WEBVTT - How the Boy Scouts Conquered America 0:00:00.040 --> 0:00:02.880 Guess what will What's So, my father in law has 0:00:02.920 --> 0:00:04.560 this phrase that he uses every once in a while 0:00:04.680 --> 0:00:08.000 that I love. He'll hear a story like this, really 0:00:08.039 --> 0:00:11.480 wonderful story of someone pulling themselves up by their bootstraps, 0:00:11.720 --> 0:00:14.760 and he'll shake his head in awe and say, that's America. 0:00:15.280 --> 0:00:17.439 I mean, I love it when he says that. And 0:00:17.480 --> 0:00:19.319 I read a story this week that made me feel 0:00:19.360 --> 0:00:22.799 the same way. So this is from Hurricane Katrina in 0:00:22.840 --> 0:00:25.480 two thousand five. In the flood. There was his family 0:00:25.520 --> 0:00:29.000 in New Orleans cotton nine feet of floodwater. It's just 0:00:29.240 --> 0:00:32.840 rushing into their house. So this boy, Ashton Pruett, he's 0:00:32.960 --> 0:00:36.040 only fourteen and he just got his swimming badge from 0:00:36.040 --> 0:00:39.960 the boy Scouts a week ago. And Ashton he's ready 0:00:40.000 --> 0:00:43.000 for this. He creates flotation devices out of pants and 0:00:43.040 --> 0:00:45.120 hands them to his family. He comes up with a 0:00:45.159 --> 0:00:48.159 plan to swim everyone to safety. Like he swims them 0:00:48.159 --> 0:00:50.040 out of the house one by one. He gets a 0:00:50.080 --> 0:00:52.600 seventy two year old grandmother to the neighbor's roof, and 0:00:52.600 --> 0:00:55.600 then his blind brother, and then each member of his 0:00:55.640 --> 0:00:58.240 family and they sit there as the water rises to 0:00:58.400 --> 0:01:03.120 eighteen feet high and eventually they're rescued, but it's just incredible. 0:01:03.720 --> 0:01:06.080 So as I was reading this, I was struck by 0:01:06.080 --> 0:01:09.360 the story. Like a kid from the city tying knots 0:01:09.400 --> 0:01:13.280 and being resourceful, staying calm, using his scouting to save 0:01:13.360 --> 0:01:17.240 his family in what has to be the unlikeliest of circumstances. 0:01:17.640 --> 0:01:20.759 To be it's the true meaning of the word boy Scouts. Yeah, 0:01:20.800 --> 0:01:23.120 I mean, that's amazing and almost as impressive as the 0:01:23.120 --> 0:01:26.160 Pinewood Derby car my son made in The Scouts. Maybe. 0:01:26.520 --> 0:01:29.640 So I heard that story and thought that's America. But 0:01:29.720 --> 0:01:31.520 the whole thing made me wonder, why are the Boy 0:01:31.520 --> 0:01:35.679 Scouts such an American institution and how did they conquer America? 0:01:36.040 --> 0:02:04.000 And that's what we're covering on today's show. Welcome to 0:02:04.000 --> 0:02:06.120 Part Time Genius. I'm Will Pearson and as always I'm 0:02:06.160 --> 0:02:08.600 joined by my good friend Manes Ticketer. We've got a 0:02:08.600 --> 0:02:11.360 super fun show for you Today. We're tackling a big question, 0:02:11.760 --> 0:02:14.400 how did the Boy Scouts conquer America? So we'll be 0:02:14.440 --> 0:02:16.760 digging into how the Boy Scouts one American hearts and 0:02:16.800 --> 0:02:20.120 became such an enduring institution, And as usual, we'll have 0:02:20.120 --> 0:02:22.600 a couple of ridiculous quizzes who are we putting to 0:02:22.639 --> 0:02:24.720 the test today? Mango? Well, we found a couple of 0:02:24.760 --> 0:02:28.079 former Scouts to answer our crazy questions. They're basically doing 0:02:28.080 --> 0:02:30.119 their good deed for the day by joining us, right, 0:02:30.280 --> 0:02:32.560 all right, well good, and we've got the incredible Chuck 0:02:32.600 --> 0:02:34.720 Brian and studio with us too. Chuck is the co 0:02:34.840 --> 0:02:37.800 host of the ridiculously popular Stuff You Should Know podcast, 0:02:38.080 --> 0:02:40.200 and he'll be checking in a little bit later. But 0:02:40.240 --> 0:02:42.720 why don't we dive into the topic at hand, Mango? 0:02:42.880 --> 0:02:45.400 Why are the Boy Scouts such an American thing? I mean, 0:02:45.440 --> 0:02:48.160 we have motherhood and apple pie and Boy Scouts really 0:02:48.160 --> 0:02:50.840 aren't that far behind, yeah, which is, of course ironic 0:02:50.880 --> 0:02:53.639 because none of those things are particularly American. I mean, 0:02:53.680 --> 0:02:56.040 I think it's safe to say motherhood was pretty solidly 0:02:56.040 --> 0:02:59.480 a thing before America existed, and apple pies were consumed 0:02:59.520 --> 0:03:01.640 by the Squeets in the Dutch long before it was 0:03:01.680 --> 0:03:04.760 baked state side. And the Boy Scouts they got most 0:03:04.760 --> 0:03:06.760 of their early momentum from the Brits. But the Boy 0:03:06.800 --> 0:03:10.400 Scouts feel so American, I know, and America definitely played 0:03:10.440 --> 0:03:13.160 a big part in the movement, but the biggest influence 0:03:13.200 --> 0:03:16.880 comes from one man, Lord Robert Baden Powell, who actually 0:03:16.880 --> 0:03:21.320 went by the name Stevie. Stevie yeah, or Stevie like. 0:03:21.760 --> 0:03:24.280 He was the guy who really launched the scouting movement 0:03:24.360 --> 0:03:26.720 and got it to catch on across the globe. But 0:03:26.800 --> 0:03:29.359 for him, it wasn't just campfires and pine cone art. 0:03:29.560 --> 0:03:31.919 It was about winning a war. But before we get 0:03:31.919 --> 0:03:34.720 into that, can we talk for a second about masculinity? 0:03:36.280 --> 0:03:38.280 Such a bad transition? All right, Mago, what do you 0:03:38.320 --> 0:03:40.440 want to say about masculinity? And please don't tell me 0:03:40.480 --> 0:03:42.120 this is just your way to slip in your favorite 0:03:42.160 --> 0:03:44.200 fact from a few years ago, which one you know, 0:03:44.240 --> 0:03:46.040 the one about the guinea pig who jumped the fence 0:03:46.040 --> 0:03:48.800 at the animal sanctuary in England and impregnated something like 0:03:48.880 --> 0:03:53.000 a hundred female guinea pigs. Yeah, that's another legendary brit 0:03:53.160 --> 0:03:54.880 The best part of that story is the guinea pigs 0:03:54.960 --> 0:03:58.720 name was Randy. That's right, Randy. No, this has nothing 0:03:58.720 --> 0:04:01.640 to do with guinea pigs. It's about boy Scouts. So 0:04:01.800 --> 0:04:03.920 it occurred to me as I was researching the Scouts 0:04:04.000 --> 0:04:06.800 that about every decade or so there's some big national 0:04:06.880 --> 0:04:09.920 panic about whether we're coddling our sons too much and 0:04:10.280 --> 0:04:12.720 how men aren't raised to be men anymore. I feel 0:04:12.720 --> 0:04:14.200 like you kind of hear echoes of it in the 0:04:14.200 --> 0:04:16.640 air right now. Like for the past few years, schools 0:04:16.640 --> 0:04:19.320 have made a big issue of curbing bullying, right, but 0:04:19.400 --> 0:04:21.720 there's also been a vocal backlash to it. I mean, 0:04:21.839 --> 0:04:24.240 you even hear people like Chris Rock half joking about 0:04:24.279 --> 0:04:27.040 how bullies and fist fights are really what we need 0:04:27.080 --> 0:04:29.600 to toughen up the next generation, and how if there 0:04:29.640 --> 0:04:32.320 weren't bullies, there'd be no comedians. Well who can imagine 0:04:32.320 --> 0:04:34.720 making an argument for bullying now. But yeah, that's a 0:04:34.760 --> 0:04:37.640 common knock against millennials too, that they're a generation that's 0:04:37.640 --> 0:04:42.200 suffered from too many participation prizes and all the helicopter parenting. 0:04:42.520 --> 0:04:44.839 So there's a worry that they're ill prepared for the future. 0:04:45.320 --> 0:04:47.039 And I know what you're talking about in terms of 0:04:47.080 --> 0:04:49.719 being cyclical. I remember back in the early two thousands 0:04:49.720 --> 0:04:52.440 when that book Dangerous Book for Boys became a bestseller, 0:04:52.800 --> 0:04:54.880 and it felt novel because it was telling kids to 0:04:54.880 --> 0:04:57.120 step away from their screens and go shoot a bow 0:04:57.120 --> 0:04:59.520 and arrow and make a ford and come back with 0:04:59.560 --> 0:05:02.120 bruises is and scrape knees. Right, And of course I 0:05:02.160 --> 0:05:04.600 love playing in the backyard and building forts too, and 0:05:04.720 --> 0:05:07.080 I think that stuff is super important for kids. What's 0:05:07.080 --> 0:05:09.440 interesting to me is that this worry about raising real 0:05:09.520 --> 0:05:12.120 men isn't a modern phenomena. What do you mean, Well, 0:05:12.160 --> 0:05:14.159 it's actually one of the biggest reasons the boy scout 0:05:14.200 --> 0:05:16.600 movement took off way back in the early nineteen hundreds. 0:05:16.960 --> 0:05:19.120 You know, it was the age of manufacturing and all 0:05:19.120 --> 0:05:22.680 these new time saving technologies, and as populations were growing 0:05:22.720 --> 0:05:24.960 in cities, there was a real fear of taking the 0:05:24.960 --> 0:05:27.600 boy off the farm and detaching him from the wilderness, 0:05:27.920 --> 0:05:29.600 which is crazy. I mean, we're talking about the early 0:05:29.680 --> 0:05:32.080 nineteen hundreds, right, It's not like all men were working 0:05:32.080 --> 0:05:35.640 in air condition offices. Most things were still done by hand, right, 0:05:35.760 --> 0:05:38.400 But even in the nineteen hundreds, Americans were looking back 0:05:38.440 --> 0:05:41.880 wistfully at the manly men of the past, like pioneers 0:05:42.040 --> 0:05:44.440 and men in the wild West, and the self sufficiency 0:05:44.440 --> 0:05:47.000 of Native Americans. Well, to put it in context, that 0:05:47.120 --> 0:05:49.480 was when called the Wild and White Fang came out 0:05:49.600 --> 0:05:53.000 and were immensely popular. Right when Jack London fueled the 0:05:53.040 --> 0:05:55.840 idea that real boys live in the wild. And at 0:05:55.839 --> 0:05:58.240 the same time you have Teddy Roosevelt in office, I 0:05:58.240 --> 0:06:00.280 mean boxing in the White House at vent Is, on 0:06:00.320 --> 0:06:02.919 the Amazon rough riding and all that. He was the 0:06:02.960 --> 0:06:06.560 poster child from muscular Christianity, absolutely, and all of that 0:06:06.600 --> 0:06:09.040 went into how the Scouts got started. Actually, do you 0:06:09.080 --> 0:06:11.760 want to explain what muscular Christianity was, Like? I read 0:06:11.760 --> 0:06:13.480 about it too, and it plays a big pardon being 0:06:13.520 --> 0:06:16.360 in Pal's life and why the boys got movement took off. 0:06:16.400 --> 0:06:18.800 But you know, it isn't exactly a household term. I 0:06:18.839 --> 0:06:20.720 know what makes me think of priests doing free weights 0:06:20.760 --> 0:06:23.560 at the gym, but that's not so far off. Actually, 0:06:23.640 --> 0:06:26.800 muscular Christianity was a reaction to Victorian gentleman being a 0:06:26.800 --> 0:06:29.800 little too genteel and the Anglican Church being considered to 0:06:29.920 --> 0:06:32.680 a feat But the time women were starting to play 0:06:32.680 --> 0:06:35.640 bigger roles in local churches. So it was partially a 0:06:35.640 --> 0:06:38.720 movement of men reclaiming their religion, but it was also 0:06:38.760 --> 0:06:41.760 this commitment to a more vigorous Christianity where people boxed 0:06:41.760 --> 0:06:44.800 and went to gym's and sweat their aggression out and back. 0:06:44.800 --> 0:06:46.760 Then all of that hitting the gym was about a 0:06:46.760 --> 0:06:50.800 philosophy of actively showing your Christian principles and a healthy 0:06:50.839 --> 0:06:54.240 body through good deeds and actions exactly. And what also 0:06:54.279 --> 0:06:57.280 gets mixed into that philosophy is patriotism, you know, like 0:06:57.360 --> 0:06:59.920 do your best for God and country. So in the 0:07:00.000 --> 0:07:02.799 early the air is thick with this concern that boys 0:07:02.800 --> 0:07:05.520 aren't becoming the right kind of men, and then up 0:07:05.520 --> 0:07:07.560 pop a few scouting groups that are trying to make 0:07:07.560 --> 0:07:10.920 men of boys. There's the Woodcraft Indians launch in nineteen 0:07:11.080 --> 0:07:13.400 two in Connecticut, and there's the Sons of Daniel Boone 0:07:13.440 --> 0:07:16.640 out of Cincinnati in five Like, both of those groups 0:07:16.640 --> 0:07:19.280 harkened back to the manly men of yesteryear. But the 0:07:19.280 --> 0:07:21.600 man who really kicks off the scouting movement in America 0:07:21.840 --> 0:07:25.240 is this millionaire publisher out of Chicago named W. D. Boys. 0:07:25.800 --> 0:07:28.120 As Boys is traveling to London, he gets lost in 0:07:28.160 --> 0:07:30.920 the city's legendary fog, and as he's trying to find 0:07:30.920 --> 0:07:33.520 his way, this kid approaches him and guides him where 0:07:33.520 --> 0:07:36.280 he's going. And when Boys tries to tip his guide, 0:07:36.480 --> 0:07:39.000 the boy refuses and says he's doing his duty as 0:07:39.000 --> 0:07:43.080 a boy scout. Well that's England. But Boys is so 0:07:43.200 --> 0:07:45.720 taken by this unknown scout that he looks up the 0:07:45.720 --> 0:07:48.680 Boy Scouts, which Baden Powell had launched a few years before, 0:07:48.960 --> 0:07:51.480 and Boys gets bidden Powell's blessing to use his manual 0:07:51.520 --> 0:07:54.560 on Scouting to spread the philosophy across America, and in 0:07:54.600 --> 0:07:57.600 the process he helps unite all these splinterd little groups 0:07:57.600 --> 0:08:00.320 of Scouts out there under this big banner, the Boy 0:08:00.360 --> 0:08:03.320 Scout Association. That's right. But before any of that, there's 0:08:03.320 --> 0:08:06.040 a South African war we have to talk about, and 0:08:06.080 --> 0:08:08.560 the first real Boy Scouts, a crafty group of kids 0:08:08.560 --> 0:08:12.040 who helped save a tiny British outpost from complete annihilation. 0:08:12.560 --> 0:08:15.200 Not your typical church basement group. But before we get 0:08:15.240 --> 0:08:24.720 into that, how about we break for a quiz. Our 0:08:24.720 --> 0:08:27.360 guest today is partially responsible for our decision to leap 0:08:27.400 --> 0:08:29.840 into the podcast world. He and his Stuff you should 0:08:29.880 --> 0:08:31.600 know co host have been producing one of the most 0:08:31.640 --> 0:08:34.360 popular podcasts in the world for nearly a decade now. 0:08:34.800 --> 0:08:36.640 But he's certainly one of our favorites and a big 0:08:36.679 --> 0:08:38.480 part of why we decided to come join the house 0:08:38.520 --> 0:08:43.319 Stuff Works family. Chuck Bryant, Welcome to part time Genius. Yeah, 0:08:43.480 --> 0:08:46.600 that's right. I feel intimidated now. I didn't know I 0:08:46.640 --> 0:08:51.320 was responsible for this intimidating We can apologize to the nation. 0:08:51.400 --> 0:08:54.240 I know, we're kind of relieved that we're not recording 0:08:54.280 --> 0:08:56.600 in the studio next to us, which is the studio 0:08:56.640 --> 0:08:58.440 that you guys recording, because it would be a little 0:08:58.440 --> 0:09:00.120 bit weird to have you as a guest and your 0:09:00.160 --> 0:09:02.960 own studio, right guest in my own home. Yeah yeah, 0:09:03.040 --> 0:09:06.040 Plus it's tiny and small and a little stinky. This 0:09:06.160 --> 0:09:09.520 is much nicer. That's actually the main reason. So, you know, 0:09:09.559 --> 0:09:11.480 so josh One said that you guys are on this 0:09:11.600 --> 0:09:15.600 never ending quest to explain absolutely everything on planet Earth 0:09:15.640 --> 0:09:18.160 and beyond. So you guys are now approaching what a 0:09:18.200 --> 0:09:22.120 thousand episodes is that this this November, at some point 0:09:22.240 --> 0:09:24.320 it will be a thousand. We have a listener that 0:09:24.559 --> 0:09:27.560 uh is very sweet and makes a keeps up with 0:09:27.559 --> 0:09:30.040 a spreadsheet for us and since sends it to us 0:09:30.040 --> 0:09:32.800 every few months. I love that, And she told us 0:09:32.840 --> 0:09:35.280 that it would be a thousand in November. You guys 0:09:35.280 --> 0:09:37.559 gonna do anything to celebrate a thousand? Well, I think 0:09:37.600 --> 0:09:40.719 we have a special topic in the kitty for that, 0:09:40.800 --> 0:09:44.920 which I won't ruin now. Um and well, you know, 0:09:45.040 --> 0:09:48.079 we're not much into fanfare, so knowing us will probably 0:09:48.120 --> 0:09:51.160 just reference it, you know, out of the sides of 0:09:51.160 --> 0:09:55.160 our mouths and thank everybody, and that will be it. Yeah, 0:09:55.400 --> 0:09:57.920 or maybe bringing a brass band. I think that's I 0:09:58.200 --> 0:09:59.640 think that's the way to do it. We might plan 0:09:59.720 --> 0:10:03.480 to bring in a brass band. I know you love movies, 0:10:03.640 --> 0:10:07.680 And years ago, Chicago made this recommended reading list for 0:10:07.840 --> 0:10:10.280 the city and they put To Kill a Mockingbird on it, 0:10:10.360 --> 0:10:14.120 And I was curious, what movie you'd make recommended viewing 0:10:14.240 --> 0:10:18.320 for all of America? Oh wow, or movies. It doesn't 0:10:18.320 --> 0:10:21.880 have to be one recommended viewing because it's a little 0:10:21.920 --> 0:10:26.079 bit dicier than just your favorite movie. But I'm gonna 0:10:26.120 --> 0:10:29.920 go with one of my favorite movies and say Jaws. Yeah, 0:10:30.000 --> 0:10:33.920 everyone should see that movie. I think Jaws is uh, 0:10:34.000 --> 0:10:35.960 it's one of my favorite movies, not only just because 0:10:35.960 --> 0:10:39.120 I love the movie, but it's it's a perfect movie 0:10:39.200 --> 0:10:42.760 to me. Um if if you look at the story 0:10:42.920 --> 0:10:46.480 and the way it's played out, and the performances and 0:10:47.520 --> 0:10:51.120 just Spielberg at that age when he was young, and uh, 0:10:51.280 --> 0:10:53.440 I mean he's still great, but I just have not 0:10:53.600 --> 0:10:55.760 been as much into his movies here in the last 0:10:55.840 --> 0:11:00.280 you know, yeah, twenty years, it's Jaws really yeah, yeah, 0:11:00.320 --> 0:11:03.320 basically last forty five years. Um. Yeah, it's kind of 0:11:03.320 --> 0:11:04.680 the perfect movie to me. So I think it's a 0:11:04.720 --> 0:11:09.000 great movie to recommend for just to to learn about 0:11:09.080 --> 0:11:12.680 the craft. Yeah, and you know, every kid should watch 0:11:12.679 --> 0:11:15.199 something that makes them terrified the ocean. It's true. Yeah, 0:11:15.240 --> 0:11:18.480 that's true. Yeah, there's actually I saw Quirkbooks put out 0:11:18.480 --> 0:11:20.560 a book not too long ago that was about I 0:11:20.600 --> 0:11:22.400 forget the name of it exactly, but it was these 0:11:22.840 --> 0:11:25.440 terrible paperbacks that came out really as a response to 0:11:25.520 --> 0:11:28.240 something in popular culture, and it was talking about when 0:11:28.320 --> 0:11:30.840 Jaws came out that there's this immediate rush to put 0:11:30.840 --> 0:11:35.559 out other things like rabbits and like the scary animals, crabs, 0:11:35.600 --> 0:11:37.800 whatever it might be. Yeah, I think I remember, Well, 0:11:37.800 --> 0:11:41.000 that's an entirely different movie. I think I do remember 0:11:41.080 --> 0:11:43.520 a lot of Uh. I think that even John Sales 0:11:43.600 --> 0:11:46.880 wrote the great John Sales wrote one of the Piranha movies, 0:11:47.400 --> 0:11:50.920 I'm not mistaken. And then there were giant alligators and 0:11:51.080 --> 0:11:54.400 uh yeah, but those you know, they can't touch Jaws. 0:11:55.920 --> 0:11:58.440 So on. On a very different topic, I remember listening 0:11:58.440 --> 0:12:01.000 to your episode on Artificial Suite there's not too long ago, 0:12:01.520 --> 0:12:04.360 and it sounded like at least Josh changed many of 0:12:04.440 --> 0:12:07.000 his behaviors, or you guys talked about changing your behaviors 0:12:07.000 --> 0:12:10.240 after learning more about the effects of artificial sweeteners or 0:12:10.240 --> 0:12:13.280 at least the fears around those. Have there been other 0:12:13.400 --> 0:12:16.120 big episodes where you guys have either changed the way 0:12:16.160 --> 0:12:18.960 you thought about something significantly or even changed the way 0:12:19.160 --> 0:12:22.079 you know you lived based on what you've learned. That's 0:12:22.080 --> 0:12:25.720 a good question. UM. I think a lot of times 0:12:26.320 --> 0:12:30.839 little things inform my psyche and maybe have a little 0:12:31.040 --> 0:12:35.160 bit of a more subliminal undercurrent. Uh, maybe not so 0:12:35.240 --> 0:12:39.320 much a conscious a major conscious decision to do things differently, 0:12:39.480 --> 0:12:42.040 although sometimes like we did one on zoos a long 0:12:42.080 --> 0:12:44.920 time ago, and I had just never given much thought 0:12:45.000 --> 0:12:48.520 to zoos and um, but you know, zoos are great 0:12:48.720 --> 0:12:52.240 and zoos can be great. But you know, when you 0:12:52.240 --> 0:12:53.880 you do what we do, which is really digging and 0:12:53.920 --> 0:12:56.840 research all sides of something, UM, it really kind of 0:12:56.840 --> 0:12:59.600 made me think about whether I need to be supporting 0:12:59.760 --> 0:13:05.199 zoos and aquariums and these places that keep animals like elephants, 0:13:05.520 --> 0:13:08.560 and even though here in Atlanta, like it's a a 0:13:08.640 --> 0:13:14.440 great elephant enclosure, but it's tiny compared to what they need. Um. 0:13:14.480 --> 0:13:15.959 But then we heard from a lot of I mean, 0:13:15.960 --> 0:13:19.880 we didn't totally poopa um, but uh, we did hear 0:13:19.920 --> 0:13:23.360 from a lot of zoologists and zookeepers that said, like, guys, 0:13:23.520 --> 0:13:25.480 you know, I see where you're coming from. But we 0:13:25.600 --> 0:13:27.800 do really good work and there's so much research that 0:13:27.800 --> 0:13:30.200 goes on now and it's not the old days of 0:13:30.240 --> 0:13:34.520 animals and cages for the most part in the United States. Um, 0:13:34.840 --> 0:13:38.840 forget about zoos in some other countries like those are abhorrent. 0:13:39.480 --> 0:13:42.080 But um yeah, things like that really made me kind 0:13:42.120 --> 0:13:45.200 of look at like, all right, I really need to 0:13:45.240 --> 0:13:49.680 just at least give more thought two what I'm supporting here. Yeah, 0:13:49.679 --> 0:13:52.280 so we probably won't see drinking a diet cokes throwing 0:13:52.280 --> 0:13:55.080 through the Atlanta zoos sometimes. Now, well, I do go 0:13:55.120 --> 0:13:57.040 to the zoo now though, because of a young daughter, 0:13:57.720 --> 0:14:00.280 and like I said, you know, there is a lot 0:14:00.280 --> 0:14:02.800 of great things and it's great to expose kids. You know, 0:14:02.880 --> 0:14:05.000 she sees elephants and picture books and giraffes and then 0:14:05.000 --> 0:14:07.840 for her to see one a person. Um, as a parent, 0:14:07.920 --> 0:14:11.440 you can't not want to exposure to that stuff. Yeah. 0:14:12.600 --> 0:14:14.439 So yeah, you just hope that they're doing the right thing, 0:14:14.480 --> 0:14:17.360 you know, and they are in Atlanta. My my family lives. 0:14:18.080 --> 0:14:21.280 I've got family in this tiny village in India and uh, 0:14:21.360 --> 0:14:24.280 and they have a local zoo there, and the zoo 0:14:24.400 --> 0:14:27.640 is basically filled with animals that used to be our 0:14:27.680 --> 0:14:34.800 family pets, some rabbits there, docks, just ridiculous. You should 0:14:34.800 --> 0:14:40.080 take your daughter sometimes. Right, this is the kiddycat Room. 0:14:40.120 --> 0:14:41.920 All right? Well, as you know, you've joined us for 0:14:41.960 --> 0:14:44.880 an episode on the Boy Scouts. We asked you if 0:14:44.920 --> 0:14:47.320 you had been a boy Scout as a kid. Um 0:14:47.360 --> 0:14:48.760 you said no, But then we asked you if you 0:14:48.800 --> 0:14:51.120 had heard of boy Scouts and you had, so we 0:14:51.200 --> 0:14:54.280 figured that qualified to uh to join us for today. 0:14:54.360 --> 0:14:56.760 So so what what what game is Chuck playing today? Mega? 0:14:56.880 --> 0:15:01.080 We're playing a game called Discontinued Merit Badge discontinued Billy 0:15:01.160 --> 0:15:04.080 Joel song And actually it's just Billy Joel songs, but 0:15:04.320 --> 0:15:06.960 it's more fun to say discontinued. That's right. You probably 0:15:07.000 --> 0:15:13.320 didn't know that I'm a huge Billy Joel. Yeah, it's uh, 0:15:13.360 --> 0:15:16.000 And people always kind of laugh at that because I'm 0:15:16.160 --> 0:15:18.800 Indie rock guy, but I have been a Billy Joel fan. 0:15:18.880 --> 0:15:21.480 It was the first record I ever bought, and I 0:15:21.640 --> 0:15:25.600 never was like, nah, that's not cool. Since I was 0:15:25.800 --> 0:15:29.640 thirteen years old, I've been a Billy Jewel. Pretty awesome. Well, 0:15:29.680 --> 0:15:32.040 you know what, let's reuse this in the Billy Joel episode. 0:15:32.440 --> 0:15:35.120 We've got planned so great? All right, So as an example, 0:15:35.160 --> 0:15:39.640 if I said cement work, you would say discontinued merit 0:15:39.640 --> 0:15:42.680 badge instead of discontinued Billy Joel song. Though clearly it 0:15:42.680 --> 0:15:44.480 would have gone you know, could have gone either way, 0:15:44.480 --> 0:15:47.400 I think so, So let's play. So we're playing discontinued 0:15:47.440 --> 0:15:53.280 merit badge or discontinued Billy Joel's song number one Traveling Prayer. Well, 0:15:53.320 --> 0:15:57.200 that's discontinued Billy Joel song and really good Billy Joel song. 0:15:57.280 --> 0:15:59.240 Bonus points if you happened to know the album since 0:15:59.280 --> 0:16:01.040 you're a big fan. I just thought i'd thrown out 0:16:01.560 --> 0:16:04.560 that's on piano, man. I believe, Okay, we have we 0:16:04.600 --> 0:16:09.800 have been person for this one. Okay. Question number two, 0:16:10.120 --> 0:16:14.200 nut Culture, that's a discontinued merit badge? Is that? Is 0:16:14.240 --> 0:16:17.280 that right? It was merged into the fruit and nut 0:16:17.280 --> 0:16:20.920 growing badge. I would love to get a nut culture 0:16:20.920 --> 0:16:23.200 badge though on eBay or something. Wear it on my 0:16:23.240 --> 0:16:28.120 hat it's totally worth it, alright. Number three Clerk, Uh 0:16:28.240 --> 0:16:31.080 discontinued Merit Badge. You got it, that's right, that's right 0:16:31.120 --> 0:16:33.200 it It only lasted a year in nineteen ten to 0:16:33.280 --> 0:16:36.320 nineteen eleven, so clerk, you'd have to reach bad for 0:16:36.440 --> 0:16:40.320 back for that one. So alright. Number four World Brotherhood, 0:16:40.920 --> 0:16:46.280 Uh discontinued Merit Badge. Wow, yeah, he's really good. There's 0:16:46.320 --> 0:16:49.240 only three left. He's four for four, alright. Number five 0:16:49.480 --> 0:16:54.080 Running on Ice, Uh discontinued Merit Badge. And and no 0:16:54.160 --> 0:16:56.360 way you know which album this is from? Oh no, no, 0:16:56.360 --> 0:16:58.440 I said, mayor Badge. Is that Billy Joel? It's actually 0:16:58.440 --> 0:17:02.000 a billy This was from a nineteen eighties six album, 0:17:02.200 --> 0:17:05.560 The Bridge. Oh well, that explains it. Yeah, The Bridge 0:17:05.640 --> 0:17:08.600 is probably my least favorite and least listen to album. 0:17:09.720 --> 0:17:16.360 Boy right now Running on Ice with a Badge. Yeah, 0:17:17.800 --> 0:17:20.120 that's all right. You're you're you're four for five two left, 0:17:20.119 --> 0:17:24.920 all right? Question Number six Beef Production even home along 0:17:25.000 --> 0:17:27.000 to this tune to that. I so wish that was 0:17:27.040 --> 0:17:28.639 a Billy Joel song. If it's on the Bridge and 0:17:28.880 --> 0:17:32.000 be mad, I say Merit Badge, and you would be correct. 0:17:32.040 --> 0:17:34.919 This one lasted for about fifty years beef production and 0:17:35.000 --> 0:17:43.320 in all Right, last One Stalker. Uh, well, I don't 0:17:43.359 --> 0:17:45.160 know it is a Billy Joel song, but that would 0:17:45.160 --> 0:17:49.119 be a really weird merit badge. Yes, but sometimes this 0:17:49.160 --> 0:17:54.320 scuts the weird things. Yeah, I'm gonna go with Billy Joel. 0:17:55.240 --> 0:17:58.199 I wish it were, but it was a real merit badge. 0:17:58.240 --> 0:18:01.960 It got changed to the stock and then tracking. Oh 0:18:02.040 --> 0:18:04.920 it was. Of course my brain went to um ex 0:18:04.960 --> 0:18:11.160 girlfriend stalking, animal stalking, which leads to beef production. Yeah, 0:18:11.560 --> 0:18:15.400 so kind Yeah, you got five out of five out 0:18:15.400 --> 0:18:21.359 of seven bonus. So what has what has Chuck one? Well, 0:18:21.640 --> 0:18:24.200 you win the same prize that we give away every week, 0:18:24.240 --> 0:18:27.639 which is our Endless Admirations. I thought you're gonna say, 0:18:27.680 --> 0:18:30.320 a copy of the Bridge. Yeah, I think that might 0:18:30.359 --> 0:18:33.280 be and listen to that song. I'm so mad coming 0:18:33.320 --> 0:18:35.879 as well. So all right, Well, for those of you 0:18:35.920 --> 0:18:37.840 that have not listened to stuff, you should know. I 0:18:37.880 --> 0:18:39.919 don't know how that has possibly happened, but it is 0:18:39.920 --> 0:18:42.040 one of our favorite podcasts. Hope you guys will check 0:18:42.040 --> 0:18:44.440 it out. And Chuck, thanks so much for joining us. Hey, thanks, 0:18:44.440 --> 0:19:01.720 and welcome to the family, guys. Has been great Welcome 0:19:01.720 --> 0:19:03.800 back to Part Time Genius, where we're discussing how the 0:19:03.840 --> 0:19:06.639 boy Scouts conquered America. So remember how I said we 0:19:06.680 --> 0:19:09.440 have to rewind to a war in South Africa, right, 0:19:09.560 --> 0:19:11.479 but I have a bit of a tangent first, and 0:19:11.520 --> 0:19:14.199 I promise we'll get there. So, as you know, my 0:19:14.240 --> 0:19:16.400 parents are from India, and even though I was born 0:19:16.400 --> 0:19:18.920 in New Jersey and grew up in North Carolina and Delaware, 0:19:19.119 --> 0:19:21.159 I've always felt like I needed to learn for myself 0:19:21.200 --> 0:19:24.040 how things really get done in America. Like my parents 0:19:24.119 --> 0:19:27.760 were great for food and shelter and unconditional love and 0:19:27.960 --> 0:19:30.280 you know, help with homework, but they were a little 0:19:30.359 --> 0:19:32.520 clueless about how certain things work. What do you mean 0:19:32.520 --> 0:19:35.040 by that? Well, intentionally or not. I'm always trying to 0:19:35.080 --> 0:19:38.560 connect little things about how people get places. So things 0:19:38.600 --> 0:19:41.119 like the NBC Page Program. Sure, I mean, if you're 0:19:41.160 --> 0:19:43.680 a page at NBC, it's supposedly a real gold star 0:19:43.720 --> 0:19:45.920 if you're trying to work your way up at the networks. 0:19:45.920 --> 0:19:48.200 And the alums from it are incredible, people like Michael 0:19:48.240 --> 0:19:51.520 Eisner reis filled in Aubrey Plaza right. And there are 0:19:51.520 --> 0:19:54.560 other little pockets of this too, like how the Groundlings 0:19:54.560 --> 0:19:57.359 and Second City, or gateways to Sidurday Night Live, or 0:19:57.600 --> 0:19:59.600 I read somewhere that being on the little team that 0:19:59.680 --> 0:20:02.280 is some is the Harper's Index can actually open a 0:20:02.359 --> 0:20:04.800 huge career in magazines. That's where a bunch of big 0:20:04.920 --> 0:20:07.080 editors got their start. Okay, I get what you mean, 0:20:07.160 --> 0:20:09.040 But you do remember that this is a show about 0:20:09.080 --> 0:20:12.040 Boy Scouts, right, Yeah, and I promise we're getting there. See. 0:20:12.160 --> 0:20:14.320 I feel like being an Eagle Scout is another of 0:20:14.359 --> 0:20:17.000 these things that as an outsider, people don't really tell 0:20:17.040 --> 0:20:19.400 you about. But if I'd really wanted to get into 0:20:19.440 --> 0:20:22.480 politics or the military, or even be an astronaut, I 0:20:22.480 --> 0:20:25.399 think there's almost an extra level of perceived patriotism that 0:20:25.440 --> 0:20:27.480 comes with being a Boy Scout at the highest level, 0:20:27.560 --> 0:20:30.080 which is definitely grounded in Boy Scout history. I mean, 0:20:30.119 --> 0:20:33.520 the Boy Scouts are kind of officially patriotic. So just 0:20:33.640 --> 0:20:36.360 five years after being established in the States, the Boy 0:20:36.440 --> 0:20:39.840 Scouts got a charter from Congress in nineteen sixteen, which 0:20:39.840 --> 0:20:43.359 protected it as a patriotic institution from monopoly laws and 0:20:43.400 --> 0:20:46.520 help them consolidate Scout troops across the country. I mean, 0:20:46.560 --> 0:20:49.440 this was a huge deal. Other institutions with this charter 0:20:49.520 --> 0:20:52.280 from Congress include the Red Cross or the Future Farmers 0:20:52.280 --> 0:20:54.840 of America. Oh so, how they scored the Charter Well, 0:20:54.880 --> 0:20:58.320 the fact that Teddy Roosevelt, Mr. Muscular Christianity himself was 0:20:58.359 --> 0:21:01.040