Home renovations can be a serious headache, but sometimes, the work really pays off.
And by that, of course, we mean making strange discoveries.
One family experienced one of these memorable wins this week, when a guy shared on "Reddit Pics" that his in-laws had made a very retro discovery while pulling up some old carpet.
The couple had hoped they would uncover some nice wooden floorboards that they could hopefully buff out and polish, but instead, they uncovered a life-size Monopoly board.
Redditor Yamaha234 posted:
"While tearing up their carpet, my in-laws found a giant monopoly board."
True to the subReddit, they also shared a picture of the big find:
@Yamaha234/Reddit Pics
Based on the picture posted in the subReddit, the gameboard really appears to have it all, including the Jail, Chance spaces, and ways to earn and lose assets.
All it's missing are the game pieces, which we suspect would be portrayed by actual people, game cards, and a slew of little houses, which we imagine being made out of paper, like the paper boats we made and hoped would float.
Apparently, these floor-covering game boards were common, and even popular, in the '50s and '60s, and they were used as a way to decorate basement floors and rooms that were designated as playrooms. But most of us have forgotten that these large gameboards were ever a thing, so when one is uncovered, it's a massive surprise.
The subReddit community had a great deal of fun with this discovery.
Some even remember these floor enhancements.
"Showed this to my wife, and she reminded me that there's a whole neighborhood near us, built in the mid-50s, that has game boards painted or tiled onto their basement floors. Seems to have been a selling point or something." - nrith
"My childhood home, which was built in the '60s, had a shuffleboard game tiled into our basement floor. My parents were the first owners, but I don't know if it was an option from the builder or they did it on their own."
"I remember my mom often complaining that she wished she had gotten the laundry chute option, so I'm pretty sure they could select certain things from the builder." - ukelele_pancakes
Others had fun imagining potential gameboard options beyond Monopoly.
"Imagine getting the house that has Giant Mousetrap." - techmaster242
"Or life-sized hungry hungry hippos?"
"Or a giant trouble popper dome you have to jump on to pop?"
"Anatomically correct version of 'operation'?"
"I'm 37 years old, and I'm giddy at the possibilities of giant games now" - SaveOurBolts
"A housewide game of Clue that you can only play once, then the cops are called." - BilboBaguette
The Redditor later came back and shared his progress with the game:
"Trying to convince them to cover it in epoxy and do the rest of the flooring around it how they originally wanted."
Though this wasn't the only gameboard floor in all of history, it's still a very interesting find. We're having fun thinking about how best to utilize this board, including someone yelling, "Do not pass GO. Do not collect $200," but Gandalf-style from The Lord of the Rings.
And don't even get us started on a life-size edition of Mouse Trap. That would be a basement that only Kevin McCallister from Home Alone could love.
