The board game Monopoly served allied prisoners as a real-life tool to get of jail during WWll, says Brian McMahon in Mental Floss, a magazine of farflung trivia.
In 1941 the British secret service asked the game's British licensee John Waddington Ltd. to add secret 'extras' to some sets, which the Red Cross delivered to prisoners of war.
These included a metal file, compass, and silk maps of safe houses (silk, because it folds into small spaces and unfolds silently). Even better, real French, German, and Italian currency was hidden under the game's fake money. Soldiers and pilots were told that if they were captured they should look out for the 'special editions' identified by a large red dot in the game's "Free Parking" space.
Of the 35,000 prisoners of war who escaped prison camps, "more than a few certainly owe their breakout to the classic board game," says McMahon.
via USA Today
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