1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:04,279 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:13,440 Speaker 1: of I Heart Radio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,440 --> 00:00:17,600 Speaker 1: I'm Holly Fry and I'm Tracy V. Wilson. So, uh, 4 00:00:17,720 --> 00:00:19,960 Speaker 1: not too long ago, Tracy, I was looking up another 5 00:00:20,040 --> 00:00:23,280 Speaker 1: possible episode, which will go nameless in case it comes up, 6 00:00:23,280 --> 00:00:27,760 Speaker 1: because I still might do it. Um. I stumbled across 7 00:00:27,960 --> 00:00:31,440 Speaker 1: a list of historical pranks and hoaxes, and we've covered 8 00:00:31,480 --> 00:00:33,279 Speaker 1: some of those before, but some of these were new 9 00:00:33,320 --> 00:00:35,280 Speaker 1: to me, and it got me thinking about such things 10 00:00:35,720 --> 00:00:38,640 Speaker 1: and whether any one of them might make another good episode. 11 00:00:38,760 --> 00:00:41,559 Speaker 1: But really, the ones I was most interested in are 12 00:00:41,600 --> 00:00:44,120 Speaker 1: a little bit shy of having enough information to be 13 00:00:44,159 --> 00:00:47,000 Speaker 1: an episode all their own. So today I grouped a 14 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:50,040 Speaker 1: few together. If you were listening, you may be wondering, 15 00:00:50,159 --> 00:00:53,360 Speaker 1: why not hold this until April Fool's Day? That seems 16 00:00:53,400 --> 00:00:56,080 Speaker 1: like a perfect match, and it is. But here's the answer. 17 00:00:56,200 --> 00:00:59,320 Speaker 1: That's twofold. One. I just didn't want to um. I 18 00:01:00,080 --> 00:01:02,520 Speaker 1: didn't feel like if I'm interested in something, I tend 19 00:01:02,600 --> 00:01:04,800 Speaker 1: to want to do it usually right then, and if 20 00:01:04,840 --> 00:01:07,360 Speaker 1: I wait, my interest may wane, and then where will 21 00:01:07,400 --> 00:01:10,520 Speaker 1: we be? Uh? And Two, I will confess to everyone 22 00:01:10,560 --> 00:01:13,120 Speaker 1: now I'm not the biggest fan of April Fool's Day. 23 00:01:13,480 --> 00:01:15,560 Speaker 1: Here's why. It's a little bit of a snooty thing. 24 00:01:15,600 --> 00:01:17,840 Speaker 1: It always feels a little bit like an amateur hour 25 00:01:17,920 --> 00:01:26,120 Speaker 1: of irritation pranks. I don't like that. Um, Which is 26 00:01:26,160 --> 00:01:28,200 Speaker 1: not to say all pranks are bad, because some of 27 00:01:28,240 --> 00:01:31,160 Speaker 1: them are very clever and legitimately fun. And there are 28 00:01:31,200 --> 00:01:33,319 Speaker 1: things that happen on April Fool's Day that some people 29 00:01:33,360 --> 00:01:36,040 Speaker 1: do that I really love. But two of the ones 30 00:01:36,080 --> 00:01:39,000 Speaker 1: we're covering today are actually pretty delightful, and one was 31 00:01:39,040 --> 00:01:41,920 Speaker 1: in April Fool's prank. One of the ones that we're 32 00:01:41,920 --> 00:01:44,119 Speaker 1: talking about today would have left me in a full 33 00:01:44,160 --> 00:01:46,240 Speaker 1: blown rage if I had been a part of it. 34 00:01:47,120 --> 00:01:50,080 Speaker 1: But all of these pranks are fairly legendary, and they're 35 00:01:50,080 --> 00:01:53,160 Speaker 1: all quite different. Uh So you're going to get a 36 00:01:53,240 --> 00:01:56,360 Speaker 1: smattering of things. So we've got a joke that kind 37 00:01:56,440 --> 00:01:59,400 Speaker 1: of became a living legend, we have a large scale 38 00:01:59,400 --> 00:02:03,320 Speaker 1: prank that created complete havoc, and we have a televised 39 00:02:03,320 --> 00:02:07,040 Speaker 1: hoax that reminds us all of the importance of critical thinking. 40 00:02:07,840 --> 00:02:14,760 Speaker 1: So first of these three. On January at Brown University, 41 00:02:14,800 --> 00:02:18,480 Speaker 1: a notice was posted on the university Hall bulletin board 42 00:02:18,600 --> 00:02:22,720 Speaker 1: that advertised an upcoming lecture, and here is what it said. 43 00:02:23,440 --> 00:02:27,200 Speaker 1: On Thursday evening at eight fifteen and Sales Hall, J. S. 44 00:02:27,360 --> 00:02:33,120 Speaker 1: Carberry will give a lecture on Archaic Greek architectural revetments 45 00:02:33,919 --> 00:02:39,280 Speaker 1: in connection with Ionian philology. For tickets and further information 46 00:02:39,400 --> 00:02:43,639 Speaker 1: applied to Professor John Spaith. So this was the birth 47 00:02:43,800 --> 00:02:48,280 Speaker 1: of a prank, seemingly with no end. From the beginning, 48 00:02:48,560 --> 00:02:51,440 Speaker 1: there were doubters as to the identity and credentials of 49 00:02:51,560 --> 00:02:55,360 Speaker 1: JS Carberry. Upon seeing this lecture flyer. One of Professor 50 00:02:55,440 --> 00:02:58,799 Speaker 1: space colleagues, Professor Ben Klow, is said to have inserted 51 00:02:58,840 --> 00:03:01,320 Speaker 1: the word not into the text so that it read 52 00:03:01,600 --> 00:03:05,200 Speaker 1: Carberry will not give a lecture. We should note here 53 00:03:05,200 --> 00:03:07,880 Speaker 1: too that even in the documentation that you can find 54 00:03:07,919 --> 00:03:12,040 Speaker 1: at Brown University, sometimes the word philology in the lecture 55 00:03:12,040 --> 00:03:16,360 Speaker 1: title is listed as though it said phonology. Klow, which 56 00:03:16,440 --> 00:03:19,040 Speaker 1: is also a name I've heard people say as Clough. 57 00:03:19,680 --> 00:03:22,959 Speaker 1: Because there's lots of ways to say things. Followed up 58 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:26,000 Speaker 1: with Professor Space to ask him what this was all about, 59 00:03:26,320 --> 00:03:29,560 Speaker 1: and Spaith had loads of details about Carberry to share 60 00:03:29,600 --> 00:03:34,360 Speaker 1: with this doubter. Carberry was a professor of psycho ceramics 61 00:03:34,400 --> 00:03:38,360 Speaker 1: the study of cracked pots. He had a wife named Laura, 62 00:03:38,640 --> 00:03:42,760 Speaker 1: who was described as ungrammatical, and two daughters, Patricia and Lois. 63 00:03:43,120 --> 00:03:47,080 Speaker 1: Patricia was a poet and Lois hunted puffins. There was 64 00:03:47,120 --> 00:03:49,280 Speaker 1: even an assistant in the mix to fill out this 65 00:03:49,360 --> 00:03:52,240 Speaker 1: story that was a Truman Grayson, who was prone to 66 00:03:52,400 --> 00:03:55,440 Speaker 1: accidents and being bitten by things that begin with the 67 00:03:55,520 --> 00:03:59,280 Speaker 1: letter A. This all just sounds like a description from 68 00:03:59,280 --> 00:04:02,280 Speaker 1: a children's book to me. Yeah, it's all very silly 69 00:04:02,360 --> 00:04:04,640 Speaker 1: right out of the gate. And clearly this was all 70 00:04:04,680 --> 00:04:07,560 Speaker 1: just a bit of fun. But unlike the other pranks 71 00:04:07,560 --> 00:04:11,120 Speaker 1: on today's show, Josiah story did not fade or blow over. 72 00:04:11,760 --> 00:04:15,160 Speaker 1: It grew, it became further embellished, and it became a 73 00:04:15,240 --> 00:04:19,719 Speaker 1: twentieth century legend. Of course, because of that legendary status, 74 00:04:19,720 --> 00:04:22,680 Speaker 1: the Carberry story has not only grown, but it has 75 00:04:22,720 --> 00:04:26,839 Speaker 1: also developed some inconsistencies over the years. For example, his 76 00:04:26,920 --> 00:04:30,200 Speaker 1: birthday may have been in eighteen twenty, his career may 77 00:04:30,240 --> 00:04:34,240 Speaker 1: have started in eighteen five. Both of those milestones have 78 00:04:34,320 --> 00:04:37,359 Speaker 1: at times been attributed instead to that year that the 79 00:04:37,440 --> 00:04:42,240 Speaker 1: flyer first appeared in University Hall nine in May of 80 00:04:42,320 --> 00:04:46,200 Speaker 1: nineteen twenty nine, the school paper reported that Carberry, who 81 00:04:46,240 --> 00:04:49,520 Speaker 1: at that time was referred to as an expert in 82 00:04:49,920 --> 00:04:54,960 Speaker 1: Hindo Jerramic pottery, was going to the Southwestern Arkansas Normal 83 00:04:55,080 --> 00:04:59,400 Speaker 1: Institute as a loaner from Brown University. Carberry has had 84 00:04:59,400 --> 00:05:01,880 Speaker 1: a number of titles attached to his name, but the 85 00:05:01,920 --> 00:05:07,000 Speaker 1: one that sticks the most is Professor of psycho Ceramics. Yeah, 86 00:05:07,040 --> 00:05:08,960 Speaker 1: depending on what you look at, you'll see him listed 87 00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:11,520 Speaker 1: in a variety of different ways. It's usually always related 88 00:05:11,560 --> 00:05:14,800 Speaker 1: to pottery and some form or another. Over the years, 89 00:05:14,839 --> 00:05:17,440 Speaker 1: there have been a great many lectures that Josiah S. 90 00:05:17,480 --> 00:05:21,240 Speaker 1: Carberry was scheduled to deliver, only to have some conflict 91 00:05:21,279 --> 00:05:25,000 Speaker 1: arise to prevent the presentation. But there has always been 92 00:05:25,040 --> 00:05:29,200 Speaker 1: a very good reason for such cancelations. Primarily that reason 93 00:05:29,360 --> 00:05:34,120 Speaker 1: was his world travels to places allegedly like Turkey, Hawaii, 94 00:05:34,240 --> 00:05:37,920 Speaker 1: or Mongolia that would keep him away. But travels are 95 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:42,320 Speaker 1: no It seems that Carberry, whose middle name is apparently Stinkney, 96 00:05:42,480 --> 00:05:45,400 Speaker 1: manages to be ever present at Brown in one way 97 00:05:45,480 --> 00:05:48,800 Speaker 1: or another. Over the years, his family has produced a 98 00:05:48,800 --> 00:05:52,559 Speaker 1: great deal of correspondence and placed so many notices about 99 00:05:52,600 --> 00:05:56,279 Speaker 1: their various doings in the paper that the Providence Journal 100 00:05:56,440 --> 00:05:59,800 Speaker 1: banned them completely. Yeah, there's apparently a kill order that 101 00:05:59,839 --> 00:06:02,280 Speaker 1: if the name Carburry comes up not to run it 102 00:06:02,640 --> 00:06:05,880 Speaker 1: like it's not real, like maybeing like no more coin 103 00:06:05,960 --> 00:06:11,520 Speaker 1: hords except as are real. In Carberry sent a check 104 00:06:11,560 --> 00:06:14,240 Speaker 1: from his travels abroad in the amount of one one 105 00:06:14,279 --> 00:06:18,720 Speaker 1: dollars and one cent, and the accompanying missive indicated that 106 00:06:18,720 --> 00:06:21,880 Speaker 1: that money was intended to set up a memorial fund 107 00:06:21,920 --> 00:06:25,520 Speaker 1: for his quote future late wife, which should be named 108 00:06:25,560 --> 00:06:27,840 Speaker 1: not after her, but should be called the Josiah S. 109 00:06:27,960 --> 00:06:32,040 Speaker 1: Carberry Fund. That one one dollar and one cent was 110 00:06:32,160 --> 00:06:35,680 Speaker 1: seed money. In receiving it, the university had to agree 111 00:06:35,720 --> 00:06:40,360 Speaker 1: to establish a donation drive every Friday and every leap 112 00:06:40,440 --> 00:06:43,920 Speaker 1: day of February twenty nine, where anyone could donate their 113 00:06:43,960 --> 00:06:46,839 Speaker 1: loose change into Brown jugs to add to the fund. 114 00:06:47,600 --> 00:06:50,039 Speaker 1: That money was to be used to purchase books that 115 00:06:50,120 --> 00:06:52,800 Speaker 1: the good Professor might or might not approve of. It 116 00:06:52,839 --> 00:06:54,680 Speaker 1: has been used to purchase things. You can find a 117 00:06:54,720 --> 00:06:59,800 Speaker 1: list of them the Brown University Library site. In Carberry 118 00:06:59,839 --> 00:07:03,400 Speaker 1: also wrote a cookbook, The Carberry Cookbook From Nuts to Soup. 119 00:07:04,080 --> 00:07:06,800 Speaker 1: It includes contributions from other people, but he was the 120 00:07:06,839 --> 00:07:09,880 Speaker 1: primary editor, and the proceeds of that were also to 121 00:07:09,960 --> 00:07:14,160 Speaker 1: go to the Carberry Fund. It contained recipes for such 122 00:07:14,280 --> 00:07:18,280 Speaker 1: delights as chocolate ice box pie, shrimp in beer, and 123 00:07:18,440 --> 00:07:24,120 Speaker 1: stuffed camel and boiled water. Chocolate ice box pie is 124 00:07:24,120 --> 00:07:27,680 Speaker 1: a real thing, yes, and that came from a contributor. 125 00:07:28,320 --> 00:07:31,000 Speaker 1: Shrimp and beer is that. You can find that recipe 126 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:37,280 Speaker 1: online and it's basically like dumb shrimp and beer, all right, 127 00:07:38,720 --> 00:07:45,040 Speaker 1: So that donation. The following year, an article titled Josiah S. Carberry, 128 00:07:45,080 --> 00:07:48,640 Speaker 1: the Professor and the Legend appeared in the Brown Daily Herald, 129 00:07:49,120 --> 00:07:52,440 Speaker 1: and in it the return address of this famed initial 130 00:07:52,520 --> 00:07:55,840 Speaker 1: donation to the Carberry Fund was exposed as being the 131 00:07:55,880 --> 00:08:01,320 Speaker 1: New Hampshire State Liquor Store. So these Carberry mysteries continue. Yeah, 132 00:08:01,360 --> 00:08:04,520 Speaker 1: there are so many that we're not gonna list here, 133 00:08:04,760 --> 00:08:09,160 Speaker 1: but imagine more such things happening over the years. And 134 00:08:09,240 --> 00:08:12,080 Speaker 1: over the years, Carberry's name has appeared on a number 135 00:08:12,120 --> 00:08:14,960 Speaker 1: of academic papers, and it has been mentioned in a 136 00:08:15,040 --> 00:08:18,800 Speaker 1: variety of magazines and newspapers, including The New York Times, 137 00:08:19,080 --> 00:08:22,600 Speaker 1: which claimed he was the world's greatest traveler. His books 138 00:08:22,720 --> 00:08:27,760 Speaker 1: have been cited in the footnotes of other books. Sixteen 139 00:08:27,800 --> 00:08:31,760 Speaker 1: minutes ran a segment on Carberry. That's right, sixteen, not sixty. 140 00:08:31,880 --> 00:08:34,840 Speaker 1: It is a very artful spoof of the sixty minutes 141 00:08:34,880 --> 00:08:37,959 Speaker 1: story style produced by the Brown Club of Rhode Island 142 00:08:38,040 --> 00:08:41,640 Speaker 1: and friends of Brown University Library. And that particular piece 143 00:08:41,760 --> 00:08:45,439 Speaker 1: is full of very fun Carberry lore, including the information 144 00:08:45,480 --> 00:08:49,080 Speaker 1: that there have even been allegedly financial concerns over the 145 00:08:49,120 --> 00:08:53,000 Speaker 1: mysterious faculty member, particularly whether he may have been added 146 00:08:53,040 --> 00:08:56,000 Speaker 1: to the payroll at some point in time. In two 147 00:08:56,080 --> 00:08:59,120 Speaker 1: thousand five, a letter from Carberry appeared in the Brown 148 00:08:59,200 --> 00:09:04,520 Speaker 1: Daily Herald under the pleading headline make me Famous Again Brown. 149 00:09:05,280 --> 00:09:08,040 Speaker 1: He relates that he's on a fishing trawler out of Russia, 150 00:09:08,240 --> 00:09:11,600 Speaker 1: sifting through pottery shards that the crew pulls up while 151 00:09:11,600 --> 00:09:15,160 Speaker 1: they quest after a mythical whale. But despite a lot 152 00:09:15,200 --> 00:09:18,000 Speaker 1: of chatter, his real aim really seems to be securing 153 00:09:18,080 --> 00:09:22,360 Speaker 1: his legacy by making sure that the Carberry sandwich, which 154 00:09:22,400 --> 00:09:24,960 Speaker 1: at that point has two chicken patties on it, is 155 00:09:25,080 --> 00:09:29,120 Speaker 1: upgraded with a third patty. You may worry about his fame, 156 00:09:29,200 --> 00:09:34,560 Speaker 1: he has incidentally never been photographed with his face visible. Carberry, 157 00:09:34,600 --> 00:09:38,040 Speaker 1: it appears, is either immortal or merely blessed with both 158 00:09:38,080 --> 00:09:41,360 Speaker 1: longevity and vitality. It seems like as long as his 159 00:09:41,480 --> 00:09:44,840 Speaker 1: name lives on, it's going to stay that way. Before 160 00:09:44,840 --> 00:09:47,160 Speaker 1: we jump into our next story, which is a very 161 00:09:47,200 --> 00:09:50,080 Speaker 1: ambitious prank, we will take a break and have a 162 00:09:50,080 --> 00:10:02,320 Speaker 1: word from our sponsors. So for this next one, the 163 00:10:02,440 --> 00:10:04,800 Speaker 1: street that the hoax took place in is what gives 164 00:10:04,800 --> 00:10:07,600 Speaker 1: it its name, and that was at fifty Burner Street, 165 00:10:08,080 --> 00:10:13,880 Speaker 1: London on November ten, starting at five am, Burner Street 166 00:10:13,960 --> 00:10:17,679 Speaker 1: became so overrun with visitors and deliveries to the residents 167 00:10:17,679 --> 00:10:20,840 Speaker 1: there that the entire street became grid locked, and the 168 00:10:20,880 --> 00:10:24,040 Speaker 1: blocks surrounding the address were also jammed to the point 169 00:10:24,400 --> 00:10:27,960 Speaker 1: that passage was impossible. And that whole mess was the 170 00:10:28,000 --> 00:10:31,880 Speaker 1: result of a hoax, a hoax that started with a bet. 171 00:10:32,640 --> 00:10:35,760 Speaker 1: So a quick note on the dates here right ups 172 00:10:35,800 --> 00:10:38,920 Speaker 1: about this from the eighteen forties have put this hoax 173 00:10:39,000 --> 00:10:42,280 Speaker 1: as happening in the year eighteen o nine. You'll see 174 00:10:42,320 --> 00:10:47,400 Speaker 1: that repeated a lot, but searching through newspaper archives online, 175 00:10:47,840 --> 00:10:50,960 Speaker 1: all the contemporary write ups about it are from eighteen ten. 176 00:10:51,679 --> 00:10:54,040 Speaker 1: And the architect of this whole thing was a man 177 00:10:54,160 --> 00:10:59,480 Speaker 1: named Theodore Edward Hook. Hook was born on September, so 178 00:10:59,520 --> 00:11:02,199 Speaker 1: he was eventy two at the time of the Burners 179 00:11:02,240 --> 00:11:06,360 Speaker 1: Street hoax. His father was composer James Hook, and Theodore 180 00:11:06,480 --> 00:11:09,560 Speaker 1: was the second son born to James and his first wife. 181 00:11:10,240 --> 00:11:13,959 Speaker 1: Theodore's brother, James, was eighteen years old when Theodore was born, 182 00:11:14,280 --> 00:11:16,520 Speaker 1: and their mother died when Theodore was still fairly young. 183 00:11:17,360 --> 00:11:19,920 Speaker 1: Some accounts place her death in eighteen o two, that 184 00:11:19,960 --> 00:11:22,680 Speaker 1: means he would have been right around fourteen. He was 185 00:11:22,720 --> 00:11:25,040 Speaker 1: sent to a seminary school while he was still a boy, 186 00:11:25,120 --> 00:11:28,320 Speaker 1: but he was very precocious there. At one point, it 187 00:11:28,360 --> 00:11:31,800 Speaker 1: was discovered he had skipped three full weeks of school, 188 00:11:32,440 --> 00:11:34,920 Speaker 1: and although he eventually found that he really enjoyed writing, 189 00:11:34,960 --> 00:11:37,199 Speaker 1: he never really did like school no matter which one 190 00:11:37,240 --> 00:11:39,560 Speaker 1: he went to, and wrote later in his life quote, 191 00:11:40,120 --> 00:11:42,520 Speaker 1: my school life was not a happy one. I was 192 00:11:42,600 --> 00:11:46,120 Speaker 1: idle and careless of my tasks. I had no aptitude 193 00:11:46,120 --> 00:11:50,199 Speaker 1: for learning languages. I hated Greek and absolutely shuddered at Hebrew. 194 00:11:50,880 --> 00:11:53,880 Speaker 1: I fancied myself a genius, and anything that could be 195 00:11:53,920 --> 00:11:57,520 Speaker 1: done in a hurry I did tolerably well, but application 196 00:11:57,720 --> 00:12:01,559 Speaker 1: I had not. Even when his father arranged for Theodore 197 00:12:01,600 --> 00:12:04,160 Speaker 1: to attend Oxford with the intent that he would become 198 00:12:04,160 --> 00:12:07,720 Speaker 1: a lawyer. Theodore almost tanked the whole thing by making 199 00:12:07,800 --> 00:12:12,560 Speaker 1: jokes during the entrance ceremony that infuriated the chancellor. This 200 00:12:12,640 --> 00:12:14,959 Speaker 1: was more or less how he conducted his life, and 201 00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:18,960 Speaker 1: he became a well known writer and wit. As writer J. 202 00:12:19,120 --> 00:12:21,960 Speaker 1: Murray put it in eighteen forty three, quote, he carried 203 00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:25,800 Speaker 1: the spirit of rebellious frolic with him. And we're giving 204 00:12:25,840 --> 00:12:29,040 Speaker 1: you all this biographical information to set up who the 205 00:12:29,120 --> 00:12:32,840 Speaker 1: sort of person was he would pull this particular type 206 00:12:32,840 --> 00:12:37,240 Speaker 1: of involved prank. In the book The Lives of Wits 207 00:12:37,280 --> 00:12:41,400 Speaker 1: and Humorists, written in eighteen sixty two, author John Tims 208 00:12:41,400 --> 00:12:44,720 Speaker 1: put it this way, quote, Sheridan, as we have seen 209 00:12:44,880 --> 00:12:48,160 Speaker 1: in the present volume, had a great taste, we may 210 00:12:48,240 --> 00:12:52,960 Speaker 1: say constructive skill in hoaxing, but he is far exceeded 211 00:12:53,000 --> 00:12:56,040 Speaker 1: by Hook. He was known to do things like order 212 00:12:56,080 --> 00:12:58,760 Speaker 1: a coach with a friend and then stage a fight 213 00:12:58,880 --> 00:13:01,120 Speaker 1: as they got close to their destinations, so that he 214 00:13:01,120 --> 00:13:03,920 Speaker 1: would jump out of the coach and leave his friend 215 00:13:03,960 --> 00:13:07,439 Speaker 1: to pay the fair. He did a lot of fair dumping, 216 00:13:07,760 --> 00:13:10,640 Speaker 1: has jokes. Yeah, I don't think I don't think that's 217 00:13:10,960 --> 00:13:13,760 Speaker 1: so funny, right, let's stick your friends with the bill 218 00:13:13,920 --> 00:13:16,400 Speaker 1: as a joke. Over and over he did a lot 219 00:13:16,440 --> 00:13:22,320 Speaker 1: of that, um, you know, humor subjective. One day in November, Hook, 220 00:13:22,559 --> 00:13:25,440 Speaker 1: it said, was strolling down Burner Street with a friend 221 00:13:25,960 --> 00:13:28,640 Speaker 1: and noticed a house which is described in accounts as 222 00:13:28,760 --> 00:13:33,360 Speaker 1: quote particularly neat and modest in appearance. It belonged to 223 00:13:33,400 --> 00:13:37,440 Speaker 1: a shopkeeper's widow. And for some reason Hook got an idea, 224 00:13:38,320 --> 00:13:41,000 Speaker 1: and he is said to have turned to his friend 225 00:13:41,040 --> 00:13:43,080 Speaker 1: and said, quote, I lay you a guinea that in 226 00:13:43,120 --> 00:13:46,439 Speaker 1: one week, that nice, quiet dwelling shall be the most 227 00:13:46,480 --> 00:13:50,240 Speaker 1: famous in all London. When his friends took the bet, 228 00:13:50,280 --> 00:13:52,679 Speaker 1: Hook went into action to make sure he would win it. 229 00:13:53,200 --> 00:13:56,280 Speaker 1: Over the next four or five days, Thomas Hook wrote 230 00:13:56,320 --> 00:14:00,680 Speaker 1: a thousand pieces of correspondence. These were orders to all 231 00:14:00,720 --> 00:14:03,720 Speaker 1: manner of tradesmen stating the need for services, all of 232 00:14:03,760 --> 00:14:07,360 Speaker 1: them to be scheduled on November, and all in a 233 00:14:07,440 --> 00:14:11,599 Speaker 1: short period of hours. Some were written to public officials 234 00:14:11,679 --> 00:14:15,520 Speaker 1: and socially prominent Londoners requesting that they call on the 235 00:14:15,600 --> 00:14:20,040 Speaker 1: address on the morning of November, all on some important 236 00:14:20,120 --> 00:14:23,680 Speaker 1: matter or another, depending on what Hook thought would most 237 00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:27,880 Speaker 1: entice the recipient to show up. For example, one note 238 00:14:27,960 --> 00:14:32,080 Speaker 1: which was reported in the papers. Read quote, Mrs Tottenham 239 00:14:32,160 --> 00:14:36,160 Speaker 1: requests Mr Blank will call upon her at two tomorrow 240 00:14:36,480 --> 00:14:40,000 Speaker 1: as she wishes to consult him about the sale of 241 00:14:40,040 --> 00:14:44,160 Speaker 1: an estate. Yeah. Presumably those names were left out so 242 00:14:44,240 --> 00:14:47,360 Speaker 1: that people would not be harangued for having fallen for 243 00:14:47,440 --> 00:14:51,040 Speaker 1: this very silly prank. And in addition to sending all 244 00:14:51,040 --> 00:14:54,600 Speaker 1: of those missives out, Hook rented a room across the 245 00:14:54,680 --> 00:14:58,520 Speaker 1: street from Mrs Tottenham's and sat with two of his 246 00:14:58,600 --> 00:15:02,040 Speaker 1: friends watching the whole thing play out. There are some 247 00:15:02,160 --> 00:15:05,760 Speaker 1: inconsistencies with this story right out of the gate, because 248 00:15:05,800 --> 00:15:09,440 Speaker 1: Hook himself wrote about it, but it's not known what 249 00:15:09,560 --> 00:15:13,640 Speaker 1: degree of license he took with the material. In his version. 250 00:15:13,720 --> 00:15:16,440 Speaker 1: For example, he says that this happened in eighteen o nine, 251 00:15:16,840 --> 00:15:19,280 Speaker 1: and he indicated that he and his friends had worked 252 00:15:19,360 --> 00:15:22,320 Speaker 1: out the plan over a longer period than just a week. 253 00:15:22,960 --> 00:15:26,200 Speaker 1: But the question that never gets answered in any account 254 00:15:26,360 --> 00:15:30,480 Speaker 1: is why Hook selected that particular house. There's been some 255 00:15:30,520 --> 00:15:33,920 Speaker 1: speculation that he had some kind of disagreement with Mrs 256 00:15:33,920 --> 00:15:37,200 Speaker 1: Tottenham or that one of his friends did, but there's 257 00:15:37,280 --> 00:15:40,400 Speaker 1: also precedent in his behavior that he just did a 258 00:15:40,400 --> 00:15:43,800 Speaker 1: lot of things with no specific motivation. At all. It's 259 00:15:43,960 --> 00:15:46,400 Speaker 1: entirely possible that he saw what looked like the most 260 00:15:46,560 --> 00:15:49,960 Speaker 1: boring house on the street and he decided that was 261 00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:53,240 Speaker 1: a challenge. Now, we mentioned at the beginning of this 262 00:15:53,320 --> 00:15:56,240 Speaker 1: story that this shut down all passage in the area, 263 00:15:56,360 --> 00:16:00,080 Speaker 1: and that cannot have been a surprise. Hook knew the 264 00:16:00,080 --> 00:16:02,400 Speaker 1: the nature of the street layout was going to cause 265 00:16:02,440 --> 00:16:05,200 Speaker 1: a jam because there were not as many connecting points 266 00:16:05,200 --> 00:16:07,440 Speaker 1: in the city at that time that would allow you 267 00:16:07,440 --> 00:16:10,440 Speaker 1: to pass through. So, according to an eight forty three 268 00:16:10,560 --> 00:16:13,560 Speaker 1: right up of the affair at the time quote, Oxford 269 00:16:13,680 --> 00:16:17,040 Speaker 1: Road was not approachable either from Westminster or Mayfair or 270 00:16:17,040 --> 00:16:20,840 Speaker 1: the city otherwise than through a complicated series of lanes. 271 00:16:21,600 --> 00:16:24,080 Speaker 1: It may be feebly and a far off guest what 272 00:16:24,200 --> 00:16:26,920 Speaker 1: the crash and jam and tumult of that day was. 273 00:16:27,720 --> 00:16:30,640 Speaker 1: That's because Burner Street kind of connected up to Oxford. 274 00:16:30,680 --> 00:16:33,040 Speaker 1: It was one of the few connections, and in fact, 275 00:16:33,400 --> 00:16:37,280 Speaker 1: Hook himself later estimated that this whole thing had impacted 276 00:16:37,320 --> 00:16:40,880 Speaker 1: about a quarter of the town and short it was 277 00:16:40,960 --> 00:16:44,720 Speaker 1: an abysmal mess. The Morning Post ran a story about 278 00:16:44,760 --> 00:16:47,520 Speaker 1: what had happened the next day, opening with a line 279 00:16:47,760 --> 00:16:51,840 Speaker 1: that must surely have delighted Theodore Hook. Quote. The greatest 280 00:16:51,920 --> 00:16:54,720 Speaker 1: hoax that has ever been heard of in this metropolis 281 00:16:54,760 --> 00:16:59,440 Speaker 1: was yesterday practiced in Berner Street, Oxford Street. The paper 282 00:16:59,520 --> 00:17:03,600 Speaker 1: described a dozen deliveries, all arriving at once, and that's 283 00:17:03,600 --> 00:17:06,320 Speaker 1: really like the light version, because this did start first 284 00:17:06,359 --> 00:17:09,200 Speaker 1: thing in the morning with a chimney sweep, and the 285 00:17:09,240 --> 00:17:12,199 Speaker 1: woman of the house Mrs Tottenham, had not ordered to sweep, 286 00:17:12,200 --> 00:17:15,560 Speaker 1: and so that person was sent away, and reportedly a 287 00:17:15,680 --> 00:17:18,800 Speaker 1: dozen more chimney sweep showed up not long after. And 288 00:17:18,840 --> 00:17:21,000 Speaker 1: that was just the first of what would be a 289 00:17:21,040 --> 00:17:24,959 Speaker 1: long line of tradesmen who appeared at the house that day. 290 00:17:25,440 --> 00:17:29,240 Speaker 1: According to various accounts, coal wagons showed up, bakers with 291 00:17:29,320 --> 00:17:36,400 Speaker 1: wedding cakes, dentists, jewelers, wigmakers, midwives, even an undertaker who 292 00:17:36,400 --> 00:17:39,919 Speaker 1: had made a custom coffin for the very alive Mrs Tottenham. 293 00:17:40,760 --> 00:17:44,840 Speaker 1: Furniture began to arrive, couch after couch, and then organs 294 00:17:45,160 --> 00:17:48,560 Speaker 1: and even butchers with massive deliveries of meat that had 295 00:17:48,600 --> 00:17:52,080 Speaker 1: not actually been ordered. Basically, anything one might order for 296 00:17:52,200 --> 00:17:55,520 Speaker 1: delivery had been ordered by Hook as part of the prank, 297 00:17:55,760 --> 00:17:59,040 Speaker 1: and it had been ordered in multiples. The Mayor of 298 00:17:59,119 --> 00:18:02,080 Speaker 1: London and received what he believed to be a letter 299 00:18:02,240 --> 00:18:06,919 Speaker 1: regarding a meeting from Mrs Tottenham, arrived by carriage, although 300 00:18:06,920 --> 00:18:10,320 Speaker 1: by that time the street was already clogged with deliveries 301 00:18:10,400 --> 00:18:13,600 Speaker 1: and onlookers who had gathered to marvel at all these 302 00:18:13,680 --> 00:18:17,520 Speaker 1: comings and goings, and often to mock the various tradespeople 303 00:18:17,560 --> 00:18:20,639 Speaker 1: who were being turned away from the house. The mayor 304 00:18:20,720 --> 00:18:23,679 Speaker 1: was taken to the nearby Marlborough Street Police Office to 305 00:18:23,680 --> 00:18:26,600 Speaker 1: get him out of the crowd to try to contain things. 306 00:18:26,680 --> 00:18:29,920 Speaker 1: Police officers were posted at the street corners to preemptively 307 00:18:29,960 --> 00:18:33,399 Speaker 1: turn deliveries away, and it took until the late evening 308 00:18:33,440 --> 00:18:35,520 Speaker 1: to get the crowd to go home and get the 309 00:18:35,560 --> 00:18:39,000 Speaker 1: street unjammed. This all may have seemed like a really 310 00:18:39,040 --> 00:18:41,520 Speaker 1: funny idea to Hook, but it was actually a big 311 00:18:41,560 --> 00:18:44,520 Speaker 1: issue for a lot of people. The Quarterly Review wrote 312 00:18:44,520 --> 00:18:47,560 Speaker 1: about the incident an outlined just how much damage, far 313 00:18:47,640 --> 00:18:50,600 Speaker 1: beyond mere nuisance, had been done by the prank. Quote. 314 00:18:50,960 --> 00:18:55,880 Speaker 1: Perhaps no assassination, no conspiracy, no royal demise or ministerial 315 00:18:55,920 --> 00:19:00,240 Speaker 1: revolution of recent times was greater godsend to the newspapers 316 00:19:00,240 --> 00:19:04,680 Speaker 1: than this audacious piece of mischief. In Hook's own theatrical world, 317 00:19:04,800 --> 00:19:08,840 Speaker 1: he was instantly suspected, but no sign escaped whither him 318 00:19:08,960 --> 00:19:12,919 Speaker 1: or his confidants. The affair was beyond that circle, a 319 00:19:13,040 --> 00:19:17,520 Speaker 1: serious one. Fierce were the growlings of the doctors and surgeons, 320 00:19:17,960 --> 00:19:22,000 Speaker 1: scores of whom had been cheated a valuable hours. Attorneys, 321 00:19:22,200 --> 00:19:28,440 Speaker 1: teachers of all kinds, hairdressers, tailors, popular preachers, parliamentary philanthropists 322 00:19:28,560 --> 00:19:31,600 Speaker 1: had been alike victimized, and were, in their various notes 323 00:19:31,640 --> 00:19:36,440 Speaker 1: alike vociferous. But the tangible material damage done was itself 324 00:19:36,800 --> 00:19:42,440 Speaker 1: no joking matter. There had been an awful smashing of glass, china, harpsichord, 325 00:19:42,520 --> 00:19:46,439 Speaker 1: and coach panels. Many a horse fell, never to rise again. 326 00:19:47,240 --> 00:19:50,760 Speaker 1: Beer barrels and wine barrels had been overturned and exhausted 327 00:19:50,760 --> 00:19:54,920 Speaker 1: with impunity. Amid the press of countless multitudes, it had 328 00:19:54,920 --> 00:19:58,960 Speaker 1: been a fine field day for pickpockets. There arose a 329 00:19:59,080 --> 00:20:02,480 Speaker 1: fervent hu and cry for the detection of the wholesale 330 00:20:02,560 --> 00:20:07,520 Speaker 1: deceiver and destroyer. That right up was written several decades later, 331 00:20:07,800 --> 00:20:11,280 Speaker 1: and as it indicates, Hook was not immediately identified as 332 00:20:11,280 --> 00:20:14,719 Speaker 1: the hoaxer. He feigned illness for a couple of weeks 333 00:20:15,040 --> 00:20:17,600 Speaker 1: and then went to the country under the guise of 334 00:20:17,640 --> 00:20:22,360 Speaker 1: seeking wellness through fresh air and rest. There was, however, 335 00:20:22,440 --> 00:20:25,600 Speaker 1: a satirical print that was released in eighteen ten that 336 00:20:25,800 --> 00:20:29,400 Speaker 1: hints that people knew it must be Hook's work. There's 337 00:20:29,440 --> 00:20:32,520 Speaker 1: a speech bubble in the picture that has the mayor saying, oh, 338 00:20:32,520 --> 00:20:35,400 Speaker 1: this is a pretty hoax, but I'll find it out 339 00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:39,840 Speaker 1: by hook or by crook, with the word hook capitalized 340 00:20:39,880 --> 00:20:42,840 Speaker 1: like it's a proper name. As the news of this 341 00:20:42,920 --> 00:20:46,639 Speaker 1: hoax hit the press, similar copycat pranks started popping up 342 00:20:46,640 --> 00:20:49,720 Speaker 1: around England and even some in France, and Hook was 343 00:20:49,760 --> 00:20:52,800 Speaker 1: apparently miffed by the imitators and wrote as much as 344 00:20:52,840 --> 00:20:58,399 Speaker 1: his autobiographical but fictional persona Gilbert Gurney, intimating that anyone 345 00:20:58,480 --> 00:21:01,159 Speaker 1: doing the same prank after him as a plagiarist. He 346 00:21:01,280 --> 00:21:04,240 Speaker 1: later wrote, copy the joke, and it ceases to be one. 347 00:21:04,640 --> 00:21:07,679 Speaker 1: Any fool can imitate an example once set. But for 348 00:21:07,760 --> 00:21:12,480 Speaker 1: originality of thought and design, I do think that was perfect. Cook, 349 00:21:12,760 --> 00:21:15,800 Speaker 1: who of course won his bet, does not appear to 350 00:21:15,880 --> 00:21:18,400 Speaker 1: have been sobered by all the trouble that he caused. 351 00:21:18,840 --> 00:21:21,480 Speaker 1: After things blew over and he returned from the country, 352 00:21:21,600 --> 00:21:25,040 Speaker 1: he kept brewing up pranks, including one where he gave 353 00:21:25,080 --> 00:21:28,280 Speaker 1: a well known actor of the day, Romeo Coats forged 354 00:21:28,400 --> 00:21:31,879 Speaker 1: tickets to a lavish party being thrown by the Prince Regent. 355 00:21:32,520 --> 00:21:35,480 Speaker 1: As for Mrs Tottenham, there's not much information on how 356 00:21:35,520 --> 00:21:38,119 Speaker 1: she recovered after what must have really just been an 357 00:21:38,119 --> 00:21:43,480 Speaker 1: exhausting and confusing and infuriating day. I would have said 358 00:21:43,480 --> 00:21:49,920 Speaker 1: something on fire. But the third hoax on our list 359 00:21:50,119 --> 00:21:52,280 Speaker 1: is in fact my favorite, and it is not nearly 360 00:21:52,359 --> 00:21:55,720 Speaker 1: so stressful to think about as the chaos of Berner Street. 361 00:21:56,040 --> 00:21:58,120 Speaker 1: And we will get right to it after we hear 362 00:21:58,160 --> 00:22:01,040 Speaker 1: from the sponsors that keep stuff you missed history class going. 363 00:22:10,640 --> 00:22:14,320 Speaker 1: On April one seven, a short film ran on the 364 00:22:14,359 --> 00:22:19,119 Speaker 1: BBC Current Events show Panorama titled Spaghetti Harvest into Chino. 365 00:22:19,920 --> 00:22:23,200 Speaker 1: It explains how the early spring had resulted in quote 366 00:22:23,200 --> 00:22:27,199 Speaker 1: an exceptionally heavy spaghetti crop into Chino, Switzerland, which is 367 00:22:27,280 --> 00:22:30,320 Speaker 1: right on the border with Italy. According to the segment, 368 00:22:30,359 --> 00:22:32,920 Speaker 1: which ran less than three minutes, quote, the last two 369 00:22:32,920 --> 00:22:35,959 Speaker 1: weeks of March are an anxious time for the spaghetti farmer. 370 00:22:36,440 --> 00:22:39,320 Speaker 1: There's always the chance of a late frost, which, while 371 00:22:39,359 --> 00:22:43,240 Speaker 1: not entirely ruining the crop, generally impairs the flavor and 372 00:22:43,320 --> 00:22:46,359 Speaker 1: makes it difficult for him to obtain top prices in 373 00:22:46,480 --> 00:22:52,120 Speaker 1: world markets. This informative peace continues explaining that Swiss efforts 374 00:22:52,119 --> 00:22:55,960 Speaker 1: at growing spaghetti are quite small compared to a Hallieans 375 00:22:56,000 --> 00:23:00,000 Speaker 1: spaghetti agriculture, and it makes references to the vast spaghetti 376 00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:03,560 Speaker 1: plantations in the po valley of Italy. All of this 377 00:23:03,680 --> 00:23:07,040 Speaker 1: information is conveyed via a voiceover as the camera p 378 00:23:07,040 --> 00:23:11,680 Speaker 1: hands over these idyllic scenes of women harvesting spaghetti from 379 00:23:11,720 --> 00:23:15,920 Speaker 1: the trees, that the spaghetti dangles from the branches before 380 00:23:15,960 --> 00:23:20,800 Speaker 1: it's plucked. The pesky spaghetti evil, according to the narration, 381 00:23:21,160 --> 00:23:24,240 Speaker 1: has disappeared and that has led to a bumper harvest. 382 00:23:24,760 --> 00:23:29,040 Speaker 1: The freshly picked spaghetti is so beautifully uniform, we're told, 383 00:23:29,280 --> 00:23:33,080 Speaker 1: thanks to careful cultivation by skilled growers over a period 384 00:23:33,119 --> 00:23:36,280 Speaker 1: of years. And the voiceover of this short film was 385 00:23:36,400 --> 00:23:40,600 Speaker 1: Richard Dimbleby, the host of Panorama, and he is earnest 386 00:23:40,680 --> 00:23:45,400 Speaker 1: in his delivery throughout. It is very convincing. When Michael Peacock, 387 00:23:45,480 --> 00:23:49,439 Speaker 1: who approved the project, was interviewed about it in he 388 00:23:49,560 --> 00:23:52,760 Speaker 1: told the BBC of Dimbleby quote, he knew perfectly well 389 00:23:52,840 --> 00:23:55,359 Speaker 1: we were using his authority to make the joke work. 390 00:23:55,680 --> 00:24:01,159 Speaker 1: He loved the idea so reviewers convinced that's really a 391 00:24:01,200 --> 00:24:04,400 Speaker 1: mixed bag. The phones at the BBC started to ring 392 00:24:04,480 --> 00:24:07,560 Speaker 1: as soon as the segment finished. Some people seemed to 393 00:24:07,600 --> 00:24:11,280 Speaker 1: want to correct them, to explain that spaghetti did not 394 00:24:11,359 --> 00:24:14,960 Speaker 1: grow on trees. Some viewers clearly did get the joke. 395 00:24:15,480 --> 00:24:18,760 Speaker 1: There were occasional family arguments that had people calling the 396 00:24:18,800 --> 00:24:21,640 Speaker 1: network to settle the matter about whether it was real 397 00:24:21,800 --> 00:24:24,199 Speaker 1: or a hoax. Some people just thought it was in 398 00:24:24,359 --> 00:24:27,520 Speaker 1: poor taste that a news program would run any sort 399 00:24:27,520 --> 00:24:31,399 Speaker 1: of fake story, and a handful reportedly wanted to know 400 00:24:31,560 --> 00:24:35,320 Speaker 1: if there was somewhere they could purchase spaghetti trees. Eventually, 401 00:24:35,359 --> 00:24:37,679 Speaker 1: somebody had the idea to have the operators at the 402 00:24:37,680 --> 00:24:41,880 Speaker 1: BBC continue the joke, with gullible collars telling people who 403 00:24:41,920 --> 00:24:45,000 Speaker 1: wanted their own spaghetti tree to place a sprig of 404 00:24:45,000 --> 00:24:48,639 Speaker 1: spaghetti into a tomato sauce tin and quote hope for 405 00:24:48,760 --> 00:24:51,320 Speaker 1: the best. If I were a kid and I was 406 00:24:51,359 --> 00:24:53,480 Speaker 1: told that by an operator at the BBC, I would 407 00:24:53,520 --> 00:24:59,720 Speaker 1: want be doing it. This project was so well produced 408 00:24:59,720 --> 00:25:03,000 Speaker 1: that even the Director General of the BBC, Sir Ian Jacob, 409 00:25:03,080 --> 00:25:06,719 Speaker 1: was momentarily astounded to learn that spaghetti grew on trees. 410 00:25:07,560 --> 00:25:10,119 Speaker 1: As the story goes his wife quickly set him straight 411 00:25:10,160 --> 00:25:12,640 Speaker 1: on that matter, although they did turn to a reference book, 412 00:25:12,920 --> 00:25:16,360 Speaker 1: the Encyclopedia Britannica, to settle the matter. It turns out, 413 00:25:16,359 --> 00:25:18,600 Speaker 1: though there was no entry for spaghetti at that time, 414 00:25:19,920 --> 00:25:23,159 Speaker 1: the segment and viewers reactions to it really made news 415 00:25:23,200 --> 00:25:27,040 Speaker 1: around the world. One of the most negative ride ups 416 00:25:27,080 --> 00:25:31,320 Speaker 1: Holly found appeared in Alberta, Canada's Calgary Harold under the 417 00:25:31,359 --> 00:25:36,639 Speaker 1: headline frightening joke. In this column, writer Jack Stepler takes 418 00:25:36,680 --> 00:25:40,400 Speaker 1: a very alarmous tone, stating quote, but what is disturbing 419 00:25:40,840 --> 00:25:45,600 Speaker 1: is that because Mr Dimblebee delivered a monstrous hope straight faced, 420 00:25:46,000 --> 00:25:50,000 Speaker 1: wrapped it up in plausible sounding discourse about the tribulations 421 00:25:50,040 --> 00:25:53,920 Speaker 1: of a spaghetti farmer, and fortified it with a faked film, 422 00:25:53,960 --> 00:25:57,560 Speaker 1: a large number of people did take it seriously, and 423 00:25:57,680 --> 00:25:59,960 Speaker 1: then goes on to say some pretty racist and zeno 424 00:26:00,040 --> 00:26:03,399 Speaker 1: phobic things, basically along the lines that if Britain's smart 425 00:26:03,480 --> 00:26:06,760 Speaker 1: and informed public can be fooled by such things, how 426 00:26:06,800 --> 00:26:11,639 Speaker 1: can less educated people in other countries ever discern truth 427 00:26:11,840 --> 00:26:15,479 Speaker 1: from fiction, especially when it's delivered in such a serious manner, 428 00:26:16,040 --> 00:26:17,920 Speaker 1: And then goes on to compare this prank to the 429 00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:20,760 Speaker 1: quote hit Larry in formula of telling a big enough 430 00:26:20,800 --> 00:26:24,320 Speaker 1: lie and telling it often enough to be believed. Steppler 431 00:26:24,480 --> 00:26:26,240 Speaker 1: sort of sums it up in a way that's part 432 00:26:26,400 --> 00:26:29,760 Speaker 1: people need to be critical thinkers and part trusted newspeople 433 00:26:29,800 --> 00:26:33,360 Speaker 1: should never give prank news. Yeah, it struck me as 434 00:26:33,359 --> 00:26:36,240 Speaker 1: a little startling that he went right for a Hitler comparison. 435 00:26:36,280 --> 00:26:38,640 Speaker 1: And I'm like, it wasn't like they aired this over 436 00:26:38,680 --> 00:26:41,640 Speaker 1: and over to try to convince anybody. It was like 437 00:26:41,680 --> 00:26:45,680 Speaker 1: two minutes and forty seconds one right, and look at 438 00:26:45,680 --> 00:26:48,240 Speaker 1: the date, right, And they did. At the end of 439 00:26:48,280 --> 00:26:53,000 Speaker 1: it mentioned like that's the news from April one. So 440 00:26:53,920 --> 00:26:56,680 Speaker 1: you may be wondering how such a project that ended 441 00:26:56,720 --> 00:26:59,360 Speaker 1: up being a bit controversial was hatched at a well 442 00:26:59,400 --> 00:27:03,760 Speaker 1: respected show. Apparently, during one of the team's meetings earlier 443 00:27:03,760 --> 00:27:06,280 Speaker 1: that year, they had noticed that April Fool's Day was 444 00:27:06,320 --> 00:27:08,600 Speaker 1: going to fall on a Monday. That was the day 445 00:27:08,640 --> 00:27:12,360 Speaker 1: of the week that Panorama aired, and a contract cameraman 446 00:27:12,480 --> 00:27:16,280 Speaker 1: from Austrian named Charles de Yeager had the idea. He 447 00:27:16,359 --> 00:27:18,520 Speaker 1: later claimed it was based on a teacher who used 448 00:27:18,520 --> 00:27:20,680 Speaker 1: to tell the class that they were so stupid they'd 449 00:27:20,720 --> 00:27:24,520 Speaker 1: believe that spaghetti grows on trees. He was already scheduled 450 00:27:24,560 --> 00:27:26,879 Speaker 1: to go on a shoot in Switzerland, so he pitched 451 00:27:26,920 --> 00:27:29,680 Speaker 1: this as something that they could easily do on the cheap, 452 00:27:30,200 --> 00:27:32,439 Speaker 1: and so he was given a budget of one hundred 453 00:27:32,480 --> 00:27:35,560 Speaker 1: pounds by the show's editor, Michael Peacock, and off di 454 00:27:35,680 --> 00:27:39,760 Speaker 1: Yeager went. So this fake harvest required twenty pounds of 455 00:27:39,880 --> 00:27:44,320 Speaker 1: uncooked spaghetti. So you may hear that he used cooked spaghetti. 456 00:27:44,600 --> 00:27:47,480 Speaker 1: If you have only ever used dry spaghetti in the 457 00:27:47,520 --> 00:27:50,600 Speaker 1: box from the grocery store, that maybe the only thing 458 00:27:50,680 --> 00:27:53,720 Speaker 1: that makes sense to you. But there was no way 459 00:27:53,760 --> 00:27:57,280 Speaker 1: for cooked spaghetti to stay off the branches of the trees. 460 00:27:57,960 --> 00:28:01,000 Speaker 1: It's very slippery. It would just slide off. So they 461 00:28:01,119 --> 00:28:05,120 Speaker 1: used freshly made but uncooked spaghetti. It was still flexible 462 00:28:05,240 --> 00:28:07,639 Speaker 1: enough to hang gracefully from the trees, but it had 463 00:28:07,760 --> 00:28:10,640 Speaker 1: enough surface texture left that it just did slide right 464 00:28:10,680 --> 00:28:13,119 Speaker 1: off there. But it also meant that it had to 465 00:28:13,119 --> 00:28:17,640 Speaker 1: be kept just moist enough throughout the shoot, so as 466 00:28:17,640 --> 00:28:21,119 Speaker 1: they prepped different angles, they would keep this spaghetti damp 467 00:28:21,520 --> 00:28:26,600 Speaker 1: between damp cloths. Yeah, if you've ever handled like fresh pasta, 468 00:28:26,720 --> 00:28:29,280 Speaker 1: you know it's got some bendinus to it, but it 469 00:28:29,320 --> 00:28:32,600 Speaker 1: does pretty quickly start to harden up and not be 470 00:28:32,760 --> 00:28:36,600 Speaker 1: quite so pliable. So and it's definitely not like when 471 00:28:36,600 --> 00:28:39,120 Speaker 1: you try to scoop out your spaghetti that's been cooked 472 00:28:39,120 --> 00:28:45,800 Speaker 1: and it just slides through your serving utensil. Yes, Lake Lugano, 473 00:28:45,880 --> 00:28:48,640 Speaker 1: on the border between Italy and Switzerland was the location 474 00:28:48,680 --> 00:28:52,040 Speaker 1: for the shoot and locals were asked to harvest the spaghetti. 475 00:28:52,080 --> 00:28:55,520 Speaker 1: They also got dressed in like Swiss national costume. They 476 00:28:55,520 --> 00:28:59,040 Speaker 1: carefully draped it into wicker baskets like any other harvested 477 00:28:59,040 --> 00:29:01,880 Speaker 1: tree fruit might be handled, and then they staged a 478 00:29:02,000 --> 00:29:06,080 Speaker 1: drying setup where these quote freshly picked noodles are left 479 00:29:06,120 --> 00:29:08,960 Speaker 1: in the sun. There is also, of course a scene 480 00:29:08,960 --> 00:29:11,520 Speaker 1: at the end of this mini documentary showing the people 481 00:29:11,600 --> 00:29:14,720 Speaker 1: enjoying their harvest, and that was actually also the cast 482 00:29:14,760 --> 00:29:17,800 Speaker 1: and crew wrap meal, which they filmed to use in 483 00:29:17,800 --> 00:29:22,040 Speaker 1: the final production once the footage was back at the BBC. 484 00:29:22,200 --> 00:29:25,920 Speaker 1: Producer David Wheeler wrote the script for it. Like Peacocky 485 00:29:26,000 --> 00:29:29,400 Speaker 1: credited Richard Dimbleby with being the most valuable asset they 486 00:29:29,440 --> 00:29:32,480 Speaker 1: had and pulling off this stunt. In two thousand four, 487 00:29:32,560 --> 00:29:35,840 Speaker 1: he said quote he had enough gravitas to float an 488 00:29:35,840 --> 00:29:41,120 Speaker 1: aircraft carrier. Although the reaction had been mixed and had 489 00:29:41,160 --> 00:29:44,400 Speaker 1: perhaps made some of their viewers feel foolish, the people 490 00:29:44,480 --> 00:29:47,480 Speaker 1: involved have pointed out in several different interviews over the 491 00:29:47,560 --> 00:29:50,320 Speaker 1: years that this was a time when fresh spaghetti was 492 00:29:50,360 --> 00:29:53,600 Speaker 1: really only just being introduced to most households in Britain, 493 00:29:53,640 --> 00:29:56,960 Speaker 1: and really kind of pasta in general. Up to that point, 494 00:29:57,120 --> 00:29:59,440 Speaker 1: camp spaghetti was kind of the most common way of 495 00:29:59,480 --> 00:30:02,440 Speaker 1: family of of British aisles might encounter it, so maybe 496 00:30:02,480 --> 00:30:04,960 Speaker 1: they didn't know where it came from. Despite the whole 497 00:30:05,040 --> 00:30:08,400 Speaker 1: dust up around it, Sir Ian Jacob wrote to Diegger 498 00:30:08,480 --> 00:30:11,960 Speaker 1: to congratulate him, quote, The spaghetti Harvest was a splendid 499 00:30:12,000 --> 00:30:15,840 Speaker 1: idea beautifully shot and organized. This item has caused a 500 00:30:15,840 --> 00:30:19,760 Speaker 1: great deal of delight one way at another. Over the years, 501 00:30:20,000 --> 00:30:22,760 Speaker 1: the hoax has been revisited by the BBC as one 502 00:30:22,800 --> 00:30:27,080 Speaker 1: of the earliest examples of television pranking, and often coverage 503 00:30:27,080 --> 00:30:29,800 Speaker 1: of it has included interviews with some of the people involved, 504 00:30:29,800 --> 00:30:32,560 Speaker 1: some of which we've quoted here. In two thousand four, 505 00:30:32,600 --> 00:30:34,760 Speaker 1: when he was interviewed about the prank as Like a 506 00:30:34,840 --> 00:30:38,920 Speaker 1: Look Back, producer David Wheeler said quote We were criticized 507 00:30:38,960 --> 00:30:41,120 Speaker 1: for doing it, but I had no regrets about it 508 00:30:41,200 --> 00:30:43,479 Speaker 1: at all. I think it was a good idea for 509 00:30:43,520 --> 00:30:46,440 Speaker 1: people to be aware they couldn't believe everything they saw 510 00:30:46,440 --> 00:30:49,240 Speaker 1: on the television, and that they ought to adopt a 511 00:30:49,280 --> 00:30:53,520 Speaker 1: slightly critical attitude to it. And I chose that one 512 00:30:53,600 --> 00:31:00,240 Speaker 1: because it seemed germane to our lives today. Uh. And 513 00:31:00,440 --> 00:31:06,640 Speaker 1: having worked on the internet since what two thousand and 514 00:31:06,720 --> 00:31:10,560 Speaker 1: three or something like that, uh, and having seen the 515 00:31:10,720 --> 00:31:17,000 Speaker 1: long arc of companies writing fake April fools Day articles 516 00:31:17,040 --> 00:31:20,200 Speaker 1: and making fake April Fool's Day products, I feel like 517 00:31:20,320 --> 00:31:24,800 Speaker 1: that's fallen off a little bit, right in more recent years, 518 00:31:24,800 --> 00:31:26,600 Speaker 1: people got kind of tired of it. There's still some 519 00:31:26,640 --> 00:31:29,080 Speaker 1: places that have, like they're tried in true April Fool's 520 00:31:29,160 --> 00:31:33,200 Speaker 1: Day events that people seem to still enjoy. But this 521 00:31:33,280 --> 00:31:37,160 Speaker 1: is an example of that that's a little earlier then, 522 00:31:37,840 --> 00:31:40,360 Speaker 1: you know. I imagine it from my own time working 523 00:31:41,080 --> 00:31:44,400 Speaker 1: for a website. Yeah. I mean this is sometimes pointed 524 00:31:44,440 --> 00:31:48,880 Speaker 1: to you as being like the first televised prank. Not 525 00:31:49,040 --> 00:31:52,120 Speaker 1: everyone in Great Britain had TVs at the time. The 526 00:31:52,320 --> 00:31:55,000 Speaker 1: estimated viewership wasn't the millions though, so it was a 527 00:31:55,040 --> 00:32:00,240 Speaker 1: significant number of people. But yeah, it's um at that point, 528 00:32:00,280 --> 00:32:02,160 Speaker 1: maybe they had not come to that idea that like 529 00:32:02,240 --> 00:32:05,160 Speaker 1: we should question things that show up on television. And 530 00:32:05,200 --> 00:32:07,200 Speaker 1: I will say, you can find it online. It's really 531 00:32:07,200 --> 00:32:10,520 Speaker 1: easy to find this footage. If not for the absurd 532 00:32:10,720 --> 00:32:13,280 Speaker 1: subject matter, you had a percent believe that it was 533 00:32:13,280 --> 00:32:17,160 Speaker 1: a documentary. It's filmed so perfectly. Nothing about it reads 534 00:32:17,200 --> 00:32:20,400 Speaker 1: as campy as at all. It's definitely very much like 535 00:32:21,000 --> 00:32:24,960 Speaker 1: played as straight as convey. So I suppose if you 536 00:32:25,040 --> 00:32:29,920 Speaker 1: were not familiar with the production of pasta and uh, 537 00:32:30,000 --> 00:32:33,120 Speaker 1: you know, maybe had had only been watching that news 538 00:32:33,160 --> 00:32:37,240 Speaker 1: program for a bit and trusted it completely, maybe I 539 00:32:37,280 --> 00:32:39,880 Speaker 1: would be listen. If there were a Spighetti tree, I'd 540 00:32:39,880 --> 00:32:42,880 Speaker 1: buy it. Spaghetti squash is good, but not quite as delicious, 541 00:32:44,160 --> 00:32:49,400 Speaker 1: I'd be in. Uh, since I wanted to go with 542 00:32:49,480 --> 00:32:53,480 Speaker 1: silly things for this one, I I'm going to the 543 00:32:53,640 --> 00:32:58,479 Speaker 1: very lighthearted listener mail, which is brief from our listener. 544 00:32:58,840 --> 00:33:01,160 Speaker 1: I don't know if she pronounces it Andrea or Andrea, 545 00:33:01,280 --> 00:33:03,520 Speaker 1: but she writes high Holly and Tracy. I have been 546 00:33:03,520 --> 00:33:05,480 Speaker 1: a joyful listener of the podcast for a couple of 547 00:33:05,560 --> 00:33:08,160 Speaker 1: years now. A few episodes ago Holly mentioned that she 548 00:33:08,200 --> 00:33:10,120 Speaker 1: would love to stop the Haunted Mansion ride in the 549 00:33:10,160 --> 00:33:13,080 Speaker 1: ballroom scene. I have just returned from a visit to 550 00:33:13,080 --> 00:33:15,440 Speaker 1: Disney World, and believe it or not, the ride came 551 00:33:15,480 --> 00:33:18,320 Speaker 1: to a halt in the ballroom. I instantly leaned forward 552 00:33:18,360 --> 00:33:20,960 Speaker 1: to take in the whole room for several seconds before 553 00:33:21,000 --> 00:33:23,719 Speaker 1: the ride started to move again. I then told my spouse, 554 00:33:23,720 --> 00:33:25,560 Speaker 1: who was writing with me, that Holly from MS in 555 00:33:25,680 --> 00:33:28,600 Speaker 1: History would be so jealous. Thank you for the wonderful content. 556 00:33:28,680 --> 00:33:31,440 Speaker 1: Keep up the good work. Thanks Andrea Um. I'm so 557 00:33:31,520 --> 00:33:33,720 Speaker 1: happy for you because it has happened to me a 558 00:33:33,720 --> 00:33:36,840 Speaker 1: few times. It did happen recently. There's something so spectacular 559 00:33:36,840 --> 00:33:39,520 Speaker 1: about stopping right there. Also, if you are ever in 560 00:33:39,600 --> 00:33:42,480 Speaker 1: the one in Anaheim and you get stopped in the ballroom, 561 00:33:43,160 --> 00:33:46,000 Speaker 1: take a look at the giant glass that creates the 562 00:33:46,040 --> 00:33:49,680 Speaker 1: Peppers ghost illusion. On the left side of it, there 563 00:33:49,800 --> 00:33:53,160 Speaker 1: is a tiny spot where there's like a tarantula placed 564 00:33:53,200 --> 00:33:56,000 Speaker 1: over it. And I am not reporting this as fact 565 00:33:56,040 --> 00:33:58,920 Speaker 1: because I don't know for sure, but the lore is 566 00:33:58,960 --> 00:34:01,960 Speaker 1: that someone actually had managed to fire a weapon in 567 00:34:01,960 --> 00:34:03,520 Speaker 1: there at some point and put a tiny hole in 568 00:34:03,520 --> 00:34:06,360 Speaker 1: the glass which is covered with that Spider if anyone, 569 00:34:06,680 --> 00:34:08,759 Speaker 1: if anyone in the Disney family knows the truth and 570 00:34:08,880 --> 00:34:11,000 Speaker 1: wants to share it, please do. But that is the 571 00:34:11,040 --> 00:34:13,920 Speaker 1: lord that has always perked up around it. Um, and 572 00:34:13,960 --> 00:34:16,759 Speaker 1: it's over by the Duellists, So it gives me some 573 00:34:16,880 --> 00:34:19,600 Speaker 1: question marks about that. Perhaps it's all a setup so 574 00:34:19,600 --> 00:34:23,799 Speaker 1: that we'll believe the dualists can actually shoot real projectiles. Um. 575 00:34:23,800 --> 00:34:26,040 Speaker 1: I hope not because that would be terrifying. But in 576 00:34:26,080 --> 00:34:30,080 Speaker 1: any case, UM, yeah, I hope everyone has a magical 577 00:34:30,160 --> 00:34:32,759 Speaker 1: Haunt and Mansion ballroom moment, whether that's in the ball 578 00:34:32,840 --> 00:34:34,600 Speaker 1: room or not. And if you are the type of 579 00:34:34,600 --> 00:34:39,279 Speaker 1: person who plays practical jokes atleways be sensible and kind. 580 00:34:38,680 --> 00:34:42,759 Speaker 1: That's my finish for today. If you would like to 581 00:34:42,760 --> 00:34:45,000 Speaker 1: write to us, you can do so at History Podcast 582 00:34:45,040 --> 00:34:47,239 Speaker 1: at iHeart radio dot com. You can also find us 583 00:34:47,280 --> 00:34:50,239 Speaker 1: anywhere on social media as Missed in History And if 584 00:34:50,280 --> 00:34:52,400 Speaker 1: you would like to subscribe to our podcast, you can 585 00:34:52,480 --> 00:34:54,360 Speaker 1: do that and we would love it if you would. 586 00:34:54,440 --> 00:34:56,279 Speaker 1: You can do that on the iHeart radio app or 587 00:34:56,320 --> 00:35:04,239 Speaker 1: anywhere you listen to your favorite shows. M Stuff you 588 00:35:04,280 --> 00:35:07,000 Speaker 1: Missed in History Class is a production of i Heart Radio. 589 00:35:07,320 --> 00:35:09,880 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from I Heart radio, visit the I 590 00:35:09,960 --> 00:35:13,160 Speaker 1: heart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to 591 00:35:13,200 --> 00:35:14,960 Speaker 1: your favorite shows. H