1 00:00:02,520 --> 00:00:07,120 Speaker 1: Happy Saturday, Everybody. January twenty fourth, nineteen twenty nine, was 2 00:00:07,160 --> 00:00:09,360 Speaker 1: the first appearance of a prank on the campus of 3 00:00:09,400 --> 00:00:12,879 Speaker 1: Brown University, one that has continued on and on since 4 00:00:12,920 --> 00:00:15,960 Speaker 1: then into the twenty first century. So happy birthday to 5 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:18,479 Speaker 1: that prank, which is one of the three that we 6 00:00:18,560 --> 00:00:22,200 Speaker 1: talk about in Today's Saturday Classic. This originally came out 7 00:00:22,239 --> 00:00:29,120 Speaker 1: on December one, twenty twenty one. It's Joy Welcome to 8 00:00:29,120 --> 00:00:39,560 Speaker 1: Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production of iHeartRadio. Hello, 9 00:00:39,600 --> 00:00:42,400 Speaker 1: and welcome to the podcast. I'm Holly Frye and I'm 10 00:00:42,440 --> 00:00:46,320 Speaker 1: Tracy V. Wilson. So not too long ago, Tracy I 11 00:00:46,360 --> 00:00:49,640 Speaker 1: was looking up another possible episode, which she'll go nameless 12 00:00:49,680 --> 00:00:51,640 Speaker 1: in case it comes up, because I still might do it. 13 00:00:53,080 --> 00:00:57,600 Speaker 1: I stumbled across a list of historical pranks and hoaxes, 14 00:00:57,960 --> 00:00:59,920 Speaker 1: and we've covered some of those before, but some of 15 00:00:59,880 --> 00:01:01,520 Speaker 1: these were new to me, and it got me thinking 16 00:01:01,600 --> 00:01:04,720 Speaker 1: about such things and whether any one of them might 17 00:01:04,760 --> 00:01:07,200 Speaker 1: make another good episode. But really, the ones I was 18 00:01:07,240 --> 00:01:10,280 Speaker 1: most interested in are a little bit shy of having 19 00:01:10,360 --> 00:01:12,800 Speaker 1: enough information to be an episode all their own. So 20 00:01:13,240 --> 00:01:16,399 Speaker 1: today I grouped a few together. If you are listening, 21 00:01:16,480 --> 00:01:19,360 Speaker 1: you may be wondering why not hold this until April 22 00:01:19,400 --> 00:01:21,920 Speaker 1: Fool's Day. That seems like a perfect match, and it is. 23 00:01:22,400 --> 00:01:25,240 Speaker 1: But here's the answer. It's twofold. One. I just didn't 24 00:01:25,240 --> 00:01:28,640 Speaker 1: want to. I just didn't feel like it. If I'm 25 00:01:28,680 --> 00:01:30,479 Speaker 1: interested in something, I tend to want to do it 26 00:01:30,640 --> 00:01:33,680 Speaker 1: usually right then, And if I wait, my interest may wane, 27 00:01:33,720 --> 00:01:36,800 Speaker 1: and then where will we be? And two, I will 28 00:01:36,840 --> 00:01:39,160 Speaker 1: confess to everyone now, I'm not the biggest fan of 29 00:01:39,200 --> 00:01:42,080 Speaker 1: April Fool's Day. Here is why. It's a little bit 30 00:01:42,080 --> 00:01:44,080 Speaker 1: of a snooty thing. It always feels a little bit 31 00:01:44,120 --> 00:01:48,040 Speaker 1: like an amateur hour of irritation pranks. I don't like that, 32 00:01:52,960 --> 00:01:55,200 Speaker 1: Which is not to say all pranks are bad, because 33 00:01:55,240 --> 00:01:58,080 Speaker 1: some of them are very clever and legitimately fun. And 34 00:01:58,120 --> 00:01:59,960 Speaker 1: there are things that happen on April fools Day that 35 00:02:00,160 --> 00:02:02,960 Speaker 1: some people do that I really love. But two of 36 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:05,880 Speaker 1: the ones we're covering today are actually pretty delightful, and 37 00:02:05,920 --> 00:02:08,840 Speaker 1: one was in April Fool's prank. One of the ones 38 00:02:08,880 --> 00:02:10,920 Speaker 1: that we're talking about today would have left me in 39 00:02:10,960 --> 00:02:13,160 Speaker 1: a full blown rage if I had been a part 40 00:02:13,160 --> 00:02:16,760 Speaker 1: of it. But all of these pranks are fairly legendary 41 00:02:16,880 --> 00:02:20,160 Speaker 1: and they're all quite different, So you're going to get 42 00:02:20,320 --> 00:02:23,200 Speaker 1: a smattering of things. So we've got a joke that 43 00:02:23,440 --> 00:02:26,200 Speaker 1: kind of became a living legend, we have a large 44 00:02:26,240 --> 00:02:29,840 Speaker 1: scale prank that created complete havoc, and we have a 45 00:02:29,880 --> 00:02:33,320 Speaker 1: televised hoax that reminds us all of the importance of 46 00:02:33,400 --> 00:02:38,680 Speaker 1: critical thinking. So first of these three. On January twenty fourth, 47 00:02:38,760 --> 00:02:43,440 Speaker 1: nineteen twenty nine, at Brown University, a notice was posted 48 00:02:43,600 --> 00:02:47,520 Speaker 1: on the University Hall bulletin board that advertised an upcoming 49 00:02:47,680 --> 00:02:51,800 Speaker 1: lecture and here is what it said. On Thursday evening 50 00:02:51,840 --> 00:02:55,760 Speaker 1: at eight fifteen in Sales Hall, JS Carberry will give 51 00:02:55,880 --> 00:03:02,160 Speaker 1: a lecture on archaic Greek architectural ravet Mints in connection 52 00:03:02,400 --> 00:03:07,240 Speaker 1: with Ionian philology. For tickets and further information apply to 53 00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:11,680 Speaker 1: Professor John Spaith. So this was the birth of a prank, 54 00:03:11,960 --> 00:03:16,760 Speaker 1: seemingly with no end. From the beginning, there were doubters 55 00:03:16,800 --> 00:03:20,640 Speaker 1: as to the identity and credentials of JS Carberry. Upon 56 00:03:20,680 --> 00:03:24,000 Speaker 1: seeing this lecture flyer, one of Professor Space's colleagues, Professor 57 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:26,800 Speaker 1: Ben Klow, is said to have inserted the word not 58 00:03:27,200 --> 00:03:29,800 Speaker 1: into the text so that it read Carberry will not 59 00:03:30,080 --> 00:03:33,240 Speaker 1: give a lecture. We should note here too that even 60 00:03:33,280 --> 00:03:36,280 Speaker 1: in the documentation that you can find at Brown University, 61 00:03:36,400 --> 00:03:40,200 Speaker 1: sometimes the word philology in that lecture title is listed 62 00:03:40,240 --> 00:03:44,320 Speaker 1: as though it said phonology Klow, which is also a 63 00:03:44,400 --> 00:03:47,840 Speaker 1: name I've heard people say as Kloff, because there's lots 64 00:03:47,840 --> 00:03:51,200 Speaker 1: of ways to say things. Followed up with Professor Spath 65 00:03:51,320 --> 00:03:54,200 Speaker 1: to ask him what this was all about, and Spath 66 00:03:54,280 --> 00:03:57,440 Speaker 1: had loads of details about Carberry to share with this doubter. 67 00:03:58,160 --> 00:04:02,400 Speaker 1: Carberry was a professor of ico ceramics, the study of 68 00:04:02,520 --> 00:04:06,280 Speaker 1: cracked pots. He had a wife named Laura, who was 69 00:04:06,320 --> 00:04:10,920 Speaker 1: described as ungrammatical, and two daughters, Patricia and Lois. Patricia 70 00:04:11,000 --> 00:04:14,560 Speaker 1: was a poet and Lois hunted puffins. There was even 71 00:04:14,600 --> 00:04:16,960 Speaker 1: an assistant in the mix to fill out this story 72 00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:20,320 Speaker 1: that was a Truman Grayson, who was prone to accidents 73 00:04:20,360 --> 00:04:23,200 Speaker 1: and being bitten by things that begin with the letter A. 74 00:04:24,480 --> 00:04:27,200 Speaker 1: This all just sounds like a description from a children's 75 00:04:27,200 --> 00:04:29,920 Speaker 1: book to me. Yeah, it's all very silly right out 76 00:04:29,960 --> 00:04:32,279 Speaker 1: of the gate. And clearly this was all just a 77 00:04:32,320 --> 00:04:35,600 Speaker 1: bit of fun. But unlike the other pranks on today's show, 78 00:04:35,839 --> 00:04:39,520 Speaker 1: Josiah's story did not fade or blow over. It grew, 79 00:04:40,120 --> 00:04:43,920 Speaker 1: it became further embellished, and it became a twentieth century legend. 80 00:04:44,600 --> 00:04:47,960 Speaker 1: Of course, because of that legendary status, the Carbery story 81 00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:50,920 Speaker 1: has not only grown, but it has also developed some 82 00:04:51,000 --> 00:04:54,839 Speaker 1: inconsistencies over the years. For example, his birthday may have 83 00:04:54,920 --> 00:04:58,120 Speaker 1: been in eighteen twenty his career may have started in 84 00:04:58,160 --> 00:05:02,159 Speaker 1: eighteen twenty five. Both of those milestones have at times 85 00:05:02,520 --> 00:05:05,360 Speaker 1: been attributed instead to that year that the flyer first 86 00:05:05,360 --> 00:05:09,479 Speaker 1: appeared in University Hall, nineteen twenty nine. In May of 87 00:05:09,560 --> 00:05:13,400 Speaker 1: nineteen twenty nine, the school paper reported that Carberry, who 88 00:05:13,520 --> 00:05:16,800 Speaker 1: at that time was referred to as an expert in 89 00:05:17,160 --> 00:05:22,240 Speaker 1: Hindo jeramic pottery, was going to the Southwestern Arkansas Normal 90 00:05:22,320 --> 00:05:26,640 Speaker 1: Institute as a loaner from Brown University. Carbury has had 91 00:05:26,680 --> 00:05:29,120 Speaker 1: a number of titles attached to his name, but the 92 00:05:29,160 --> 00:05:34,240 Speaker 1: one that sticks the most is Professor of psycho Ceramics. Yeah, 93 00:05:34,279 --> 00:05:36,200 Speaker 1: depending on what you look at, you'll see him listed 94 00:05:36,240 --> 00:05:38,760 Speaker 1: in a variety of different ways. It's usually always related 95 00:05:38,800 --> 00:05:42,040 Speaker 1: to pottery in some form or another. Over the years, 96 00:05:42,080 --> 00:05:44,640 Speaker 1: there have been a great many lectures that Josiah S. 97 00:05:44,720 --> 00:05:48,440 Speaker 1: Carberry was scheduled to deliver, only to have some conflict 98 00:05:48,520 --> 00:05:52,279 Speaker 1: arise to prevent the presentation. But there has always been 99 00:05:52,320 --> 00:05:56,520 Speaker 1: a very good reason for such cancelations. Primarily that reason 100 00:05:56,600 --> 00:06:01,359 Speaker 1: was his world travels to places allegedly like Turkey, Hawaii, 101 00:06:01,480 --> 00:06:05,240 Speaker 1: or Mongolia that would keep him away. But travels are 102 00:06:05,279 --> 00:06:09,120 Speaker 1: no It seems that Carberry, whose middle name is apparently Stinkney, 103 00:06:09,760 --> 00:06:12,640 Speaker 1: manages to be ever present at Brown in one way 104 00:06:12,760 --> 00:06:16,039 Speaker 1: or another. Over the years, his family has produced a 105 00:06:16,040 --> 00:06:19,800 Speaker 1: great deal of correspondence and placed so many notices about 106 00:06:19,839 --> 00:06:23,520 Speaker 1: their various doings in the paper that the Providence Journal 107 00:06:23,720 --> 00:06:27,080 Speaker 1: banned them completely. Yeah, there's apparently a Keell order that 108 00:06:27,120 --> 00:06:29,520 Speaker 1: if the name Carbury comes up not to run it 109 00:06:29,880 --> 00:06:33,120 Speaker 1: like it's not real, like maybeing like no more coin 110 00:06:33,200 --> 00:06:38,080 Speaker 1: hords except this are real. In nineteen fifty five, Carberry 111 00:06:38,160 --> 00:06:40,520 Speaker 1: sent a check from his travels abroad in the amount 112 00:06:40,520 --> 00:06:44,039 Speaker 1: of one hundred one dollars and one cent, and the 113 00:06:44,080 --> 00:06:47,960 Speaker 1: accompanying missive indicated that that money was intended to set 114 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:51,160 Speaker 1: up a memorial fund for his quote future late wife, 115 00:06:51,680 --> 00:06:53,880 Speaker 1: which should be named not after her, but should be 116 00:06:53,920 --> 00:06:57,800 Speaker 1: called the Josiah S. Carberry Fund. That one hundred and 117 00:06:57,800 --> 00:07:01,440 Speaker 1: one dollars in one cent was seed money. In receiving it, 118 00:07:01,520 --> 00:07:04,679 Speaker 1: the university had to agree to establish a donation drive 119 00:07:05,120 --> 00:07:08,680 Speaker 1: every Friday the thirteenth and every leap day of February 120 00:07:08,680 --> 00:07:12,320 Speaker 1: twenty ninth, where anyone could donate their loose change into 121 00:07:12,320 --> 00:07:15,520 Speaker 1: Brown jugs to add to the fund. That money was 122 00:07:15,600 --> 00:07:18,160 Speaker 1: to be used to purchase books that the Good Professor 123 00:07:18,240 --> 00:07:20,720 Speaker 1: might or might not approve of. It has been used 124 00:07:20,760 --> 00:07:22,480 Speaker 1: to purchase things. You can find a list of them 125 00:07:22,800 --> 00:07:27,080 Speaker 1: the Brown University Library site. In nineteen ninety two, Carbury 126 00:07:27,160 --> 00:07:30,720 Speaker 1: also wrote a cookbook, The Carbury Cookbook From Nuts to Soup. 127 00:07:31,320 --> 00:07:34,040 Speaker 1: It includes contributions from other people, but he was the 128 00:07:34,080 --> 00:07:37,120 Speaker 1: primary editor, and the proceeds of that were also to 129 00:07:37,200 --> 00:07:41,400 Speaker 1: go to the Carbury Fund. It contained recipes for such 130 00:07:41,480 --> 00:07:45,600 Speaker 1: delights as chocolate ice box pie, shrimp in beer, and 131 00:07:45,680 --> 00:07:51,360 Speaker 1: stuffed camel and boiled water. Chocolate ice box pie is 132 00:07:51,400 --> 00:07:54,760 Speaker 1: a real thing, yes, and that came from a contributor. 133 00:07:55,560 --> 00:07:58,520 Speaker 1: Shrimp in beer is that you can find that recipe online. 134 00:07:58,560 --> 00:08:02,600 Speaker 1: And it's basically like I'm shrimping beer. No cook it 135 00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:09,440 Speaker 1: all right. So that nineteen fifty five donation. The following year, 136 00:08:09,600 --> 00:08:13,160 Speaker 1: an article titled Josiah S. Carberry, the Professor and the 137 00:08:13,280 --> 00:08:17,040 Speaker 1: Legend appeared in the Brown Daily Herald and in it, 138 00:08:17,160 --> 00:08:20,440 Speaker 1: the return address of this famed initial donation to the 139 00:08:20,480 --> 00:08:24,040 Speaker 1: Carbery Fund was exposed as being the New Hampshire State 140 00:08:24,120 --> 00:08:28,920 Speaker 1: Liquor Store. So these Carbury mysteries continue. Yeah, there are 141 00:08:28,960 --> 00:08:33,040 Speaker 1: so many that we're not gonna list here, but imagine 142 00:08:33,040 --> 00:08:37,200 Speaker 1: more such things happening over the years. And over the years, 143 00:08:37,559 --> 00:08:40,560 Speaker 1: Carbury's name has appeared on a number of academic papers, 144 00:08:41,000 --> 00:08:43,520 Speaker 1: and it has been mentioned in a variety of magazines 145 00:08:43,559 --> 00:08:47,040 Speaker 1: and newspapers, including The New York Times, which claimed he 146 00:08:47,120 --> 00:08:50,840 Speaker 1: was the world's greatest traveler. His books have been cited 147 00:08:50,920 --> 00:08:54,960 Speaker 1: in the footnotes of other books. In twenty thirteen, sixteen 148 00:08:55,040 --> 00:08:59,000 Speaker 1: Minutes ran a segment on Carbury. That's right, sixteen, not sixty. 149 00:08:59,120 --> 00:09:01,760 Speaker 1: It is a very art full spoof of the sixty 150 00:09:01,800 --> 00:09:04,880 Speaker 1: minute story style produced by the Brown Club of Rhode 151 00:09:04,920 --> 00:09:08,560 Speaker 1: Island and Friends of Brown University Library. And that particular 152 00:09:08,600 --> 00:09:12,080 Speaker 1: piece is full of very fun Carbery lore, including the 153 00:09:12,120 --> 00:09:16,200 Speaker 1: information that there have even been allegedly financial concerns over 154 00:09:16,240 --> 00:09:19,920 Speaker 1: the mysterious faculty member, particularly whether he may have been 155 00:09:19,960 --> 00:09:23,080 Speaker 1: added to the payroll at some point in time. In 156 00:09:23,080 --> 00:09:25,880 Speaker 1: two thousand and five, a letter from Carberry appeared in 157 00:09:25,920 --> 00:09:30,440 Speaker 1: the Brown Daily Herald under the pleading headline make me 158 00:09:30,559 --> 00:09:34,080 Speaker 1: famous Again Brown. He relates that he's on a fishing 159 00:09:34,160 --> 00:09:37,680 Speaker 1: trawler out of Russia, sifting through pottery shards that the 160 00:09:37,760 --> 00:09:40,960 Speaker 1: crew pulls up while they quest after a mythical whale. 161 00:09:41,600 --> 00:09:44,120 Speaker 1: But despite a lot of chatter, his real aim really 162 00:09:44,160 --> 00:09:47,600 Speaker 1: seems to be securing his legacy by making sure that 163 00:09:47,679 --> 00:09:51,079 Speaker 1: the Carberry sandwich, which at that point has two chicken 164 00:09:51,120 --> 00:09:55,079 Speaker 1: patties on it, is upgraded with a third patty. He 165 00:09:55,200 --> 00:09:58,360 Speaker 1: may worry about his fame, he has incidentally never been 166 00:09:58,480 --> 00:10:02,960 Speaker 1: photographed with his face visible. Carberry, it appears, is either 167 00:10:03,160 --> 00:10:07,360 Speaker 1: immortal or merely blessed with both longevity and vitality. It 168 00:10:07,400 --> 00:10:09,800 Speaker 1: seems like as long as his name lives on, it's 169 00:10:09,840 --> 00:10:12,880 Speaker 1: going to stay that way. Before we jump into our 170 00:10:12,920 --> 00:10:16,240 Speaker 1: next story, which is a very ambitious prank, we will 171 00:10:16,240 --> 00:10:27,079 Speaker 1: take a break and have a word from our sponsors. 172 00:10:28,320 --> 00:10:30,679 Speaker 1: So for this next one, the street that the hoax 173 00:10:30,720 --> 00:10:32,960 Speaker 1: took place in is what gives it its name, and 174 00:10:33,000 --> 00:10:36,920 Speaker 1: that was at fifty four Berner Street, London on November 175 00:10:36,960 --> 00:10:41,160 Speaker 1: twenty seventh, eighteen ten. Starting at five am, Berner Street 176 00:10:41,200 --> 00:10:45,199 Speaker 1: became so overrun with visitors and deliveries to the residents there, 177 00:10:45,520 --> 00:10:49,079 Speaker 1: that the entire street became gridlocked, and the blocks surrounding 178 00:10:49,120 --> 00:10:52,400 Speaker 1: the address were also jammed, to the point that passage 179 00:10:52,520 --> 00:10:55,719 Speaker 1: was impossible, and that whole mess was the result of 180 00:10:55,760 --> 00:10:59,839 Speaker 1: a hoax, a hoax that started with a bet. So 181 00:11:00,120 --> 00:11:03,360 Speaker 1: a quick note on the dates here. Write ups about 182 00:11:03,400 --> 00:11:06,400 Speaker 1: this from the eighteen forties have put this hoax as 183 00:11:06,440 --> 00:11:09,640 Speaker 1: happening in the year eighteen oh nine. You'll see that 184 00:11:09,720 --> 00:11:15,240 Speaker 1: repeated a lot, but searching through newspaper archives online, all 185 00:11:15,360 --> 00:11:18,240 Speaker 1: the contemporary write ups about it are from eighteen ten. 186 00:11:18,920 --> 00:11:21,319 Speaker 1: And the architect of this whole thing was a man 187 00:11:21,400 --> 00:11:25,560 Speaker 1: named Theodore Edward Hook. Hook was born on September twenty second, 188 00:11:25,640 --> 00:11:28,360 Speaker 1: seventeen eighty eight, so he was twenty two at the 189 00:11:28,440 --> 00:11:32,280 Speaker 1: time of the Berner Street hoax. His father was composer 190 00:11:32,400 --> 00:11:35,400 Speaker 1: James Hook, and Theodore was the second son born to 191 00:11:35,480 --> 00:11:39,640 Speaker 1: James and his first wife. Theodore's brother, James, was eighteen 192 00:11:39,720 --> 00:11:42,280 Speaker 1: years old when Theodore was born, and their mother died 193 00:11:42,280 --> 00:11:45,600 Speaker 1: when Theodore was still fairly young. Some accounts place her 194 00:11:45,640 --> 00:11:47,719 Speaker 1: death in eighteen oh two. That means he would have 195 00:11:47,720 --> 00:11:50,960 Speaker 1: been right around fourteen. He was sent to a seminary 196 00:11:50,960 --> 00:11:52,880 Speaker 1: school while he was still a boy, but he was 197 00:11:53,200 --> 00:11:56,320 Speaker 1: very precocious there. At one point, it was discovered he 198 00:11:56,480 --> 00:12:00,720 Speaker 1: had skipped three full weeks of school, so he eventually 199 00:12:00,720 --> 00:12:03,120 Speaker 1: found that he really enjoyed writing. He never really did 200 00:12:03,240 --> 00:12:05,200 Speaker 1: like school, no matter which one he went to, and 201 00:12:05,240 --> 00:12:08,400 Speaker 1: wrote later in his life quote, my school life was 202 00:12:08,440 --> 00:12:11,040 Speaker 1: not a happy one. I was idle and careless of 203 00:12:11,040 --> 00:12:14,840 Speaker 1: my tasks. I had no aptitude for learning languages. I 204 00:12:14,880 --> 00:12:19,320 Speaker 1: hated Greek and absolutely shuddered at Hebrew. I fancied myself 205 00:12:19,360 --> 00:12:21,520 Speaker 1: a genius, and anything that could be done in a 206 00:12:21,600 --> 00:12:25,480 Speaker 1: hurry I did tolerably well, but application I had not. 207 00:12:26,520 --> 00:12:29,920 Speaker 1: Even when his father arranged for Theodore to attend Oxford 208 00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:32,920 Speaker 1: with the intent that he would become a lawyer, Theodore 209 00:12:32,960 --> 00:12:35,800 Speaker 1: almost tanked the whole thing by making jokes during the 210 00:12:36,000 --> 00:12:40,360 Speaker 1: entrance ceremony that infuriated the chancellor. This was more or 211 00:12:40,480 --> 00:12:42,880 Speaker 1: less how he conducted his life, and he became a 212 00:12:42,920 --> 00:12:46,880 Speaker 1: well known writer and wit. As writer J. Murray put 213 00:12:46,880 --> 00:12:49,720 Speaker 1: it in eighteen forty three, quote, he carried the spirit 214 00:12:49,800 --> 00:12:53,400 Speaker 1: of rebellious frolic with him. And we're giving you all 215 00:12:53,400 --> 00:12:56,760 Speaker 1: this biographical information to set up who the sort of 216 00:12:56,840 --> 00:13:01,680 Speaker 1: person was who would pull this particular type of involved prank. 217 00:13:02,600 --> 00:13:05,800 Speaker 1: In the book The Lives of Wits and Humorists, written 218 00:13:05,840 --> 00:13:09,320 Speaker 1: in eighteen sixty two, author John Tims put it this way, 219 00:13:09,400 --> 00:13:13,480 Speaker 1: quote Sheridan, as we have seen in the present volume, 220 00:13:13,640 --> 00:13:18,000 Speaker 1: had a great taste, we may say, constructive skill in hoasting, 221 00:13:18,360 --> 00:13:22,199 Speaker 1: but he is far exceeded by Hook. He was known 222 00:13:22,200 --> 00:13:24,440 Speaker 1: to do things like order a coach with a friend 223 00:13:24,520 --> 00:13:27,040 Speaker 1: and then stage a fight as they got close to 224 00:13:27,080 --> 00:13:29,360 Speaker 1: their destination. So then he would jump out of the 225 00:13:29,400 --> 00:13:32,960 Speaker 1: coach and leave his friend to pay the fare. He 226 00:13:33,040 --> 00:13:37,240 Speaker 1: did a lot of fair dumping as jokes. Yeah, I 227 00:13:37,280 --> 00:13:40,440 Speaker 1: don't think that's so funny, Right, let's stick your friends 228 00:13:40,440 --> 00:13:43,120 Speaker 1: with the bill as a joke. Over and over. He 229 00:13:43,200 --> 00:13:47,400 Speaker 1: did a lot of that, you know, humor subjective. One 230 00:13:47,480 --> 00:13:51,000 Speaker 1: day in November eighteen ten, Hook, it said, was strolling 231 00:13:51,040 --> 00:13:54,160 Speaker 1: down Berner Street with a friend and noticed a house 232 00:13:54,200 --> 00:13:58,080 Speaker 1: which is described in accounts as quote particularly neat and 233 00:13:58,200 --> 00:14:02,680 Speaker 1: modest in appearance, belonged to a shopkeeper's widow. And for 234 00:14:02,720 --> 00:14:06,640 Speaker 1: some reason Hook got an idea, and he is said 235 00:14:06,679 --> 00:14:09,080 Speaker 1: to have turned to his friend and said, quote, I 236 00:14:09,200 --> 00:14:11,520 Speaker 1: lay you a guinea that in one week that nice 237 00:14:11,960 --> 00:14:15,080 Speaker 1: quiet dwelling shall be the most famous in all London. 238 00:14:15,920 --> 00:14:18,560 Speaker 1: When his friend took the bet, Hook went into action 239 00:14:18,720 --> 00:14:21,080 Speaker 1: to make sure he would win it. Over the next 240 00:14:21,120 --> 00:14:24,840 Speaker 1: four or five days, Thomas Hook wrote one thousand pieces 241 00:14:24,840 --> 00:14:29,000 Speaker 1: of correspondence. These were orders to all manner of tradesmen 242 00:14:29,080 --> 00:14:31,400 Speaker 1: stating the need for services, all of them to be 243 00:14:31,480 --> 00:14:35,040 Speaker 1: scheduled on November twenty seventh, and all in a short 244 00:14:35,120 --> 00:14:39,040 Speaker 1: period of hours. Some were written to public officials and 245 00:14:39,120 --> 00:14:43,400 Speaker 1: socially prominent Londoners requesting that they call on the address 246 00:14:43,600 --> 00:14:46,400 Speaker 1: on the morning of November twenty seventh, all on some 247 00:14:46,720 --> 00:14:50,640 Speaker 1: important matter or another, depending on what Hook thought would 248 00:14:50,640 --> 00:14:54,720 Speaker 1: most entice the recipient to show up. For example, one 249 00:14:54,840 --> 00:14:58,640 Speaker 1: note which was reported in the papers read quote Missus 250 00:14:58,720 --> 00:15:02,800 Speaker 1: Tottenham requests mister Blank will call upon her at two 251 00:15:02,880 --> 00:15:07,120 Speaker 1: tomorrow as she wishes to consult him about the sale 252 00:15:07,160 --> 00:15:11,240 Speaker 1: of an estate. Yeah. Presumably those names were left out 253 00:15:11,320 --> 00:15:14,440 Speaker 1: so that people would not be harangued for having fallen 254 00:15:14,520 --> 00:15:18,080 Speaker 1: for this very silly prank. And in addition to sending 255 00:15:18,120 --> 00:15:21,720 Speaker 1: all of those missives out, Hook rented a room across 256 00:15:21,760 --> 00:15:25,600 Speaker 1: the street from Missus Tottenham's and sat with two of 257 00:15:25,640 --> 00:15:29,160 Speaker 1: his friends watching the whole thing play out. There are 258 00:15:29,160 --> 00:15:32,240 Speaker 1: some inconsistencies with this story right out of the gate, 259 00:15:32,720 --> 00:15:36,400 Speaker 1: because Hook himself wrote about it, but it's not known 260 00:15:36,520 --> 00:15:40,080 Speaker 1: what degree of license he took with the material and 261 00:15:40,200 --> 00:15:42,760 Speaker 1: his version. For example, he says that this happened in 262 00:15:42,800 --> 00:15:45,560 Speaker 1: eighteen oh nine, and he indicated that he and his 263 00:15:45,600 --> 00:15:48,680 Speaker 1: friends had worked out the plan over a longer period 264 00:15:48,720 --> 00:15:51,920 Speaker 1: than just a week. But the question that never gets 265 00:15:52,000 --> 00:15:56,480 Speaker 1: answered in any account is why Hook selected that particular house. 266 00:15:57,120 --> 00:15:59,560 Speaker 1: There's been some speculation that he had some kind of 267 00:15:59,600 --> 00:16:02,520 Speaker 1: disag agreement with Missus Tottenham, or that one of his 268 00:16:02,720 --> 00:16:06,680 Speaker 1: friends did, but there's also precedent in his behavior that 269 00:16:06,760 --> 00:16:09,160 Speaker 1: he just did a lot of things with no specific 270 00:16:09,240 --> 00:16:12,680 Speaker 1: motivation at all. It's entirely possible that he saw what 271 00:16:12,760 --> 00:16:15,680 Speaker 1: looked like the most boring house on the street and 272 00:16:15,800 --> 00:16:19,840 Speaker 1: he decided that was a challenge. Now, we mentioned at 273 00:16:19,880 --> 00:16:22,240 Speaker 1: the beginning of this story that this shut down all 274 00:16:22,320 --> 00:16:25,720 Speaker 1: passage in the area, and that cannot have been a surprise. 275 00:16:26,480 --> 00:16:29,000 Speaker 1: Hook knew that the nature of the street layout was 276 00:16:29,040 --> 00:16:31,160 Speaker 1: going to cause a jam because there were not as 277 00:16:31,240 --> 00:16:34,080 Speaker 1: many connecting points in the city at that time that 278 00:16:34,080 --> 00:16:36,640 Speaker 1: would allow you to pass through. So, according to an 279 00:16:36,680 --> 00:16:39,480 Speaker 1: eighteen forty three write up of the affair at the time, 280 00:16:39,680 --> 00:16:43,600 Speaker 1: quote Oxford Road was not approachable either from Westminster or 281 00:16:43,640 --> 00:16:47,480 Speaker 1: Mayfair or the city otherwise than through a complicated series 282 00:16:47,520 --> 00:16:50,800 Speaker 1: of lanes. It may be feebly and a far off 283 00:16:50,840 --> 00:16:53,520 Speaker 1: guest what the crash and jam and tumult of that 284 00:16:53,640 --> 00:16:57,880 Speaker 1: day was. That's because Berner Street connected up to Oxford. 285 00:16:57,920 --> 00:17:01,520 Speaker 1: It was one of the few connections. Act Hook himself 286 00:17:01,600 --> 00:17:05,040 Speaker 1: later estimated that this whole thing had impacted about a 287 00:17:05,160 --> 00:17:09,800 Speaker 1: quarter of the town. In short, it was an abysmal mess. 288 00:17:10,200 --> 00:17:12,720 Speaker 1: The Morning Post ran a story about what had happened 289 00:17:12,760 --> 00:17:16,000 Speaker 1: the next day, opening with a line that must surely 290 00:17:16,040 --> 00:17:19,880 Speaker 1: have delighted Theodore Hook. Quote, the greatest hoax that has 291 00:17:19,920 --> 00:17:23,240 Speaker 1: ever been heard of in this metropolis was yesterday practiced 292 00:17:23,320 --> 00:17:28,679 Speaker 1: in Berner Street, Oxford Street. The paper describes a dozen deliveries, 293 00:17:28,720 --> 00:17:32,159 Speaker 1: all arriving at once. And that's really like the light version, 294 00:17:32,280 --> 00:17:34,760 Speaker 1: because this did start first thing in the morning with 295 00:17:34,840 --> 00:17:38,080 Speaker 1: a chimney sweep, and the woman of the house, Missus Tottenham, 296 00:17:38,280 --> 00:17:40,680 Speaker 1: had not ordered a sweep, and so that person was 297 00:17:40,760 --> 00:17:44,720 Speaker 1: sent away, and reportedly a dozen more chimney sweeps showed 298 00:17:44,800 --> 00:17:47,200 Speaker 1: up not long after, and that was just the first 299 00:17:47,600 --> 00:17:49,960 Speaker 1: of what would be a long line of tradesmen who 300 00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:54,080 Speaker 1: appeared at the house that day. According to various accounts, 301 00:17:54,200 --> 00:18:01,400 Speaker 1: coal wagons showed up, bakers with wedding cakes, dentists, jewelers, wigmakers, midwives, 302 00:18:02,320 --> 00:18:05,040 Speaker 1: even an undertaker who had made a custom coffin for 303 00:18:05,160 --> 00:18:10,399 Speaker 1: the very alive Missus Tottenham. Furniture began to arrive, couch 304 00:18:10,480 --> 00:18:14,040 Speaker 1: after couch, and then organs and even butchers with massive 305 00:18:14,080 --> 00:18:17,720 Speaker 1: deliveries of meat that had not actually been ordered. Basically, 306 00:18:17,840 --> 00:18:21,400 Speaker 1: anything one might order for delivery had been ordered by 307 00:18:21,400 --> 00:18:23,600 Speaker 1: Hook as part of the prank, and it had been 308 00:18:23,720 --> 00:18:27,919 Speaker 1: ordered in multiples. The Mayor of London, having received what 309 00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:31,080 Speaker 1: he believed to be a letter regarding a meeting from 310 00:18:31,160 --> 00:18:35,119 Speaker 1: Missus Tottenham, arrived by carriage, although by that time the 311 00:18:35,200 --> 00:18:39,240 Speaker 1: street was already clogged with deliveries and onlookers who had 312 00:18:39,280 --> 00:18:42,600 Speaker 1: gathered to marvel at all these comings and goings, and 313 00:18:42,720 --> 00:18:45,359 Speaker 1: often to mock the various trades people who were being 314 00:18:45,400 --> 00:18:48,440 Speaker 1: turned away from the house. The Mayor was taken to 315 00:18:48,480 --> 00:18:51,440 Speaker 1: the nearby Marlboro Street Police office to get him out 316 00:18:51,440 --> 00:18:54,760 Speaker 1: of the crowd, to try to contain things. Police officers 317 00:18:54,760 --> 00:18:58,439 Speaker 1: were posted at the street corners to preemptively turn deliveries away, 318 00:18:59,000 --> 00:19:01,080 Speaker 1: and it took until the late evening to get the 319 00:19:01,119 --> 00:19:04,879 Speaker 1: crowd to go home and get the street unjammed. This 320 00:19:05,000 --> 00:19:07,480 Speaker 1: all may have seemed like a really funny idea to Hook, 321 00:19:07,720 --> 00:19:09,480 Speaker 1: but it was actually a big issue for a lot 322 00:19:09,480 --> 00:19:12,719 Speaker 1: of people. The Quarterly Review wrote about the incident and 323 00:19:12,760 --> 00:19:16,119 Speaker 1: outlined just how much damage, far beyond mere nuisance, had 324 00:19:16,160 --> 00:19:20,960 Speaker 1: been done by the prank. Quote. Perhaps no assassination, no conspiracy, 325 00:19:21,040 --> 00:19:25,280 Speaker 1: no royal demise or ministerial revolution of recent times was 326 00:19:25,400 --> 00:19:28,879 Speaker 1: greater God send to the newspapers than this audacious piece 327 00:19:28,880 --> 00:19:33,640 Speaker 1: of mischief. In Hook's own theatrical world, he was instantly suspected, 328 00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:38,040 Speaker 1: but no sign escaped, whether him or his confidants. The 329 00:19:38,080 --> 00:19:42,480 Speaker 1: affair was beyond that circle, a serious one. Fierce were 330 00:19:42,520 --> 00:19:46,080 Speaker 1: the growlings of the doctors and surgeons, scores of whom 331 00:19:46,119 --> 00:19:52,560 Speaker 1: had been cheated at valuable hours. Attorneys, teachers of all kinds, hairdressers, tailors, 332 00:19:52,680 --> 00:19:57,720 Speaker 1: popular preachers, parliamentary philanthropists had been alike victimized, and were, 333 00:19:57,720 --> 00:20:02,280 Speaker 1: in their various notes alike vociferous. But the tangible material 334 00:20:02,400 --> 00:20:06,040 Speaker 1: damage done was itself no joking matter. There had been 335 00:20:06,080 --> 00:20:10,800 Speaker 1: an awful smashing of glass, china, harpsichord, and coach panels. 336 00:20:11,400 --> 00:20:15,280 Speaker 1: Many a horse fell, never to rise again. Beer barrels 337 00:20:15,280 --> 00:20:18,800 Speaker 1: and wine barrels had been overturned and exhausted with impunity. 338 00:20:18,840 --> 00:20:22,600 Speaker 1: Amid the press of countless multitudes. It had been a 339 00:20:22,680 --> 00:20:27,159 Speaker 1: fine field day for pickpockets. There arose a fervent hue 340 00:20:27,200 --> 00:20:31,320 Speaker 1: and cry for the detection of the wholesale deceiver and destroyer. 341 00:20:32,080 --> 00:20:35,600 Speaker 1: That rite up was written several decades later, and as 342 00:20:35,600 --> 00:20:39,080 Speaker 1: it indicates, Hook was not immediately identified as the hoaxer. 343 00:20:39,760 --> 00:20:42,600 Speaker 1: He feigned illness for a couple of weeks and then 344 00:20:42,640 --> 00:20:46,000 Speaker 1: went to the country under the guise of seeking wellness 345 00:20:46,080 --> 00:20:50,399 Speaker 1: through fresh air and rest. There was, however, a satirical 346 00:20:50,520 --> 00:20:53,480 Speaker 1: print that was released in eighteen ten that hints that 347 00:20:53,520 --> 00:20:57,080 Speaker 1: people knew it must be Hook's work. There's a speech 348 00:20:57,119 --> 00:20:59,680 Speaker 1: bubble in the picture that has the mayor saying, oh, 349 00:20:59,760 --> 00:21:02,640 Speaker 1: this is a pretty hoax, but I'll find it out 350 00:21:02,640 --> 00:21:07,080 Speaker 1: by hook or by crook, with the word hook capitalized 351 00:21:07,160 --> 00:21:10,080 Speaker 1: like it's a proper name. As the news of this 352 00:21:10,200 --> 00:21:13,879 Speaker 1: hoax hit the press, similar copycat pranks started popping up 353 00:21:13,920 --> 00:21:16,960 Speaker 1: around England and even some in France, and Hook was 354 00:21:17,000 --> 00:21:20,000 Speaker 1: apparently miffed by the imitators and wrote as much as 355 00:21:20,040 --> 00:21:25,720 Speaker 1: his autobiographical but fictional persona Gilbert Gurney, intimating that anyone 356 00:21:25,760 --> 00:21:28,399 Speaker 1: doing the same prank after him was a plagiarist. He 357 00:21:28,520 --> 00:21:31,520 Speaker 1: later wrote, copy the joke, and it ceases to be one. 358 00:21:31,880 --> 00:21:34,919 Speaker 1: Any fool can imitate an example once set. But for 359 00:21:35,000 --> 00:21:39,760 Speaker 1: originality of thought and design, I do think that was perfect. Hook, 360 00:21:40,000 --> 00:21:43,040 Speaker 1: who of course won his bet, does not appear to 361 00:21:43,119 --> 00:21:45,640 Speaker 1: have been sobered by all the trouble that he caused. 362 00:21:46,080 --> 00:21:48,760 Speaker 1: After things blew over and he returned from the country, 363 00:21:48,840 --> 00:21:52,280 Speaker 1: he kept brewing up pranks, including one where he gave 364 00:21:52,320 --> 00:21:55,600 Speaker 1: a well known actor of the day, Romeo Coats, forged 365 00:21:55,680 --> 00:21:58,679 Speaker 1: tickets to a lavish party being thrown by the Prince 366 00:21:58,760 --> 00:22:02,720 Speaker 1: Regent or Missus Tottenham. There's not much information on how 367 00:22:02,760 --> 00:22:05,400 Speaker 1: she recovered after what must have really just been an 368 00:22:05,400 --> 00:22:10,720 Speaker 1: exhausting and confusing and infuriating day. I would have said 369 00:22:10,720 --> 00:22:17,200 Speaker 1: something on fire, but the third hoax on our list 370 00:22:17,359 --> 00:22:19,560 Speaker 1: is in fact my favorite, and it is not nearly 371 00:22:19,600 --> 00:22:22,960 Speaker 1: so stressful to think about as the chaos of Berners Street, 372 00:22:23,280 --> 00:22:25,360 Speaker 1: and we will get right to it after we hear 373 00:22:25,400 --> 00:22:28,280 Speaker 1: from the sponsors that keep stuff you missed in history class. Going. 374 00:22:37,880 --> 00:22:41,360 Speaker 1: On April first, nineteen fifty seven, a short film ran 375 00:22:41,400 --> 00:22:45,680 Speaker 1: on the BBC Current Events show Panorama titled Spaghetti Harvest 376 00:22:45,720 --> 00:22:49,600 Speaker 1: into Chino. It explains how the early spring had resulted 377 00:22:49,680 --> 00:22:54,080 Speaker 1: in quote an exceptionally heavy spaghetti crop into Chinos, Switzerland, 378 00:22:54,119 --> 00:22:57,040 Speaker 1: which is right on the border with Italy. According to 379 00:22:57,080 --> 00:22:59,560 Speaker 1: the segment, which ran less than three minutes, quote, the 380 00:22:59,640 --> 00:23:02,159 Speaker 1: last two weeks of March are an anxious time for 381 00:23:02,200 --> 00:23:06,080 Speaker 1: the spaghetti farmer. There's always the chance of a late frost, which, 382 00:23:06,320 --> 00:23:10,320 Speaker 1: while not entirely ruining the crop, generally impairs the flavor 383 00:23:10,400 --> 00:23:13,240 Speaker 1: and makes it difficult for him to obtain top prices 384 00:23:13,560 --> 00:23:18,840 Speaker 1: in world markets. This informative piece continues explaining that Swiss 385 00:23:18,920 --> 00:23:23,119 Speaker 1: efforts at growing spaghetti are quite small compared to Italian 386 00:23:23,240 --> 00:23:27,240 Speaker 1: spaghetti agriculture, and it makes references to the vast spaghetti 387 00:23:27,280 --> 00:23:30,800 Speaker 1: plantations in the po Valley of Italy. All of this 388 00:23:30,920 --> 00:23:34,680 Speaker 1: information is conveyed via a voiceover as the camera pans 389 00:23:34,720 --> 00:23:39,000 Speaker 1: over these idyllic scenes of women harvesting spaghetti from the 390 00:23:39,080 --> 00:23:43,840 Speaker 1: trees that the spaghetti dangles from the branches before it's plucked. 391 00:23:44,720 --> 00:23:49,280 Speaker 1: The pesky spaghetti weavil, according to the narration, has disappeared 392 00:23:49,480 --> 00:23:52,879 Speaker 1: and that has led to a bumper harvest. The freshly 393 00:23:52,920 --> 00:23:56,960 Speaker 1: picked spaghetti is so beautifully uniform, we're told, thanks to 394 00:23:57,200 --> 00:24:00,919 Speaker 1: careful cultivation by skilled growers over a period of years. 395 00:24:01,480 --> 00:24:04,440 Speaker 1: And the voiceover of this short film was Richard Dimbleby, 396 00:24:04,680 --> 00:24:08,199 Speaker 1: the host of Panorama, and he is earnest in his 397 00:24:08,280 --> 00:24:12,920 Speaker 1: delivery throughout. It is very convincing. When Michael Peacock, who 398 00:24:12,920 --> 00:24:16,120 Speaker 1: approved the project, was interviewed about it in twenty fourteen, 399 00:24:16,640 --> 00:24:19,760 Speaker 1: he told the BBC of Dimbleby quote, he knew perfectly 400 00:24:19,800 --> 00:24:22,639 Speaker 1: well we were using his authority to make the joke work. 401 00:24:22,920 --> 00:24:28,240 Speaker 1: He loved the idea. So were viewers convinced that's really 402 00:24:28,280 --> 00:24:31,359 Speaker 1: a mixed bag. The phones at the BBC started to 403 00:24:31,480 --> 00:24:34,720 Speaker 1: ring as soon as the segment finished. Some people seemed 404 00:24:34,760 --> 00:24:38,400 Speaker 1: to want to correct them, to explain that spaghetti did 405 00:24:38,440 --> 00:24:42,240 Speaker 1: not grow on trees. Some viewers clearly did get the joke. 406 00:24:42,720 --> 00:24:46,040 Speaker 1: There were occasional family arguments that had people calling the 407 00:24:46,080 --> 00:24:48,920 Speaker 1: network to settle the matter about whether it was real 408 00:24:49,040 --> 00:24:51,479 Speaker 1: or a hoax. Some people just thought it was in 409 00:24:51,600 --> 00:24:54,760 Speaker 1: poor taste that a news program would run any sort 410 00:24:54,800 --> 00:24:58,679 Speaker 1: of fake story, and a handful reportedly wanted to know 411 00:24:58,800 --> 00:25:02,560 Speaker 1: if there was somewhere they could purchase spaghetti trees. Eventually, 412 00:25:02,600 --> 00:25:04,919 Speaker 1: somebody had the idea to have the operators at the 413 00:25:04,920 --> 00:25:09,120 Speaker 1: BBC continue the joke, with gullible callers telling people who 414 00:25:09,160 --> 00:25:12,240 Speaker 1: wanted their own spaghetti tree to place a sprigue of 415 00:25:12,240 --> 00:25:15,879 Speaker 1: spaghetti into a tomato sauce tin and quote hope for 416 00:25:16,000 --> 00:25:18,560 Speaker 1: the best. If I were a kid and I was 417 00:25:18,600 --> 00:25:20,760 Speaker 1: told that by an operator at the BBC, I would 418 00:25:20,760 --> 00:25:25,960 Speaker 1: one one hundred percent be doing it. This project was 419 00:25:26,040 --> 00:25:29,119 Speaker 1: so well produced that even the Director General of the BBC, 420 00:25:29,359 --> 00:25:33,240 Speaker 1: Sir Ian Jacob, was momentarily astounded to learn that spaghetti 421 00:25:33,240 --> 00:25:36,639 Speaker 1: grew on trees. As the story goes, his wife quickly 422 00:25:36,680 --> 00:25:38,840 Speaker 1: set him straight on that matter, although they did turn 423 00:25:38,880 --> 00:25:42,600 Speaker 1: to a reference book, the Encyclopedia Britannica to settle the matter. 424 00:25:43,000 --> 00:25:45,240 Speaker 1: It turns out though there was no entry for spaghetti 425 00:25:45,280 --> 00:25:49,479 Speaker 1: at that time, the segment and viewers' reactions to it 426 00:25:49,520 --> 00:25:52,400 Speaker 1: really made news around the world. One of the most 427 00:25:53,080 --> 00:25:57,680 Speaker 1: negative ride ups Holly found appeared in Alberta, Canada's Calgary 428 00:25:57,760 --> 00:26:02,160 Speaker 1: Herald under the headline frightening joke. In this column, writer 429 00:26:02,440 --> 00:26:06,560 Speaker 1: Jack Steppler takes a very alarmist tone, stating quote, but 430 00:26:06,640 --> 00:26:10,679 Speaker 1: what is disturbing is that because mister Dimbleby delivered a 431 00:26:10,720 --> 00:26:15,679 Speaker 1: monstrous hope straight faced, wrapped it up in plausible sounding 432 00:26:15,720 --> 00:26:19,240 Speaker 1: discourse about the tribulations of a spaghetti farmer, and fortified 433 00:26:19,280 --> 00:26:22,399 Speaker 1: it with a faked film, a large number of people 434 00:26:22,440 --> 00:26:25,760 Speaker 1: did take it seriously. It then goes on to say 435 00:26:25,800 --> 00:26:29,479 Speaker 1: some pretty racist and xenophobic things, basically along the lines 436 00:26:29,520 --> 00:26:32,600 Speaker 1: that if Britain's smart and informed public can be fooled 437 00:26:32,600 --> 00:26:36,120 Speaker 1: by such things, how can less educated people in other 438 00:26:36,400 --> 00:26:41,359 Speaker 1: countries ever discern truth from fiction, especially when it's delivered 439 00:26:41,400 --> 00:26:44,000 Speaker 1: in such a serious manner. He then goes on to 440 00:26:44,040 --> 00:26:47,399 Speaker 1: compare this prank to the quote hitlaryan formula of telling 441 00:26:47,440 --> 00:26:49,520 Speaker 1: a big enough lie and telling it often enough to 442 00:26:49,560 --> 00:26:52,679 Speaker 1: be believed. Steppler sort of sums it up in a 443 00:26:52,720 --> 00:26:55,560 Speaker 1: way that's part people need to be critical thinkers and 444 00:26:55,640 --> 00:27:00,280 Speaker 1: part trusted newspeople should never give prank news. Yeah, me 445 00:27:00,400 --> 00:27:02,520 Speaker 1: as a little startling that he went right for a 446 00:27:02,560 --> 00:27:05,399 Speaker 1: Hitler comparison, and I'm like, it wasn't like they aired 447 00:27:05,400 --> 00:27:08,360 Speaker 1: this over and over to try to convince anybody. It 448 00:27:08,440 --> 00:27:12,520 Speaker 1: was like two minutes and forty seconds one right, and 449 00:27:12,560 --> 00:27:15,080 Speaker 1: look at the date, right, And they did at the 450 00:27:15,200 --> 00:27:19,040 Speaker 1: end of it mention like that's the news from April first. 451 00:27:20,080 --> 00:27:23,600 Speaker 1: So you may be wondering how such a project that 452 00:27:23,720 --> 00:27:26,399 Speaker 1: ended up being a bit controversial was hatched at a 453 00:27:26,400 --> 00:27:30,040 Speaker 1: well respected news show. Apparently during one of the team's 454 00:27:30,080 --> 00:27:33,159 Speaker 1: meetings earlier that year, they had noticed that April Fool's 455 00:27:33,240 --> 00:27:35,480 Speaker 1: Day was going to fall on a Monday. That was 456 00:27:35,520 --> 00:27:38,479 Speaker 1: the day of the week that Panorama aired, and a 457 00:27:38,520 --> 00:27:42,680 Speaker 1: contract cameraman from Austrian named Charles Dijeger had the idea. 458 00:27:43,440 --> 00:27:45,439 Speaker 1: He later claimed it was based on a teacher who 459 00:27:45,560 --> 00:27:47,600 Speaker 1: used to tell the class that they were so stupid 460 00:27:47,680 --> 00:27:51,320 Speaker 1: they'd believed that spaghetti grows on trees. He was already 461 00:27:51,320 --> 00:27:53,639 Speaker 1: scheduled to go on a shoot in Switzerland, so he 462 00:27:53,760 --> 00:27:56,439 Speaker 1: pitched this as something that they could easily do on 463 00:27:56,520 --> 00:27:59,000 Speaker 1: the cheap, and so he was given a budget of 464 00:27:59,080 --> 00:28:02,320 Speaker 1: one hundred pounds by the show's editor, Michael Peacock, and 465 00:28:02,480 --> 00:28:06,919 Speaker 1: off Dieger went. So this fake harvest required twenty pounds 466 00:28:06,920 --> 00:28:10,440 Speaker 1: of uncooked spaghetti. So you may hear that he used 467 00:28:10,480 --> 00:28:14,520 Speaker 1: cook spaghetti. If you have only ever used dry spaghetti 468 00:28:14,560 --> 00:28:17,000 Speaker 1: in the box from the grocery store, that may be 469 00:28:17,160 --> 00:28:19,960 Speaker 1: the only thing that makes sense to you. Uh. But 470 00:28:20,040 --> 00:28:23,040 Speaker 1: there was no way for cooked spaghetti to stay off 471 00:28:23,040 --> 00:28:26,440 Speaker 1: the branches of the trees. It's very slippery. It would 472 00:28:26,480 --> 00:28:31,240 Speaker 1: just slide off. So they used freshly made but uncooked spaghetti. 473 00:28:31,359 --> 00:28:34,439 Speaker 1: It was still flexible enough to hang gracefully from the trees, 474 00:28:34,480 --> 00:28:36,840 Speaker 1: but it had enough surface texture left that it just 475 00:28:36,920 --> 00:28:39,960 Speaker 1: didn't slide right off there. But it also meant that 476 00:28:40,000 --> 00:28:43,440 Speaker 1: it had to be kept just moist enough throughout the shoot, 477 00:28:43,640 --> 00:28:47,120 Speaker 1: so as they prepped different angles, they would keep the 478 00:28:47,240 --> 00:28:52,880 Speaker 1: spaghetti damp between damp cloths. Yeah, if you've ever handled 479 00:28:52,880 --> 00:28:56,280 Speaker 1: like fresh pasta, you know it's got some bendiness to it. Yeah, 480 00:28:56,280 --> 00:28:59,520 Speaker 1: but it does pretty quickly start to harden up and 481 00:28:59,560 --> 00:29:03,320 Speaker 1: not be quite so so pliable. And it's definitely not 482 00:29:03,480 --> 00:29:05,760 Speaker 1: like when you try to scoop out your spaghetti that's 483 00:29:05,800 --> 00:29:11,920 Speaker 1: been cooked and it just slides through your serving utensil. Yes. 484 00:29:12,400 --> 00:29:15,200 Speaker 1: Lake Lugano, on the border between Italy and Switzerland, was 485 00:29:15,240 --> 00:29:18,080 Speaker 1: the location for the shoot, and locals were asked to 486 00:29:18,120 --> 00:29:20,959 Speaker 1: harvest the spaghetti they also got dressed in like Swiss 487 00:29:21,080 --> 00:29:25,120 Speaker 1: national costume. They carefully draped it into wicker baskets like 488 00:29:25,200 --> 00:29:28,360 Speaker 1: any other harvested tree fruit might be handled, and then 489 00:29:28,400 --> 00:29:32,320 Speaker 1: they staged a drying setup where these quote freshly picked 490 00:29:32,360 --> 00:29:35,520 Speaker 1: noodles are left in the sun. There is also, of 491 00:29:35,560 --> 00:29:38,000 Speaker 1: course a scene at the end of this mini documentary 492 00:29:38,080 --> 00:29:41,200 Speaker 1: showing the people enjoying their harvest, and that was actually 493 00:29:41,240 --> 00:29:44,200 Speaker 1: also the cast and crew wrap meal, which they filmed 494 00:29:44,320 --> 00:29:48,280 Speaker 1: to use in the final production once the footage was 495 00:29:48,320 --> 00:29:51,360 Speaker 1: back at the BBC. Producer David Wheeler wrote the script 496 00:29:51,400 --> 00:29:55,120 Speaker 1: for it. Like Peacock, he credited Richard Dimbleby with being 497 00:29:55,120 --> 00:29:58,400 Speaker 1: the most valuable asset they had and pulling off this stunt. 498 00:29:58,800 --> 00:30:00,880 Speaker 1: In two thousand and four, he said, quote he had 499 00:30:01,000 --> 00:30:06,040 Speaker 1: enough gravitas to float an aircraft carrier. Although the reaction 500 00:30:06,200 --> 00:30:09,680 Speaker 1: had been mixed and had perhaps made some of their 501 00:30:09,760 --> 00:30:13,080 Speaker 1: viewers feel foolish, the people involved have pointed out in 502 00:30:13,200 --> 00:30:15,680 Speaker 1: several different interviews over the years that this was a 503 00:30:15,760 --> 00:30:19,240 Speaker 1: time when fresh spaghetti was really only just being introduced 504 00:30:19,240 --> 00:30:22,080 Speaker 1: to most households in Britain, and really kind of pasta 505 00:30:22,160 --> 00:30:25,680 Speaker 1: in general up to that point. Camp spaghetti was kind 506 00:30:25,680 --> 00:30:27,680 Speaker 1: of the most common way a family of the British 507 00:30:27,720 --> 00:30:30,360 Speaker 1: Isles might encounter it, so maybe they didn't know where 508 00:30:30,360 --> 00:30:33,360 Speaker 1: it came from. Despite the whole dust up around it, 509 00:30:33,440 --> 00:30:37,240 Speaker 1: Sir Ian Jacob wrote to Dieger to congratulate him. Quote, 510 00:30:37,320 --> 00:30:41,360 Speaker 1: The spaghetti Harvest was a splendid idea beautifully shot and organized. 511 00:30:41,800 --> 00:30:44,760 Speaker 1: This item has caused a great deal of delight one 512 00:30:44,800 --> 00:30:48,200 Speaker 1: way and another. Over the years, the hoax has been 513 00:30:48,240 --> 00:30:51,400 Speaker 1: revisited by the BBC as one of the earliest examples 514 00:30:51,480 --> 00:30:55,200 Speaker 1: of television pranking, and often coverage of it has included 515 00:30:55,280 --> 00:30:57,440 Speaker 1: interviews with some of the people involved, some of which 516 00:30:57,480 --> 00:31:00,160 Speaker 1: we've quoted here. In two thousand and four, when he 517 00:31:00,280 --> 00:31:02,640 Speaker 1: was interviewed about the prank as Like a Look Back, 518 00:31:03,040 --> 00:31:06,760 Speaker 1: producer David Wheeler said quote, we were criticized for doing it, 519 00:31:06,800 --> 00:31:09,400 Speaker 1: but I had no regrets about it at all. I 520 00:31:09,440 --> 00:31:11,280 Speaker 1: think it was a good idea for people to be 521 00:31:11,320 --> 00:31:14,600 Speaker 1: aware they couldn't believe everything they saw on the television, 522 00:31:15,000 --> 00:31:18,080 Speaker 1: and that they ought to adopt a slightly critical attitude 523 00:31:18,120 --> 00:31:21,760 Speaker 1: to it. And I chose that one because it seemed 524 00:31:21,800 --> 00:31:29,520 Speaker 1: germane to our lives to well, and having worked on 525 00:31:29,560 --> 00:31:34,840 Speaker 1: the internet, since what two thousand and three or something 526 00:31:34,880 --> 00:31:40,920 Speaker 1: like that, and having seen the long arc of companies 527 00:31:41,320 --> 00:31:45,360 Speaker 1: writing fake April Fool's Day articles and making fake April 528 00:31:45,360 --> 00:31:48,920 Speaker 1: Fool's Day products, I feel like that's fallen off a 529 00:31:48,960 --> 00:31:52,680 Speaker 1: little bit right in more recent years people got kind 530 00:31:52,680 --> 00:31:54,480 Speaker 1: of tired of it. There's still some places that have 531 00:31:54,560 --> 00:31:58,480 Speaker 1: like their tried and true April Fol's Day events that 532 00:31:58,520 --> 00:32:01,280 Speaker 1: people seem to still enjoy. But this is an example 533 00:32:01,360 --> 00:32:05,520 Speaker 1: of that that's a little earlier then, you know, I 534 00:32:05,520 --> 00:32:09,800 Speaker 1: imagine it from my own time working for a website. Yeah, 535 00:32:09,840 --> 00:32:12,480 Speaker 1: I mean this is sometimes pointed to you as being 536 00:32:12,520 --> 00:32:17,520 Speaker 1: like the first televised prank. Not everyone in Great Britain 537 00:32:17,560 --> 00:32:20,960 Speaker 1: had TVs at the time. The estimate of viewership wasn't 538 00:32:20,960 --> 00:32:23,680 Speaker 1: the millions though, so it was a significant number of people. 539 00:32:24,600 --> 00:32:28,160 Speaker 1: But yet it's at that point maybe they had not 540 00:32:28,200 --> 00:32:31,200 Speaker 1: come to that idea that, like, we should question things 541 00:32:31,200 --> 00:32:33,160 Speaker 1: that show up on television. And I will say, you 542 00:32:33,200 --> 00:32:35,640 Speaker 1: can find it online. It's really easy to find this footage. 543 00:32:36,360 --> 00:32:39,239 Speaker 1: If not for the absurd subject matter, you at one 544 00:32:39,280 --> 00:32:41,800 Speaker 1: hundred percent believe that it was a documentary. It's filmed 545 00:32:41,840 --> 00:32:45,960 Speaker 1: so perfectly. Nothing about it reads as campy as at all. 546 00:32:46,040 --> 00:32:49,720 Speaker 1: It's definitely very much like played as straight as could be. 547 00:32:50,000 --> 00:32:54,000 Speaker 1: So I suppose if you were not familiar with the 548 00:32:54,000 --> 00:32:59,040 Speaker 1: production of pasta, and you know, maybe had had only 549 00:32:59,280 --> 00:33:02,040 Speaker 1: been watching that news program for a bit and trusted 550 00:33:02,120 --> 00:33:06,120 Speaker 1: it completely, maybe I would be listen. If there were 551 00:33:06,200 --> 00:33:08,959 Speaker 1: spaghetti Tree, I'd buy it. Spaghetti squash is good, but 552 00:33:09,040 --> 00:33:20,160 Speaker 1: not quite as delicious, I'd be. Thanks so much for 553 00:33:20,240 --> 00:33:23,040 Speaker 1: joining us on this Saturday. If you'd like to send 554 00:33:23,120 --> 00:33:26,920 Speaker 1: us a note, our email addresses History Podcast at iHeartRadio 555 00:33:27,080 --> 00:33:30,000 Speaker 1: dot com, and you can subscribe to the show on 556 00:33:30,040 --> 00:33:33,440 Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 557 00:33:33,480 --> 00:33:34,480 Speaker 1: your favorite shoes