Monopoly began in 1903 as a board game meant to teach that concentrated land ownership hurts everyone

pop & funWikipedia1903 · USA

Monopoly began in 1903 as a board game meant to teach that concentrated land ownership hurts everyone

the gist

Monopoly began in 1903 when Lizzie Magie designed The Landlord's Game to demonstrate Henry George's single-tax theory, the idea that land value should be taxed to stop private landowners from profiting from the community's growth. Her original rules came in two versions, one where everyone gains as wealth is created and one where the goal is to crush opponents, and players who lost the second version got a vivid lesson. The game was self-published from 1906 and patented again in 1923. In 1932 Charles Darrow learned it from friends in Philadelphia, retitled it Monopoly and sold it to Parker Brothers, which bought Magie's patent for only $500 once it discovered her role.

so what

The game that became a family standard was a political teaching tool that its own designer intended to make people question land monopolies. Its history shows how an idea can be reshaped and commercialised until the original message is forgotten, and it became the basis of later trademark fights over whether the Monopoly name was generic.

fun fact

During World War II, the British secret services had special Monopoly sets made for Allied prisoners of war, with hidden maps, compasses and real money inside to help them escape.

Hampi was once one of the world's largest cities, until its Vijayanagara capital was destroyed in 1565

the gist

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.

how it works

The city was built around a fortified core with temples, markets and water structures along the river, supplied by an extensive network of roads and waterworks. When the empire fell, the city was not rebuilt, so its stone monuments were left standing.

so what

Hampi shows how quickly a great city can vanish after a military defeat, and how a ruined capital can remain sacred. Its ruins give historians a view of medieval South Asia that few other sites can match.

fun fact

The name Hampi comes from Pampa, an old name for the Tungabhadra River.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · text CC BY-SA 4.0

Image: Wikimedia Commons

source: Wikipedia ↗

2 min

politicsshortCNA2:01

False allegations about Singapore’s hand in Indonesia’s markets and a made-up meeting

from CNA

CNA Verify has found close to 400 posts pushing falsehoods tying Singapore to Indonesia’s stock market rout and to a secret meeting that never took place. Together, they drew nearly 12 million views, and some were circulated by accounts that appeared to be working in concert, across multiple social media platforms.

Here’s how the disinformation campaign targeting Singapore was uncovered.

on YouTube: CNA ↗