Do NOT Pass GO!
Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford
Pushkin Industries
4.7 • 6.4K Ratings
🗓️ 28 May 2021
⏱️ 35 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Lizzie J. Magie (played by Helena Bonham Carter) should be celebrated as the inventor of what would become Monopoly - but her role in creating the smash hit board game was cynically ignored, even though she had a patent.
Discrimination has marred the careers of many inventors and shut others out from the innovation economy entirely. Could crediting forgotten figures such as Lizzie Magie help address continuing disparities in the patenting of new inventions?
Read more about Tim's work at http://timharford.com/
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Pushkin |
| 0:13.4 | In September 2019, the toy and game giant Hasbro struck a blow in the battle of a women's |
| 0:20.4 | rights. |
| 0:21.4 | Although, it's not quite clear which side they were on. |
| 0:25.2 | They published Mismanopoli, putting a new spin on their classic board game. |
| 0:30.5 | The tagline for this new version was, the first game where women make more than men. |
| 0:36.6 | They're not kidding. |
| 0:38.7 | Female players start the game with more monopoly money than male players, and they get $240 |
| 0:44.6 | each time they pass go, rather than the traditional $200 for the boys. |
| 0:50.1 | Why exactly? |
| 0:51.1 | It's not clear. |
| 0:53.0 | Some sort of joke? |
| 0:53.9 | It wasn't even a consistent joke. |
| 0:56.4 | Some of the chance and community chest cards paid out more cash to male players. |
| 1:01.2 | So what is the message? |
| 1:03.4 | Women have been unfairly treated? |
| 1:05.9 | Women need help to win? |
| 1:08.0 | We don't actually know what feminism means. |
| 1:11.6 | There is, however, one feature of the game that's hard to criticise. |
| 1:16.7 | Instead of buying properties from around Atlantic City as in the classic game, players invest |
| 1:22.6 | in inventions that were developed by women. |
| 1:26.0 | Such as Marion Donovan, the inventor of the leakproof diaper, Anna Connolly, the inventor |
... |
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