Ever Cheat At Monopoly? So Did Its Creator: He Stole The Idea From A Woman

Monopoly can be pretty addictive once you start playing it, right? Well, for author and journalist Mary Pilon, searching for the game's true origins proved just as consuming. She writes:

"In the process of reporting this story, I hacked off over a foot of hair in one anguished swoop, sold off many of my material possessions, was confronted by law enforcement for falling asleep in public places ... found Monopoly money in my linens when doing laundry, fretted about finances, [and] had nightmares about the various aspects of the story ..."

The result of all that anguish is The Monopolists, a book in which Pilon describes the history of Monopoly. Her book begins with what most people know — or think they know: During the Great Depression, an out-of-work salesman named Charles Darrow was desperate to support his family, so he toiled with a board game in his basement and invented what would become an American icon.

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