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A lot
of useful things have been introduced in the month of
February. The bottle cap. The toothpick. Nylon. But one of
the most lucrative – and the one IBOs can learn a lot from –
was the Monopoly game, which was first sold in stores on
February 6, 1935.
What’s
notable about the Monopoly game is that it wouldn’t have
happened if it weren’t for the persistence of its inventor,
Charles B. Darrow. Mr. Darrow proudly brought his prototype
to Parker Brothers in 1934 expecting them to see its
brilliance when he laid it out before them. They focused,
instead, on “52 design errors” and sent him on
his way.
You
can imagine Darrow, unemployed and down on his luck at the
time, sure he had the greatest idea since bagged tea leaves.
If only these bigwigs in the game company could see what he
saw! It’s a familiar story to entrepreneurs the world over –
a great idea presented to people of limited vision.
Not to
be stymied, however, Darrow and a friend handmade 5,000 game
sets and sold them to a Philadelphia department store. Those
5,000 sets sold quickly, then Charles Darrow received
requests for more. The requests kept coming, and soon he
couldn’t keep up with demand. So Darrow went back to Parker
Brothers, who suddenly saw their error.
In
1935, it was the best selling game in America. Today,
Monopoly remains one of the most popular games in the world,
and to-date 200 million Monopoly games have been sold
worldwide!
Charles B. Darrow proved then what IBOs across North America
prove everyday today: A great idea can’t be quashed by
people of poor vision.
We
salute Charles Darrow and every IBO who keeps the dream
alive despite those who profess to see only design flaws.
The justice comes in seeing the dream succeed in spite of
them.
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For more on the remarkable history of Charles B. Darrow
and the Monopoly Game, see the
Monopoly history page.
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For more ideas that made the grade in Februarys over the
years, see
The Teachers Corner
website.
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