Post by yenilira on Apr 13, 2012 21:58:34 GMT 1
During World War II, Nazi Germany took many prisoners of war (POWs), as is common in warfare.
While Nazi concentration camps were the site of endless horrors, POW camps were relatively humane (again, relatively).
The Nazis even allowed the home nations of the POWs to send care packages to those imprisoned, which included items such as playing cards and board games.
The Allies used this minor bit of hospitality to their strategic advantage.
The United States worked with the United States Playing Card Company to come up with a special type of Bicycle-brand playing cards. Those cards held escape maps within them, printed directly on the card.
As recounted by the company's official website, when moistened, the cards' glue - a special type of glue used for this purpose - would weaken.
The cards' faces would then peel away, leaving nothing but detailed escape plans behind.
The United Kingdom pulled off a similar trick.
In 1941, British intelligence worked with John Waddington Ltd., the UK company licensed to make Monopoly games, to make a special version of the classic board game.
According to Mental_Floss magazine, these sets came with a cornucopia of clandestine goodies.
Maps, printed on silk to avoid destruction by weather, were hidden within the box. The games also included metal files and magnetic compasses to faciliate an escape.
And included beneath the Monopoly money was real money -- French, German, and Italian notes were among the fake bills.
While these board games would be collectors' items today, unfortunately, finding one would be a trick all to itself.
All of the spy-enhanced Monopoly sets were destroyed after the war, according to ABC News.
YL.
While Nazi concentration camps were the site of endless horrors, POW camps were relatively humane (again, relatively).
The Nazis even allowed the home nations of the POWs to send care packages to those imprisoned, which included items such as playing cards and board games.
The Allies used this minor bit of hospitality to their strategic advantage.
The United States worked with the United States Playing Card Company to come up with a special type of Bicycle-brand playing cards. Those cards held escape maps within them, printed directly on the card.
As recounted by the company's official website, when moistened, the cards' glue - a special type of glue used for this purpose - would weaken.
The cards' faces would then peel away, leaving nothing but detailed escape plans behind.
The United Kingdom pulled off a similar trick.
In 1941, British intelligence worked with John Waddington Ltd., the UK company licensed to make Monopoly games, to make a special version of the classic board game.
According to Mental_Floss magazine, these sets came with a cornucopia of clandestine goodies.
Maps, printed on silk to avoid destruction by weather, were hidden within the box. The games also included metal files and magnetic compasses to faciliate an escape.
And included beneath the Monopoly money was real money -- French, German, and Italian notes were among the fake bills.
While these board games would be collectors' items today, unfortunately, finding one would be a trick all to itself.
All of the spy-enhanced Monopoly sets were destroyed after the war, according to ABC News.
YL.