When Monopoly Helped Win a War Allied Powers Outwitted the Enemy, One Game at a Time
You know Monopoly as the game that ruins friendships and sparks hourlong battles over Park Place. But during World War II, it played a much more significant and far braver role: helping Allied soldiers escape from German POW camps. Yes, really. In one of the most brilliant covert ops of the war, the British Secret Service turned Monopoly into a top-secret escape kit. Before this tactic, smuggling noisy paper maps without tipping off the guards was too risky, and getting caught could be fatal for prisoners. Enter silk — strong, weather-resistant, and, most importantly, silent. The British turned to John Waddington Ltd., the licensed Monopoly manufacturer in the UK, who also happened to be an expert in printing on silk. It was a match made in espionage heaven. Waddington didn’t just tuck maps into game boxes, though. In a locked room most employees didn’t know existed, craftsmen rigged Monopoly sets with tiny metal files, magnetic compasses, and even real currency hidden beneath the play money. Each game
was marked with a secret red dot on the Free Parking space — an insider’s clue for captured soldiers to look out for.
Thanks to a clever partnership with the Red Cross, these “games” were slipped into POW camps as humanitarian aid packages. The guards thought they were passing along innocent entertainment. Meanwhile, inside the box were the tools to freedom. By the end of the war, over 35,000 POWs had escaped German camps — many with the help of these customized Monopoly sets. Though exact numbers are lost to history, Monopoly’s role in those escapes is one of the war’s clever secrets. The mission was kept quiet for decades to preserve the strategy for future use. Today, the story reminds us that the simplest tools can sometimes carry out extraordinary missions. Next time you pass “Go,” just remember Monopoly once helped people pass barbed wire.
CONFIDENCE IS BUILT THROUGH EXPERIENCE, NOT WORDS
Have you ever met someone who struggled with self-confidence and said things like, “I found my confidence” or “I’m feeling confident now” without ever doing anything to improve their self-confidence? Becoming more confident isn’t as simple as flipping a switch or speaking it into existence. It’s something that you build with each decision you make. July 3 is National Compliment Your Mirror Day, and while this may sound like a silly holiday, it’s a great reminder to show yourself love and build your confidence daily. Part of what has helped me build my confidence throughout my life is the ability to look back and see that I could pick myself back up every time I fell down. You can’t let mistakes or failures hinder your growth, happiness, or progress. If you can pick yourself back up from one setback, it doesn’t necessarily mean you can come back from anything, but it makes you more prepared to get back up from the next setback. You can look back and say, “If I made it through this, I can make it through the next thing.” When I first learned to drive, I was terrified of driving on the freeway, constantly worrying about when to merge, being unable to change lanes, and many other fears. However, each time I successfully drove somewhere,
my confidence improved. Of course, there were occasional setbacks. I may have missed my exit and had to take a different route or turn around, but I’m still here!
If you’ve ever watched the diving events during the Olympics, you may have noticed that the divers are graded on execution and the degree of difficulty. Executing a simple dive flawlessly is much easier than doing crazy flips and turns. The next time you’re being critical of yourself, take a moment to reflect on the difficulty of the task at hand. There’s a good chance you’re just being too hard on yourself. One of the biggest obstacles to strong self-confidence is comparison. We’re constantly comparing ourselves to others. Just live your life and appreciate each moment for what it is! Boosting your self-confidence will benefit every aspect of your life, so find ways to build yourself up!
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