Monopoly pieces

[SallyC]

What is the significance of the monopoly playing pieces

[Quizmonster]

Click http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mmonopoly.html for the answer.

[banana]

Sorry to hijack your question Sally but really - Quizmonster - dont you think I have enough to do ,without having yet another excellent site to check out every time Im on.Thanks for posting the link. ;-)

[Quizmonster]

You're more than welcome, B. Sorry if it cuts too far into your 'real' life!

[Fluffyudders]

OK, that's all well and good, but they're not the pieces I have! I'm in the UK and I have an iron, a car, a dog, a top hat, a boat, and an old boot. So what on earth are the pieces different here??

[Quizmonster]

Charles Darrow, the game's American creator, wanted the tokens to be based on common household items. Presumably, British households tended to have some different objects from American ones...eg we have boots whereas they have shoes. (They're richer, see?) The iron, car and hat were common to both at one time, but - maybe because American women did more needlework - they had a thimble and we didn't. In exactly the same way, the place-names on the board were attuned to London rather than Atlantic City...their Boardwalk is our Mayfair, I believe.

The reasons for the differences, therefore, are just down to 'local' factors.