Travis, What an interesting and informative story, thank you.
What a shame your such a schmuck. On Oct 2, 9:04 am, Travis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > From: *Travis* > Date: Wed, Oct 1, 2008 > Subject: Interesting Story > > INTERESTING STORY ABOUT WW II > > Starting in 1941, an increasing number of British airmen found themselves as > the involuntary guests of the Third Reich, and the authorities were > casting-about for ways and means to facilitate their escape. Now obviously, > one of the most helpful aids to that end is a useful and accurate map, one > showing not only where-stuff-was, but also showing the locations of 'safe > houses', where a POW on-the-loose could go for food and shelter. Paper maps > had some real drawbacks: They make a lot of noise when you open and fold > them, they wear-out rapidly and if they get wet, they turn into mush. > > Someone in MI-5 got the idea of printing escape maps on silk. It's durable, > can be scrunched-up into tiny wads, and unfolded as many times as needed, > and makes no noise what-so-ever. At that time, there was only one > manufacturer in Great Britain that had perfected the technology of printing > on silk, and that was John Waddington, Ltd. > > When approached by the government, the firm was only too happy to do its bit > for the war effort. By pure coincidence, Waddington was also the U.K. > Licensee for the popular American board game, Monopoly. As it happened, > 'games and pastimes' was a category item qualified for insertion into 'CARE > packages', dispatched by the International Red Cross, to prisoners of war. > > Under the strictest of secrecy, in a securely guarded and inaccessible old > workshop on the grounds of Waddington's, a group of sworn-to-secrecy > employees began mass-producing escape maps, keyed to each region of Germany > or Italy where Allied POW camps were located (Red Cross packages were > delivered to prisoners in accordance with that same regional system). When > processed, these maps could be folded into such tiny dots that they would > actually fit inside a Monopoly playing piece. > As long as they were at it, the clever workmen at Waddington's also managed > to add: > > 1. A playing token, containing a small magnetic compass, > 2. A two-part metal file that could easily be screwed together. > 3. Useful amounts of genuine high-denomination German, Italian, and > French > currency, hidden within the piles of Monopoly money! > > British and American air-crews were advised, before taking off on their > first mission, how to identify a 'rigged' Monopoly set by means of a tiny > red dot, one cleverly rigged to look like an ordinary printing glitch, > located in the corner of the Free Parking square! Of the estimated 35,000 > Allied POWS who successfully escaped, an estimated one-third where aided in > their flight by the rigged Monopoly sets. Everyone who did so was sworn to > secrecy indefinitely, since the British Government might want to use this > highly successful use in still another, future war. > > The story wasn't declassified until 2007, when the surviving craftsmen from > Waddington's, as well as the firm itself, were finally honored in a public > ceremony. Anyway, it's always nice when you can play that '*Get Out of Jail > Free*' card. > > __._,_.___ > Messages<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/grendelreport/messages;_ylc=X3oDMTJmY2F...> > [image: Yahoo! > Groups]<http://groups.yahoo.com/;_ylc=X3oDMTJlcWRwdGI1BF9TAzk3NDc2NTkwBGdycEl...> > Change settings via the > Web<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/grendelreport/join;_ylc=X3oDMTJncDVpdmk...>(Yahoo! > ID required) > Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily > Digest<[EMAIL PROTECTED]:+Digest>| > Switch > format to Traditional<[EMAIL PROTECTED]:+Traditional> > Visit Your Group > <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/grendelreport;_ylc=X3oDMTJldmQ5dTkxBF9T...>| > Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use <http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/>| Unsubscribe > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Recent Activity > > - 14 > New > Members<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/grendelreport/members;_ylc=X3oDMTJncTg0...> > > Visit Your Group > <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/grendelreport;_ylc=X3oDMTJmbmI1NXByBF9T...> > Yahoo! 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