WEBVTT - Short Stuff: The Sandman

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<v Speaker 1>Hello, and welcome to the short stuff. I'm Josh, and

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<v Speaker 1>there's Chuck, and there's Jerry. Let's get busy. Bring me

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<v Speaker 1>a dream, Josh. That's a good song. It's catchy. It is.

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<v Speaker 1>It's been in some movies, including Halloween. Right, played during

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<v Speaker 1>the end credits of Halloween, and I can't remember for

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<v Speaker 1>the life of me, I know that there's an even

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<v Speaker 1>better example of it. I can't remember, Chuck, I'm sorry.

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<v Speaker 1>Back to the future. Oh really, yeah? Was it the credits?

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<v Speaker 1>Uh no, it was night you can only be used

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<v Speaker 1>in the credits. Uh no. Marty goes back to and

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<v Speaker 1>I believe it's one of the first songs he hears.

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<v Speaker 1>He goes into Hill Valley and um, that song very famously,

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<v Speaker 1>Mr Sandman is what we're talking about. Everyone was a big,

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<v Speaker 1>big hit in the year nineteen fifty five from the coredets.

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<v Speaker 1>Nice that's a great band name to the cordette. Yeah, acapello, ladies.

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<v Speaker 1>What more do you want in the nineteen fifties? Uh? Nothing? Um,

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<v Speaker 1>maybe civil rights that kind of thing, but at least

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<v Speaker 1>you could hear that song while you're fighting for right. Um.

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<v Speaker 1>So this this Sandman that's mentioned in the Mr Sandman

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<v Speaker 1>is actually not a fifties um uh a character. It

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<v Speaker 1>was actually from way earlier, probably out of Central and

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<v Speaker 1>Eastern Europe, and it was one of those very famous

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<v Speaker 1>characters that arose from Central and Eastern Europe's preoccupation with

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<v Speaker 1>the duality of darkness and light in the same human being,

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<v Speaker 1>just like in Santa Claus. That's right, when you wake

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<v Speaker 1>up in the morning and uh, you have we call

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<v Speaker 1>them eye buggers in our house. What do you call him? Sleep?

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<v Speaker 1>I guess you have sleep in your eye crusties. We

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<v Speaker 1>don't have an official house name for it, but that's

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<v Speaker 1>these are names have always called it. Yeah, sleep, that's

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<v Speaker 1>what we called it in our house growing up. Have

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<v Speaker 1>sleep in your eye? I spink. That's the last time

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<v Speaker 1>I had a house name for it. Yeah, so I've

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<v Speaker 1>called the eye bogogers. I don't know where I got that,

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<v Speaker 1>but that's technically that's different. Huh. An eye booger occurs

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<v Speaker 1>during the daytime. Sleep is like the crusty stuff that

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<v Speaker 1>you wake up with, But not in my house. Oh hey, Chuck,

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<v Speaker 1>let me ask you this. Have you ever woken up

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<v Speaker 1>with such a copious amount of sleep um or eye

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<v Speaker 1>boogers whatever you want. I don't say what you're about

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<v Speaker 1>to say that, like your your your eyes crusted shut

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<v Speaker 1>like that? Has that ever happened to you? No, it's atrocious.

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<v Speaker 1>You've had that happen. You have to be very sick.

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<v Speaker 1>But yes, it has happened to me before where I'm like,

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<v Speaker 1>I can't I can't open my eye. Oh that's so gross.

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<v Speaker 1>Well there's a name for it. There's a real scientific

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<v Speaker 1>name of that. Crust. Uh r h e u M.

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<v Speaker 1>Is that pronounced room? I think room? Yeah, all right, um,

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<v Speaker 1>that's the scientific name. It's a discharge that dries up,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, it comes out of your eyes. It dries

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<v Speaker 1>up when you're asleep. And if you are from northern

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<v Speaker 1>Europe and it was you know, a few hundred years ago,

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<v Speaker 1>you might be told, it might have been told that

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<v Speaker 1>the sandman had come and visited you and sprinkled sand

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<v Speaker 1>in your eyes while you slept, or magic dust at least,

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<v Speaker 1>then that's that's what it was. And you would think,

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<v Speaker 1>maybe as a child, like why would a sandman want

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<v Speaker 1>to come and sprinkle magic sand in my eyes to

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<v Speaker 1>make my eyes crusted? It doesn't make any sense. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>apparently this is a byproduct of the mechanism by which

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<v Speaker 1>the Sandman spun your dreams. It was the Sandman who

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<v Speaker 1>is responsible for your dreams, which is why the Cordets

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<v Speaker 1>asked the sand Man to bring them a dream, because

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<v Speaker 1>that's where your dreams came from, the Sandman. That's right. Uh,

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<v Speaker 1>we don't know exactly where the Sandman comes from, but

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<v Speaker 1>we do have some ideas, uh, and we're going to

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<v Speaker 1>talk about those right after this break. Oh alright, so

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<v Speaker 1>I promised the origin of the Sandman. We don't know

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<v Speaker 1>for positives, it was not metallica, but UM. In eighteenth

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<v Speaker 1>century German dictionaries that was UM. Like this is the

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<v Speaker 1>first time I believe it was on the paper, on paper,

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<v Speaker 1>On the paper, I just turned into a German. What's

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<v Speaker 1>wrong with Todd? He's on the paper, dear sanmun coompt

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<v Speaker 1>means Sandman is coming. And the whole idea was that

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<v Speaker 1>the Sandman would come along and parents would tell the

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<v Speaker 1>story UM in dur Many. Although that one woman says

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<v Speaker 1>she didn't think it was German folklore, right, she thinks

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<v Speaker 1>that it kind of became popularized in Germany much like UM.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, like our conception of Santa Clause probably came

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<v Speaker 1>from that area, but it was maybe from a different

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<v Speaker 1>area altogether, like maybe Norway or Finland or something. But

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<v Speaker 1>it was just, you know, it was the Germans, the

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<v Speaker 1>German immigrants who really brought the concept to America. All right,

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<v Speaker 1>well that's what she means, gotcha, because that didn't make

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<v Speaker 1>sense to me, um regardless. In eighteen it was a

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<v Speaker 1>writer named E. T. A. Hoffman UM that wrote Dear Sun,

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<v Speaker 1>Dr Sondman with two ends, Um, and it's you know,

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<v Speaker 1>it's just like the Grimm's Brothers stuff. It's this horrifying

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<v Speaker 1>nursery rhyme, or not nursery rhyme, but sort of a story,

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<v Speaker 1>a kid's story, um, about a nurse telling a story

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<v Speaker 1>about this creature who throws sand in your eyes of

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<v Speaker 1>little kids who don't go to sleep, and your eyes

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<v Speaker 1>fall out of your sockets. Then the sandman collects those eyeballs,

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<v Speaker 1>but some men a bag and lives on the dark

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<v Speaker 1>side of the moon, goes home and carries them there

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<v Speaker 1>and then feeds those eyeballs to his children. There you go,

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<v Speaker 1>that's what happens with the sand man. And it makes

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<v Speaker 1>at It makes a lot of sense because especially if

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<v Speaker 1>you were eighteenth or early nineteenth century German um one

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<v Speaker 1>good way to get kids to go to sleep was

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<v Speaker 1>to just terrify them with the story. But it also

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<v Speaker 1>it provides a physical function too, because what is the

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<v Speaker 1>appropriate reaction when somebody tells you something like that that

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<v Speaker 1>that person exists and is going to come to your

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<v Speaker 1>bedside soon. It's to shut your eyes tightly and to

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<v Speaker 1>keep them shut ostensibly until you wake up in the morning.

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<v Speaker 1>So it's pretty clever if you really think about it. Sure,

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<v Speaker 1>But the dark side of the moon thing, that just

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<v Speaker 1>that's I mean, like icing on the cake. You know.

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<v Speaker 1>It just makes me feel good knowing that in like

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<v Speaker 1>eighteen parents were struggling with putting their kids to bed.

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<v Speaker 1>I think they always have. I think so you don't

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<v Speaker 1>think about that though. I think that from the time

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<v Speaker 1>that it be aim not okay socially to lay on

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<v Speaker 1>your kid until they were unconscious and then went to sleep,

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<v Speaker 1>from that moment on it became a struggle to get

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<v Speaker 1>your kid to go to sleep. Yeah, very interesting. Uh,

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<v Speaker 1>flash forward a bit to one when none other than

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<v Speaker 1>Hans Christian Anderson put out a fairy tale. Do you

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<v Speaker 1>want to pronounce this? I can Are you ready for this?

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<v Speaker 1>I was practicing. I looked it up. Really, Ula lukey wow,

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<v Speaker 1>and it's not dead on, but it's it's okay. Yeah.

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<v Speaker 1>Anytime I see uh one of those letters that looks

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<v Speaker 1>like the null set, yeah, I have no idea what

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<v Speaker 1>to do with it. But we finally know how to

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<v Speaker 1>pronounce ola ula. So yeah, you remember in the Lego

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<v Speaker 1>episode we call them old Kirk Christiansen. Oh, that's right,

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<v Speaker 1>it was Ula Kirk Christensen. Yep. That's so finally, after

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<v Speaker 1>basically a decade, we have corrected ourselves that that is

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<v Speaker 1>the inventor of Lego's name pronounced correctly. Uh. Yeah, because

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<v Speaker 1>I remember joking like, oh Kirk Christensen. Yeah, and we

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<v Speaker 1>met a guy wanted um, I can't remember, some telecommunications

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<v Speaker 1>company and he was the president and we call them

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<v Speaker 1>oh Andy. They corrected us, but it was just lost

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<v Speaker 1>on us that that was not right. And I think

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<v Speaker 1>we up to this point, up to this moment, we've

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<v Speaker 1>called everybody Ohl. All right, So what is it again? La?

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<v Speaker 1>Uh Ula Luke? Are you okay? So that's the story,

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<v Speaker 1>that's the fairy tale. It means old shut your eye. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>that's a good title. I think so too. But it's

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<v Speaker 1>weird that CON's Christian Anderson doesn't just call him the Sandman.

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<v Speaker 1>He does everything but call him the Sandman. Well because

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<v Speaker 1>while accounts he got it from der son Man, right, yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>for sure. But I mean, was he worried he was

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<v Speaker 1>ripping off their son man or something. I'm not sure

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<v Speaker 1>why he didn't just call it theirs mine if if

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<v Speaker 1>the san mon or Sandman was already a widely recognized figure,

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know, uh, at any rate. In the story,

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<v Speaker 1>um or luking Good very good said with dress and silk, Jamie,

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<v Speaker 1>very nice, stylish, and would carry an umbrella, colorful umbrella.

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<v Speaker 1>Um And I guess, I mean it doesn't really say

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<v Speaker 1>what do you do the same thing? Basically, he would

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<v Speaker 1>not he would squirt milk in your yes, rather than

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<v Speaker 1>sand which is another It's like, come on, Anderson, your

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<v Speaker 1>beloved children's author, you can just go with the original. Yeah.

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<v Speaker 1>And he also it says in here that he introduces

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<v Speaker 1>a boy in the story to death and Sexuality. Right.

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<v Speaker 1>It is a little odd, but it is typical like

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<v Speaker 1>children's fairy tale, nursery rhyme, children's story kind of thing

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<v Speaker 1>where there's this weird duality between people who are really

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<v Speaker 1>really kind, they also have a shadow side, or it

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<v Speaker 1>can be a shadow alter ego, like with Santa Um

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<v Speaker 1>And I think what was Santa's alter ego was a

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<v Speaker 1>black Peter. I don't remember at the very least it

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<v Speaker 1>was Crampus, but I know that some of those traditions

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<v Speaker 1>there was like a dark figure Um that would like

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<v Speaker 1>that was the guy who would steal the children who

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<v Speaker 1>had been naughty, and then it eventually translated into Santa

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<v Speaker 1>leaving Cole and your stocking. If you've been naughty prior

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<v Speaker 1>to that, it was like you'd just be kidnapped and

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<v Speaker 1>eaten by Santa's like heavy hitter. This is the same thing.

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<v Speaker 1>The Sandman has the same thing. And in this Hans

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<v Speaker 1>Christian Andersen's story, uh Ula has an alter ego, a

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<v Speaker 1>brother who, rather than visiting the kid's bedsides to bring

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<v Speaker 1>their dreams, visits everybody's bedside once to bring death. And

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<v Speaker 1>his name is also Ula Luke a. Yeah, he would

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<v Speaker 1>walk in say exit light, inter night forever and take

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<v Speaker 1>your stand. It's often never never land forever kid. Oh,

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<v Speaker 1>I always thought it was take my hand. Well, I

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<v Speaker 1>think there that's a different verse. Right. Okay, I'm I

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<v Speaker 1>got in trouble last time I talked about Metallica on

0:11:02.360 --> 0:11:04.920
<v Speaker 1>the show. So the one of the one of the

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<v Speaker 1>you did for what? I think I said that that

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<v Speaker 1>album stunk or something. It probably did depending on the

0:11:12.080 --> 0:11:14.600
<v Speaker 1>album we were talking about, unless it was Injustice for

0:11:14.679 --> 0:11:18.560
<v Speaker 1>All or any preceding album. Yeah, Ride the Lightning. That

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<v Speaker 1>was a good one, still holds up. Agreed. The another

0:11:23.920 --> 0:11:32.520
<v Speaker 1>verse goes, don't steal singles from our band. But in

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<v Speaker 1>the end, the story of Hans Christian Anderson wrote was

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<v Speaker 1>just like all the Grim's fairy tales. There's always this dark,

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<v Speaker 1>awful thing and it's usually embedded in a lesson to

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<v Speaker 1>teach your children. And in this case, the lesson is

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<v Speaker 1>go to sleep now because I'm tired and we're both tired,

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<v Speaker 1>so we're gonna end this short stuff right here. That's right.

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<v Speaker 1>For more on this and thousands of other topics, is

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<v Speaker 1>it how stuff works dot Com