WEBVTT - 9 Door-Busting Facts About Holiday Shopping 0:00:14.560 --> 0:00:17.960 You're listening to part Time Genius, the production of Kaleidoscope 0:00:18.120 --> 0:00:20.640 and iHeartRadio. 0:00:23.560 --> 0:00:24.279 Guess what, Mary? 0:00:24.680 --> 0:00:25.520 What's that? Gabe? 0:00:25.880 --> 0:00:28.760 Did you know? The kids didn't get Christmas presents until 0:00:28.800 --> 0:00:33.360 the eighteen hundreds. Before then, and we're talking specifically England here, 0:00:33.640 --> 0:00:37.440 Christmas was more of an adult holiday where wealthy patrons 0:00:37.479 --> 0:00:40.400 gave servants gifts to celebrate the end of the harvest, 0:00:40.720 --> 0:00:44.840 which workers celebrated with raucous parties. But by the early 0:00:44.920 --> 0:00:48.800 nineteenth century, as more people moved into factory jobs, the 0:00:48.960 --> 0:00:52.440 wild celebrations came to an end and Christmas became more 0:00:52.479 --> 0:00:56.440 of a family celebration. And of course families often have children, 0:00:56.520 --> 0:00:58.480 so the gifts went to them. 0:00:58.560 --> 0:01:02.200 So it was basically like all crazy office parties before 0:01:02.240 --> 0:01:04.319 this if your office was a farm, I guess. And 0:01:04.319 --> 0:01:07.520 then it just became a much teamer and sweeter holiday 0:01:07.560 --> 0:01:08.360 like the one we know now. 0:01:08.600 --> 0:01:11.920 Yeah, and you can actually see this change happening in advertisements. 0:01:12.160 --> 0:01:16.479 A historian named Joseph Wachelder discovered this while searching winter 0:01:16.640 --> 0:01:20.280 issues of a London daily newspaper in eighteen hundred and 0:01:20.319 --> 0:01:22.880 eighteen oh one. There was not a single ad for 0:01:23.000 --> 0:01:27.160 children's presence, but by eighteen sixteen there were dozens. 0:01:27.400 --> 0:01:29.920 Okay, so what kind of toys were popular back then? 0:01:30.520 --> 0:01:34.959 Actually a few things that sound pretty fun. Chemistry sets, kaleidoscopes, 0:01:35.200 --> 0:01:39.760 little toy theaters, and something called a quote genealogical and 0:01:39.840 --> 0:01:43.479 chronological Game of England, which, if I'm going to be honest, 0:01:43.520 --> 0:01:46.080 seems more like a homework assignment than a game. 0:01:46.200 --> 0:01:49.000 But you know, feels like Shoots and Ladders meets Cold 0:01:49.000 --> 0:01:51.440 Case Files. And now that I'm saying that out loud, 0:01:51.480 --> 0:01:53.720 it sounds awesome, right. 0:01:53.640 --> 0:01:56.240 Yeah, Well, too bad you can't buy it anymore, but 0:01:56.400 --> 0:01:59.760 you can, of course buy lots of other things, toys included. 0:02:00.120 --> 0:02:02.880 And with the holiday shopping season kicking off, we're going 0:02:02.960 --> 0:02:07.880 to explore this very specific intersection between festivity and commerce. 0:02:08.280 --> 0:02:10.639 It's a story with deep roots going all the way 0:02:10.680 --> 0:02:14.280 back to ancient Rome, through medieval Germany, and even up 0:02:14.320 --> 0:02:39.320 to modern day Philadelphia. So let's dive in. Hey there, 0:02:39.360 --> 0:02:43.320 podcast listeners, welcome to Part Time Genius. I'm Gabe bluesy A, 0:02:43.560 --> 0:02:46.720 and I'm here with Mary, Philip, Sandy Will and Mango 0:02:46.760 --> 0:02:49.320 couldn't be with us today because they got lost at 0:02:49.360 --> 0:02:51.920 the mall and over there in the booth dressed like 0:02:51.960 --> 0:02:54.919 the Christmas tree from a Charlie Brown Christmas. That's our 0:02:54.960 --> 0:02:57.640 friend and producer, Dylan Fagan. Way to get into the 0:02:57.639 --> 0:02:58.959 holiday spirit there, Dylan. 0:02:59.480 --> 0:03:02.920 Yeah, Yeah, I like how statuesque Dylan looks right like 0:03:02.960 --> 0:03:05.640 he's just kind of leaning over with a single ornament 0:03:05.680 --> 0:03:08.280 holding a few bunches of pine needles. It's very impressive, 0:03:08.560 --> 0:03:10.120 you know, I almost feel like he belongs in a 0:03:10.160 --> 0:03:11.160 department store window. 0:03:11.560 --> 0:03:11.720 Yeah. 0:03:11.760 --> 0:03:14.639 And actually, if anyone from Macy's happens to be listening, 0:03:14.639 --> 0:03:16.919 we'd be happy to rent you, Dylan for the holiday season, 0:03:17.040 --> 0:03:18.000 just you know, get in touch. 0:03:18.480 --> 0:03:20.160 Yeah, what five hundred dollars a day? 0:03:20.240 --> 0:03:21.520 That seems fair well. 0:03:21.560 --> 0:03:25.000 Speaking of which, let's talk about holiday window displays. Now, 0:03:25.040 --> 0:03:27.840 I did not know this before, but the holiday window 0:03:27.880 --> 0:03:31.080 display is an all American creation that dates back to 0:03:31.120 --> 0:03:34.640 the eighteen seventies. Window shopping itself had been a thing 0:03:34.680 --> 0:03:36.280 for a while, and you know, it hadn't occurred to 0:03:36.320 --> 0:03:38.240 me that there was a time when window shopping was 0:03:38.320 --> 0:03:41.680 not a thing. But it was. And it's all because 0:03:41.680 --> 0:03:45.480 of the inventions of plate glass and gas powered lamps. 0:03:45.720 --> 0:03:48.640 So plate glass meant that shop owners could have these 0:03:48.720 --> 0:03:51.120 huge windows that went the entire length of their store, 0:03:51.160 --> 0:03:53.160 so they had a ton of space to show off 0:03:53.200 --> 0:03:56.080 their goods, and the gas lighting made it all visible 0:03:56.120 --> 0:03:58.920 even at night. So in late nineteenth century New York 0:03:59.000 --> 0:04:03.720 window shopping was pretty competitive. Eye catching displays were a must, 0:04:03.920 --> 0:04:06.680 and in eighteen seventy four Macy's, which back then just 0:04:06.800 --> 0:04:09.120 had the one location in Manhattan, they claimed to have 0:04:09.200 --> 0:04:14.280 introduced the holiday specific window display to entice those winter shoppers. 0:04:14.640 --> 0:04:16.520 Do we know what this first display was. 0:04:16.800 --> 0:04:17.760 Gabe, of course we do. 0:04:17.960 --> 0:04:18.320 Nice. 0:04:18.760 --> 0:04:22.680 One window had a collection of dolls from Europe. Nice. 0:04:22.760 --> 0:04:27.159 Another one recreated scenes from Uncle Tom's cabin. Okay, yeah, 0:04:27.200 --> 0:04:29.560 I don't know how that was Christmas related, but apparently 0:04:29.600 --> 0:04:32.640 it was. And other department stores followed suit, and they 0:04:32.680 --> 0:04:35.960 actually kept adding to this idea with high tech extras 0:04:36.000 --> 0:04:38.839 like Santa cruising along in a steam powered sleigh, which 0:04:39.040 --> 0:04:42.480 sounds kind of amazing. But one of my favorite innovations 0:04:42.600 --> 0:04:45.720 came from Lord and Taylor. In nineteen thirty eight. It 0:04:45.920 --> 0:04:49.039 was an unseasonably warm November in New York and the 0:04:49.080 --> 0:04:51.680 Lord and Taylor folks they wanted to get people into 0:04:51.720 --> 0:04:55.000 the holiday spirit, so they emptied out the storefront windows 0:04:55.040 --> 0:04:59.880 of merchandise, frosted the glass and blue bleached white cornflakes 0:05:00.480 --> 0:05:03.760 so it looked like a blizzard. Love it, and they 0:05:03.880 --> 0:05:07.520 piped the sound of howling winds out through speakers. I 0:05:07.560 --> 0:05:09.599 love this so much because it's so creative, but also 0:05:09.760 --> 0:05:12.839 it was the first time that merchandise wasn't featured in 0:05:12.839 --> 0:05:15.080 a window. It was just about creating a mood in 0:05:15.160 --> 0:05:17.039 order to increase sales. Well. 0:05:17.120 --> 0:05:20.560 Another thing that department stores deserve credit for is the 0:05:20.680 --> 0:05:23.919 man himself, Santa Claus. The Santa we know today is 0:05:23.960 --> 0:05:26.919 a mashup of Nordic folklore about a man who punished 0:05:27.000 --> 0:05:30.480 naughty kids and rewarded nice ones, plus Nicholas of Myra, 0:05:30.800 --> 0:05:33.960 a saint non for being generous. As for the red 0:05:34.040 --> 0:05:37.080 suit and beard, we have the eighteen twenty three poem 0:05:37.160 --> 0:05:40.279 Twas the Night before Christmas to thank for that. Clement 0:05:40.360 --> 0:05:43.839 Moore's poem described Santa as a quote jolly old elf 0:05:44.160 --> 0:05:47.640 with a round belly, twinkling eyes and dimples, and that 0:05:47.680 --> 0:05:51.960 image has stuck all this time, so, perhaps unsurprisingly, it's 0:05:52.080 --> 0:05:55.279 not too long after that poem that Santa started showing 0:05:55.360 --> 0:05:58.120 up during the shopping season. A lot of stores have 0:05:58.200 --> 0:06:00.760 claimed to have the first live Santa. But one of 0:06:00.760 --> 0:06:03.680 the earliest was from eighteen forty one at a dry 0:06:03.680 --> 0:06:07.560 goods store in Philadelphia, and within five years there were 0:06:07.640 --> 0:06:10.560 at least three other stores in Philly with their own 0:06:10.680 --> 0:06:11.360 Saint Nick's. 0:06:11.720 --> 0:06:14.800 I did not realize that Santa was in Philadelphia stores 0:06:14.800 --> 0:06:17.320 before New York. I just always associate him with Mazie's 0:06:17.400 --> 0:06:19.520 right from Miracle on thirty fourth Street, which we watch 0:06:19.560 --> 0:06:20.479 every year at Christmas. 0:06:20.560 --> 0:06:22.680 Yeah, of course, as you should. And you know that 0:06:22.800 --> 0:06:26.480 movie really solidified the connection between Santa and the Christmas 0:06:26.480 --> 0:06:30.240 shopping season. But not every department store Santa was up 0:06:30.279 --> 0:06:33.560 to snuff in those days. Many wore suits and beards 0:06:33.560 --> 0:06:36.680 that were frayed and ill fitting. Others returned from their 0:06:36.680 --> 0:06:40.400 breaks wreaking of cigarettes or alcohol, and some were incredibly 0:06:40.480 --> 0:06:42.640 rude to the children who came to see them. And 0:06:42.800 --> 0:06:45.080 that sort of behavior didn't sit right with a man 0:06:45.160 --> 0:06:48.200 named Charles Howard. He was a farmer by trade, but 0:06:48.279 --> 0:06:51.120 his true passion was his yearly role as a department 0:06:51.240 --> 0:06:55.200 store Santa. Charles believed that kids deserved a better class 0:06:55.200 --> 0:06:57.880 of Santa, so with his wife's blessing, he converted their 0:06:57.920 --> 0:07:01.680 farmhouse near Rochester, New York into the world's first Santa 0:07:01.720 --> 0:07:05.680 Claus training school. His first crop of students in nineteen 0:07:05.760 --> 0:07:09.880 thirty seven consisted of just three hopeful Santas, but enrollments 0:07:09.880 --> 0:07:13.800 steadily grew over time, and so did Charles's reputation as 0:07:13.800 --> 0:07:17.320 a top tier Santa. For example, he actually served as 0:07:17.320 --> 0:07:20.320 a Santa consultant during the filming of Miracle on thirty 0:07:20.320 --> 0:07:23.239 Fourth Street, and in nineteen forty eight he was called 0:07:23.280 --> 0:07:25.360 up to the big leagues to appear as Santa in 0:07:25.440 --> 0:07:29.400 the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. That was and still is 0:07:29.480 --> 0:07:32.560 the most high profile Santa gig in the country, and 0:07:32.600 --> 0:07:35.280 it's one that Charles Howard proudly filled all the way 0:07:35.360 --> 0:07:39.000 until nineteen sixty five, and even though he died a 0:07:39.080 --> 0:07:43.000 year later, his name lives on The Charles W. Howard 0:07:43.080 --> 0:07:45.720 Santa Claus School moved from New York to Michigan in 0:07:45.760 --> 0:07:48.800 the nineteen eighties, and according to its website, they still 0:07:48.840 --> 0:07:53.520 teach about three hundred aspiring Santas each year. The intensive 0:07:53.640 --> 0:07:57.080 three day curriculum includes a crash course in Santa history 0:07:57.160 --> 0:08:00.520 and tradition, as well as public relations and child SiGe ecology. 0:08:01.000 --> 0:08:04.280 Hands on tutorial for maintaining a Santa suit and applying 0:08:04.280 --> 0:08:08.280 the makeup, and even instruction on how to care for reindeer, 0:08:08.680 --> 0:08:10.440 just in case a kid should ever ask. 0:08:11.360 --> 0:08:13.080 Yeah, you're never going to be a great Scanta if 0:08:13.080 --> 0:08:16.600 you don't have your LinkedIn all polished up. Okay, Well, 0:08:16.640 --> 0:08:19.480 so looking beyond the United States for a moment. Another 0:08:19.560 --> 0:08:24.080 legendary holiday shopping tradition is the German Christmas market. If 0:08:24.120 --> 0:08:26.600 you've ever seen a photo, you will know. They feature 0:08:26.640 --> 0:08:30.480 twinkly lights, hand carved ornaments, these big hot mugs of 0:08:30.600 --> 0:08:33.959 mould wine. It's cozy, it's fun, but they do have 0:08:34.200 --> 0:08:37.880 a dark side as well. So German holiday markets date 0:08:37.960 --> 0:08:40.920 back to the fifteenth century. The oldest one that's still 0:08:40.960 --> 0:08:44.840 around today is in Dresden. It started in fourteen thirty four, 0:08:44.920 --> 0:08:46.800 which is just incredible to think about that it's been 0:08:46.800 --> 0:08:49.400 going that long. Series and over the centuries, these markets 0:08:49.440 --> 0:08:52.080 spread all across Europe and they grew in size. But 0:08:52.160 --> 0:08:55.320 as the nineteenth century rolled along, the markets began facing 0:08:55.360 --> 0:08:59.040 competition from department stores, which sold mass produced toys and 0:08:59.080 --> 0:09:02.679 other Christmas items at much lower prices. The department stores 0:09:02.720 --> 0:09:04.959 actually forced a lot of markets out to the city 0:09:05.000 --> 0:09:07.600 outskirts in the suburbs, and by the nineteen thirties, these 0:09:07.600 --> 0:09:09.720 traditional markets were in severe decline. 0:09:10.520 --> 0:09:13.520 And you said, this is Germany in the nineteen thirties, right, 0:09:13.559 --> 0:09:16.480 So I imagine this is when the dark part comes in. 0:09:16.600 --> 0:09:18.640 Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's when it gets dark. When 0:09:18.679 --> 0:09:21.880 the Nazis seized power, they were fixated on this idea 0:09:21.920 --> 0:09:25.520 of German greatness, and they wanted to change Christmas from 0:09:25.559 --> 0:09:29.319 a religious holiday to one that just celebrated German heritage 0:09:29.400 --> 0:09:32.760 as not Geo writes quote. When Adolf Hitler became Chancellor 0:09:32.800 --> 0:09:36.800 in nineteen thirty three, his newly empowered political party wasted 0:09:36.880 --> 0:09:40.880 no time in transforming Christmas from a religious holiday devoted 0:09:40.880 --> 0:09:44.040 to peace on Earth to a nationalist one that extolled 0:09:44.080 --> 0:09:48.320 German heritage. Party officials inserted Nazi imagery into Nativity scenes, 0:09:48.600 --> 0:09:53.120 filled advent calendars with party propaganda, and even rewrote Christmas 0:09:53.120 --> 0:09:57.080 carols like Silent Night to de emphasize its Christian connotations. 0:09:57.480 --> 0:10:02.360 So basically, reviving the Christmas market to showcase craftsmanship and 0:10:02.640 --> 0:10:06.360 German tradition was a way to accomplish these goals. So 0:10:06.600 --> 0:10:09.040 the Nazis moved to the Christmas markets from the suburbs 0:10:09.080 --> 0:10:11.760 back to the city centers like to the heart of Berlin, 0:10:12.240 --> 0:10:14.920 and they set really strict rules on what could be sold. 0:10:15.320 --> 0:10:19.200 Everything had to be holiday related and German made, including ornaments, 0:10:19.240 --> 0:10:22.679 gingerbread and toys. The stalls were also allowed to sell 0:10:22.800 --> 0:10:25.640 very German things like brought worst and nothing like a 0:10:25.720 --> 0:10:29.240 brought worst at Christmas? Am I right? And of course 0:10:29.360 --> 0:10:31.959 because these were such popular gathering places, it was a 0:10:32.000 --> 0:10:35.839 convenient place to feature speeches from Nazi leaders like Joseph Gerbels. 0:10:36.120 --> 0:10:38.720 So the holiday market slowed down during World War Two, 0:10:38.960 --> 0:10:42.360 but after the war, as European economies rebounded, the markets 0:10:42.360 --> 0:10:45.400 did too, and while they kept the spirit of community 0:10:45.400 --> 0:10:48.000 and Christmas, they got rid of that Nazi veneer that 0:10:48.040 --> 0:10:50.200 had been tacked on. And today there are over three 0:10:50.280 --> 0:10:52.480 thousand of them in Germany. And what's really great is 0:10:52.480 --> 0:10:55.440 that people of German descent have brought these markets to 0:10:55.520 --> 0:10:58.400 places all over the world, and so despite that dark 0:10:58.440 --> 0:11:00.920 time in their past, they're really and they're a great 0:11:00.960 --> 0:11:05.280 way to support independent businesses, artists and crafts people. 0:11:05.280 --> 0:11:06.920 Which of course is you know, a great thing to 0:11:06.920 --> 0:11:09.520 do during the holidays and at any time. Really, but 0:11:10.280 --> 0:11:12.280 all right, we have to take a quick break. But 0:11:12.440 --> 0:11:15.760 when we come back ancient Roman traditions and the origins 0:11:15.800 --> 0:11:19.120 of the slinky, the walking spring toy that almost wasn't 0:11:34.040 --> 0:11:37.440 welcome back to part time genius. Okay, Mary, question for you? 0:11:37.720 --> 0:11:39.760 Are you a last minute shopper or do you make 0:11:39.800 --> 0:11:42.240 a list, check it twice, and get everything taken care 0:11:42.280 --> 0:11:43.840 of long before mid December. 0:11:44.400 --> 0:11:47.040 I don't think I've ever purchased a Christmas gift before 0:11:47.040 --> 0:11:48.800 December fifteenth, That, ever. 0:11:48.960 --> 0:11:49.960 Is shocking to meet. 0:11:50.000 --> 0:11:52.960 Wow. Yeah, well, part of it is that my mom's 0:11:53.000 --> 0:11:55.560 birthday is December tenth, and so growing up, we weren't 0:11:55.559 --> 0:11:57.880 allowed to even think about Christmas until after her birthday. 0:11:57.920 --> 0:11:59.720 And that's just stayed with me. Last year, I spent 0:11:59.760 --> 0:12:04.320 to Umber twenty third in Macy's. No, I think I 0:12:04.360 --> 0:12:06.920 deserve some sort of metal of valor for surviving that. 0:12:07.080 --> 0:12:09.120 It was insane, but it was also kind of fun, 0:12:09.640 --> 0:12:11.040 you know. It was just like there are so many 0:12:11.040 --> 0:12:13.160 people and tourists. There was something kind of great. I 0:12:13.200 --> 0:12:15.480 felt good about having procrastinated. How about you. 0:12:15.559 --> 0:12:18.120 Yeah, I can imagine the energy that of the late 0:12:18.160 --> 0:12:21.280 season shoppers there. But yeah, you know, I like to 0:12:21.679 --> 0:12:23.839 thrift shop a lot. I'll go to flea markets, I'll 0:12:23.880 --> 0:12:26.559 go to antique stores. So I'm kind of picking stuff 0:12:26.640 --> 0:12:28.960 up throughout the year. You know, if I see something, 0:12:29.360 --> 0:12:31.040 I just have to have it. I don't know if 0:12:31.040 --> 0:12:33.079 I really have room for it, but maybe I can 0:12:33.080 --> 0:12:36.120 pawn it off on someone else later in the year. 0:12:37.040 --> 0:12:40.559 Wait, is that technically regifting if you we've sort of 0:12:40.640 --> 0:12:42.600 lot of yourself, You're not sure. 0:12:43.640 --> 0:12:45.920 Yeah, well, if you buy it without the intention to 0:12:46.040 --> 0:12:46.840 keep it, I don't know. 0:12:46.920 --> 0:12:47.360 I don't know. 0:12:47.440 --> 0:12:48.760 But yeah, it's a great area. 0:12:48.960 --> 0:12:50.920 It's a very ethically gray area. No, you know what 0:12:50.960 --> 0:12:54.479 it is. It's like it's curatorial acquisition. 0:12:54.800 --> 0:12:56.520 Yeah, there we go. We'll go with that. That sounds 0:12:56.600 --> 0:13:00.760 much nicer. Okay, all right, So we talked about the 0:13:00.760 --> 0:13:03.880 origin of giving children gifts at Christmas time, which is 0:13:03.960 --> 0:13:08.280 surprisingly recent, but the idea of winter holidays themselves actually 0:13:08.400 --> 0:13:14.000 goes back millennia. Many ancient civilizations, including the Babylonians, Mesopotamians, 0:13:14.080 --> 0:13:18.040 and Egyptians, had a festival celebrating the winter solstice, but 0:13:18.120 --> 0:13:20.959 it was the Romans who cemented the idea of putting 0:13:21.040 --> 0:13:25.200 up holiday decorations and exchanging presents. This was done during 0:13:25.240 --> 0:13:28.680 the Saturnalia festival, which was held every year in mid 0:13:28.679 --> 0:13:31.640 December as a way to honor Saturn, the god of 0:13:31.679 --> 0:13:35.400 agriculture and the harvest. It was the most popular holiday 0:13:35.520 --> 0:13:38.000 in ancient Rome, and it honestly sounds like a lot 0:13:38.000 --> 0:13:41.640 of fun. Folks decorated their houses with wreaths made of 0:13:41.640 --> 0:13:45.680 holly and ivy, and there was music and singing, eating, drinking, 0:13:45.840 --> 0:13:49.720 gift giving, and best of all, no one worked during Saturnalia, 0:13:50.040 --> 0:13:52.600 not even the people. The Romans had enslaved. 0:13:53.080 --> 0:13:56.720 Wow, no work presence, NonStop partying. I'm in right, sign 0:13:56.760 --> 0:13:57.040 me up. 0:13:57.360 --> 0:14:00.160 But the best part is initially it was just that's 0:14:00.160 --> 0:14:02.800 a one day affair, but over time it became a 0:14:02.840 --> 0:14:06.680 whole week long event. On the last day of Saturnalia, 0:14:06.880 --> 0:14:09.920 Romans would give each other small figures made of wax 0:14:10.080 --> 0:14:14.000 wood or terra cotta called sigilla. It's widely believed this 0:14:14.080 --> 0:14:17.200 is why we still give gifts during our holiday season. 0:14:17.559 --> 0:14:19.920 Oh so it was like little terracotta figures, but they 0:14:19.920 --> 0:14:21.800 were the ticklemielmo of ancient Roma. 0:14:21.960 --> 0:14:22.200 Right. 0:14:23.480 --> 0:14:26.760 Well, speaking of holiday, it toys, my all time favorite, 0:14:26.800 --> 0:14:28.800 mostly for the story behind it has got to be 0:14:29.160 --> 0:14:32.680 the Slinky. It was a runaway or slink away hit 0:14:32.800 --> 0:14:36.640 in nineteen forty five, but it almost didn't happen. So 0:14:36.840 --> 0:14:40.200 in nineteen forty three, a mechanical engineer named Richard James 0:14:40.320 --> 0:14:43.960 was at work in a Philadelphia shipyard. He accidentally knocks 0:14:43.960 --> 0:14:46.640 the spring off a shelf, and instead of crashing to 0:14:46.680 --> 0:14:49.840 the ground, the spring looked like it was walking, first 0:14:49.920 --> 0:14:52.160 down to a stack of books, then to a table, 0:14:52.480 --> 0:14:55.240 then to the floor, where it finally landed. That night, 0:14:55.360 --> 0:14:57.480 Richard went home and told his wife Betty about it, 0:14:57.800 --> 0:14:59.800 and he was like, I think this could be a 0:14:59.800 --> 0:15:01.680 to I would have loved to have heard that conversation 0:15:01.760 --> 0:15:05.600 with Betty. You would not believe what happened at work today. 0:15:05.640 --> 0:15:09.040 I knocked a spring over and Betty was like, okay, honey. Anyway, 0:15:09.160 --> 0:15:10.920 he was really excited and he thought this could be 0:15:10.960 --> 0:15:13.320 a toy. Betty was actually the one who came up 0:15:13.360 --> 0:15:16.040 with the name slinky later, and so Richard was so 0:15:16.280 --> 0:15:19.480 excited about this. He built a machine that coiled wire 0:15:19.560 --> 0:15:23.040 into a spiral, borrowed five hundred dollars, started a company, 0:15:23.080 --> 0:15:25.560 and woila, this slinky was born. 0:15:25.800 --> 0:15:28.560 Wow, and the rest is a toy history, right. 0:15:28.680 --> 0:15:31.800 Well almost, except no one was buying it. I mean, 0:15:31.840 --> 0:15:33.880 if you had never seen a slinky before, and you 0:15:33.920 --> 0:15:36.680 didn't know what it does, it doesn't necessarily catch her attention. 0:15:37.400 --> 0:15:40.880 So in nineteen forty five, Richard went around to department 0:15:40.880 --> 0:15:44.360 stores in Philadelphia trying to persuade them to stock his toy, 0:15:44.400 --> 0:15:47.840 but no one was interested. Finally, he managed to convince 0:15:47.880 --> 0:15:51.960 one department store, Gimbals, to include a slinky in their 0:15:52.000 --> 0:15:55.040 holiday display. They priced them at one dollar, which is 0:15:55.080 --> 0:15:57.680 around seventeen dollars today, which is a lot. 0:15:57.800 --> 0:16:00.800 That seems like a lot for a coiled a medal. Yeah, 0:16:00.840 --> 0:16:04.000 but I mean I'm guessing the display at Gimbal's that's 0:16:04.000 --> 0:16:05.240 when sales took off. 0:16:06.120 --> 0:16:08.720 That would be great. But no, no, still, no. Richard 0:16:08.920 --> 0:16:11.760 may have been a great inventor if you consider a 0:16:11.880 --> 0:16:15.040 marketing a spring inventing it Okay, The problem was he 0:16:15.080 --> 0:16:18.200 wasn't really great at package design. The slinky just came 0:16:18.240 --> 0:16:21.000 wrapped in plain parchment paper, so it just sat there 0:16:21.040 --> 0:16:25.480 looking honestly, really boring among all these brightly colored holiday toys. 0:16:26.000 --> 0:16:28.080 But Richard wasn't ready to give up. He believed in 0:16:28.120 --> 0:16:30.400 his idea, so he asked Gimbals if he could do 0:16:30.440 --> 0:16:34.040 a demonstration of how it worked. They agreed, and so 0:16:34.160 --> 0:16:36.520 the week after Thanksgiving, he set up a ramp in 0:16:36.600 --> 0:16:39.160 the store, put some slinkies up at the top, and 0:16:39.280 --> 0:16:42.200 let them walk down, basically showing the thing that had 0:16:42.240 --> 0:16:44.920 gotten him so excited in the first place. And that's 0:16:44.960 --> 0:16:48.600 what worked. Within ninety minutes, Gimbals sold all four hundred 0:16:48.640 --> 0:16:51.960 slinkies it had, and by the end of the holiday season, 0:16:52.360 --> 0:16:56.080 Richard had sold twenty thousand slinkies across the United States. 0:16:56.560 --> 0:16:59.560 One year later, he'd sold two hundred and fifty thousand 0:16:59.640 --> 0:16:59.960 of them. 0:17:00.120 --> 0:17:01.880 While So, I mean, you know, you got to give 0:17:01.880 --> 0:17:04.760 the guy credit for persevering if nothing else right. Maybe 0:17:04.760 --> 0:17:07.720 he didn't invent it, but he noticed. 0:17:07.359 --> 0:17:10.360 It the great noticer. 0:17:10.520 --> 0:17:12.439 Yeah, there we go. Well, you know, as long as 0:17:12.440 --> 0:17:14.960 we're in the nineteen forties, my next fact is about 0:17:15.080 --> 0:17:19.240 Christmas Club savings accounts, which some people probably used back 0:17:19.240 --> 0:17:22.359 then to buy their slinkies. Are you familiar with these? Mary, 0:17:22.359 --> 0:17:22.960 have you heard of this? 0:17:23.040 --> 0:17:23.479 I am not. 0:17:23.800 --> 0:17:26.560 I am not tell me, Okay, So Christmas Club started 0:17:26.600 --> 0:17:30.560 in December nineteen oh nine when three shoe factory workers 0:17:30.680 --> 0:17:35.240 walked into the Carlisle Trust Company in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. 0:17:35.000 --> 0:17:37.159 That does I have to say, that does sound like 0:17:37.160 --> 0:17:38.080 the setup to a joke. 0:17:38.280 --> 0:17:41.080 Well, in this case, it was a business plan. Because 0:17:41.119 --> 0:17:43.800 what these guys did is they pitched an idea to 0:17:43.840 --> 0:17:47.960 the bank's treasurer, a guy named Merkle Landis. So they 0:17:48.000 --> 0:17:50.639 wanted to open a joint bank account. And here's the 0:17:50.680 --> 0:17:54.280 innovative part. Each week they planned to deposit money that 0:17:54.359 --> 0:17:57.280 they had collected from themselves and from their fellow shoe 0:17:57.320 --> 0:18:00.680 factory of friends. This account would earn in and then 0:18:00.760 --> 0:18:03.680 right before Christmas the next year, they planned to withdraw 0:18:03.720 --> 0:18:07.159 the money and split the interest with everyone who had contributed. 0:18:07.440 --> 0:18:10.479 So Landis thought this was an interesting idea, not just 0:18:10.520 --> 0:18:14.119 for shoe factory workers, but for everybody. So he placed 0:18:14.119 --> 0:18:16.560 an ad in the local newspaper for something he called 0:18:16.600 --> 0:18:20.920 a Christmas Savings Club, offering three percent interest to anyone 0:18:20.920 --> 0:18:24.600 who made steady deposits all year long. So the idea 0:18:24.680 --> 0:18:27.919 was simple and familiar. In December, you would open an 0:18:27.920 --> 0:18:30.560 account with a small deposit, and then over the next 0:18:30.680 --> 0:18:33.720 fifty weeks you would add more money. In November you 0:18:33.760 --> 0:18:36.359 could withdraw the money and the interest, but if you 0:18:36.440 --> 0:18:38.960 take it out earlier you had to pay a fee. 0:18:39.280 --> 0:18:42.320 Well, so, besides the guys from the shoe factory did 0:18:42.359 --> 0:18:43.480 anyone sign up? 0:18:43.920 --> 0:18:46.880 Yeah, actually, three hundred and fifty people signed up that 0:18:47.000 --> 0:18:50.000 first year, and they saved an average of twenty eight 0:18:50.040 --> 0:18:53.160 dollars each, which is around nine hundred and fifty dollars 0:18:53.200 --> 0:18:54.080 in today's money. 0:18:54.440 --> 0:18:54.920 And wow. 0:18:55.000 --> 0:18:57.960 Yeah. The program was so well received that the Carlisle 0:18:58.000 --> 0:19:01.240 Trust kept it going the next year, and soon other 0:19:01.320 --> 0:19:04.399 banks started doing the same thing, though not all of 0:19:04.440 --> 0:19:07.320 them offered better interest rates or even interest at all. 0:19:07.840 --> 0:19:11.159 Maintaining these special accounts cost the bank's money, but in 0:19:11.200 --> 0:19:13.280 the long term they were a great way to reach 0:19:13.359 --> 0:19:17.840 new customers. Early advertisements for Christmas clubs targeted families and 0:19:17.920 --> 0:19:21.760 young professionals, you know, the most likely future customers for 0:19:22.000 --> 0:19:24.879 car loans and mortgages, so it was a smart play 0:19:24.960 --> 0:19:27.639 on the bank's part, and parents were also encouraged to 0:19:27.720 --> 0:19:30.080 enroll their children in the clubs as a way to 0:19:30.080 --> 0:19:33.919 teach them financial responsibility. The best part, though, is that 0:19:34.040 --> 0:19:38.080 some banks even offered incentives for opening a Christmas savings account, 0:19:38.200 --> 0:19:42.040 like membership cards or a free porcelain Christmas bill. 0:19:42.280 --> 0:19:43.400 Woo Yeah right. 0:19:44.119 --> 0:19:48.080 These gimmicks worked really well though, because in nineteen thirty five, 0:19:48.280 --> 0:19:51.600 money taken from these accounts made up about ten percent 0:19:51.720 --> 0:19:56.240 of all holidays spending, and by nineteen sixty five, approximately 0:19:56.320 --> 0:20:00.440 fifteen million Americans were members of a local Christmas club. 0:20:01.040 --> 0:20:04.160 Of course, these days, credit cards are a far more 0:20:04.240 --> 0:20:08.800 popular way to facilitate holiday spending and overspending, but believe 0:20:08.800 --> 0:20:11.879 it or not, some banks and credit unions do still 0:20:11.920 --> 0:20:13.680 offer holiday savings accounts. 0:20:14.000 --> 0:20:15.720 And I'd have to imagine that a lot of those 0:20:15.800 --> 0:20:18.679 club cards were used on Black Friday, right, the biggest 0:20:18.680 --> 0:20:21.080 shopping day of the year. And to unpack that origin, 0:20:21.160 --> 0:20:23.320 we are going back to Philadelphia. 0:20:24.000 --> 0:20:26.520 Wow, it is I think that's a third time now, right, 0:20:26.760 --> 0:20:30.840 It's wild how much Philadelphia has influenced holiday shopping. 0:20:31.200 --> 0:20:33.360 I know they call it the City of Brotherly Love. 0:20:33.400 --> 0:20:37.439 It's more like the City of Holiday Shopping. Okay, so 0:20:38.400 --> 0:20:41.000 new slogan. If anyone from Philly is listening. 0:20:40.800 --> 0:20:41.840 You can have that for free. 0:20:41.960 --> 0:20:45.679 Yeah, that's right. So let's go back to the nineteen fifties. 0:20:45.720 --> 0:20:48.600 It's after World War Two, people have a little money, 0:20:48.840 --> 0:20:51.960 and the day is after Thanksgiving. Are big holiday shopping days, 0:20:52.000 --> 0:20:55.359 but they are also big for college football, and one 0:20:55.359 --> 0:20:57.640 of the biggest games in the country is the annual 0:20:57.840 --> 0:21:00.960 Army Navy Rivalry, which for many ye was played this 0:21:01.119 --> 0:21:04.040 Saturday after Thanksgiving, right and that. 0:21:04.000 --> 0:21:07.080 Game it's often held in Philly because that's halfway between 0:21:07.119 --> 0:21:09.440 West Point and Annapolis exactly. 0:21:09.480 --> 0:21:14.119