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Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I

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Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class,

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Speaker 1: a show for those interested in the big and small

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Speaker 1: moments of history. I'm Gay Bluesier, and in this episode,

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Speaker 1: we're taking a closer look at the history of a

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Speaker 1: true American icon, the Oscar Meyer Wiener Mobile. Long May

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Speaker 1: it ride. The day was July nineteen thirty six. Oscar

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Speaker 1: Meyer's original Wiener Mobile made its debut in the company's

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Speaker 1: hometown of Chicago. The car was custom built by the

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Speaker 1: General Body Company and was made to resemble a thirteen

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Speaker 1: foot long German sausage hot dog or Wiener. In the

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Speaker 1: months years to come, the soon to be iconic vehicle

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Speaker 1: would make regular appearances at schools, hospitals, town festivals, and parades,

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Speaker 1: as well as grocery store openings. These days, Oscar Meyer

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Speaker 1: has an entire fleet of hot dog themed vehicles, which

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Speaker 1: are frequently taken on tours all over the US. In

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Speaker 1: the beginning, though, the Wienermobiles stuck close to home and

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Speaker 1: could only be found on the streets of Chicago. Oscar

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Speaker 1: f Meyer first got into the meat business in eighteen

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Speaker 1: seventy three when he moved from Bavaria to the United

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Speaker 1: States at the age of fourteen. He started working as

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Speaker 1: a butcher's boy in Detroit, Michigan, and later took a

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Speaker 1: job as a meat packer in Chicago. In eighteen eighty three,

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Speaker 1: Oscar and his brother Gottfred opened their first shop there.

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Speaker 1: Business was strong from the start, especially in the city's

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Speaker 1: predominantly German neighborhoods, where there was built in demand for

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Speaker 1: traditional sausages like broadwurst and liverwurst. In less than a decade,

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Speaker 1: the brother's steady success allowed them to expand their store front,

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Speaker 1: hire more employees, and launch a citywide delivery service. By

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Speaker 1: nineteen o four, the Oscar Meyer name was so recognizable

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Speaker 1: that the shop started branding its meats, which was not

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Speaker 1: the norm for the industry at the time. Fifteen years later,

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Speaker 1: in nineteen nineteen, the Myers further expanded their operation by

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Speaker 1: purchasing their own meat packing plant in Wisconsin. By the

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Speaker 1: nineteen thirties, prepackaged Oscar Meyer sausages, now build as Wieners,

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Speaker 1: could be found in grocery stores across the country. The

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Speaker 1: company's branding had evolved as well. Customers were now encouraged

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Speaker 1: to look for the yellow band found on all Oscar

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Speaker 1: Meyer products, which was meant to be a halo representing

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Speaker 1: the high quality of the meat. This smart approach to

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Speaker 1: marketing was taken to the next level in nineteen thirty

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Speaker 1: six when Carl Meyer, Oscar's nephew, suggested building a car

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Speaker 1: in the shape of their flagship product. It was a

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Speaker 1: silly idea, but it proved to be perfectly timed. The

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Speaker 1: country was still in the grips of the Great Depression,

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Speaker 1: and Carl knew that a giant metal hot dog on

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Speaker 1: wheels was a guaranteed way to lift people's spirits while

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Speaker 1: also spreading brand awareness. Of course, the company signed off

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Speaker 1: on Carl's idea, and the General Body Company of Chicago

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Speaker 1: was tapped to design and build the world's first Wiener Mobile.

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Speaker 1: It rolled out of the factory on July eighteenth of

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Speaker 1: that year, and the original driver was none other than

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Speaker 1: Carl Meyer himself. Unlike later versions, the original Weener Mobile

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Speaker 1: was just the Wiener. The familiar yellow bun wasn't incorporated

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Speaker 1: into the design until nineteen The first car also lacked

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Speaker 1: any kind of enclosure or windshield. Instead, there were two

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Speaker 1: open air cockpits, one in the center for the driver

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Speaker 1: and one in the rear for a passenger. The sight

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Speaker 1: of Carl's head and torso sticking out of a giant

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Speaker 1: mechanical hot dog became a common sight in the Windy City,

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Speaker 1: but by nine forty a glass enclosure was added to

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Speaker 1: protect the driver. As the decades went by, the driver

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Speaker 1: changed too. Throughout the nineteen thirties, forties, and fifties, Oscar

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Speaker 1: Meyer employed several different dwarf actors to portray their new

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Speaker 1: company mascot, Little Oscar, the world's smallest chef. During that time,

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Speaker 1: the character also assumed driving duties for the Wienermobile, as

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Speaker 1: the company believed his small stature would make the already

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Speaker 1: oversized car seem all the more impressive. The first and

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Speaker 1: arguably most memorable Little Oscar was actor mine Heart Rob.

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Speaker 1: He worked for Oscar Meyer for decades, but is best

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Speaker 1: known today for his performance in The Wizard of Oz,

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Speaker 1: where he played the coroner who certified the death of

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Speaker 1: the wicked Witch. I'm already examined not only fairly dead.

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Speaker 1: With Little Oscar behind the wheel, the Winer Mobile became

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Speaker 1: more popular than ever, even as the company branched into

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Speaker 1: other processed meats like bologna and bacon. The Winer Mobile

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Speaker 1: remained the rolling embodiment of its proud hot dog heritage.

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Speaker 1: That said, it did hit a few potholes on the

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Speaker 1: road to pop culture immortality. During World War Two, the

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Speaker 1: Winer Mobile was decommissioned due to gas rationing, and even

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Speaker 1: though it returned to the road in nineteen fifty two,

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Speaker 1: most of the public lost interest in the kitschy car

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Speaker 1: over the next two decades. By nineteen seventy seven, it's

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Speaker 1: popularity had dipped so low that oscar Meyer shut down

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Speaker 1: the program entirely and pulled all five of its Winner

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Speaker 1: Mobiles from service. That sad day marked the beginning of

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Speaker 1: an eleven year period of darkness until nine teen six,

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Speaker 1: when oscar Meyer brought back the Weinermobile for its fiftieth anniversary.

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Speaker 1: By then, a whole generation of kids had grown up

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Speaker 1: to be hot dog hungry adults, and their nostalgia for

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Speaker 1: the Winer Mobile made them turn out in droves to

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Speaker 1: see it. The car's enthusiastic reception convinced oscar Meyer to

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Speaker 1: make its comeback permanent. A new fleet was commissioned, and

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Speaker 1: two years later, six twenty three foot long fiberglass hot

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Speaker 1: Dogs began cruising the country once again. The car's design

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Speaker 1: has changed numerous times in the decades since its resurrection,

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Speaker 1: but to this day, the Weener Mobile is still out

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Speaker 1: there brightening people's days. It's not alone either. Since the

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Speaker 1: turn of the twenty first century, Oscar Meyer has made

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Speaker 1: several creative additions to its fleet, including the Mini Wiener

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Speaker 1: Mobile built on the chassis of a Mini Cooper, the

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Speaker 1: Wiener Rover and all terrain off road vehicle, the Weenie

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Speaker 1: Bago of full sized dar be and the Weener Cycle,

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Speaker 1: a three wheeled moped. You won't find little Oscar and

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Speaker 1: the driver's seat anymore, though. Instead, twelve lucky college graduates

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Speaker 1: are chosen each year to spend the next twelve months

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Speaker 1: touring the nation in one of six official Wiener mobiles.

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Speaker 1: To qualify for the coveted position, each driver, known as

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Speaker 1: a hot Dogger, has to first complete about forty hours

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Speaker 1: of training behind the wheel. Once that's done, the hot

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Speaker 1: Doggers typically pair off with one person doing the driving

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Speaker 1: while the passenger smiles and waves two passers by. And yes,

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Speaker 1: there's a penny name for that position as well. It's

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Speaker 1: known as riding shot bun. Contrary to popular belief, the

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Speaker 1: Weener Mobile doesn't hand out actual hot dogs. It is, however,

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Speaker 1: loaded with just about every kind of promotional item you

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Speaker 1: could think to give away, including key chains, lanyards, plush toys,

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Speaker 1: and even vanity license plates. But of course any fan

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Speaker 1: will tell you that the most coveted freebee of all

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Speaker 1: is the iconic Weener whistle. First introduced in nineteen fifty one,

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Speaker 1: these two inch long, four note plastic kazoos are shaped

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Speaker 1: just like the full sized vehicle. They were originally distributed

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Speaker 1: in packages of Oscar Meyer hot dogs, with the idea

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Speaker 1: being that kids could blow the whistle to let others

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Speaker 1: know that the Weener Mobile had been spotted in their neighborhood.

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Speaker 1: For the last few decades, though the only place to

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Speaker 1: get the official whistle is from the hands of a

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Speaker 1: hot dogger. The whistles themselves became a rare commodity in

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Speaker 1: when the COVID nineteen pandemic put a halt to the

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Speaker 1: ongoing tour. But you can't keep a good hot dog down,

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Speaker 1: and I'm happy to say that the Weener Mobile is

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Speaker 1: now back on the road again, spreading hot dog love

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Speaker 1: and tiny plastic whistles wherever it goes. So if you

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Speaker 1: live in the States, keep an eye out this summer,

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Speaker 1: and if you see it heading your way, be sure

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Speaker 1: to give a whistle. I'm Gave Lousier and hopefully you

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Speaker 1: now know a little more about history today than you

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Speaker 1: did yesterday. If you have a second and you're so inclined,

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Speaker 1: consider following us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at t

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Speaker 1: d i HC Show. You can also rate and review

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Speaker 1: the show on Apple Podcasts, or you can send your

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Speaker 1: feedback directly to me at this Day at I heart

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Speaker 1: media dot com. Thanks to Chandler Mays for producing the show,

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Speaker 1: and thank you for listening. I'll see you back here

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Speaker 1: again tomorrow for another day in history class. Everyone would

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Speaker 1: be