WEBVTT - 9 Last Words worth Remembering

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<v Speaker 1>I guess what will What's that man Go? So? Have

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<v Speaker 1>you seen this trailer for the movie Tag. It's about

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<v Speaker 1>these brothers who play an epic game at Tag. I

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<v Speaker 1>I think John Ham's in it, and maybe Ed Helms. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>I was gonna say I saw Ed Helms was in it.

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<v Speaker 1>I saw a couple of articles about it. It looks

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<v Speaker 1>pretty funny, and actually saw it's based on a real story, right. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>So when I heard that, I was actually a little

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<v Speaker 1>confused because I've heard this other great story about brothers

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<v Speaker 1>playing Tag and this from a while back. So this guy,

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<v Speaker 1>Richard Mellon was actually like a captain of industry. I

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<v Speaker 1>wanted to say. He came from Pittsburgh and he and

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<v Speaker 1>his younger brother Andrew had this game of Tag that

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<v Speaker 1>they'd play, and apparently the game lasted for seven decades.

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<v Speaker 1>It's not nuts. But here's the craziest part, right, So

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<v Speaker 1>when Richard was on his deathbed, he summoned his brother

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<v Speaker 1>Andrew over to him, and he pulled him close and

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<v Speaker 1>then he just whispered into his ear last Tag and

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<v Speaker 1>then he died. Oh I love that. It's such like

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<v Speaker 1>a just kind of like a big brother thing to do.

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<v Speaker 1>But were those actually his last words? Yeah, and apparently

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<v Speaker 1>Andrew had to stay it for four more years, is

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<v Speaker 1>until he passed away. But that that story made me

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<v Speaker 1>think we should do today's nine Things about epic last words.

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<v Speaker 1>Let's dive in. Hey, their podcast listeners, welcome to Part

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<v Speaker 1>Time Genius. I'm Will Pearson and as always I'm joined

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<v Speaker 1>by my good friend man guest shot Ticketer and behind

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<v Speaker 1>the soundproof glass just chugging this big jug of V

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<v Speaker 1>eight as he works from my I I feel like

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<v Speaker 1>he thinks, if he drinks enough VA, he's just never

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<v Speaker 1>gonna have to think about his last words. Well, you

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<v Speaker 1>just never know. I mean, he's a really smart guy.

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<v Speaker 1>But that's our friend and producer Tristan McNeil. All right, mango.

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<v Speaker 1>So I know last words are a little bit of

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<v Speaker 1>a morbid topic, but I still find them pretty fascinating.

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<v Speaker 1>I just can't help it. And I know John Green

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<v Speaker 1>when he used to work at Mental Flaws, he was

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<v Speaker 1>completely obsessed with these. Yeah, I remember showing those like

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<v Speaker 1>pages of this and uh, a lot of that found

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<v Speaker 1>its way into Looking for Alaska. But uh, one of

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<v Speaker 1>the things I remember was like that was the first

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<v Speaker 1>time I heard that Dylan Thomas quote about eighteen straight

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<v Speaker 1>Whiskey's I think that's the record, which were his last words,

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<v Speaker 1>horrible last words, and also Henry Ward Beecher's one about

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<v Speaker 1>now Comes the Mystery, which is way more poetic. You know,

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<v Speaker 1>I think the part of what's so great about last

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<v Speaker 1>words is when somebody you already consider a genius says

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<v Speaker 1>something funny or just meaningful, or even exactly as the

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<v Speaker 1>character you want them to be. There's something so satisfying

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<v Speaker 1>about that. No, I definitely agree. So I kicked this

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<v Speaker 1>off with the tag story, but I'm curious, what's your

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<v Speaker 1>first last word going to be? All right, well, I

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<v Speaker 1>think I'm going to kick this off with a smart

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<v Speaker 1>alec who didn't disappoint, and that's Bold Tair. Now, I

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<v Speaker 1>know you and I have plenty of great facts about

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<v Speaker 1>bull Tair. I know that's yeah. I got so many

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<v Speaker 1>Voltaire facts up in here, but any why you know,

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<v Speaker 1>there was the one that he was pen pals with

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<v Speaker 1>Catherine the Great and then he supposedly drank forty cups

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<v Speaker 1>of coffee a day. They may have been tiny cups,

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<v Speaker 1>but still it's pretty impressive, I know. And and supposedly

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<v Speaker 1>he was such a fiend for coffee that he actually

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<v Speaker 1>imported these luxury beans because he couldn't just drink plain coffee. Really,

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<v Speaker 1>I actually didn't know that about the luxury beans. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>my favorite story about Voltaire is what he told his

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<v Speaker 1>priest on his deathbed. And as the story goes, the

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<v Speaker 1>priest new Voltaire was close to death, so he was

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<v Speaker 1>encouraging him to use his last words to secure his

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<v Speaker 1>place in heaven, just kind of pressing him on it

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<v Speaker 1>over and over to renounce Satan. And you know, of

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<v Speaker 1>course Voltaire, being a legendary smart Alec just says to him, now,

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<v Speaker 1>my good man, this is no time for making enemies,

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<v Speaker 1>and then he passed away. That's pretty great. So here's

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<v Speaker 1>a weird one. I'd heard that I just thought was

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<v Speaker 1>an urban legend. But did you know that the Nike

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<v Speaker 1>slogan just Do It is based on a phrase from

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<v Speaker 1>death Row. No, seriously, Yeah, it's so grim. But apparently,

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<v Speaker 1>you know Dan Widen, he's like from that legendary ad

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<v Speaker 1>firm Widening Kennedy. He was he was trying to come

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<v Speaker 1>up with some sort of slogan to tie all of

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<v Speaker 1>Nike's advertisements together. And this is a totally separate and

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<v Speaker 1>weird thing. I actually read that um Phil Knight, the

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<v Speaker 1>CEO of Nike, thought TV advertising was like a mistake

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<v Speaker 1>for the brand and just a big waste of time.

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<v Speaker 1>And widen't actually had to really convince him to do it,

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<v Speaker 1>and you need to convince him to trust them and whatever.

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<v Speaker 1>But anyway, he was trying to figure a way to

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<v Speaker 1>tie all these ads together, and he remembered the last

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<v Speaker 1>words of this murderer from Portland, this guy named Gary Gilmore,

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<v Speaker 1>who in the late seventies was put in front of

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<v Speaker 1>a firing squad and before they shot, he just shouted,

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<v Speaker 1>let's do it. And I guess Widen edited out the

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<v Speaker 1>phrase let's and insort of justin That's how just do

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<v Speaker 1>it came to be. That's so strange. It's also so

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<v Speaker 1>strange to imagine in the seventies firing squad. I know,

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<v Speaker 1>a bizarre thing, but I don't know. What's weirder is

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<v Speaker 1>that I had actually written down the story of Nike

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<v Speaker 1>as a last word, and so I think I'm gonna

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<v Speaker 1>use that one next. So the reason we run marathons,

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<v Speaker 1>or that people run marathons, is to honor a messenger

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<v Speaker 1>from four and im DBC and we've heard this story before,

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<v Speaker 1>but it's still pretty fascinating. But according to the myth,

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<v Speaker 1>he raised from the city of Marathon to Athens after

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<v Speaker 1>the Athenian army had won a battle, and supposedly it

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<v Speaker 1>was incredibly hot that day and he raised the twenty

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<v Speaker 1>six miles between the cities, and when he got there

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<v Speaker 1>he uttered that one glorious word for victory, Nike, and

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<v Speaker 1>then he passed out. Yeah, and now the goddess has

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<v Speaker 1>a shoe company name for which is great, so all

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<v Speaker 1>worth it. So one thing I love about last words,

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<v Speaker 1>and I feel like I couldn't find enough of this

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<v Speaker 1>was people using their deathbed as a soapbox to really

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<v Speaker 1>complain about someone they detested, kind of like festivals, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>the airing of grievances exactly. So these are like words

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<v Speaker 1>that are worthy of Frank Constanzas and uh and so

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<v Speaker 1>this one is actually one that Chris Higgins, our friend,

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<v Speaker 1>found on Mental Floss and I just love it. So

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<v Speaker 1>apparently there was this pickpocket named Thomas B. Moran who

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<v Speaker 1>was nicknamed Butterfingers. I've never heard this story before, but uh,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, you think of Butterfingers as someone who drops

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<v Speaker 1>balls in the outfield and not someone who's like a

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<v Speaker 1>silky smooth pickpocket. But by all accounts, Moran was, and

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<v Speaker 1>he had stolen over fifty thousand wallets over the course

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<v Speaker 1>of his career. Right, that's amazing. But these are his

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<v Speaker 1>last words quote I've never forgiven that smart alecky reporter

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<v Speaker 1>who named me butterfingers to me, it's not funny. And

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<v Speaker 1>then he died he'd really been wrong and feels so

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<v Speaker 1>sorry for the guy. But I know it was probably

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<v Speaker 1>a relief that he finally got to admit that. But

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<v Speaker 1>all right, well here's what I really liked, because it

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<v Speaker 1>kind of shows someone's true spirit. So Marie Antoinette obviously

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<v Speaker 1>got a bad rap for the whole let them have

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<v Speaker 1>cake comment, which of course she didn't even say. But

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<v Speaker 1>you know that public perception of her was clearly as

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<v Speaker 1>this out of touch royal who didn't really care for others.

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<v Speaker 1>But you know, when you look at her last words,

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<v Speaker 1>it kind of paints a different picture. So as she

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<v Speaker 1>was walking to the guillotine, she accidentally steps on the

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<v Speaker 1>executioner's foot, so her last words supposedly were pardon me, sir,

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<v Speaker 1>I meant not to do it. Huh, So that actually

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<v Speaker 1>makes me like her a lot more like when you're

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<v Speaker 1>on your way to be executed, you normally have like

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<v Speaker 1>tons of things on your mind. But I like that

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<v Speaker 1>she decided to use her manners and was considered of others. Yeah, anyway,

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<v Speaker 1>so we've got a couple more of these before we

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<v Speaker 1>settle on a winner. But let's do those after a

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<v Speaker 1>quick break. Welcome back to Part Time Genius, where we're

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<v Speaker 1>talking about famous last words, and we've got a couple

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<v Speaker 1>more stories to tell, Mango, So you know what's funny.

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<v Speaker 1>And I realized this is a little off topic, but

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<v Speaker 1>every time I hear the phrase famous last words, I

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<v Speaker 1>think about my study abroad trip in college. So before

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<v Speaker 1>I went, like the group had sent out this packing

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<v Speaker 1>list of supplies you should have, and part of our

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<v Speaker 1>trip was at the foothills of Everest essentially, so it

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<v Speaker 1>was through Nepal and Tibet, but there were these places

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<v Speaker 1>and elevations that were really really cold. So my mom

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<v Speaker 1>took me to this Army Navy surplus store to get

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<v Speaker 1>like a really good sleeping bag and some of the

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<v Speaker 1>other things, and the shop was totally empty, like everything

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<v Speaker 1>was dusty, and they had a lot of these goods

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<v Speaker 1>just stacked up, and it seemed like people hadn't really

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<v Speaker 1>gone there in a while. And the shop keep he

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<v Speaker 1>just seemed like this grizzled old veteran. But I think

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<v Speaker 1>he spotted my mom and realized there was a sale

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<v Speaker 1>to be made here. So like every time my mom

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<v Speaker 1>took out this list and she'd look at it and

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<v Speaker 1>she'd say things like it says two pairs of extra

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<v Speaker 1>thick socks, he just looked at her and he'd say

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<v Speaker 1>famous last words, just like grumble it to her, and

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<v Speaker 1>then she'd be like, three pairs, the three pairs, write

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<v Speaker 1>four pairs. We'll take six pairs. Like I feel like

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<v Speaker 1>by the end of this trip we had this station

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<v Speaker 1>wagon full of things we didn't need. It was crazy.

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<v Speaker 1>I can so picture that. But that's pretty great. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>speaking of famous last words, what are you going to

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<v Speaker 1>use is your last last words of the day? So

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<v Speaker 1>initially I was thinking I'd aim for something funny, right,

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<v Speaker 1>because there are tons of those. There's a Groucho Marx

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<v Speaker 1>who said this is no way to live, or Richard Feynman,

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<v Speaker 1>who you know is that physicist who said this dying

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<v Speaker 1>is boring, but I'm actually gonna go with something a

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<v Speaker 1>little bit sweeter. And this is Arthur Conan Doyle, who

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<v Speaker 1>you know, we know from Sherlock Holmes stories. And he

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<v Speaker 1>was in his garden, which I imagine is this beautiful

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<v Speaker 1>English garden, and just before he died, he clutched his chest,

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<v Speaker 1>turned to his wife and said, you are wonderful, and

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<v Speaker 1>then he passed away. Oh wow, that's sweet and romantic.

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<v Speaker 1>But actually, Mango, I feel like I may have one

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<v Speaker 1>even better for you. And he's come from Harriet Tubman.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh no, the Harriet Tubman card. So I feel like

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<v Speaker 1>we've done lots of stories about Harriet Tubman over the years,

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<v Speaker 1>but I actually know nothing about her death. Yeah. So

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<v Speaker 1>sadly she died of pneumonia, and there are a few

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<v Speaker 1>accounts of how she left. There's there's one that said,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, she told some clergyman, give my love to

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<v Speaker 1>all the churches, and then she quoted a biblical passage

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<v Speaker 1>and that passage was I go away to prepare a

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<v Speaker 1>place for you. But I think the version I like

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<v Speaker 1>more is that after she made her statement, her family,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, kind of sensing that the end was near,

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<v Speaker 1>they gathered around her and sang together, so the last

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<v Speaker 1>words of hers were actually swing low, sweet chariot, that's

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<v Speaker 1>really lovely. I think you've got to take this round.

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<v Speaker 1>That's it for today's nine Things. We're gonna be back

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<v Speaker 1>tomorrow with a full length episode, but thank you so

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<v Speaker 1>much for listening.