WEBVTT - 9 Mouth-puckering Stories about Pickles!

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<v Speaker 1>Guess what mango? What's that? Well, all right, pop quiz

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<v Speaker 1>for you. Do you know which fast food chain uses

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<v Speaker 1>the phrase your way right away? Yeah? Of course Burger King?

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<v Speaker 1>You got it? All right? Well, I want to tell

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<v Speaker 1>you about a little group of pranksters there. There were

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<v Speaker 1>some writers in Japan and they've been testing the limits

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<v Speaker 1>of that catch phrase since back in two thousand twelve.

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<v Speaker 1>So every few years they walk into a Burger King

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<v Speaker 1>and they order something outrageous and it's it's different every year,

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<v Speaker 1>Like they ordered a cheese burger one year with a

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<v Speaker 1>thousand slices of cheese, and they paid for whatever that cost.

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<v Speaker 1>But you know, of course, the photos of this are

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<v Speaker 1>ridiculous and it just looks like this tiny mountain of

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<v Speaker 1>cheese slices piled about a foot in the air. I

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<v Speaker 1>don't know how they possibly ate this, but that's what

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<v Speaker 1>they ordered. I mean, that was cheese. Feels like it's

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<v Speaker 1>just like taunting anyone with lactose intolerance, right, oh yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>a nightmare. But the writers didn't stop there, so two

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<v Speaker 1>years ago they decided to repeat the feat, but this

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<v Speaker 1>time with pickles. So I already like where this is going.

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<v Speaker 1>How many pickles can you stack on a burger, alright,

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<v Speaker 1>So the writer's about nine thousand yen or about eighty

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<v Speaker 1>dollars to max the burger out with pickles, and the

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<v Speaker 1>whopper artist at Burger King managed to get about seven

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<v Speaker 1>hundred pickles piled onto the patty and the barn. But

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<v Speaker 1>then they had to package this thing, so the staff

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<v Speaker 1>actually had to tape all these whopper wrappers together to

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<v Speaker 1>fit the burger into some packaging, you know, so the

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<v Speaker 1>writers could take it home. And then of course the

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<v Speaker 1>writers actually just went to town on this thing. So

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<v Speaker 1>did they actually finish the burger? Oh? Nowhere close and

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<v Speaker 1>had a gross amount of pickles, even if you like pickles.

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<v Speaker 1>But the Japanese Burger King's got some good press out

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<v Speaker 1>of it, and those writers will probably never have to

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<v Speaker 1>worry about scurvy. So that's the good news. And that's

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<v Speaker 1>just the first of our nine stories about pickles today.

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<v Speaker 1>So let's dive in, y Hey, their podcast listeners, welcome

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<v Speaker 1>the part time genius. I'm Will Pearson and as always

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<v Speaker 1>I'm joined by my good friend Man Guesh Ticketer and

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<v Speaker 1>sitting on the other side of the soundproof glass wearing

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<v Speaker 1>a shirt that says let's make a dill. That's our

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<v Speaker 1>producer and pickle enthusiasts, Tristan the Pickleman McNeil. So do

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<v Speaker 1>you think he knew rooting a show on pickles today

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<v Speaker 1>or was it just like a coincidence that he wore

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<v Speaker 1>that shirt. I feel like I've seen him like wear

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<v Speaker 1>a dozen pickle shirts to work now. Oh yeah, I

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<v Speaker 1>don't know how many pickle shirts this guy has. I'm

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<v Speaker 1>gonna go with coincidence, all right, Mango. So I kicked

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<v Speaker 1>this off with a pickle prank that I think any

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<v Speaker 1>of us can actually do at Burger King, So that

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<v Speaker 1>that is assuming they have seven d pickles on hand.

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<v Speaker 1>But anyway, where do you want to start off with

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<v Speaker 1>your first fact? So I'm gonna start with one that

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<v Speaker 1>I'm kind of obsessed with, even though I've never actually

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<v Speaker 1>tried them, and that's kool Aid pickles, which I guess

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<v Speaker 1>originated in the Mississippi Delta. They're basically just store bought

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<v Speaker 1>pickles that you get in a jar and then you

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<v Speaker 1>dump out the pickle juice and replace it with Koolaid

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<v Speaker 1>and sometimes extra sugar, and then the pickles just absorbed

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<v Speaker 1>that kool Aid flavor and you get a sweet and

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<v Speaker 1>sour taste that people seem to go crazy for. Obviously,

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<v Speaker 1>this sounds gross to me because, like, while I could

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<v Speaker 1>see the worth and needing a pickle and then like

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<v Speaker 1>downing it with a swig of kool Aid, I don't

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<v Speaker 1>know why you'd intentionally command those flavors. You know something

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<v Speaker 1>I saw recently that grosses me out in the same

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<v Speaker 1>way as these Greek salad pizzas when people put lettuce

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<v Speaker 1>on their pizzas. I just there's certain things. I don't

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<v Speaker 1>know why you combine the experiences. I know. I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>like there's no reason for a salad pie right like

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<v Speaker 1>that makes But apparently there are a few thoughts on

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<v Speaker 1>where these kool Aid pickles actually originated. Some people have

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<v Speaker 1>referenced how kool aid used to be common at picnics

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<v Speaker 1>and barbecues in the South. It's kind of a cultural

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<v Speaker 1>drink where pickles were also served, and people think that's

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<v Speaker 1>where it came from. There's also this disgusting theory. I

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<v Speaker 1>saw how kids used to use kool Aid powder and

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<v Speaker 1>pickles like fun dip, and they just take a dill

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<v Speaker 1>pickle and dip it all up in that powder and

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<v Speaker 1>then and somehow stores took notice and decided to combine

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<v Speaker 1>the flavors. But yeah, today you can supposedly walk into

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<v Speaker 1>like gas stations and delis all across the Delta and

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<v Speaker 1>buy kool Aid pickles, singles, and every flavor, so you

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<v Speaker 1>can get them in the red flavor, blue flavor, purple flavor.

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<v Speaker 1>But my favorite thing about them is the names. So

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<v Speaker 1>some places call them coolickles or um piculas, which is

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<v Speaker 1>a strange name. They're also called candy dills and candy pickles.

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<v Speaker 1>And when Walmart started selling a fruit punch flavor did

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<v Speaker 1>actually sell them in jars for two dollars a pop.

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<v Speaker 1>They called them tropicals, which is I guess the best name. Yeah. Actually,

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<v Speaker 1>there's some places where people substitute the traditional kool Aid

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<v Speaker 1>with snow cone syrup, so those are called snow coo pickles.

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<v Speaker 1>That's pretty good. Actually, I think that one might be

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<v Speaker 1>my favorite. So I'm curious to like, how does kool

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<v Speaker 1>Aid feel about kool Aid pickles? Have you have you

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<v Speaker 1>read anything about this? Yeah, if you look online, it

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<v Speaker 1>almost seems like koolid is perplexed by the phenomenon. But

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<v Speaker 1>they do have a recipe for cherry flavored pickles on

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<v Speaker 1>their site with a very tepid endorsement. They claim it's

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<v Speaker 1>quote worth a try, and honestly, the more I talk

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<v Speaker 1>about them, I I do think they're worth a try,

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<v Speaker 1>I guess. So we should definitely try to get our

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<v Speaker 1>hands on some, and some other people should try them.

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<v Speaker 1>If I don't, we'll see, all right. Well, speaking of

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<v Speaker 1>mysterious pickle origins, I found this great Alice Obscure story

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<v Speaker 1>about a jar of pickles and de Pair Missouri. Now

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<v Speaker 1>apparently there's this jar that's been left on the side

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<v Speaker 1>of a highway ramp and it's become this cult obsession.

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<v Speaker 1>So this woman, Barbstein noticed them sitting there back in

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<v Speaker 1>two thousand and twelve, and for some reason, it just

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<v Speaker 1>kind of made her happy looking at them every day.

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<v Speaker 1>So she sets up this Facebook group called Team Pickle,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, to make the pickles famous. As she tells

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<v Speaker 1>Atlas Obscure a quote every day for six years, I

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<v Speaker 1>brushed my teeth, I got in my car, and I

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<v Speaker 1>looked for pickles. Seasons changed, the sun beat down, the

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<v Speaker 1>snow piled up, construction and protest actions shut down the highway,

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<v Speaker 1>and the pickles remained like there was some aura around it,

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<v Speaker 1>just protecting it. I like that, I do these like

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<v Speaker 1>holy pickles. So this kind of became a phenomenon, I guess. Yeah.

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<v Speaker 1>The Facebook group started with like people or so, and

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<v Speaker 1>then people started writing jokes and these elaborate poems in

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<v Speaker 1>honor of the pickles, and people started making pilgrimages there

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<v Speaker 1>just to see the pickle jar, and the following grew

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<v Speaker 1>and grew, and sometimes it would get stolen or knocked

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<v Speaker 1>off the ledge, and then another jar of pickles would appear.

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<v Speaker 1>Sometimes it was the super full jar of pickles or

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<v Speaker 1>fresh new pickles, and sometimes it's homemade pickles placed in

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<v Speaker 1>tupper ware. And of course their theories about why the

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<v Speaker 1>pickles were there in the first place. Some people think

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<v Speaker 1>it was just this construction worker who was drinking pickle

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<v Speaker 1>juice to avoid cramps and then left it there accidentally.

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<v Speaker 1>But Steen is a romantic and she's got a different story,

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<v Speaker 1>and it actually cracks me up to hear what she

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<v Speaker 1>thinks about this. So she believes, quote, maybe it's somebody

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<v Speaker 1>with a forbidden love and they put the pickles up

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<v Speaker 1>there at the exit to say hey, I'm thinking of you.

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<v Speaker 1>That's amazing and also very very romantic, So I was

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<v Speaker 1>looking to have Blastic pickles. And do you know why

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<v Speaker 1>Blastic has a stork for a mascot. No, I know.

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<v Speaker 1>It's actually playing off the idea that pregnant women crave pickles,

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<v Speaker 1>which makes sense when you think about it. I found

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<v Speaker 1>these old commercials of that stork doing a Groucho Marks

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<v Speaker 1>voice and sticking a pickle out of its mouth like

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<v Speaker 1>a cigar, and you know, I just assumed they picked

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<v Speaker 1>a memorable mascot because it's funny looking and cute and whatever.

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<v Speaker 1>But apparently there was actually a news hook behind picking

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<v Speaker 1>a stork. In the nineties seventies, the US had this

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<v Speaker 1>drop in birth rates, and the joke was that since

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<v Speaker 1>storks were out of work from delivering babies, they just

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<v Speaker 1>picked up like these part time jobs, delivering pickles to

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<v Speaker 1>pregnant women. And in fact, the company's slogan at the

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<v Speaker 1>time was the pickle pregnant women crave, and all the

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<v Speaker 1>sadvertising actually worked. They used to be tied with Hines

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<v Speaker 1>for ten percent of the pickle market, and the ads

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<v Speaker 1>helped them pull ahead and double their share. But that

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<v Speaker 1>isn't even the weirdest bit of marketing I saw from Glastic.

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<v Speaker 1>I also found this book of pickle jokes they put out.

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<v Speaker 1>It's called A hundred one Pickle Jokes Guaranteed to pick

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<v Speaker 1>well your funny bone. Gosh, just in that line, I'm

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<v Speaker 1>sure they're just great. Are the jokes any good? There's

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<v Speaker 1>no way they're any good. Right, Well, I'm gonna run

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<v Speaker 1>and buy you. So here's one from the cover. Who's

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<v Speaker 1>the toughest pickle in Dodge City? Marshall Dill? What and

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<v Speaker 1>What's green? And Sores through the Air Jonathan Livingston pickle.

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<v Speaker 1>These are the jokes that they pick for the cover, Like,

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<v Speaker 1>these are the jokes that are supposed to lure you

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<v Speaker 1>into the book. These are the best ones they have.

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<v Speaker 1>But actually that kind of makes me want to read

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<v Speaker 1>the best. You know how much I love horrible, horrible jokes.

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<v Speaker 1>It was that book of Monster just could not stop

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<v Speaker 1>laughing because they were so horrible. We might have to

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<v Speaker 1>do a whole episode on terrible jokes from joke books.

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<v Speaker 1>All right, Well, here's the fact about pickles that I

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<v Speaker 1>thought was interesting. So you know Charles Atlas, right, Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>he's not a bodybuilder from forever ago with all those

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<v Speaker 1>ads and like boy Scott Magazines and stuff about getting

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<v Speaker 1>strong and not letting people kick sand in your face. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>that's right, you should not let people kick sand in

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<v Speaker 1>the face. That's a good, good rule. So I came

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<v Speaker 1>across his recommended diet on Jason Cotkey site, and it's

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<v Speaker 1>surprisingly ahead of its time in some way. So, so

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<v Speaker 1>here are some of the rules. That says no refined sugar,

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<v Speaker 1>no bleach flour, no white rice, no fatty meats, no

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<v Speaker 1>soft drinks, no coffee or tea, no staying up past midnight. Ever,

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<v Speaker 1>but it also recommends no mustard, no vinegar, and definitely

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<v Speaker 1>no pickles. That's funny. I feel like I finally know

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<v Speaker 1>why I don't have that Charles Atlas physique. It's just

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<v Speaker 1>all these pickles. I eat all those pickles. Just keep

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<v Speaker 1>eating pickles, otherwise you'd be totally ripped. Well, actually, Cocky

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<v Speaker 1>makes a joke about this list, and he writes reading

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<v Speaker 1>that chapter was like having Charles Atlas asked me to

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<v Speaker 1>list all my favorite things in the world, then grab

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<v Speaker 1>the list from my hands, crumple it up, and toss

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<v Speaker 1>it in my face. Although the strangest part he mentions

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<v Speaker 1>is that Charles Atlas does make an exception for candy

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<v Speaker 1>in the chapter. So what he says is, if you

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<v Speaker 1>must eat candy, be sure it is of the very

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<v Speaker 1>highest quality. I don't really know what that means, but

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<v Speaker 1>that's what he's looking. That's crazy that it is a

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<v Speaker 1>cheap for candy. But just how to curiosity are Are

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<v Speaker 1>you a fan of pickles? I'm really not. I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>I will say I like pickle flavor. I love things

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<v Speaker 1>like pickle chips, but there's something about the texture that

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<v Speaker 1>just throws me off. So I can't do pickles. And

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<v Speaker 1>I love having somebody with me when I'm eating a

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<v Speaker 1>sandwich with pickles on them because I don't want to

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<v Speaker 1>go to waste, so I can always find a pickle

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<v Speaker 1>lover to eat them. That's so funny because I I

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<v Speaker 1>don't think I ever noticed that. Like I, I love pickles,

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<v Speaker 1>and I've eaten with you dozens of times. I've never

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<v Speaker 1>seen you take a pickle off your plate. But I

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<v Speaker 1>know people who hate like cilantro or onions, but you know,

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<v Speaker 1>I don't really think of people hitting pickles. And then

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<v Speaker 1>I read this column from Brian Hickey and The Philly Voice,

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<v Speaker 1>and he is outraged that pickles just come on your

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<v Speaker 1>plate without you asking for them. So so here's a

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<v Speaker 1>quote from his column. Some of you like pickles. I

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<v Speaker 1>get that, but you are not decent people, at least

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<v Speaker 1>not if you think it's okay for a restaurant to

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<v Speaker 1>force pickles upon those of us whose stomachs turn at

0:10:53.480 --> 0:10:58.040
<v Speaker 1>the mere sight or worsely, smell, of those squishy, acidic intruders.

0:10:58.080 --> 0:11:01.680
<v Speaker 1>Like it's wow, he's is really funny, And he goes

0:11:01.720 --> 0:11:04.920
<v Speaker 1>line by line kind of grumping about great facts about pickles,

0:11:04.960 --> 0:11:07.800
<v Speaker 1>and and then why he doesn't care, like he's uh,

0:11:07.840 --> 0:11:11.360
<v Speaker 1>he says, Cleopatra eight pickles for beauty. I don't care.

0:11:11.400 --> 0:11:16.319
<v Speaker 1>I never met her anyway, it's it's really funny to me.

0:11:16.360 --> 0:11:19.319
<v Speaker 1>And even though I guess pickles were initially offered as

0:11:19.360 --> 0:11:22.480
<v Speaker 1>a palate cleanser, the same way um people use like

0:11:22.520 --> 0:11:25.040
<v Speaker 1>ginger for sushi so that you can get a fresh

0:11:25.040 --> 0:11:27.400
<v Speaker 1>bite of pastrami sandwich and the flavors feel all new,

0:11:27.440 --> 0:11:30.640
<v Speaker 1>dear palette, like after biting into a pickle. Actually read

0:11:30.679 --> 0:11:32.880
<v Speaker 1>his column came away with a bit of empathy for

0:11:32.880 --> 0:11:35.280
<v Speaker 1>people who just don't love pickles slapped onto the plate

0:11:35.320 --> 0:11:38.120
<v Speaker 1>as as a default. Yeah, I appreciate that, and I

0:11:38.160 --> 0:11:41.560
<v Speaker 1>appreciate him speaking up on our behalf. But I was

0:11:41.600 --> 0:11:44.080
<v Speaker 1>reading an article in the Toronto Star about a pickle

0:11:44.120 --> 0:11:46.520
<v Speaker 1>factory up there and and it was going through some

0:11:46.600 --> 0:11:49.240
<v Speaker 1>hard times. And one of the things the story talked

0:11:49.280 --> 0:11:52.480
<v Speaker 1>about was that there's a Washington based pickle think tank

0:11:52.559 --> 0:11:56.679
<v Speaker 1>called Pickle Packers International, and they keep stats. It's so

0:11:56.720 --> 0:11:58.599
<v Speaker 1>hard to say that the pickle Packers. It sounds like

0:11:58.640 --> 0:12:01.320
<v Speaker 1>a joke. It's amazing it, but it's it's real. And

0:12:01.360 --> 0:12:05.440
<v Speaker 1>they keep stats on various pickle shipping metrics and various numbers.

0:12:05.440 --> 0:12:07.560
<v Speaker 1>And one of the things they calculated is that North

0:12:07.600 --> 0:12:12.000
<v Speaker 1>American consumers believe that the perfect pickle has seven warts

0:12:12.080 --> 0:12:16.720
<v Speaker 1>per square inch, seven wartz per square inch. I mean,

0:12:17.200 --> 0:12:19.920
<v Speaker 1>I don't know how much I really want like warty pickles.

0:12:20.240 --> 0:12:22.400
<v Speaker 1>I don't want pickles at all enough they have warts,

0:12:22.400 --> 0:12:24.600
<v Speaker 1>I want them even less. Well, I feel like most

0:12:24.600 --> 0:12:26.800
<v Speaker 1>of them just come that way, so like I eat them.

0:12:26.800 --> 0:12:29.160
<v Speaker 1>But if I had a choice, I definitely go wortless. Well,

0:12:29.200 --> 0:12:32.079
<v Speaker 1>it isn't just you, And you know Europeans actually prefer

0:12:32.160 --> 0:12:34.240
<v Speaker 1>wortless pickles as well, so those are the kind that

0:12:34.280 --> 0:12:36.480
<v Speaker 1>tend to get sold there. And you know what other

0:12:36.559 --> 0:12:39.080
<v Speaker 1>interesting thing about European pickles, and this comes from an

0:12:39.120 --> 0:12:41.880
<v Speaker 1>article I read in the Atlantic. But apparently after the

0:12:41.880 --> 0:12:45.000
<v Speaker 1>Berlin Wall came down, all these East German brands were

0:12:45.080 --> 0:12:48.000
<v Speaker 1>quickly put to rest. They used to make this inferior

0:12:48.040 --> 0:12:50.480
<v Speaker 1>new tele called now Doosi. And there was a car

0:12:50.559 --> 0:12:53.280
<v Speaker 1>you might remember called the Trabanne. And you know, the

0:12:53.360 --> 0:12:55.880
<v Speaker 1>joke about the Trabant was that it's best feature was

0:12:55.920 --> 0:12:59.480
<v Speaker 1>the rear window defroster, because it kept your hands toasty

0:12:59.520 --> 0:13:02.880
<v Speaker 1>whenever you had to push it around. Now, but the

0:13:02.920 --> 0:13:06.080
<v Speaker 1>one thing that East Germans undeniably did better than everyone

0:13:06.160 --> 0:13:10.760
<v Speaker 1>else was pickles, specifically this one pickle called the spree Wald,

0:13:11.160 --> 0:13:14.520
<v Speaker 1>and after reunification, West German pickle makers started throwing the

0:13:14.600 --> 0:13:17.560
<v Speaker 1>term spree Wald on their pickles. And you know, of course,

0:13:17.600 --> 0:13:20.160
<v Speaker 1>this is kind of like Champagne, where it's this protective

0:13:20.200 --> 0:13:24.320
<v Speaker 1>class of pickles. And supposedly fifty of Germany's domestic pickle

0:13:24.400 --> 0:13:27.480
<v Speaker 1>market is spree Wald. Oh Man, I like that there's

0:13:27.520 --> 0:13:30.240
<v Speaker 1>a superior pickle out there. And and now I've actually

0:13:30.280 --> 0:13:32.559
<v Speaker 1>got two pickles on my bucket list. Cool pickles and

0:13:32.600 --> 0:13:37.839
<v Speaker 1>spree Walls got eating to do. Actually, speaking of German

0:13:37.880 --> 0:13:40.760
<v Speaker 1>pickle traditions. There's one I want you to clarify for me,

0:13:40.800 --> 0:13:56.840
<v Speaker 1>But why don't we do that after the break? Welcome

0:13:56.840 --> 0:13:58.840
<v Speaker 1>back to part time genius. So well, did I ever

0:13:58.880 --> 0:14:01.000
<v Speaker 1>tell you about my friend Bar who is kicked out

0:14:01.000 --> 0:14:04.000
<v Speaker 1>of our friend's house for asking for a pickle? I

0:14:04.040 --> 0:14:06.000
<v Speaker 1>feel like I would remember this story. No, I don't

0:14:06.000 --> 0:14:09.040
<v Speaker 1>think it is so this is so stupid and it

0:14:09.120 --> 0:14:11.680
<v Speaker 1>might only be funny to me. But in a sixth

0:14:11.760 --> 0:14:14.520
<v Speaker 1>or seventh grade there was this story that got widely

0:14:14.600 --> 0:14:17.800
<v Speaker 1>circulated that Bart, and I of course changed his name.

0:14:17.840 --> 0:14:20.600
<v Speaker 1>Here was at a sleepover and he asked for a pickle,

0:14:20.960 --> 0:14:23.320
<v Speaker 1>and our other friend's mom was so offended that he

0:14:23.400 --> 0:14:25.040
<v Speaker 1>was told he could never come back to the house.

0:14:25.640 --> 0:14:28.800
<v Speaker 1>And it was such a weird story, but it just

0:14:28.880 --> 0:14:31.320
<v Speaker 1>became part of like our middle school lure. Like everyone

0:14:31.360 --> 0:14:33.320
<v Speaker 1>talked about this, everyone knew the story. And and then

0:14:33.720 --> 0:14:36.120
<v Speaker 1>like a few years ago, I asked our other friend

0:14:36.160 --> 0:14:38.880
<v Speaker 1>who actually hosted the sleepover, if it was true that

0:14:38.920 --> 0:14:40.720
<v Speaker 1>Bart got banned from the house just for asking for

0:14:40.760 --> 0:14:44.240
<v Speaker 1>a pickle. And he started laughing and he said no,

0:14:44.680 --> 0:14:47.120
<v Speaker 1>because of course Bart could ask for a pickle like

0:14:47.200 --> 0:14:50.880
<v Speaker 1>that was his prerogative. But then he left pickle juice

0:14:50.880 --> 0:14:53.640
<v Speaker 1>and pickle parts strewn all over the counter and made

0:14:53.680 --> 0:14:56.120
<v Speaker 1>such an incredible mess of the pickles that that's why

0:14:56.160 --> 0:14:59.560
<v Speaker 1>he got banned. But I just love that there was

0:14:59.600 --> 0:15:02.280
<v Speaker 1>all this mystery and middle school gossip over someone's mom

0:15:02.280 --> 0:15:05.320
<v Speaker 1>getting angry at like a pickle incident, and also like

0:15:05.680 --> 0:15:08.200
<v Speaker 1>what sort of like rock star antics supposed to have

0:15:08.200 --> 0:15:11.080
<v Speaker 1>gone with these pickles. It was just like so devastating

0:15:11.080 --> 0:15:13.960
<v Speaker 1>a scene that he got banned and thrown out. But

0:15:14.000 --> 0:15:15.840
<v Speaker 1>I love that you felt like you had to change

0:15:15.920 --> 0:15:18.400
<v Speaker 1>his name because this was such a scandal you couldn't

0:15:18.400 --> 0:15:20.400
<v Speaker 1>possibly call him by his real name, so we just

0:15:20.440 --> 0:15:23.040
<v Speaker 1>have to know him as bart Part. Like once a year,

0:15:23.080 --> 0:15:25.520
<v Speaker 1>I'll look in fridge and see a jar pickles and

0:15:25.600 --> 0:15:29.240
<v Speaker 1>think about Part. I know that you looked up German pickles,

0:15:29.320 --> 0:15:30.880
<v Speaker 1>and I don't want to force your hand on your

0:15:30.920 --> 0:15:33.800
<v Speaker 1>last fact, but I do want to know did you

0:15:33.800 --> 0:15:36.160
<v Speaker 1>find out anything about Christmas pickles and did they actually

0:15:36.160 --> 0:15:39.000
<v Speaker 1>come from Germany? So you know about Christmas pickles, does

0:15:39.040 --> 0:15:41.360
<v Speaker 1>your family hide them? I mean, it's just one of

0:15:41.400 --> 0:15:44.200
<v Speaker 1>those like funny Christmas traditions you hear about. My My

0:15:44.240 --> 0:15:47.080
<v Speaker 1>family has always done like a tree and and carols

0:15:47.120 --> 0:15:49.440
<v Speaker 1>and ornaments even though we're Hindu, and presents and all that,

0:15:49.520 --> 0:15:52.640
<v Speaker 1>but like, we've actually never done a Christmas pickle for

0:15:52.680 --> 0:15:55.240
<v Speaker 1>those of you who don't know about Christmas pickles or

0:15:55.320 --> 0:15:57.920
<v Speaker 1>the and I'm gonna butcher this pronunciation of it, but

0:15:58.000 --> 0:16:00.680
<v Speaker 1>the way naxt Gerka. The idea is that you hide

0:16:00.680 --> 0:16:03.480
<v Speaker 1>a pickle ornament as the very last ornament you hang

0:16:03.520 --> 0:16:06.240
<v Speaker 1>on the tree, and the kid who finds this ornament

0:16:06.240 --> 0:16:08.800
<v Speaker 1>gets good luck the next year. It's a little like

0:16:08.960 --> 0:16:12.160
<v Speaker 1>hiding the afi coman at the Passover Sader. But it's

0:16:12.160 --> 0:16:16.000
<v Speaker 1>actually not a German tradition. It actually started at wool Worse,

0:16:16.040 --> 0:16:19.640
<v Speaker 1>where they import German ornaments, and these whimsical shape started

0:16:19.680 --> 0:16:22.400
<v Speaker 1>showing up in the mix like pickles, and people just

0:16:22.440 --> 0:16:25.760
<v Speaker 1>assume they were traditional in Germany. Actually, there's one other

0:16:25.760 --> 0:16:28.400
<v Speaker 1>good story associated with Christmas pickles that I thought i'd share.

0:16:28.440 --> 0:16:31.720
<v Speaker 1>There's this legend that this Bavarian soldier named John Lower

0:16:31.840 --> 0:16:34.720
<v Speaker 1>fell ill while fighting during the Civil War, and when

0:16:34.760 --> 0:16:37.240
<v Speaker 1>he was on his deathbed at Andersonville, he asked for

0:16:37.320 --> 0:16:40.360
<v Speaker 1>a pickle, and somehow that pickle cured him, and so

0:16:40.480 --> 0:16:43.240
<v Speaker 1>from then on he hung a pickle from his Christmas

0:16:43.240 --> 0:16:47.520
<v Speaker 1>tree every year, and that launched a tradition. Well I'm

0:16:47.600 --> 0:16:50.880
<v Speaker 1>not sure I believe that story, but I do love it. Actually,

0:16:51.080 --> 0:16:53.120
<v Speaker 1>this is old fact. I remember from mental flass that

0:16:53.160 --> 0:16:56.640
<v Speaker 1>there's this place in Michigan called bury in Springs, and

0:16:56.800 --> 0:16:59.280
<v Speaker 1>it refers to itself as the Christmas Pickle Capital of

0:16:59.280 --> 0:17:01.960
<v Speaker 1>the world. And they have this parade everyer that's led

0:17:01.960 --> 0:17:05.919
<v Speaker 1>by a grand dilmeister who just lobs these wet, fresh

0:17:05.960 --> 0:17:09.440
<v Speaker 1>pickles into the crowd of like parade watchers. I don't

0:17:09.440 --> 0:17:11.120
<v Speaker 1>know if it still happens, but it's one of those

0:17:11.119 --> 0:17:13.679
<v Speaker 1>facts that you know, I found and and I just

0:17:13.760 --> 0:17:17.080
<v Speaker 1>can never forget. But that's actually not my last fact,

0:17:17.119 --> 0:17:18.840
<v Speaker 1>all right, So what do you have for us? So

0:17:19.080 --> 0:17:21.480
<v Speaker 1>there's this old story that there's a law in Connecticut

0:17:21.560 --> 0:17:23.280
<v Speaker 1>that pickles have to bounce a certain height to be

0:17:23.320 --> 0:17:26.720
<v Speaker 1>considered pickles. So I actually asked our researcher Eaves, to

0:17:26.720 --> 0:17:29.480
<v Speaker 1>look into it, and she said, while there's no law

0:17:29.520 --> 0:17:32.520
<v Speaker 1>on the books, there are statutes and regulations and articles

0:17:32.520 --> 0:17:35.159
<v Speaker 1>that address pickles that PLoP instead of ones that bounce.

0:17:35.800 --> 0:17:39.920
<v Speaker 1>And apparently there's an article from where these pickle packers

0:17:39.960 --> 0:17:43.560
<v Speaker 1>their their names were Sydney Sparer and Moses Dexler. They

0:17:43.560 --> 0:17:47.000
<v Speaker 1>were actually caught for selling bad pickles. And technically these

0:17:47.000 --> 0:17:50.360
<v Speaker 1>pickles were called unfit for human consumption, so they were

0:17:50.480 --> 0:17:54.480
<v Speaker 1>really bad pickles. But then the Food and Drug commissioner

0:17:54.560 --> 0:17:56.640
<v Speaker 1>for the state stepped in and he stated a good

0:17:56.640 --> 0:17:58.640
<v Speaker 1>way to check for pickles, in addition to any other

0:17:58.720 --> 0:18:01.840
<v Speaker 1>lab test, was to drop a pickle from a height

0:18:01.880 --> 0:18:04.320
<v Speaker 1>of one foot and see whether they bounced. I've heard

0:18:04.320 --> 0:18:06.280
<v Speaker 1>of the bounce test. I guess as they call is.

0:18:06.280 --> 0:18:09.040
<v Speaker 1>Is the bounce test actually real? It is? And uh,

0:18:09.280 --> 0:18:13.560
<v Speaker 1>Spara and Dexler's pickles did not bounce. Apparently they just plopped.

0:18:13.640 --> 0:18:15.800
<v Speaker 1>And they were arrested and had to pay a five

0:18:16.200 --> 0:18:19.560
<v Speaker 1>dollar fine and all of their bad pickles were destroyed.

0:18:19.920 --> 0:18:21.680
<v Speaker 1>But you know, when I think about this, if they

0:18:21.720 --> 0:18:23.880
<v Speaker 1>just stuck them in a vat of kool aid, they

0:18:23.880 --> 0:18:27.359
<v Speaker 1>probably would have gotten away with it. All right. Well,

0:18:27.400 --> 0:18:29.440
<v Speaker 1>you and I had a bunch of great pickle facts today.

0:18:29.440 --> 0:18:31.560
<v Speaker 1>But I think the fact that my deathbed pickle story

0:18:31.720 --> 0:18:35.960
<v Speaker 1>was so good, mango elastic pickle jokes were so bad,

0:18:36.480 --> 0:18:40.400
<v Speaker 1>I feel like I probably should take home the trophy today. Yeah,

0:18:40.440 --> 0:18:42.640
<v Speaker 1>I'm okay with that and a big thanks to Ease

0:18:42.680 --> 0:18:45.520
<v Speaker 1>for helping out with today's facts and research. Definitely a

0:18:45.560 --> 0:18:47.639
<v Speaker 1>big thanks to Eaves, and thank you guys for listening.

0:18:47.640 --> 0:18:49.680
<v Speaker 1>We'll be back with a full length episode tomorrow