Groucho's Fact Hunt

[summerisle]

Well I never.

 

[Black Belt Jones]

The Landlord's game was a board game invented by Elizabeth Magie around the turn of the century - meant as a fun demonstration of the perils of race-to-the-bottom capitalism, land-grabbing, and rent-seeking landlords.
Life imitates art as the idea was ripped off by Charles Darrow who claimed to have invented a new board game called monopoly, which was marketed to world domination by Parker brothers. Magie got $500 as they retroactively bought the patent for The Landlord's game from her.

The Landlord's Game - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[wm02]

The Landlord's game was a board game invented by Elizabeth Magie around the turn of the century - meant as a fun demonstration of the perils of race-to-the-bottom capitalism, land-grabbing, and rent-seeking landlords.
Life imitates art as the idea was ripped off by Charles Darrow who claimed to have invented a new board game called monopoly, which was marketed to world domination by Parker brothers. Magie got $500 as they retroactively bought the patent for The Landlord's game from her.

The Landlord's Game - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

There’s a really good 99% Invisible podcast about this.
Here’s the link if you’re interested

The Landlord’s Game - 99% Invisible

From rock-paper-scissors, to tennis, to Mario Kart, every game is a designed system and all games are grounded in the same design principles. One popular game in particular has a mixed reputation with game players and designers alike: Monopoly. Participants circle the board, buy property, build...

99percentinvisible.org

 

[summerisle]

 

[canuckblue]

Bet that job has its ups and downs.

 

[PhilM]

After seeing the tweet, I had a little look into the whole setup and it's brilliant. It's well worth having a look at the other images, which are in the link.

The Central Social Institution in Prague was home to the world’s largest vertical file cabinet. It consists of 3,000 drawers, 10 feet high, reaching from floor to ceiling and covering approximately 4,000 square feet. The drawers are all equipped with roller bearings.

Special desks were built for those working at the files. They are, in essence, electrically operated elevators, controlled by a touch of a button, which rise or descend, move to the right or left and stop before the desired drawer.

The drawers themselves are electrically opened and shut. With this installation it is now possible for 20 workers to do what formerly required the services of 400.
There are many jobs in which distribution of the work only results in confusion. In this case, eliminating help expedites progress.

These amazing photographs below show men working in mobile work stations used to access the card catalog drawers in the Central Social Institution, Prague, Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic) in 1937.

Interior Views of the Central Social Institution in Prague, Czechoslovakia, 1937

The Central Social Institution in Prague was home to the world’s largest vertical file cabinet. It consists of 3,000 drawers, 10 feet high, reaching from floor to ceiling and covering approximately 4,000 square feet. The

vintagenewsdaily.com

 

[summerisle]

 

[summerisle]

The theme music to Some Mother's Do 'Ave 'Em spells out the title in Morse Code (the piccolo bit)

 

[Tramps_mate]

So after the books were written! I wonder if that was his real name?

 

[summerisle]

 

[degsy]

It's illegal to keep rabbits as pets in Queensland

 

[summerisle]

 

[summerisle]

 

[PhilM]

The theme music to Some Mother's Do 'Ave 'Em spells out the title in Morse Code (the piccolo bit)

It's the same with Morse / Endeavour.

 

[PhilM]

Sorry @Yid4life, but I had to.