 00:04:56,120 Speaker 1: is is here to stay. It's a very popular game 76 00:04:56,560 --> 00:05:01,760 Speaker 1: and during World War Two it was widely played. It 77 00:05:01,920 --> 00:05:04,800 Speaker 1: was just as popular in the United Kingdom as it 78 00:05:04,960 --> 00:05:08,080 Speaker 1: was in the US. In fact, uh, there was a 79 00:05:09,040 --> 00:05:14,400 Speaker 1: manufacturer of Monopoly in the United Kingdom called Waddington John 80 00:05:14,440 --> 00:05:19,320 Speaker 1: Waddington Limited, and they had purchased a license to create 81 00:05:19,360 --> 00:05:22,160 Speaker 1: this just across the pond, which will be important later 82 00:05:22,200 --> 00:05:25,120 Speaker 1: but no, where are we going with this? Oh man, 83 00:05:25,160 --> 00:05:27,880 Speaker 1: We're going so many places. Um, yeah, it's true. Waddington 84 00:05:28,360 --> 00:05:31,719 Speaker 1: was the license of the products, almost like a franchise 85 00:05:31,800 --> 00:05:35,240 Speaker 1: deal right where they were allowed to manufacture and distribute 86 00:05:35,240 --> 00:05:37,680 Speaker 1: this game in the UK after it had seen a 87 00:05:37,680 --> 00:05:40,760 Speaker 1: lot of success in the US. But Waddington, this company 88 00:05:41,120 --> 00:05:44,719 Speaker 1: um was also very well known for their ability to 89 00:05:44,920 --> 00:05:48,720 Speaker 1: print things on silk. And that doesn't seem like a 90 00:05:48,720 --> 00:05:51,200 Speaker 1: big deal for our story today, but it turns out 91 00:05:51,200 --> 00:05:53,760 Speaker 1: it might be the biggest deal and the thing that 92 00:05:54,360 --> 00:06:00,440 Speaker 1: gave Uncle Sam and his minions of espionage idea to 93 00:06:00,480 --> 00:06:03,719 Speaker 1: pull off this amazing uh caper, I guess we can say. 94 00:06:03,800 --> 00:06:07,040 Speaker 1: I think caper is a great word, or scheme keeper 95 00:06:07,279 --> 00:06:10,799 Speaker 1: is a little more fun. Yes, the story really kicks 96 00:06:10,800 --> 00:06:15,279 Speaker 1: into gear with a guy named Christopher William Clayton Hutton 97 00:06:15,680 --> 00:06:18,400 Speaker 1: known as Clutty to his friends, which I think is 98 00:06:18,440 --> 00:06:23,760 Speaker 1: just a terrible nickname, not not superior. And so Christopher 99 00:06:24,120 --> 00:06:29,479 Speaker 1: Clayton Hutton or Clutty is an intelligence officer at m 100 00:06:29,600 --> 00:06:33,680 Speaker 1: I nine and he got this job through a very 101 00:06:33,720 --> 00:06:36,920 Speaker 1: strange series of events or in off hands comment when 102 00:06:37,000 --> 00:06:42,440 Speaker 1: he applied to work as an intelligence officer in nine 103 00:06:42,520 --> 00:06:46,440 Speaker 1: for the UK War Office. He says in a quote later, 104 00:06:47,160 --> 00:06:50,599 Speaker 1: my passport to the whole curious business has been a 105 00:06:50,680 --> 00:06:54,000 Speaker 1: casual reference to my thwarted efforts to get the better 106 00:06:54,080 --> 00:06:59,720 Speaker 1: of Harry Houdini, the world's greatest Escapologist's right, because he 107 00:07:00,080 --> 00:07:02,880 Speaker 1: his whole deal. And the reason that he was attractive 108 00:07:02,920 --> 00:07:05,359 Speaker 1: to m I six was that he was kind of 109 00:07:05,400 --> 00:07:08,279 Speaker 1: a clever guy who was very fascinated by things like 110 00:07:08,360 --> 00:07:11,640 Speaker 1: up close magic and and little tricks that might be 111 00:07:11,760 --> 00:07:15,600 Speaker 1: involved in doing some illusions. Uh. And he was able 112 00:07:15,640 --> 00:07:18,440 Speaker 1: to apply that to those kind of James Bondi type 113 00:07:18,480 --> 00:07:20,600 Speaker 1: gadgets that you that we all know and love. Like 114 00:07:20,800 --> 00:07:23,440 Speaker 1: you know, a pen, it's also an explosive device or 115 00:07:23,480 --> 00:07:26,120 Speaker 1: something like that, right, a tiny telescope that looks like 116 00:07:26,160 --> 00:07:31,080 Speaker 1: a cigarette holder, or compasses on the backs of buttons, uh, 117 00:07:31,400 --> 00:07:36,240 Speaker 1: boots with hollow heels that held knives, maps, compasses and files. 118 00:07:37,400 --> 00:07:40,040 Speaker 1: But the thing was, you're right, only it was a brilliant, 119 00:07:40,040 --> 00:07:45,440 Speaker 1: brilliant man. But as ingenious as his inventions were, it 120 00:07:45,520 --> 00:07:50,880 Speaker 1: seemed that the Germans as they called them, always eventually 121 00:07:51,120 --> 00:07:55,400 Speaker 1: figured them out, all of them, that is, except for one. 122 00:07:55,600 --> 00:08:00,840 Speaker 1: You see, he came to Waddington Limited and said, you 123 00:08:00,920 --> 00:08:05,960 Speaker 1: all manufacture a lot of things. Check. I understand that 124 00:08:06,000 --> 00:08:10,920 Speaker 1: you print on silk, double check. And I am of 125 00:08:11,040 --> 00:08:15,320 Speaker 1: the understanding that you also print a board game called Monopoly. 126 00:08:15,760 --> 00:08:18,760 Speaker 1: Triple check. He probably pronounced it correct. These are some 127 00:08:18,800 --> 00:08:21,480 Speaker 1: important boxes. And we add these three boxes up together, 128 00:08:21,840 --> 00:08:24,120 Speaker 1: you get a way to execute this plot that was 129 00:08:24,200 --> 00:08:27,800 Speaker 1: gestating in this guy's mind. Because here's the thing. The 130 00:08:27,840 --> 00:08:30,080 Speaker 1: reason that it was a big deal to print on 131 00:08:30,200 --> 00:08:33,280 Speaker 1: silk is because they could be used to have maps 132 00:08:33,520 --> 00:08:36,920 Speaker 1: printed on them, maps that wouldn't deteriorate in the rain 133 00:08:37,360 --> 00:08:39,760 Speaker 1: or get torn to shreds if you stepped on them, 134 00:08:40,040 --> 00:08:44,840 Speaker 1: or make a noise when you try to clandestinely unfold them, 135 00:08:44,880 --> 00:08:49,800 Speaker 1: maybe in a pow camp or surrounded by enemy troops. Absolutely, 136 00:08:50,080 --> 00:08:54,679 Speaker 1: absolutely see, this is something that fascinated me. We're studying 137 00:08:54,760 --> 00:08:59,000 Speaker 1: up for this episode. Silk maps were already around because 138 00:08:59,000 --> 00:09:03,360 Speaker 1: of those advantage is that we just named silk maps 139 00:09:03,360 --> 00:09:06,920 Speaker 1: had already been proven superior to the paper stuff that 140 00:09:06,960 --> 00:09:11,640 Speaker 1: could disintegrate, tear, make noise, giveaway your position. And because 141 00:09:11,920 --> 00:09:18,040 Speaker 1: Waddington's made silk maps and Monopoly, Cluttie knew he was 142 00:09:18,080 --> 00:09:22,040 Speaker 1: onto something. There was one other important ingredient of wartime 143 00:09:22,120 --> 00:09:26,400 Speaker 1: reality that that solidified his decision. He knew that board 144 00:09:26,400 --> 00:09:30,840 Speaker 1: games were allowed into POW camps largely because of the 145 00:09:30,880 --> 00:09:35,640 Speaker 1: Geneva Conventions and the Red Cross, and also because Germany 146 00:09:35,679 --> 00:09:38,240 Speaker 1: at this point in the war UM had such a 147 00:09:38,280 --> 00:09:41,079 Speaker 1: bad rep for adhering to the Geneva Conventions in the 148 00:09:41,120 --> 00:09:43,440 Speaker 1: way they treated prisoner of war that they were willing 149 00:09:43,800 --> 00:09:48,640 Speaker 1: to allow these humanitarian air drops UM into their camps, 150 00:09:48,880 --> 00:09:52,280 Speaker 1: which included things like snacks and you know, things that 151 00:09:52,360 --> 00:09:55,520 Speaker 1: to pass the time. I think books, but board games 152 00:09:55,559 --> 00:09:58,120 Speaker 1: were also okay, and they would also think of it 153 00:09:58,160 --> 00:10:00,000 Speaker 1: as a win for them because they figured if they're 154 00:10:00,080 --> 00:10:04,440 Speaker 1: prisoners were busy occupying themselves playing an interminable board game 155 00:10:04,520 --> 00:10:06,920 Speaker 1: that took ages and ages and ages to finish. Clearly, 156 00:10:06,920 --> 00:10:09,520 Speaker 1: I'm not a fan of the game, yeah, but I 157 00:10:09,520 --> 00:10:11,040 Speaker 1: mean it would it would serve its purpose, right, and 158 00:10:11,080 --> 00:10:13,400 Speaker 1: they would probably be thrilled to have the opportunity to 159 00:10:13,440 --> 00:10:15,680 Speaker 1: do something like that to pass the time. UM. But 160 00:10:16,760 --> 00:10:19,200 Speaker 1: there's the thing. A board game is in a big 161 00:10:19,240 --> 00:10:22,120 Speaker 1: box with layers with stacks of stuff in it. This 162 00:10:22,200 --> 00:10:27,560 Speaker 1: is a pretty amazing opportunity UM for our Mr Cluttie yeah, absolutely, 163 00:10:33,160 --> 00:10:36,840 Speaker 1: So what they eventually decided to do Waddington's we should not. 164 00:10:36,880 --> 00:10:42,880 Speaker 1: It was initially not on board with this, so Clutty 165 00:10:42,960 --> 00:10:46,720 Speaker 1: and the UK government pitched it to them hard and 166 00:10:46,760 --> 00:10:51,040 Speaker 1: they said, look, we are going to We're going to 167 00:10:51,120 --> 00:10:54,880 Speaker 1: have this covered stem to stern. We are not just 168 00:10:54,920 --> 00:10:59,320 Speaker 1: gonna smuggle maps in these monopoly games. We are also 169 00:10:59,360 --> 00:11:03,280 Speaker 1: going to flude real money hidden with the monopoly money. 170 00:11:03,720 --> 00:11:09,120 Speaker 1: We're going to include French, Italian and German notes just 171 00:11:09,440 --> 00:11:13,440 Speaker 1: under the actual monopoly cash. What else did they include? 172 00:11:13,640 --> 00:11:17,360 Speaker 1: They included um hidden in little indentations that were cut 173 00:11:17,400 --> 00:11:19,400 Speaker 1: in the board itself because back in those days the 174 00:11:19,440 --> 00:11:21,280 Speaker 1: boards were a good bit thicker than they are now. 175 00:11:21,480 --> 00:11:24,439 Speaker 1: So they were able to um pre label because you know, 176 00:11:24,520 --> 00:11:26,480 Speaker 1: the whole label with all the pieces park place and 177 00:11:26,520 --> 00:11:28,240 Speaker 1: all that, just a big old sticker that goes on 178 00:11:28,280 --> 00:11:30,800 Speaker 1: a piece of foldable cardboard. Um, they were able to 179 00:11:30,800 --> 00:11:34,760 Speaker 1: cut these very shallow indentations that could hold things like 180 00:11:34,880 --> 00:11:38,120 Speaker 1: files or those uh, those little compasses you mentioned earlier, 181 00:11:38,120 --> 00:11:40,240 Speaker 1: the very small ones. The smaller the better, because they 182 00:11:40,240 --> 00:11:44,040 Speaker 1: wouldn't want it to be a red flag to any officers, 183 00:11:44,080 --> 00:11:46,559 Speaker 1: any German guards handling it who might think this is 184 00:11:46,600 --> 00:11:48,839 Speaker 1: way too heavy for a board game, right. You also 185 00:11:48,880 --> 00:11:54,000 Speaker 1: read other accounts that say, uh, playing pieces were actually 186 00:11:54,559 --> 00:11:57,520 Speaker 1: the escape items like a compass and a file were 187 00:11:57,559 --> 00:12:00,120 Speaker 1: disguised as playing pieces. That's interesting case. When I I 188 00:12:00,120 --> 00:12:02,400 Speaker 1: pictured the whole cutting out of the indentations into the 189 00:12:02,400 --> 00:12:04,200 Speaker 1: board thing, it kind of reminds me of stuff like 190 00:12:04,480 --> 00:12:06,760 Speaker 1: how you might hide something in prison by cutting the 191 00:12:06,760 --> 00:12:08,480 Speaker 1: pages out of the middle of a book or a 192 00:12:08,480 --> 00:12:10,800 Speaker 1: bible or something with that and having like a file 193 00:12:10,920 --> 00:12:14,000 Speaker 1: or a shive or something hidden inside. Um. And it's 194 00:12:14,040 --> 00:12:17,920 Speaker 1: interesting too because this actually was classified until I want 195 00:12:17,920 --> 00:12:22,200 Speaker 1: to say, the nineteen eighties, uh, and the soldiers were 196 00:12:22,679 --> 00:12:26,840 Speaker 1: instructed to destroy these boards. Um. And the thing is 197 00:12:26,880 --> 00:12:30,120 Speaker 1: too they had to use their own intuition to figure 198 00:12:30,160 --> 00:12:32,360 Speaker 1: out these things are even in there, which is the 199 00:12:32,400 --> 00:12:34,120 Speaker 1: thing that blew me away, because apparently there was a 200 00:12:34,120 --> 00:12:38,160 Speaker 1: little red dot on the board that made that was 201 00:12:38,240 --> 00:12:39,760 Speaker 1: sort of a clue. I guess that this is a 202 00:12:39,760 --> 00:12:42,040 Speaker 1: special board, but it wouldn't have been seen as anything 203 00:12:42,040 --> 00:12:44,080 Speaker 1: out of the ordinary other than like a printing error 204 00:12:44,080 --> 00:12:47,000 Speaker 1: maybe for the folks that were distributing the boards. Sak 205 00:12:47,160 --> 00:12:50,000 Speaker 1: that the German soldiers, but it takes a lot for 206 00:12:50,040 --> 00:12:52,560 Speaker 1: you to think, oh my gosh, this board game surely 207 00:12:52,640 --> 00:12:56,120 Speaker 1: hides these secret items. I don't know, man, you spend 208 00:12:56,160 --> 00:12:59,280 Speaker 1: a lot of time looking at the same board. So 209 00:12:59,400 --> 00:13:03,360 Speaker 1: maybe the staff of the pow camp just checks it 210 00:13:03,400 --> 00:13:05,160 Speaker 1: and they shake it a little bit, but they don't 211 00:13:05,200 --> 00:13:08,800 Speaker 1: really care because it's a Monopoly game. But then there 212 00:13:08,840 --> 00:13:10,679 Speaker 1: are a couple of points that I want to hit 213 00:13:10,720 --> 00:13:15,920 Speaker 1: before they get lost. So this, uh, this board, if 214 00:13:15,920 --> 00:13:20,880 Speaker 1: you're familiar with Monopoly, does look very similar. Most importantly, though, 215 00:13:21,240 --> 00:13:24,680 Speaker 1: the map. You may hear different things about the pieces 216 00:13:24,920 --> 00:13:27,800 Speaker 1: versus things being stuffed in the board, but the map 217 00:13:28,040 --> 00:13:32,920 Speaker 1: itself was always hidden within the board, and m I 218 00:13:33,080 --> 00:13:38,200 Speaker 1: nine covered their tracks very well here. They invented fake 219 00:13:38,440 --> 00:13:43,880 Speaker 1: cover organizations to quote unquote donate these parcels to the camps. 220 00:13:43,960 --> 00:13:48,120 Speaker 1: So this removed culpability from the Red Cross because they 221 00:13:48,160 --> 00:13:51,960 Speaker 1: can't knowingly distribute escape kits right, So instead they're not 222 00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:54,560 Speaker 1: getting stuff from the UK Government. They're getting stuff from 223 00:13:54,640 --> 00:13:59,840 Speaker 1: organizations with names like the Licensed Victuallers Sports Association, the 224 00:14:00,040 --> 00:14:04,000 Speaker 1: Ladies Knitting Circle, the Jigsaw Puzzle Club and the Prisoners 225 00:14:04,240 --> 00:14:09,079 Speaker 1: Leisure Hour Fund. So as far as the people actually 226 00:14:09,120 --> 00:14:13,080 Speaker 1: supplying the kids know these are legit monopoly boards. As 227 00:14:13,120 --> 00:14:18,360 Speaker 1: far as the Germans know, these are legitimate monopoly boards, 228 00:14:18,440 --> 00:14:21,240 Speaker 1: and it they just had to wait. It was a 229 00:14:21,320 --> 00:14:23,840 Speaker 1: leap of faith to wait for one of those POWs 230 00:14:24,120 --> 00:14:29,080 Speaker 1: to say, hey, this peace doesn't look quite normal. Let 231 00:14:29,120 --> 00:14:31,600 Speaker 1: me turn it over. Oh there's a compass, you know 232 00:14:31,640 --> 00:14:33,520 Speaker 1: what I mean? Yeah, that's true, and not to mention 233 00:14:33,600 --> 00:14:36,400 Speaker 1: like that. The stacks of money, I believe were fake 234 00:14:36,440 --> 00:14:39,240 Speaker 1: money on top, fake money on bottom, real money in between. 235 00:14:39,400 --> 00:14:40,760 Speaker 1: So that might have been the first thing that gave 236 00:14:40,800 --> 00:14:42,840 Speaker 1: it away, right if they're like, think about it, if 237 00:14:42,880 --> 00:14:44,600 Speaker 1: we're going to play a nice game of monopoly, you 238 00:14:44,640 --> 00:14:46,880 Speaker 1: pull out the fake money and you say, what, what's this? 239 00:14:47,320 --> 00:14:49,640 Speaker 1: And then there's you know, real money, and that maybe 240 00:14:49,640 --> 00:14:53,040 Speaker 1: would make them investigate further. You think, yeah, yeah, I 241 00:14:53,080 --> 00:14:56,520 Speaker 1: think that's I think that's quite likely. And it's strange 242 00:14:56,560 --> 00:14:59,280 Speaker 1: because at first, you know, the first question is why 243 00:14:59,360 --> 00:15:01,760 Speaker 1: is this not a film? Right, because it seems like 244 00:15:01,800 --> 00:15:05,320 Speaker 1: one heck of a story. But the second question is 245 00:15:05,760 --> 00:15:11,640 Speaker 1: how much of this is exaggerated? Because Monopoly is a 246 00:15:11,680 --> 00:15:18,040 Speaker 1: cultural icon. The answer is really not much, not much. 247 00:15:18,160 --> 00:15:20,840 Speaker 1: And just to throw in one last point, Parker brothers 248 00:15:20,880 --> 00:15:23,840 Speaker 1: themselves the creators of the game didn't know this was 249 00:15:23,880 --> 00:15:26,800 Speaker 1: going on. This all had to be done very secretly, 250 00:15:26,880 --> 00:15:28,600 Speaker 1: and it's not like they would like let them know. Hey, 251 00:15:28,680 --> 00:15:30,240 Speaker 1: by the way, is it okay if we use your 252 00:15:30,320 --> 00:15:33,320 Speaker 1: beloved board can to rescue some of our troops? But 253 00:15:33,520 --> 00:15:35,960 Speaker 1: it you know, And again it was not known for 254 00:15:36,160 --> 00:15:39,800 Speaker 1: decades because it was classified, and we don't have any 255 00:15:39,840 --> 00:15:41,640 Speaker 1: examples of what these might have looked like because they 256 00:15:41,680 --> 00:15:45,200 Speaker 1: were all destroyed, because what if a German guard had 257 00:15:45,240 --> 00:15:47,080 Speaker 1: discovered one, the whole jig would be up for all 258 00:15:47,120 --> 00:15:49,840 Speaker 1: of the camps. Here's the thing to ben. They knew 259 00:15:49,840 --> 00:15:52,640 Speaker 1: which camps they were bear dropping these on, and they 260 00:15:52,640 --> 00:15:57,320 Speaker 1: had customized packages for each particular spot right right. This 261 00:15:57,520 --> 00:16:01,920 Speaker 1: may have been declassified relative recently, but it was kind 262 00:16:01,960 --> 00:16:05,840 Speaker 1: of an open secret way before two thousand and seven. 263 00:16:05,840 --> 00:16:12,360 Speaker 1: You can find a AP Press article about this. But again, 264 00:16:12,840 --> 00:16:17,840 Speaker 1: we don't know what the kids look like because people 265 00:16:17,880 --> 00:16:21,320 Speaker 1: could describe them, right. POWs who used these to escape 266 00:16:21,360 --> 00:16:24,080 Speaker 1: people can recount their appearance, but as you said, they 267 00:16:24,120 --> 00:16:27,960 Speaker 1: had to be destroyed. There's a fantastic article on this 268 00:16:28,440 --> 00:16:32,640 Speaker 1: in the Atlantic, How Monopoly games helped ally POWs escape 269 00:16:32,680 --> 00:16:37,240 Speaker 1: during World War Two by Megan Garber. And you know, 270 00:16:37,840 --> 00:16:42,120 Speaker 1: for someone who is severely anti monopoly, like it seems 271 00:16:42,240 --> 00:16:46,240 Speaker 1: no offense, you might benal this maybe is redemptive. Does 272 00:16:46,240 --> 00:16:49,480 Speaker 1: this make you feel a little bit better about the game? Well? Sure, 273 00:16:49,520 --> 00:16:52,440 Speaker 1: I think the game has it's it's it's positive qualities, 274 00:16:52,480 --> 00:16:54,800 Speaker 1: and it certainly is one of them. Um, I just 275 00:16:54,880 --> 00:16:57,040 Speaker 1: personally don't enjoy playing it. It's one of those games 276 00:16:57,040 --> 00:16:58,640 Speaker 1: where I like the idea of it more than the 277 00:16:58,680 --> 00:17:01,640 Speaker 1: actual practice of playing a game. Um. I'm really into 278 00:17:01,640 --> 00:17:03,560 Speaker 1: a game called Pandemic, which is a game that you 279 00:17:03,600 --> 00:17:07,040 Speaker 1: play cooperatively with people, and I think that's a lot 280 00:17:07,040 --> 00:17:10,200 Speaker 1: of fun. Sometimes the adversarial nature of a game isn't 281 00:17:10,280 --> 00:17:12,840 Speaker 1: is it for me? You know? There are also games 282 00:17:12,880 --> 00:17:17,040 Speaker 1: such as uh, there's a great HP Lovecraft game called 283 00:17:17,160 --> 00:17:21,600 Speaker 1: something like Call of and you cooperate with other players 284 00:17:21,680 --> 00:17:25,080 Speaker 1: to prevent the coming of the the Eldridge Gods. Yeah. Yeah, 285 00:17:25,119 --> 00:17:27,199 Speaker 1: and the Pandemic is very similar that you're preventing some 286 00:17:27,280 --> 00:17:31,520 Speaker 1: sort of global outbreak that could annihilate civilization. So it's 287 00:17:31,520 --> 00:17:33,440 Speaker 1: all you know, it's all for a good cause. Also, 288 00:17:33,520 --> 00:17:35,359 Speaker 1: there's something about Monopoly that kind of rubs me the 289 00:17:35,400 --> 00:17:36,879 Speaker 1: wrong way, because, like you said at the top of 290 00:17:36,920 --> 00:17:38,919 Speaker 1: the show. It used to be much more about, you know, 291 00:17:39,320 --> 00:17:43,679 Speaker 1: highlighting the evils and potential, uh negative things that can 292 00:17:43,720 --> 00:17:46,720 Speaker 1: result from capitalism run amuck, and now it's just much 293 00:17:46,760 --> 00:17:49,119 Speaker 1: more about, like, hey, let's run them up with some capitalism, 294 00:17:49,160 --> 00:17:51,760 Speaker 1: now that we live in a world of late stage capitalism. 295 00:17:51,920 --> 00:17:55,600 Speaker 1: Oh excuse me, gig economy. She well, well, we would 296 00:17:55,600 --> 00:17:59,040 Speaker 1: be remiss if we did not ask super producer Casey Pegroom, 297 00:17:59,200 --> 00:18:03,680 Speaker 1: are you monopolist? Casey? I like it because the experience 298 00:18:03,720 --> 00:18:05,800 Speaker 1: of playing it is terrible. I just kind of feel 299 00:18:05,840 --> 00:18:09,520 Speaker 1: like it's good propaganda for um, you know, a different 300 00:18:09,520 --> 00:18:10,920 Speaker 1: way of life. So sort of like in the way 301 00:18:10,960 --> 00:18:13,639 Speaker 1: you might watch a Mystery Science Theater three thousand movie, 302 00:18:13,760 --> 00:18:17,040 Speaker 1: you enjoy the awfulness of it just for its own sake. Yeah, 303 00:18:17,080 --> 00:18:20,320 Speaker 1: because I mean, it's it's true life, true life. It's 304 00:18:20,359 --> 00:18:27,359 Speaker 1: too it's too terribly true to life. Casey on the case, folks, Yeah, 305 00:18:27,440 --> 00:18:29,920 Speaker 1: I think that's such a great point. One thing that 306 00:18:29,960 --> 00:18:32,920 Speaker 1: I was thinking about during the course of research into 307 00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:37,639 Speaker 1: today's episode was the fact that going to jail in 308 00:18:37,760 --> 00:18:42,840 Speaker 1: monopoly is just part of business and does not impede 309 00:18:42,880 --> 00:18:47,639 Speaker 1: your financial or social success in any shape, fashion or form, 310 00:18:48,040 --> 00:18:51,879 Speaker 1: sort of like how paying multimillion dollar finds. It's just 311 00:18:52,240 --> 00:18:54,720 Speaker 1: the cost of business for a lot of banks. I 312 00:18:54,760 --> 00:18:58,560 Speaker 1: don't want to get too oriented towards the corporatocracy or politics, 313 00:18:58,800 --> 00:19:02,520 Speaker 1: but that's just the case. Monopoly predicted it, but they 314 00:19:02,600 --> 00:19:06,240 Speaker 1: predicted it in a in a terribly misleading way. So 315 00:19:06,280 --> 00:19:10,440 Speaker 1: I'm glad it did something good and helped some portion 316 00:19:10,560 --> 00:19:16,280 Speaker 1: of over thirty five thousand Allied POW's escaped from German 317 00:19:16,320 --> 00:19:18,359 Speaker 1: prison gamps. Yeah, and they don't have exact numbers of 318 00:19:18,440 --> 00:19:22,480 Speaker 1: how many people many many POWs escape using these monopoly kits, 319 00:19:22,760 --> 00:19:25,480 Speaker 1: but um, everyone involved is pretty confident that they were 320 00:19:25,480 --> 00:19:28,439 Speaker 1: effective on some level. Uh. And here's the thing I 321 00:19:28,480 --> 00:19:30,800 Speaker 1: just found been too in this great article from ABC 322 00:19:31,000 --> 00:19:35,840 Speaker 1: news UM where they say that airmen, before being deployed 323 00:19:35,840 --> 00:19:39,040 Speaker 1: on missions that might have been um going out on 324 00:19:39,119 --> 00:19:42,480 Speaker 1: maneuvers at this stage in the war, were told if 325 00:19:42,480 --> 00:19:46,520 Speaker 1: they were captured to look for escape kits in monopoly games. 326 00:19:47,400 --> 00:19:48,760 Speaker 1: So I was thinking more of the folks that have 327 00:19:48,840 --> 00:19:51,960 Speaker 1: been there maybe a little longer term, right yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, 328 00:19:51,960 --> 00:19:55,320 Speaker 1: which lets us know that this had been in production 329 00:19:56,040 --> 00:19:58,840 Speaker 1: for some time, you know what I mean? And it worked. 330 00:19:59,480 --> 00:20:03,159 Speaker 1: Also in that ABC article is Victor Watson, who was 331 00:20:03,200 --> 00:20:09,680 Speaker 1: a former chairman of Waddington's until nineteen ninety three, and 332 00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:12,600 Speaker 1: in his estimation, again this might be a bit bias 333 00:20:12,640 --> 00:20:15,200 Speaker 1: because he did work for the company. Uh, he says 334 00:20:15,280 --> 00:20:21,199 Speaker 1: that Waddington's reckoned around ten thousand POWs successfully used the 335 00:20:21,280 --> 00:20:26,360 Speaker 1: monopoly map, which is inspiring, you know, and I love 336 00:20:26,440 --> 00:20:28,920 Speaker 1: that you raised the point that we're never going to 337 00:20:29,080 --> 00:20:34,120 Speaker 1: know the actual number of people who were who were 338 00:20:34,200 --> 00:20:42,119 Speaker 1: for sure saved, are able to escape with this. We 339 00:20:42,160 --> 00:20:47,400 Speaker 1: should also mention that this was not the first involvement. 340 00:20:47,840 --> 00:20:51,440 Speaker 1: Uncle Penny Bags, that's the name of that cartoon character, 341 00:20:51,680 --> 00:20:55,160 Speaker 1: the capitalist. Yeah, people just call the monopoly guy. Yeah, 342 00:20:55,280 --> 00:20:57,879 Speaker 1: well his real name is rich Uncle Penny. Back, Uncle Penny. 343 00:20:58,280 --> 00:21:01,440 Speaker 1: It's back when a penny before inflation carried a lot 344 00:21:01,480 --> 00:21:05,680 Speaker 1: more away, back when a penny meant something. Um. After 345 00:21:05,800 --> 00:21:08,920 Speaker 1: World War Two, Monopoly found itself in the middle of 346 00:21:09,560 --> 00:21:14,439 Speaker 1: another international conflict, this one more ideology related, because you 347 00:21:14,480 --> 00:21:18,760 Speaker 1: see Cuba, the USSR and other communist countries outlawed the 348 00:21:18,800 --> 00:21:22,280 Speaker 1: game because it advocated capitalism, you know what I mean. 349 00:21:22,640 --> 00:21:26,800 Speaker 1: There's not a communist version of monopoly yet. Someone check 350 00:21:26,880 --> 00:21:29,159 Speaker 1: on that if there, if there is, please let me 351 00:21:29,200 --> 00:21:34,560 Speaker 1: know whether there's some sort of anti monopoly or communist monopoly. 352 00:21:34,560 --> 00:21:36,879 Speaker 1: And and Casey, by the way, I see that you 353 00:21:37,080 --> 00:21:42,600 Speaker 1: just sent us something called Monopoly for millennials. This this 354 00:21:42,720 --> 00:21:46,000 Speaker 1: is a true thing. I remember hearing about this a 355 00:21:46,080 --> 00:21:49,960 Speaker 1: while back when when it broke fairly recently. It was 356 00:21:50,040 --> 00:21:54,280 Speaker 1: Monopoli's crass attempt to advertise to the millennial generation. Right, 357 00:21:54,440 --> 00:21:56,920 Speaker 1: they might have air dropped some of these on Firefest. 358 00:21:57,880 --> 00:21:59,400 Speaker 1: There we go, a nice way to call it back. 359 00:21:59,600 --> 00:22:02,760 Speaker 1: So what is this, Casey? It is a updated version 360 00:22:02,760 --> 00:22:05,800 Speaker 1: of Monopoly for millennials. And just looking at the box 361 00:22:05,840 --> 00:22:08,240 Speaker 1: cover art, I love the slogan forget real estate, you 362 00:22:08,240 --> 00:22:11,840 Speaker 1: can't afford it anyway. So that's just that lovely, lovely 363 00:22:12,520 --> 00:22:17,680 Speaker 1: late capitalist dystopia. We've all enjoyed Casey on a tragic 364 00:22:17,760 --> 00:22:21,640 Speaker 1: case there. But I love it because it's got pictures 365 00:22:21,680 --> 00:22:25,000 Speaker 1: of like bike lanes, and it's like a vegan only restaurant, 366 00:22:25,160 --> 00:22:30,400 Speaker 1: green kind of ecological messages. And um, Mr Pennybags has 367 00:22:30,480 --> 00:22:33,399 Speaker 1: kind of like some reflective sunglasses on. Looks like he 368 00:22:33,440 --> 00:22:36,640 Speaker 1: has an iPod earbud in his ear, so they're they're 369 00:22:36,720 --> 00:22:40,479 Speaker 1: really hitting the millennial cliche is pretty heavily. They're more 370 00:22:40,480 --> 00:22:44,399 Speaker 1: of a douche bag than a pennybag. Community chess cards 371 00:22:44,440 --> 00:22:48,280 Speaker 1: say things like your free web streaming trial expires, pay 372 00:22:48,320 --> 00:22:52,639 Speaker 1: the bank forty dollars, tokens including an emoji and a hashtag. 373 00:22:53,240 --> 00:22:56,880 Speaker 1: Oh this is great, this is terrible. It's funny because 374 00:22:56,880 --> 00:22:59,080 Speaker 1: it seems like they're trolling, but I mean it is 375 00:22:59,080 --> 00:23:01,520 Speaker 1: a real thing. You can by iron stores apparently, what 376 00:23:01,760 --> 00:23:06,280 Speaker 1: rough board games slouches towards beth Lehem to be born. Yeah, 377 00:23:06,320 --> 00:23:09,720 Speaker 1: and especially again, I'm fresh off watching both of these 378 00:23:09,760 --> 00:23:12,399 Speaker 1: Firefest documentaries, so I have a pretty bad taste in 379 00:23:12,440 --> 00:23:15,280 Speaker 1: my mouth and a bit of a self loathing for millennial. 380 00:23:15,560 --> 00:23:18,159 Speaker 1: I'm technically a zennial. I think I'm on the cusp. 381 00:23:18,320 --> 00:23:20,120 Speaker 1: I think both you and I casy here a little 382 00:23:20,119 --> 00:23:23,679 Speaker 1: bit on the cusp. Yeah, we're customers. It's rated in 383 00:23:23,800 --> 00:23:28,600 Speaker 1: two different ways. Uh. The one way would be to 384 00:23:29,280 --> 00:23:35,200 Speaker 1: rate it on a generational chronological divide. But another way, 385 00:23:35,680 --> 00:23:38,480 Speaker 1: in some sociologists for you, this would be to rated 386 00:23:38,560 --> 00:23:42,320 Speaker 1: on a digital divide or access to information. You know, 387 00:23:42,440 --> 00:23:46,200 Speaker 1: so people who were born before the days of dial 388 00:23:46,280 --> 00:23:49,080 Speaker 1: up modem right are clearly not millennial. I don't know. 389 00:23:49,200 --> 00:23:52,240 Speaker 1: I think we're I think we're all actually cuspers. What 390 00:23:52,359 --> 00:23:55,680 Speaker 1: we what we should be wondering about if we were Hasbro, 391 00:23:56,480 --> 00:24:00,400 Speaker 1: is what sort of board game the generation after Aennials 392 00:24:00,440 --> 00:24:03,359 Speaker 1: would like to play? Hint, it's not on a board, 393 00:24:03,560 --> 00:24:06,600 Speaker 1: that's true. He also knows. It's funny how there's like 394 00:24:06,640 --> 00:24:09,480 Speaker 1: app versions of most old board games and they're very 395 00:24:09,520 --> 00:24:11,919 Speaker 1: similar theor just a little quicker to play. Like you 396 00:24:11,960 --> 00:24:13,480 Speaker 1: mentioned the Game of Life at the top of the show, 397 00:24:13,520 --> 00:24:15,680 Speaker 1: and I used to have an app version of that 398 00:24:15,840 --> 00:24:17,720 Speaker 1: because the mechanics of the Game of Life are a 399 00:24:17,760 --> 00:24:19,760 Speaker 1: little cumbersome and with the av it kind of does 400 00:24:19,760 --> 00:24:22,040 Speaker 1: all that for you. So it's it's a the lazy 401 00:24:22,119 --> 00:24:24,200 Speaker 1: Game of Life. I don't know, it's weird. I've tried 402 00:24:24,240 --> 00:24:26,320 Speaker 1: doing you know, you guys know me a huge fan 403 00:24:26,440 --> 00:24:29,520 Speaker 1: across words, and I've tried doing them online, but there's 404 00:24:29,560 --> 00:24:33,199 Speaker 1: something about the physical pen and paper. Also, yeah, I 405 00:24:33,280 --> 00:24:35,719 Speaker 1: do them in pen. But whatever I chose by battle. 406 00:24:36,119 --> 00:24:39,280 Speaker 1: Uh oh, we should mention as we're wrapping up here 407 00:24:39,640 --> 00:24:44,159 Speaker 1: that Uncle Sam and the Yanks that's us, so we 408 00:24:44,200 --> 00:24:48,560 Speaker 1: can say Yankees and not be pejorative. We totally copied 409 00:24:48,600 --> 00:24:52,200 Speaker 1: this idea a little later, after the Japanese attack Pearl 410 00:24:52,200 --> 00:24:57,639 Speaker 1: Harbor in December seven nine one, Hutton was tasks with 411 00:24:57,760 --> 00:25:02,200 Speaker 1: training his American like his the American version of him, 412 00:25:02,200 --> 00:25:06,040 Speaker 1: a guy named Captain Robbley Winfrey, and the art of 413 00:25:06,119 --> 00:25:10,879 Speaker 1: concealing escaped tools in this inocuous looking stuff. And he 414 00:25:11,040 --> 00:25:14,400 Speaker 1: came up with ideas that took off kind of dovetailed 415 00:25:15,240 --> 00:25:20,320 Speaker 1: on Hutton's and eventually his part of the Intelligence Services 416 00:25:20,320 --> 00:25:25,200 Speaker 1: Military Intelligence Services Escape in Evasion Section or miss x UH, 417 00:25:25,320 --> 00:25:28,960 Speaker 1: started sending out monopoly boards that were also loaded with 418 00:25:29,320 --> 00:25:32,680 Speaker 1: escaped tools. The one thing different they did is that 419 00:25:33,320 --> 00:25:38,120 Speaker 1: Winfrey would send his employees into toy stores and department 420 00:25:38,160 --> 00:25:43,000 Speaker 1: stores to buy civilian monopoly games and then they would 421 00:25:43,080 --> 00:25:46,800 Speaker 1: take the games back to their secret layer and that's 422 00:25:46,800 --> 00:25:49,320 Speaker 1: when they would kick them up. So they didn't have 423 00:25:49,480 --> 00:25:52,480 Speaker 1: I guess nobody trusted Parker Brothers at that time, you 424 00:25:52,520 --> 00:25:55,159 Speaker 1: know what I mean, because they ever asked Parker Brothers 425 00:25:55,200 --> 00:26:00,560 Speaker 1: to manufacture bespokeer custom ones. They just reverse engineered. That's 426 00:26:00,640 --> 00:26:03,120 Speaker 1: nuts that they would. There would be that much logistical 427 00:26:03,359 --> 00:26:05,439 Speaker 1: planning that would go into that. You talk about the 428 00:26:05,440 --> 00:26:08,080 Speaker 1: glue for example, oh lay it on us. Yeah, they 429 00:26:08,080 --> 00:26:11,680 Speaker 1: had to reverse engineer the exact glue that Parker Brothers 430 00:26:11,800 --> 00:26:15,000 Speaker 1: used in order to make the you know, the decal 431 00:26:15,320 --> 00:26:18,400 Speaker 1: lay correctly, So there was a whole lot of little 432 00:26:18,680 --> 00:26:21,000 Speaker 1: things they had to kind of like troubleshoot and figure 433 00:26:21,000 --> 00:26:22,760 Speaker 1: out how to make so that wouldn't throw up any 434 00:26:22,760 --> 00:26:26,359 Speaker 1: red flags. Okay, I've got to catch up, because just 435 00:26:26,480 --> 00:26:29,720 Speaker 1: for a second, when you said the decal lay correctly, 436 00:26:30,200 --> 00:26:32,760 Speaker 1: I for some reason I had a brain fart and 437 00:26:32,840 --> 00:26:35,280 Speaker 1: I thought you said de cal a like it was 438 00:26:35,400 --> 00:26:43,240 Speaker 1: some sort of very specific Parker Brothers correctly. Yeah, you're 439 00:26:43,320 --> 00:26:46,160 Speaker 1: You're right though, and by golly by gosh, by gum, 440 00:26:46,240 --> 00:26:50,000 Speaker 1: it worked because when the war ended in September, there 441 00:26:50,080 --> 00:26:53,840 Speaker 1: was only one escape kit that the German forces had 442 00:26:53,880 --> 00:26:58,040 Speaker 1: not discovered, and it was Monopoly. As you said, Noel, 443 00:26:58,720 --> 00:27:02,800 Speaker 1: everything was destroyed. Uh, we know this really happened. It 444 00:27:02,960 --> 00:27:08,040 Speaker 1: was officially revealed in nineteen eighty five, right, but the 445 00:27:08,080 --> 00:27:12,360 Speaker 1: American use of the game wasn't revealed until nineteen ninety 446 00:27:12,600 --> 00:27:18,760 Speaker 1: and according to various sources, at least at least seven 447 00:27:18,840 --> 00:27:23,359 Speaker 1: hundred and forty something airmen escaped with aids created by 448 00:27:23,560 --> 00:27:28,359 Speaker 1: Clutty and Robley Winfrey, which you know it sounds like 449 00:27:28,400 --> 00:27:31,080 Speaker 1: a great, a great gig if you can get it. 450 00:27:31,119 --> 00:27:34,000 Speaker 1: If there's a wartime thing and you get drafted. Can 451 00:27:34,000 --> 00:27:36,720 Speaker 1: you imagine, Fellows, if someone said, Okay, your job is 452 00:27:36,760 --> 00:27:41,520 Speaker 1: to make top secret board game Escape Kits, I would 453 00:27:41,520 --> 00:27:44,560 Speaker 1: be in. I would be one million percent. I would 454 00:27:44,600 --> 00:27:47,480 Speaker 1: do And I think it's a real testament to British 455 00:27:47,520 --> 00:27:52,840 Speaker 1: engineering and ingenuity. Agreed And with that ends our tail, 456 00:27:53,040 --> 00:27:57,600 Speaker 1: but not our show. Uh, tune in for our next episode, 457 00:27:57,640 --> 00:28:02,520 Speaker 1: which will be a surprising raw through the origin story 458 00:28:02,680 --> 00:28:06,000 Speaker 1: of one of the world's most famous rhinos. Very much 459 00:28:06,040 --> 00:28:07,600 Speaker 1: looking forard to that. In the meantime, we'd love to 460 00:28:07,640 --> 00:28:10,920 Speaker 1: thank our super producer Casey Pegram, Alex Williams who composed 461 00:28:10,920 --> 00:28:15,240 Speaker 1: our theme, our research associate Gabe of course, you fellow 462 00:28:15,359 --> 00:28:19,520 Speaker 1: ridiculous historians for listening, and Noel, thank you for thank 463 00:28:19,560 --> 00:28:22,000 Speaker 1: you for exploring this story with me. Ben, thank you 464 00:28:22,040 --> 00:28:25,640 Speaker 1: for being a friend. I wish we could. We don't 465 00:28:25,680 --> 00:28:27,840 Speaker 1: have the rights to play the Golden Girls. You just 466 00:28:27,880 --> 00:28:29,800 Speaker 1: have to use your imagination or go watch it on Hulu. 467 00:28:29,880 --> 00:28:33,080 Speaker 1: It's go right now. I could play it on ukulele. Yes, 468 00:28:33,720 --> 00:28:37,120 Speaker 1: that's very cool. Well, I certainly have by priorities order, right, man, 469 00:28:37,240 --> 00:28:39,000 Speaker 1: Well you got to and you guys should have your 470 00:28:39,000 --> 00:28:41,960 Speaker 1: priorities in order to listen to the next episode, Ridiculous History. 471 00:28:42,000 --> 00:28:42,520 Speaker 1: We'll see then