1 00:00:02,840 --> 00:00:05,440 Speaker 1: I guess what will? What's that mango? So when you 2 00:00:05,480 --> 00:00:07,200 Speaker 1: were a kid, were you told that you couldn't drink 3 00:00:07,200 --> 00:00:09,360 Speaker 1: coffee because it was bad for kids? I mean, not 4 00:00:09,400 --> 00:00:12,639 Speaker 1: specifically about my parents, but I do remember people saying that. 5 00:00:13,039 --> 00:00:15,239 Speaker 1: So there was a great piece in the Atlantic a 6 00:00:15,240 --> 00:00:18,279 Speaker 1: few years ago about how this story spread, and it 7 00:00:18,400 --> 00:00:22,000 Speaker 1: was all thanks to none other than that cereal tycoon C. W. Post. 8 00:00:22,520 --> 00:00:24,720 Speaker 1: It turns out that even before his days of creating 9 00:00:24,800 --> 00:00:28,520 Speaker 1: all those delicious breakfast foods like grape nuts and whatever like, 10 00:00:28,880 --> 00:00:33,120 Speaker 1: Post was selling this caffeine free coffee substitute called Post Them, 11 00:00:33,240 --> 00:00:36,959 Speaker 1: and apparently it was Cereal based Post Them. So this 12 00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:40,000 Speaker 1: was a serial based coffee substitute that you did you 13 00:00:40,040 --> 00:00:44,279 Speaker 1: actually drink it? Uh? That sounds gross, Yeah, I mean 14 00:00:44,320 --> 00:00:47,800 Speaker 1: it sounds disgusting, But it actually found a pretty big audience, 15 00:00:48,159 --> 00:00:50,800 Speaker 1: largely because Post marketed the heck out of it. And 16 00:00:51,200 --> 00:00:54,080 Speaker 1: you should see the ads. They are bonkers, like they 17 00:00:54,120 --> 00:00:57,120 Speaker 1: only focus somewhat on how good Postum is and instead 18 00:00:57,240 --> 00:00:59,279 Speaker 1: mainly they try to scare people by talking about how 19 00:00:59,400 --> 00:01:02,480 Speaker 1: terrible that of coffee are on kids. So, in one 20 00:01:02,520 --> 00:01:04,880 Speaker 1: ad for Posting serial from the nine thirties were told 21 00:01:04,920 --> 00:01:08,760 Speaker 1: that coffee rob's children of their rosy cheeks and sparkling eyes. 22 00:01:09,040 --> 00:01:13,080 Speaker 1: It lowers their vitality, lessens their resistance to disease, and 23 00:01:13,240 --> 00:01:17,120 Speaker 1: hampers proper development and growth. Well, I mean, I guess 24 00:01:17,120 --> 00:01:19,840 Speaker 1: it's okay if it lessens their resistance to disease, but 25 00:01:19,920 --> 00:01:22,960 Speaker 1: losing their rosy cheeks and their sparkling eyes like that 26 00:01:23,120 --> 00:01:26,639 Speaker 1: is unacceptable, I know. And and even worse, Post sited 27 00:01:26,760 --> 00:01:30,840 Speaker 1: some world famous research institute. Right, there's no mention of 28 00:01:30,920 --> 00:01:33,839 Speaker 1: what this institute is, but it says that they found 29 00:01:33,840 --> 00:01:36,240 Speaker 1: that coffee cause kids to get bad grades in school. 30 00:01:36,640 --> 00:01:39,280 Speaker 1: But I think my favorite part of the marketing plan 31 00:01:39,360 --> 00:01:41,559 Speaker 1: by Post was this creation of a comic strip character 32 00:01:41,840 --> 00:01:45,959 Speaker 1: who was named Mr. Coffee Nerves. Okay, at this point, Maga, 33 00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:48,760 Speaker 1: you're just you're making this up, be honest. I mean 34 00:01:48,800 --> 00:01:51,880 Speaker 1: I wish I were. But Mr Coffee Nerves was always 35 00:01:51,920 --> 00:01:55,120 Speaker 1: causing problems and making people all restless and sick, and 36 00:01:55,200 --> 00:02:00,520 Speaker 1: even causing kids to run away from home. But unfortunately 37 00:02:00,600 --> 00:02:02,400 Speaker 1: the stories would always end on a happy note, with 38 00:02:02,440 --> 00:02:05,480 Speaker 1: the victims, you know, making the very wise decision to 39 00:02:05,520 --> 00:02:08,560 Speaker 1: switch to post them. Oh thank goodness. But but really, 40 00:02:08,600 --> 00:02:10,360 Speaker 1: I mean, you can see how even if all of 41 00:02:10,400 --> 00:02:13,160 Speaker 1: this was a bunch of baloney, how that that idea 42 00:02:13,280 --> 00:02:16,359 Speaker 1: that drinking that much coffee being that unhealthy and all 43 00:02:16,440 --> 00:02:17,760 Speaker 1: that kind of stuff, you can see how this might 44 00:02:17,760 --> 00:02:21,360 Speaker 1: stick around. Actually, yeah, and we'll discuss all of that today. 45 00:02:21,440 --> 00:02:23,640 Speaker 1: I mean, it's far from the only time in history 46 00:02:23,639 --> 00:02:25,560 Speaker 1: that people went to great lens to keep people from 47 00:02:25,639 --> 00:02:28,520 Speaker 1: drinking coffee. But of course, you know, we live in 48 00:02:28,560 --> 00:02:31,280 Speaker 1: a coffee obsessed world, so you and I wanted to 49 00:02:31,280 --> 00:02:33,440 Speaker 1: know how this all got started, what countries are the 50 00:02:33,440 --> 00:02:36,000 Speaker 1: biggest drinkers, and what did the studies say about the 51 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:38,480 Speaker 1: connection between coffee and our health. So that's what we'll 52 00:02:38,480 --> 00:03:02,480 Speaker 1: be looking at today. Let's dive in ye aither podcast listeners, 53 00:03:02,480 --> 00:03:04,800 Speaker 1: Welcome to Part Time Genius. I'm Will Pearson and as 54 00:03:04,840 --> 00:03:07,680 Speaker 1: always I'm joined by my good friend Manes Ticketer and 55 00:03:07,680 --> 00:03:09,960 Speaker 1: on the other side of the soundproof glass preparing to 56 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:13,799 Speaker 1: take his very first sip of Palm Civit coffee, that's 57 00:03:13,800 --> 00:03:16,960 Speaker 1: our friend and producer Tristan McNeil. Now this is a 58 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:20,120 Speaker 1: big day for Tristan because he's been waiting for weeks 59 00:03:20,160 --> 00:03:23,120 Speaker 1: to try this stuff, and of course Palm Civic coffee 60 00:03:23,120 --> 00:03:25,920 Speaker 1: can be tough to get your hands on, especially here 61 00:03:25,960 --> 00:03:28,880 Speaker 1: in the States. And in fact, he actually ordered this special, 62 00:03:29,080 --> 00:03:32,120 Speaker 1: ordered these beans all the way from Indonesia, so I'm 63 00:03:32,160 --> 00:03:35,320 Speaker 1: glad they arrived just in time for this episode. Yeah, 64 00:03:35,320 --> 00:03:38,160 Speaker 1: but I feel like you're kind of varying the lead here, like, 65 00:03:38,320 --> 00:03:40,600 Speaker 1: don't you think I mean, the real story is that 66 00:03:40,640 --> 00:03:44,280 Speaker 1: Tristan is about to drink what is essentially cat poop coffee, 67 00:03:44,640 --> 00:03:47,560 Speaker 1: Like those beans have actually passed through the digestive tract 68 00:03:47,640 --> 00:03:50,800 Speaker 1: of a wild animal. That might be true, and I 69 00:03:50,840 --> 00:03:52,880 Speaker 1: don't want to be that guy, but I do want 70 00:03:52,880 --> 00:03:56,000 Speaker 1: to clarify here that these came from an Asian palm civit, 71 00:03:56,000 --> 00:03:59,360 Speaker 1: which isn't technically a cat, but it doesn't make this 72 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:03,240 Speaker 1: a less gross and honestly, as strange as this all sounds, 73 00:04:03,280 --> 00:04:06,400 Speaker 1: gathering coffee beans from animal droppings has become this whole 74 00:04:06,440 --> 00:04:09,320 Speaker 1: little kind of the subsection of the coffee industry, and 75 00:04:09,720 --> 00:04:11,960 Speaker 1: I guess most of this has really developed over the 76 00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:15,400 Speaker 1: past decade or so. An assigned from civits you can buy, 77 00:04:15,520 --> 00:04:17,240 Speaker 1: you know, those that have passed through the bodies of 78 00:04:17,240 --> 00:04:21,560 Speaker 1: everything from monkeys to elephants, And it really isn't just 79 00:04:21,680 --> 00:04:24,640 Speaker 1: for novelty's sake. There there's an idea behind this, and 80 00:04:24,680 --> 00:04:28,200 Speaker 1: that's that these beans ferment naturally in an animal stomach, 81 00:04:28,560 --> 00:04:30,960 Speaker 1: and so because of that, it results in this smoother 82 00:04:31,279 --> 00:04:34,599 Speaker 1: and less acidic cup of coffee than any other bean 83 00:04:34,680 --> 00:04:37,600 Speaker 1: that's out there. That's pretty funny because I actually read 84 00:04:37,640 --> 00:04:41,440 Speaker 1: a review that described the taste as quote petrified dinosaur 85 00:04:41,520 --> 00:04:45,680 Speaker 1: dropping steeped in back to water, which just sounds gross. 86 00:04:45,760 --> 00:04:49,440 Speaker 1: But at least it's not acidic back to water. I 87 00:04:49,440 --> 00:04:51,000 Speaker 1: don't know. I feel like we have to pause for 88 00:04:51,120 --> 00:04:54,120 Speaker 1: just a second and check out Tristan's facial expression, because 89 00:04:54,560 --> 00:04:57,200 Speaker 1: I'm going to say, based on that alone, it's probably 90 00:04:57,240 --> 00:05:01,080 Speaker 1: a pretty fair description. But anyway, you today's show isn't 91 00:05:01,200 --> 00:05:04,960 Speaker 1: just about Tristan's quest for this pricey cup of nasty coffee. 92 00:05:04,960 --> 00:05:07,720 Speaker 1: And I will say it's pretty telling that even such 93 00:05:07,760 --> 00:05:11,160 Speaker 1: a niche variety of coffee can attract an audience. And 94 00:05:11,200 --> 00:05:14,360 Speaker 1: that's because coffee in general has become such a ubiquitous drink, 95 00:05:14,440 --> 00:05:16,960 Speaker 1: and today it's consumed in one form or another and 96 00:05:17,080 --> 00:05:20,560 Speaker 1: just about every region on the planet. But it hasn't 97 00:05:20,560 --> 00:05:22,000 Speaker 1: always been that way, and and in fact, you know, 98 00:05:22,040 --> 00:05:24,200 Speaker 1: when you compare it to the two most popular hot 99 00:05:24,200 --> 00:05:26,719 Speaker 1: beverages in the world. That's, of course, you know, tea 100 00:05:26,839 --> 00:05:30,760 Speaker 1: and hot chocolate. Coffee is the youngest by far, and 101 00:05:30,800 --> 00:05:33,240 Speaker 1: you know, the history is only about a third as 102 00:05:33,279 --> 00:05:35,760 Speaker 1: long as you know these others that we were talking about. 103 00:05:35,880 --> 00:05:37,920 Speaker 1: So anyway, with that in mind, we thought we'd take 104 00:05:37,960 --> 00:05:40,720 Speaker 1: a look at just how far coffee has come, and 105 00:05:40,800 --> 00:05:43,640 Speaker 1: of course why people all across the globe can't seem 106 00:05:43,680 --> 00:05:46,680 Speaker 1: to get enough of it. You know, in college, I 107 00:05:46,720 --> 00:05:49,000 Speaker 1: was in someone's car and they breaked really hard and 108 00:05:49,040 --> 00:05:51,320 Speaker 1: I ended up spilling coffee on my nice white shirt. 109 00:05:51,760 --> 00:05:54,880 Speaker 1: So I had this immediate idea for an invention, which 110 00:05:55,000 --> 00:05:58,360 Speaker 1: is clear coffee, like if you can make purple catchup 111 00:05:58,400 --> 00:06:01,320 Speaker 1: and crystal PEPSI like, I not a clear coffee that 112 00:06:01,320 --> 00:06:04,320 Speaker 1: doesn't stain your teeth through your shirts. And I really 113 00:06:04,360 --> 00:06:05,920 Speaker 1: thought it was in genius. I'm sure I talked to 114 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:08,680 Speaker 1: your ear off about it. I remember you talking about this, 115 00:06:08,800 --> 00:06:11,320 Speaker 1: and honestly, every single person I I tried to tell 116 00:06:11,360 --> 00:06:15,440 Speaker 1: about this was totally underwhelmed, Like especially chemistry majors. They 117 00:06:15,520 --> 00:06:19,200 Speaker 1: just were unenthusiastic. It was a little like you're putting 118 00:06:19,200 --> 00:06:21,320 Speaker 1: truck idea where a cement truck would come around like 119 00:06:21,320 --> 00:06:24,159 Speaker 1: an ice cream truck and just dispense putting into kid's hands. 120 00:06:24,960 --> 00:06:26,799 Speaker 1: I mean, you have to admit the omago that idea 121 00:06:26,880 --> 00:06:29,920 Speaker 1: is still pretty genius, I know, and so is clear coffee, 122 00:06:29,920 --> 00:06:31,760 Speaker 1: and I can't wait to get the series A on 123 00:06:31,800 --> 00:06:35,520 Speaker 1: both of those. But back to regular old brown coffee. 124 00:06:35,680 --> 00:06:37,360 Speaker 1: So one thing we should get out of the way 125 00:06:37,440 --> 00:06:39,960 Speaker 1: right upfront is who likes coffee the most, or at 126 00:06:40,040 --> 00:06:42,640 Speaker 1: least who drinks the most of it. And while the 127 00:06:42,760 --> 00:06:45,000 Speaker 1: US might seem like a safe bet given the size 128 00:06:45,040 --> 00:06:47,200 Speaker 1: of our coffee cups and you know the way, we're 129 00:06:47,240 --> 00:06:49,719 Speaker 1: never more than thirty ft from a Starbucks at any moment. 130 00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:53,000 Speaker 1: According to the latest stats from the International Coffee Organization, 131 00:06:53,360 --> 00:06:55,440 Speaker 1: the US doesn't even crack the top twenty when it 132 00:06:55,480 --> 00:06:59,040 Speaker 1: comes to per capita consumption. And that's actually saying something 133 00:06:59,080 --> 00:07:02,719 Speaker 1: because the tooth in fifteen Gallop poll found that sixty 134 00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:05,479 Speaker 1: percent of Americans drink at least one cup of coffee 135 00:07:05,480 --> 00:07:09,360 Speaker 1: per day and two point seven cups on average. And 136 00:07:09,600 --> 00:07:12,400 Speaker 1: not only that, we also consume a little over I 137 00:07:12,400 --> 00:07:16,120 Speaker 1: believe it's nine pounds per capita every year. Wow, So 138 00:07:16,240 --> 00:07:19,120 Speaker 1: nine pounds per person and we're still not even in 139 00:07:19,160 --> 00:07:21,840 Speaker 1: the top twenty. I mean, I feel like these other 140 00:07:21,840 --> 00:07:24,760 Speaker 1: countries must just be like mainlining coffee, so how much 141 00:07:24,840 --> 00:07:29,320 Speaker 1: could they possibly be drinking? Well, Finland tops the list, 142 00:07:29,360 --> 00:07:31,800 Speaker 1: with each person consuming about twenty six and a half 143 00:07:31,840 --> 00:07:34,600 Speaker 1: pounds of it every year, and the other Nordic countries 144 00:07:34,640 --> 00:07:38,520 Speaker 1: aren't too far behind it. In fact, Norway, Iceland, Denmark, 145 00:07:38,600 --> 00:07:41,520 Speaker 1: the Netherlands and Sweden all round out the top six. 146 00:07:42,000 --> 00:07:44,800 Speaker 1: And that's what they're citizens, down in between eighteen and 147 00:07:44,840 --> 00:07:48,800 Speaker 1: twenty two pounds per person per year. You know, I 148 00:07:48,840 --> 00:07:50,760 Speaker 1: feel like this is the third or the fourth time 149 00:07:50,800 --> 00:07:53,760 Speaker 1: that Scandinavian countries have dominated lists like this, you know, 150 00:07:53,800 --> 00:07:56,120 Speaker 1: thinking back to some of our previous episodes, they have 151 00:07:56,160 --> 00:07:59,920 Speaker 1: the happiest citizens, they eat the most chocolate. I think 152 00:08:00,080 --> 00:08:02,920 Speaker 1: they have the best prisons, and and now they drink 153 00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:05,840 Speaker 1: the most coffee. Like what's going on here? Well, I 154 00:08:05,880 --> 00:08:08,920 Speaker 1: mean we are talking about some pretty chilly countries here, 155 00:08:09,000 --> 00:08:11,080 Speaker 1: so they probably just need all the help they can 156 00:08:11,160 --> 00:08:14,400 Speaker 1: getting through those long, dark winters. Wow. Well, you know, 157 00:08:14,520 --> 00:08:17,160 Speaker 1: I feel like at least were number one in something, 158 00:08:17,200 --> 00:08:19,880 Speaker 1: and that has to be the number of Starbucks, because 159 00:08:19,920 --> 00:08:22,400 Speaker 1: I can't imagine any other country has this beat on that, 160 00:08:22,480 --> 00:08:25,920 Speaker 1: at least on a per capita basis. So I hate 161 00:08:25,920 --> 00:08:28,240 Speaker 1: to break your heart here because I actually thought the 162 00:08:28,280 --> 00:08:30,840 Speaker 1: same thing. I thought we had Starbucks domination as well, 163 00:08:30,880 --> 00:08:34,000 Speaker 1: but Monico edged us out a few years ago. Monaco 164 00:08:34,559 --> 00:08:37,520 Speaker 1: they currently have a fifty two star Wucks branches for 165 00:08:37,640 --> 00:08:40,880 Speaker 1: one million citizens compared to our forty one. So I mean, 166 00:08:40,920 --> 00:08:43,840 Speaker 1: I guess we're number two in Starbucks. But now that 167 00:08:43,880 --> 00:08:47,160 Speaker 1: we've established how much everyone loves the stuff, well, why 168 00:08:47,200 --> 00:08:49,280 Speaker 1: don't we talk about where coffee comes from and how 169 00:08:49,280 --> 00:08:52,120 Speaker 1: we wound up drinking it in the first place. Well, 170 00:08:52,160 --> 00:08:54,760 Speaker 1: I mean, it's a nice idea, but it's it's kind 171 00:08:54,760 --> 00:08:56,760 Speaker 1: of easier said than done. You know, as we were 172 00:08:56,760 --> 00:08:59,320 Speaker 1: starting to do our research on this, I just googled 173 00:08:59,360 --> 00:09:02,560 Speaker 1: origins of coffee and of course got something like twenty 174 00:09:02,600 --> 00:09:06,000 Speaker 1: million results, and even just clicking around through a handful 175 00:09:06,040 --> 00:09:08,840 Speaker 1: of these, I do get this feeling that there's not 176 00:09:08,920 --> 00:09:11,679 Speaker 1: a lot of consensus on the history of coffee. And 177 00:09:11,960 --> 00:09:13,920 Speaker 1: we've run into this before, whether we were looking at 178 00:09:13,920 --> 00:09:16,640 Speaker 1: the origins of chocolate or cheese. It it really is 179 00:09:16,679 --> 00:09:19,600 Speaker 1: tough to pin down where and when a staple food 180 00:09:19,640 --> 00:09:22,360 Speaker 1: like this got it's you know, got its start. Yeah, 181 00:09:22,360 --> 00:09:25,400 Speaker 1: I mean, that's definitely true, and the specifics are pretty hazy, 182 00:09:25,520 --> 00:09:29,280 Speaker 1: but thankfully there's some broad points that most historians agree about. 183 00:09:29,360 --> 00:09:32,120 Speaker 1: For instance, we know the coffee plant originated on the 184 00:09:32,120 --> 00:09:35,800 Speaker 1: plateau of Ethiopia, and that's actually because it tends to 185 00:09:35,840 --> 00:09:39,520 Speaker 1: spontaneously grow there like no place on Earth. And in fact, 186 00:09:39,559 --> 00:09:42,520 Speaker 1: the region in question is even called Kafa. You know, 187 00:09:42,640 --> 00:09:44,480 Speaker 1: we're not sure if coffee took its name from the 188 00:09:44,520 --> 00:09:47,959 Speaker 1: region or the other way around, but it's definitely linked somehow. 189 00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:50,680 Speaker 1: You know, it was fun and reading about some of 190 00:09:50,720 --> 00:09:53,640 Speaker 1: these origins, and you know, you see these stories that 191 00:09:53,679 --> 00:09:56,720 Speaker 1: go back to this old Ethiopian legend and I think 192 00:09:56,760 --> 00:09:58,680 Speaker 1: we may have talked about this one before, but it's 193 00:09:58,679 --> 00:10:01,040 Speaker 1: this story about this goat chew bird name called e 194 00:10:01,240 --> 00:10:03,320 Speaker 1: or a k A that you know, the happiest hurd 195 00:10:03,520 --> 00:10:06,680 Speaker 1: and happy Arabia, And the reason for his happiness was 196 00:10:06,720 --> 00:10:10,000 Speaker 1: that one day Caldy noticed his goats had started dancing 197 00:10:10,080 --> 00:10:12,800 Speaker 1: and jumping all over the place, and he noticed that 198 00:10:12,800 --> 00:10:15,680 Speaker 1: they've been eating the fruits and leaves of this certain bush, 199 00:10:16,200 --> 00:10:18,880 Speaker 1: so naturally called. He gets curious, and he goes over 200 00:10:19,040 --> 00:10:21,439 Speaker 1: and decides to try some of the fruit for himself, 201 00:10:21,800 --> 00:10:24,040 Speaker 1: and of course he feels this big burst of energy 202 00:10:24,080 --> 00:10:27,480 Speaker 1: and immediately started sharing these magic beans with his friends 203 00:10:27,480 --> 00:10:30,640 Speaker 1: and family. And this is something that supposedly happened around 204 00:10:30,800 --> 00:10:34,360 Speaker 1: eight fifty, but again, nobody really can say for sure. 205 00:10:34,720 --> 00:10:38,120 Speaker 1: So I honestly love how many discoveries are goat based. 206 00:10:38,400 --> 00:10:40,679 Speaker 1: Like there's a legend about a blind goat walking through 207 00:10:40,679 --> 00:10:43,080 Speaker 1: a thorn and carrying his cataracts, and that's how we 208 00:10:43,120 --> 00:10:46,000 Speaker 1: started cataract operations. I want to say, there's like a 209 00:10:46,000 --> 00:10:48,079 Speaker 1: goat hurd who went to look for his missing goat, 210 00:10:48,120 --> 00:10:50,800 Speaker 1: and that's how we discovered the Dead Sea scrolls. Like 211 00:10:50,880 --> 00:10:53,760 Speaker 1: we owe a lot to goats, and about all the 212 00:10:53,800 --> 00:10:58,640 Speaker 1: productivity that comes from like coffee, from balls, act Beethoven, 213 00:10:58,720 --> 00:11:02,800 Speaker 1: to the Velvet Revolution, to musicians, to politicians staying up late, 214 00:11:02,840 --> 00:11:06,439 Speaker 1: to craft laws, academics meeting deadlines. Like I mean, we 215 00:11:06,679 --> 00:11:09,560 Speaker 1: kind of owe a lot to goats. Yeah, I mean 216 00:11:09,600 --> 00:11:11,520 Speaker 1: that that may be true, and that is pretty funny, 217 00:11:11,559 --> 00:11:13,760 Speaker 1: But I feel like we were talking about coffee, have 218 00:11:13,840 --> 00:11:17,440 Speaker 1: we have we shifted to an episode on goats in 219 00:11:17,440 --> 00:11:20,200 Speaker 1: a total goat direction here, but so so that so 220 00:11:20,240 --> 00:11:22,640 Speaker 1: the man on the other side of the soundproof glass 221 00:11:22,679 --> 00:11:25,520 Speaker 1: now ramming his cataracts into a bunch of bushes. That's 222 00:11:25,520 --> 00:11:27,880 Speaker 1: our friend and producer Tristan Mingo. Right, so we're going 223 00:11:27,920 --> 00:11:30,960 Speaker 1: in a different direction. Maybe we should get back to coffee. 224 00:11:31,520 --> 00:11:34,079 Speaker 1: So well, one thing we do know about coffee is 225 00:11:34,120 --> 00:11:37,120 Speaker 1: that in its earliest days it was chewed rather than sipped, 226 00:11:37,200 --> 00:11:39,360 Speaker 1: just like the goats did it. And you know, to 227 00:11:39,400 --> 00:11:41,079 Speaker 1: make sense of that, it helps to know that coffee 228 00:11:41,080 --> 00:11:44,200 Speaker 1: beans aren't actually beans at all. There are seeds which 229 00:11:44,200 --> 00:11:46,240 Speaker 1: are found in the pits of the cherry like fruits 230 00:11:46,280 --> 00:11:49,160 Speaker 1: that grow on coffee plants. And while we coffee drinkers 231 00:11:49,200 --> 00:11:51,439 Speaker 1: are much more interested in the seeds than the fruit, 232 00:11:51,800 --> 00:11:55,880 Speaker 1: it was just the opposite for early Ethiopian tribes. For example, 233 00:11:56,040 --> 00:11:59,040 Speaker 1: the Gala tribe would soften these coffee fruits and liquid 234 00:11:59,320 --> 00:12:01,600 Speaker 1: and then they blend them with this animal fat to 235 00:12:02,120 --> 00:12:06,920 Speaker 1: make kind of like a chewable energy ball. It's amazing, huh. Well, 236 00:12:06,960 --> 00:12:09,840 Speaker 1: whatever the true origin, it definitely seems like the earliest 237 00:12:09,840 --> 00:12:12,320 Speaker 1: folks to imbibe coffee, we're really doing it for the 238 00:12:12,360 --> 00:12:14,320 Speaker 1: same reason we do today, and that's of course, for 239 00:12:14,400 --> 00:12:16,959 Speaker 1: that caffeine kick. I mean, there's always the chance that 240 00:12:17,080 --> 00:12:19,600 Speaker 1: some desperate nomad was the first to eat a coffee 241 00:12:19,640 --> 00:12:22,920 Speaker 1: cherry just to stay alive. But coffee's energizing effect is 242 00:12:22,960 --> 00:12:26,199 Speaker 1: definitely why people kept coming back for more, and even 243 00:12:26,240 --> 00:12:28,719 Speaker 1: the prophet Mohammed is said to have enjoyed the stimulation. 244 00:12:28,880 --> 00:12:32,280 Speaker 1: There's this one account where um Mohammed was feeling under 245 00:12:32,320 --> 00:12:35,160 Speaker 1: the weather until he was visited by the archangel Gabriel, 246 00:12:35,400 --> 00:12:38,400 Speaker 1: who gifted him this hot drink that was quote dark 247 00:12:38,400 --> 00:12:40,600 Speaker 1: as the holy black stone of Mecca. So does that 248 00:12:40,600 --> 00:12:42,400 Speaker 1: mean that Mohammed is supposed to have been the first 249 00:12:42,400 --> 00:12:45,200 Speaker 1: person to actually drink coffee rather than eat it. I 250 00:12:45,200 --> 00:12:49,000 Speaker 1: mean possibly, but if not, there's this other contender, this 251 00:12:49,440 --> 00:12:51,880 Speaker 1: Persian doctor and philosopher who lived around the same time 252 00:12:51,920 --> 00:12:54,720 Speaker 1: that Collide danced with his goats. His name was Rozzie 253 00:12:54,760 --> 00:12:57,400 Speaker 1: and he was the first person known to write about coffee. 254 00:12:57,679 --> 00:13:00,080 Speaker 1: In his writings, he talked about this medicinal bever it 255 00:13:00,200 --> 00:13:02,720 Speaker 1: she'd made from the bun fruit, which is the Ethiopian 256 00:13:02,760 --> 00:13:05,640 Speaker 1: word for the coffee cherry. And there are also early 257 00:13:05,679 --> 00:13:07,680 Speaker 1: writings that point to Yemen is the first place where 258 00:13:07,679 --> 00:13:11,240 Speaker 1: coffee was cultivated, roasted, ground and brewed as a liquid. 259 00:13:11,360 --> 00:13:15,520 Speaker 1: And this would have been around the early fifteenth century. Alright, 260 00:13:15,559 --> 00:13:18,240 Speaker 1: So I know coffee plants aren't native to Yemen, so 261 00:13:18,480 --> 00:13:20,920 Speaker 1: it's safe to assume they were imported from Ethiopia. Once 262 00:13:20,960 --> 00:13:23,000 Speaker 1: word of their discovery, it's spread. But but do we 263 00:13:23,080 --> 00:13:24,959 Speaker 1: know the story from there? Like how did it get 264 00:13:24,960 --> 00:13:27,720 Speaker 1: from Africa and this Arabian peninsula all the way to 265 00:13:27,800 --> 00:13:31,600 Speaker 1: Europe and North America and I guess just about everywhere. Well, 266 00:13:31,679 --> 00:13:33,640 Speaker 1: A big part of coffee spread is thanks to those 267 00:13:33,640 --> 00:13:36,520 Speaker 1: early adopters in Yemen. Many of them were Sufis who 268 00:13:36,600 --> 00:13:38,920 Speaker 1: used the plant's roasted seeds and leaves to prepare a 269 00:13:38,960 --> 00:13:41,439 Speaker 1: beverage that helped them stay awake through long nights of prayer. 270 00:13:41,880 --> 00:13:44,160 Speaker 1: And then these holy men took their beans and all 271 00:13:44,240 --> 00:13:47,240 Speaker 1: this brewing, know how, all across the Islamic world through 272 00:13:47,240 --> 00:13:50,240 Speaker 1: the fifteenth century. And then you get to the sixteenth century, 273 00:13:50,360 --> 00:13:54,280 Speaker 1: like coffee begins its global journey. The Ottoman Empire rises 274 00:13:54,280 --> 00:13:57,320 Speaker 1: to power, and Muslims they've got this religious ban on 275 00:13:57,360 --> 00:14:00,559 Speaker 1: alcohol that starts to take hold, and soon coffee replaces 276 00:14:00,600 --> 00:14:03,880 Speaker 1: wine throughout the region. And by the fifteen fifties, the 277 00:14:03,920 --> 00:14:08,120 Speaker 1: first known coffee house opens in Constantinople. But here's the thing, right, Like, 278 00:14:08,160 --> 00:14:10,760 Speaker 1: the Ottomans knew they had stumbled into something special during 279 00:14:10,800 --> 00:14:13,280 Speaker 1: their conquest, which is why they tried to keep coffee 280 00:14:13,320 --> 00:14:17,240 Speaker 1: this exclusive product of Yemen. And to do this they 281 00:14:17,240 --> 00:14:19,680 Speaker 1: really had to do something clever. They only allowed coffee 282 00:14:19,680 --> 00:14:23,400 Speaker 1: beans to be exported if they'd been sterilized first. So 283 00:14:23,480 --> 00:14:26,600 Speaker 1: while like Europeans started developing a taste for coffee during 284 00:14:26,640 --> 00:14:29,200 Speaker 1: the sixteenth century, they really couldn't use the seeds to 285 00:14:29,240 --> 00:14:32,480 Speaker 1: grow their own. But of course the Ottoman Empire couldn't 286 00:14:32,560 --> 00:14:35,680 Speaker 1: keep an eye on every single bean, so pretty soon 287 00:14:35,840 --> 00:14:39,440 Speaker 1: Muslim pilgrims as well as like Dutch and Venetian merchants, 288 00:14:39,560 --> 00:14:42,920 Speaker 1: they were all smuggling these precious beans off the Arabian peninsula. 289 00:14:43,120 --> 00:14:44,960 Speaker 1: All right, So you know, we're looking at the early 290 00:14:45,040 --> 00:14:48,200 Speaker 1: seventeenth century, and so obviously coffee had made its way 291 00:14:48,200 --> 00:14:51,560 Speaker 1: into Europe, both legally and illegally, but you know, not 292 00:14:51,640 --> 00:14:53,920 Speaker 1: everybody took to it from the start. It was interesting 293 00:14:53,960 --> 00:14:55,920 Speaker 1: reading about this and seeing that, you know, like even 294 00:14:55,920 --> 00:14:59,280 Speaker 1: the Catholic Church was strongly opposed the coffee because of 295 00:14:59,320 --> 00:15:02,400 Speaker 1: those stimul lighting effects that we were talking about. Apparently 296 00:15:02,440 --> 00:15:04,840 Speaker 1: Pope Clement the eighth was urged by his councilman to 297 00:15:04,880 --> 00:15:07,160 Speaker 1: speak out against this drink, and they referred to it 298 00:15:07,200 --> 00:15:11,120 Speaker 1: as the bitter invention of Satan, which might have been 299 00:15:11,120 --> 00:15:13,760 Speaker 1: a slight overreaction on their part, But what happened, Like 300 00:15:13,840 --> 00:15:16,280 Speaker 1: did the Pope actually take their advice? Well, he was 301 00:15:16,360 --> 00:15:19,320 Speaker 1: never one to follow the crowd, so Pope Clement insisted 302 00:15:19,360 --> 00:15:22,080 Speaker 1: on tasting the coffee for himself before he made a 303 00:15:22,120 --> 00:15:24,640 Speaker 1: decision on what to do about it. And you know, 304 00:15:24,720 --> 00:15:27,320 Speaker 1: thankfully he turned out to be a big fan. In fact, 305 00:15:27,360 --> 00:15:29,440 Speaker 1: here's what he told his counsel. He said, the devil's 306 00:15:29,520 --> 00:15:32,200 Speaker 1: drink is so delicious, we should cheat the devil by 307 00:15:32,240 --> 00:15:34,920 Speaker 1: baptizing it. And so it was with that endorsement that 308 00:15:35,000 --> 00:15:38,360 Speaker 1: Christian Europe decided to really indulge and it quickly became 309 00:15:38,400 --> 00:15:41,640 Speaker 1: the world's favorite pick me up. So I love that, 310 00:15:41,720 --> 00:15:44,600 Speaker 1: And also, like, can you just baptize anything you have 311 00:15:44,640 --> 00:15:47,640 Speaker 1: reservations about? Like led Zeppelin might have sold their soul 312 00:15:47,680 --> 00:15:50,040 Speaker 1: to the Devil's to make led Zeppelin one through four, 313 00:15:50,120 --> 00:15:53,000 Speaker 1: but I'm gonna baptize it, Like it's just such a 314 00:15:53,040 --> 00:15:57,360 Speaker 1: convenient solution. But of course it wasn't just the Catholic clergy, 315 00:15:57,400 --> 00:16:00,359 Speaker 1: who had all these qualms with coffees growing roan socide. 316 00:16:00,520 --> 00:16:03,760 Speaker 1: Various rulers of the Ottoman Empire also tried outlining coffee 317 00:16:03,800 --> 00:16:06,800 Speaker 1: and coffee houses over the years, but you know, the 318 00:16:06,840 --> 00:16:09,880 Speaker 1: band's never really stuck for long. The worst of these 319 00:16:09,880 --> 00:16:14,880 Speaker 1: crackdowns came during the rule of Murad the fourth between sixty. 320 00:16:15,440 --> 00:16:19,680 Speaker 1: Murad had already outlawed tobacco, and he was so committed 321 00:16:19,720 --> 00:16:21,920 Speaker 1: to this band, like sometimes he wore a disguise in 322 00:16:21,920 --> 00:16:24,400 Speaker 1: public just so he could catch illegal smokers in the act. 323 00:16:24,920 --> 00:16:28,600 Speaker 1: And whenever the emperor did catch someone like sparking a cigarette, 324 00:16:28,840 --> 00:16:31,600 Speaker 1: he'd reveal himself and then he'd wail on the culprit 325 00:16:31,680 --> 00:16:34,680 Speaker 1: with his royal mace floor. So was he doing the 326 00:16:34,720 --> 00:16:37,240 Speaker 1: same kind of thing with coffee as well? Yeah, I 327 00:16:37,280 --> 00:16:40,040 Speaker 1: mean it was horrible, and Murad was pretty angry when 328 00:16:40,080 --> 00:16:41,960 Speaker 1: he realized that many of his subjects had been meeting 329 00:16:41,960 --> 00:16:45,040 Speaker 1: at coffee houses to discuss I guess what a buzz 330 00:16:45,120 --> 00:16:47,200 Speaker 1: kill of a ruler he was. So, of course, the 331 00:16:47,200 --> 00:16:50,520 Speaker 1: response was to outrighte band coffee throughout the Ottoman Empire, 332 00:16:50,880 --> 00:16:52,800 Speaker 1: and while getting caught with a cup of coffee carried 333 00:16:52,800 --> 00:16:55,880 Speaker 1: the same punishment as tobacco as a first offense. The 334 00:16:56,040 --> 00:16:59,400 Speaker 1: repeat offenders got much worse than a beating. Anyone caught 335 00:16:59,480 --> 00:17:02,440 Speaker 1: drinking be a second time was actually sewn into a 336 00:17:02,560 --> 00:17:05,520 Speaker 1: sack and chucked into a local waterway. Man, it just 337 00:17:05,520 --> 00:17:09,679 Speaker 1: sounds like such a fun guy, what a party, you know. 338 00:17:09,720 --> 00:17:12,119 Speaker 1: But what's weird is like this isn't even the most 339 00:17:12,160 --> 00:17:15,679 Speaker 1: bizarre opposition coffee faced in its early years. And I 340 00:17:15,680 --> 00:17:17,840 Speaker 1: feel like we need to talk about these extremes, and 341 00:17:17,920 --> 00:17:20,399 Speaker 1: especially those that some of the European officials went to 342 00:17:20,480 --> 00:17:23,760 Speaker 1: while trying to stamp out coffee altogether. But before we 343 00:17:23,800 --> 00:17:39,520 Speaker 1: get to that, let's take a quick break. You're listening 344 00:17:39,520 --> 00:17:41,280 Speaker 1: to part time Genius and we're giving you the full 345 00:17:41,320 --> 00:17:44,159 Speaker 1: scoop on the history of coffee. All right, mango, So 346 00:17:44,280 --> 00:17:47,879 Speaker 1: banning coffee and coffee shops is pretty bad, but actually 347 00:17:47,880 --> 00:17:49,560 Speaker 1: this was funny to read about. Did you know that 348 00:17:49,680 --> 00:17:52,320 Speaker 1: in Sweden they actually went even further and at one 349 00:17:52,320 --> 00:17:56,840 Speaker 1: point actually outlawed cups and saucers to what So this 350 00:17:57,000 --> 00:17:59,440 Speaker 1: was the mid eighteenth century. It was during the rule 351 00:17:59,520 --> 00:18:03,119 Speaker 1: of eight Frederick, and the king believed that coffee stimulated 352 00:18:03,200 --> 00:18:06,639 Speaker 1: radical thinking and let his citizens to behave badly, so 353 00:18:06,680 --> 00:18:10,840 Speaker 1: he imposes this heavy tax on coffee imports and even consumption, 354 00:18:10,960 --> 00:18:13,639 Speaker 1: and he punished those who refused to pay the tax 355 00:18:13,680 --> 00:18:17,960 Speaker 1: by confiscating their cups and saucers, and even that happened 356 00:18:17,960 --> 00:18:19,959 Speaker 1: to fail, so they had to try to find another 357 00:18:20,000 --> 00:18:22,479 Speaker 1: way to stop the coffee drinkers. So the king decided 358 00:18:22,480 --> 00:18:25,800 Speaker 1: to ban coffee altogether. I mean, it's pretty great that 359 00:18:25,840 --> 00:18:27,879 Speaker 1: he thought taking away cops with solve the problem. But 360 00:18:28,040 --> 00:18:31,000 Speaker 1: obviously the Sweedes are some of the biggest coffee drinkers 361 00:18:31,040 --> 00:18:34,240 Speaker 1: in the world today. So I'm guessing the band died 362 00:18:34,320 --> 00:18:37,800 Speaker 1: with King Frederick. Well not quite. I mean, his son 363 00:18:37,880 --> 00:18:40,200 Speaker 1: tried to keep this going. His son was goosed off 364 00:18:40,200 --> 00:18:42,359 Speaker 1: the third It just sounds like somebody who would want 365 00:18:42,359 --> 00:18:46,080 Speaker 1: to ban coffee, right, and so he that's right. I mean, 366 00:18:46,080 --> 00:18:49,040 Speaker 1: he shared his father's distaste for coffee and became convinced 367 00:18:49,040 --> 00:18:52,000 Speaker 1: that it was incredibly unhealthy. In fact, the guy was 368 00:18:52,040 --> 00:18:54,959 Speaker 1: so convinced that coffee was harmful that he conducted this 369 00:18:55,119 --> 00:18:58,480 Speaker 1: long running experiment to prove to his subjects that coffee 370 00:18:58,520 --> 00:19:00,440 Speaker 1: was bad for him. So this is what he did. 371 00:19:00,640 --> 00:19:04,000 Speaker 1: He found two convicted murders and they've been sentenced to death, 372 00:19:04,040 --> 00:19:06,600 Speaker 1: and he offered them this chance to live. And so 373 00:19:06,640 --> 00:19:09,359 Speaker 1: he said, here's this experiment, and if you participate in 374 00:19:09,400 --> 00:19:12,199 Speaker 1: this will give you life sentences instead. And so the 375 00:19:12,240 --> 00:19:14,960 Speaker 1: men agreed. And what happens next is they were given 376 00:19:15,000 --> 00:19:17,159 Speaker 1: their marching orders. So one of them was required to 377 00:19:17,240 --> 00:19:20,600 Speaker 1: drink three pots of coffee every day. The other one 378 00:19:20,640 --> 00:19:23,600 Speaker 1: was asked to drink an equal amount of tea. Wait, 379 00:19:23,720 --> 00:19:25,359 Speaker 1: that's it. Like all they had to do is drink 380 00:19:25,359 --> 00:19:28,560 Speaker 1: a bunch of tea and coffee and they got to live. Yep. 381 00:19:28,880 --> 00:19:31,840 Speaker 1: I feel like this is like the luckiest convicted murderers 382 00:19:31,840 --> 00:19:35,000 Speaker 1: in history. Oh definitely. I mean, Gustaf was convinced that 383 00:19:35,080 --> 00:19:37,760 Speaker 1: the coffee drinker would be dead in no time, and 384 00:19:37,800 --> 00:19:40,920 Speaker 1: this is how dangerous he thought coffee was. But of 385 00:19:40,960 --> 00:19:43,520 Speaker 1: course Gustav was wrong. In fact, not only did both 386 00:19:43,560 --> 00:19:46,919 Speaker 1: prisoners outlive the king, they even outlived the doctors that 387 00:19:46,960 --> 00:19:50,520 Speaker 1: have been charged with overseeing them. The tea drinker lived 388 00:19:50,560 --> 00:19:52,560 Speaker 1: to be I think it was like eighty three years old, 389 00:19:52,600 --> 00:19:55,720 Speaker 1: and the coffee drinker actually survived even longer than that. 390 00:19:56,000 --> 00:19:58,400 Speaker 1: So that's amazing, and it actually reminds me of something 391 00:19:58,400 --> 00:20:01,360 Speaker 1: similar that happened in Prussia around the same time. Apparently 392 00:20:01,400 --> 00:20:04,480 Speaker 1: the Prussian King Frederick was also convinced that coffee was 393 00:20:04,480 --> 00:20:07,440 Speaker 1: a dangerous influence on these people. So not only did 394 00:20:07,440 --> 00:20:10,280 Speaker 1: he ban coffee drinking, he even made it illegal to 395 00:20:10,440 --> 00:20:13,639 Speaker 1: roast it. I was just pretty ridiculous, and I can 396 00:20:13,680 --> 00:20:16,120 Speaker 1: to enforce something like that. I mean, that's the funny part, 397 00:20:16,200 --> 00:20:18,679 Speaker 1: Like he actually sent royal sniffers into the streets to 398 00:20:18,760 --> 00:20:21,920 Speaker 1: track down criminals just by the smell of the illicit brew. 399 00:20:22,040 --> 00:20:24,760 Speaker 1: But again, all of this was ultimately in vain, and 400 00:20:24,840 --> 00:20:28,520 Speaker 1: coffee culture continued to thrive across Europe, you know, and 401 00:20:28,560 --> 00:20:30,719 Speaker 1: we're lucky that it did, because if you think about it, 402 00:20:30,880 --> 00:20:33,920 Speaker 1: prior to this spread of coffee, most people in Europe 403 00:20:33,960 --> 00:20:37,440 Speaker 1: were drinking alcohol pretty much all day long, and you know, 404 00:20:37,480 --> 00:20:40,159 Speaker 1: they'd have some beer with breakfast, some wine with lunch, 405 00:20:40,200 --> 00:20:42,679 Speaker 1: a little bit of both in the evening. And I actually, 406 00:20:42,680 --> 00:20:44,720 Speaker 1: believe it or not, this was the healthiest way to 407 00:20:44,760 --> 00:20:47,320 Speaker 1: go because most of the water that people had access 408 00:20:47,359 --> 00:20:50,720 Speaker 1: to wasn't safe to drink. So you've got the fermentation 409 00:20:50,800 --> 00:20:53,359 Speaker 1: process working in their favor and that would kind of 410 00:20:53,359 --> 00:20:55,800 Speaker 1: take care of the problem and the alcohol. But it 411 00:20:55,920 --> 00:20:58,360 Speaker 1: also has a downside, and that's the fact that everybody 412 00:20:58,440 --> 00:21:00,639 Speaker 1: was walking around drunk all the time. I guess that. 413 00:21:01,320 --> 00:21:04,359 Speaker 1: You know, once that population switched from this more of 414 00:21:04,359 --> 00:21:08,480 Speaker 1: a depressant to these stimulants like coffee and tea, suddenly 415 00:21:08,680 --> 00:21:12,280 Speaker 1: there was this this real explosion of new ideas and innovations. 416 00:21:12,359 --> 00:21:15,600 Speaker 1: Is more and more people began to think clearly again. Yeah, 417 00:21:15,680 --> 00:21:17,920 Speaker 1: I mean, I've heard before how the spread and development 418 00:21:17,920 --> 00:21:21,000 Speaker 1: of alignment owed a lot to coffee and also more 419 00:21:21,040 --> 00:21:24,520 Speaker 1: specifically to coffee houses, because you know, just like today, 420 00:21:24,560 --> 00:21:27,960 Speaker 1: coffee houses became these community gathering places where people could 421 00:21:28,000 --> 00:21:31,960 Speaker 1: get together to share ideas or conduct business. Um. The 422 00:21:32,000 --> 00:21:34,679 Speaker 1: first ones in Europe open in the seventeenth century, with 423 00:21:34,800 --> 00:21:37,880 Speaker 1: England getting its first in sixteen fifty two, and about 424 00:21:37,920 --> 00:21:41,520 Speaker 1: a decade later London was up to about eighty different 425 00:21:41,560 --> 00:21:45,200 Speaker 1: coffee houses, and forty years after that the city contained 426 00:21:45,200 --> 00:21:47,800 Speaker 1: more than five hundred. Wow. I mean, the idea really 427 00:21:47,840 --> 00:21:50,320 Speaker 1: did take off from the start. But you know, just 428 00:21:50,400 --> 00:21:53,080 Speaker 1: like in the Ottoman Empire, coffee houses also had their 429 00:21:53,119 --> 00:21:55,399 Speaker 1: share of detractors in Europe, and some of them are 430 00:21:55,440 --> 00:21:57,840 Speaker 1: pretty funny to read about. You know. For instance, in 431 00:21:57,840 --> 00:21:59,879 Speaker 1: England that was a group of women who banded together 432 00:22:00,040 --> 00:22:03,359 Speaker 1: in sixteen seventy four and they wrote something called the 433 00:22:03,400 --> 00:22:07,720 Speaker 1: Women's Petition against Coffee, which was this manifesto that claimed 434 00:22:07,720 --> 00:22:11,040 Speaker 1: that coffee robbed men of their masculinity. So the women 435 00:22:11,080 --> 00:22:14,280 Speaker 1: refer to their husband's new pastime as quote the excessive 436 00:22:14,359 --> 00:22:18,760 Speaker 1: use of that new fangled, abominable heathenish liquor called coffee. 437 00:22:19,040 --> 00:22:22,800 Speaker 1: But it's been baptized. But right right? What they think 438 00:22:22,880 --> 00:22:25,600 Speaker 1: was so bad about drinking coffee? Well, I mean, I 439 00:22:25,640 --> 00:22:28,479 Speaker 1: guess the idea was that these once vera hard working 440 00:22:28,520 --> 00:22:31,160 Speaker 1: men were now just sitting around in coffee shops all days, 441 00:22:31,200 --> 00:22:33,920 Speaker 1: sipping coffee, talking like a bunch of frenchmen, I guess. 442 00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:36,760 Speaker 1: But you know, the men of England actually didn't take 443 00:22:36,760 --> 00:22:39,760 Speaker 1: this affront of their manhood lying down, and instead they 444 00:22:39,760 --> 00:22:42,439 Speaker 1: pinned their response to this, and it was called Men's 445 00:22:42,480 --> 00:22:45,240 Speaker 1: Answer to the Women's Petition against Coffee. I love the 446 00:22:45,240 --> 00:22:49,000 Speaker 1: titles of these stages in that here's what they claimed that, 447 00:22:49,200 --> 00:22:53,040 Speaker 1: far from making men impotent, coffee actually made quote the 448 00:22:53,040 --> 00:22:57,040 Speaker 1: erection more vigorous, adding a spiritual ascendency to the sperm. 449 00:22:58,080 --> 00:23:01,119 Speaker 1: I don't even know what that means. I'm sure I 450 00:23:01,160 --> 00:23:05,359 Speaker 1: don't want to either. Is really wild to hear how 451 00:23:05,720 --> 00:23:08,000 Speaker 1: dead certain people were that like, coffee must be bad 452 00:23:08,040 --> 00:23:11,200 Speaker 1: for you somehow. I mean, it's kind of ironic considering 453 00:23:11,200 --> 00:23:13,280 Speaker 1: how often we hear about the potential health benefits of 454 00:23:13,320 --> 00:23:15,560 Speaker 1: drinking coffee today. Well, you know, and I actually did 455 00:23:15,600 --> 00:23:17,520 Speaker 1: a little bit of digging on some of those health 456 00:23:17,600 --> 00:23:20,600 Speaker 1: claims because there's something I've heard pretty often too, and 457 00:23:20,880 --> 00:23:22,560 Speaker 1: you know, the most prevalent one is that drinking a 458 00:23:22,600 --> 00:23:25,199 Speaker 1: certain number of cups of coffee will help you live longer. 459 00:23:25,760 --> 00:23:29,000 Speaker 1: And surprisingly, the science actually seems to bear this out. 460 00:23:29,440 --> 00:23:31,159 Speaker 1: Like I was looking at this study that was released 461 00:23:31,240 --> 00:23:34,680 Speaker 1: last year by the European Society of Cardiology. So about 462 00:23:34,680 --> 00:23:38,760 Speaker 1: a decade ago, these researchers got together about twenty volunteers 463 00:23:38,760 --> 00:23:41,399 Speaker 1: in Spain, and they asked them about their food and 464 00:23:41,440 --> 00:23:44,680 Speaker 1: coffee drinking habits, as well as their overall health history 465 00:23:44,720 --> 00:23:47,320 Speaker 1: and lifestyles and all kinds of stuff like that. And 466 00:23:47,400 --> 00:23:50,960 Speaker 1: so they look at them ten years later, and the researchers, 467 00:23:51,000 --> 00:23:53,359 Speaker 1: you know, we're reconnecting with them and wanted to see 468 00:23:53,359 --> 00:23:55,800 Speaker 1: how they were holding up. And what they found was 469 00:23:55,880 --> 00:23:58,600 Speaker 1: that those participants who drank at least four cups of 470 00:23:58,640 --> 00:24:03,360 Speaker 1: coffee a day were astounding sixty more likely to avoid 471 00:24:03,400 --> 00:24:07,320 Speaker 1: premature death than those who hardly drank coffee at all. 472 00:24:07,440 --> 00:24:09,800 Speaker 1: But it's kind of not the weirdest part. The researchers 473 00:24:09,840 --> 00:24:12,719 Speaker 1: also found that for each additional two cups of coffee 474 00:24:12,720 --> 00:24:16,240 Speaker 1: that I participant drink each day, their risk of any 475 00:24:16,359 --> 00:24:19,720 Speaker 1: causes immortality was actually reduced by an extra twenty two 476 00:24:19,880 --> 00:24:22,880 Speaker 1: per cent. So I think what you're saying here is 477 00:24:22,960 --> 00:24:25,680 Speaker 1: if I drink like a dozen cops of coffee a day, 478 00:24:25,880 --> 00:24:30,000 Speaker 1: I'll basically live forever. Yeah, I'm not sure that that's 479 00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:31,960 Speaker 1: what I'm saying, but you know, you take away from 480 00:24:31,960 --> 00:24:34,720 Speaker 1: it what you want. But you know, the real explanation 481 00:24:34,760 --> 00:24:38,040 Speaker 1: for why coffee can boost your longevity is pretty interesting. 482 00:24:38,080 --> 00:24:40,359 Speaker 1: And I was looking at the study out of Stanford, 483 00:24:40,400 --> 00:24:42,920 Speaker 1: and what they found was that the caffeine and coffee 484 00:24:42,960 --> 00:24:47,000 Speaker 1: actually combats the inflammatory processes that go along with aging 485 00:24:47,160 --> 00:24:52,000 Speaker 1: and these age related conditions like heart disease and Alzheimer's. 486 00:24:52,040 --> 00:24:55,840 Speaker 1: So basically, the antioxidants in the coffee function like anybody's 487 00:24:55,880 --> 00:24:58,160 Speaker 1: fighting off an illness, you know, they attack the harmful 488 00:24:58,160 --> 00:25:01,719 Speaker 1: byproducts of our bodies metabolic reactions or like these are 489 00:25:01,720 --> 00:25:05,280 Speaker 1: the ones that would otherwise trigger that inflammation. Yeah, well, 490 00:25:05,320 --> 00:25:07,600 Speaker 1: I've actually got good news for any of our non 491 00:25:07,720 --> 00:25:12,480 Speaker 1: human listeners out there, because apparently coffees health benefits extend 492 00:25:12,520 --> 00:25:15,639 Speaker 1: to the animal kingdom as well. And we know this 493 00:25:15,760 --> 00:25:18,080 Speaker 1: because the oldest cat ever on record was actually an 494 00:25:18,080 --> 00:25:21,520 Speaker 1: avid coffee drinker. Her name was cream Puff, and she 495 00:25:21,640 --> 00:25:23,840 Speaker 1: lived to be a whopping thirty eight years old and 496 00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:27,320 Speaker 1: three days as well. Um, and this was actually thanks 497 00:25:27,320 --> 00:25:30,359 Speaker 1: to her daily morning coffee, not to mention the bacon, 498 00:25:30,560 --> 00:25:33,760 Speaker 1: eggs and broccoli she also ate. It doesn't sound like 499 00:25:33,760 --> 00:25:37,520 Speaker 1: a bad diet, and obviously that's super impressive, But how 500 00:25:37,520 --> 00:25:39,240 Speaker 1: do you know it was the coffee that kept around 501 00:25:39,280 --> 00:25:42,120 Speaker 1: so long? Like, couldn't have this just been a coincidence? Yeah, 502 00:25:42,359 --> 00:25:44,800 Speaker 1: of course, anything's possible. But it is worth keeping in 503 00:25:44,840 --> 00:25:47,600 Speaker 1: mind that the previous record holder before cream Puff was 504 00:25:47,640 --> 00:25:50,840 Speaker 1: a thirty four year old cat named Grandpa Rex Allen. 505 00:25:51,280 --> 00:25:53,800 Speaker 1: And not only the Gramps have the same owner as 506 00:25:53,800 --> 00:25:56,439 Speaker 1: cream Puff, he was fed the exact same diet too, 507 00:25:56,520 --> 00:26:00,760 Speaker 1: including that all important daily dose of java. And that 508 00:26:00,920 --> 00:26:03,320 Speaker 1: is pretty convincing, to be honest with you. But there's 509 00:26:03,320 --> 00:26:05,720 Speaker 1: still one health aspect of coffee. I'm not so sure 510 00:26:05,720 --> 00:26:07,520 Speaker 1: about it, and that's whether or not it should be 511 00:26:07,560 --> 00:26:11,000 Speaker 1: considered cancerous. And scientist seemed to go back and forth 512 00:26:11,040 --> 00:26:12,719 Speaker 1: from this from time to time. But if we're going 513 00:26:12,720 --> 00:26:15,800 Speaker 1: to commit four or more cups of coffee a day, 514 00:26:16,400 --> 00:26:17,679 Speaker 1: I feel like it'd be pretty nice to have a 515 00:26:17,720 --> 00:26:21,080 Speaker 1: definitive answer on this. Yeah. Well, you're in luck because 516 00:26:21,080 --> 00:26:23,679 Speaker 1: the World Health Organization actually made a statement about this 517 00:26:23,800 --> 00:26:27,040 Speaker 1: not too long ago, and their conclusion was sort of surprising. 518 00:26:27,680 --> 00:26:30,040 Speaker 1: Oh really, so what did they say? Well, I'll tell 519 00:26:30,040 --> 00:26:31,719 Speaker 1: you about that in a minute, but first let's take 520 00:26:31,720 --> 00:26:48,320 Speaker 1: another quick break. Okay. Well, so I know you were 521 00:26:48,359 --> 00:26:51,400 Speaker 1: curious about whether or not coffee causes cancer, and honestly, 522 00:26:51,720 --> 00:26:54,320 Speaker 1: the answer is kind of a mixed bag. So first 523 00:26:54,400 --> 00:26:57,679 Speaker 1: the good news, there's no conclusive evidence that drinking coffee 524 00:26:57,760 --> 00:27:00,640 Speaker 1: leads to cancer. In the past, that in antional Agency 525 00:27:00,640 --> 00:27:03,400 Speaker 1: for Research on Cancer had actually labeled the coffee as 526 00:27:03,520 --> 00:27:06,919 Speaker 1: quote possible carcinogen, which landed in the same category as 527 00:27:06,960 --> 00:27:10,880 Speaker 1: chloroform and lots of other harmful substances. I mean, it's 528 00:27:10,920 --> 00:27:12,560 Speaker 1: a little weird to think of coffee in the same 529 00:27:12,600 --> 00:27:15,040 Speaker 1: class as chloroform. I feel like that's kind of extreme. 530 00:27:15,080 --> 00:27:16,840 Speaker 1: But but you're saying that warning has been reversed at 531 00:27:16,880 --> 00:27:20,080 Speaker 1: this point. Yeah, so the i r C changed its 532 00:27:20,080 --> 00:27:23,000 Speaker 1: mind after reviewing over a thousands scientific studies and humans 533 00:27:23,000 --> 00:27:26,120 Speaker 1: and animals, none of which provide enough evidence to support 534 00:27:26,160 --> 00:27:30,560 Speaker 1: the quote possibly carcinogenic label. Okay, so that feels like 535 00:27:30,600 --> 00:27:32,439 Speaker 1: a win for all of us. So why did you 536 00:27:32,440 --> 00:27:34,880 Speaker 1: say it was a mixed bag? Yeah? I mean that's 537 00:27:34,920 --> 00:27:36,840 Speaker 1: because of the bad news, which is that the agency 538 00:27:36,880 --> 00:27:40,600 Speaker 1: also conclude that basically all very hot drinks are most 539 00:27:40,640 --> 00:27:44,480 Speaker 1: likely carcinogenic. Apparently there's now enough evidence to suggest that 540 00:27:44,600 --> 00:27:47,720 Speaker 1: drinking anything a hundred forty nine degrees fahrenheit or hotter 541 00:27:48,119 --> 00:27:51,479 Speaker 1: probably causes cancer of the esophagus. And since the average 542 00:27:51,480 --> 00:27:54,320 Speaker 1: cup of Joe is typically served between one sixty and 543 00:27:54,359 --> 00:27:58,640 Speaker 1: one degrees fahrenheit, that's not so great news for coffee drinkers. Yeah, 544 00:27:58,800 --> 00:28:00,480 Speaker 1: I mean, if you think about it, t or hot 545 00:28:00,520 --> 00:28:03,240 Speaker 1: water drinkers for that matter. But um, alright, So the 546 00:28:03,240 --> 00:28:06,919 Speaker 1: good news is is that coffee itself probably isn't cancerous, 547 00:28:06,960 --> 00:28:10,520 Speaker 1: but very hot coffee might be. And I don't know, 548 00:28:10,560 --> 00:28:12,320 Speaker 1: I feel like if that's not a ringing endorsement for 549 00:28:12,400 --> 00:28:15,200 Speaker 1: cold brew, I'm really not sure. What would be. Yeah, 550 00:28:15,240 --> 00:28:17,240 Speaker 1: I know, and I'm a huge cold brew drinker. But 551 00:28:17,400 --> 00:28:19,359 Speaker 1: on a lighter note, when I was looking into the 552 00:28:19,359 --> 00:28:22,520 Speaker 1: cancer angle, I also came across this bizarre thought experiment 553 00:28:22,560 --> 00:28:25,679 Speaker 1: in Scientific American and it's actually just too weird not 554 00:28:25,760 --> 00:28:28,159 Speaker 1: to share. So you know how on the show Friends, 555 00:28:28,200 --> 00:28:31,280 Speaker 1: the cast is always drinking those enormous mugs of coffee 556 00:28:31,280 --> 00:28:34,480 Speaker 1: at the central perk. Oh, yeah, definitely were huge. Yeah. 557 00:28:34,560 --> 00:28:37,480 Speaker 1: So this writer named Kyle Hill remembers too, and he 558 00:28:37,520 --> 00:28:40,000 Speaker 1: actually crunched the numbers to see just how many people 559 00:28:40,000 --> 00:28:41,760 Speaker 1: you could kill with all the caffeine and the cast 560 00:28:41,760 --> 00:28:44,520 Speaker 1: of Friends consumed over the course of the show's ten seasons, 561 00:28:44,800 --> 00:28:48,320 Speaker 1: And it turns out that, assuming each episode represents a 562 00:28:48,360 --> 00:28:51,560 Speaker 1: week of time, on average, the six Friends down an 563 00:28:51,560 --> 00:28:56,120 Speaker 1: incredible gallons of coffee, which is enough to send over 564 00:28:57,040 --> 00:29:00,200 Speaker 1: people to the hospital. I like how this is the 565 00:29:00,320 --> 00:29:02,480 Speaker 1: lighter note that you wanted to talk about. I mean, 566 00:29:02,920 --> 00:29:05,120 Speaker 1: I guess it at least raises the interesting question of 567 00:29:05,160 --> 00:29:08,320 Speaker 1: how much caffeine is actually safe to consume. So did 568 00:29:08,360 --> 00:29:10,040 Speaker 1: did you get a sense of that apart from this 569 00:29:10,160 --> 00:29:14,160 Speaker 1: ridiculous hypothetical. Yeah, so, some scientists say it's about ten 570 00:29:14,200 --> 00:29:16,760 Speaker 1: grams of caffeine. That's enough to do most people in 571 00:29:16,840 --> 00:29:19,440 Speaker 1: but there are also reports of people dying from as 572 00:29:19,440 --> 00:29:23,040 Speaker 1: little as four milligrams. Honestly that there isn't like a 573 00:29:23,160 --> 00:29:26,440 Speaker 1: universal overdose amount for caffeine because the number varies from 574 00:29:26,440 --> 00:29:29,320 Speaker 1: person to person, and that's because of all sorts of factors, 575 00:29:29,360 --> 00:29:31,840 Speaker 1: from you know, your heart help to your body weight. Yeah, 576 00:29:31,880 --> 00:29:33,480 Speaker 1: that's what I was gonna say, with like heart health, 577 00:29:33,600 --> 00:29:37,360 Speaker 1: especially because everybody's is so different, it seems like issues 578 00:29:37,400 --> 00:29:39,640 Speaker 1: could be triggered with even a little bit of caffeine 579 00:29:39,680 --> 00:29:42,280 Speaker 1: for some people. But but what about that ten grams 580 00:29:42,280 --> 00:29:44,680 Speaker 1: you mentioned? How easy is it to ingest that much? 581 00:29:45,400 --> 00:29:48,120 Speaker 1: So not very thankfully, Like that would be the equivalent 582 00:29:48,160 --> 00:29:52,120 Speaker 1: about fifty shots of five hour energy. And since there's 583 00:29:52,120 --> 00:29:54,680 Speaker 1: only about a hundred fifty milligrams of caffeine and an 584 00:29:54,680 --> 00:29:57,400 Speaker 1: eight ounds cup of coffee, you'd actually need to drink 585 00:29:57,440 --> 00:30:00,440 Speaker 1: a full seventy cups to get to ten grams. And 586 00:30:00,640 --> 00:30:03,320 Speaker 1: if that wasn't unlikely enough, like you'd actually have to 587 00:30:03,400 --> 00:30:06,440 Speaker 1: drink all those cups at the same time. Because caffeine's 588 00:30:06,440 --> 00:30:09,360 Speaker 1: effects less in over time. So there's some good news. 589 00:30:09,440 --> 00:30:13,200 Speaker 1: It's effectively impossible to odeon caffeine from coffee. There's just 590 00:30:13,280 --> 00:30:15,560 Speaker 1: no way you could fit that much liquid in your stomach. 591 00:30:15,640 --> 00:30:17,600 Speaker 1: Not and not to mention that most people's coffee breaks 592 00:30:17,600 --> 00:30:19,959 Speaker 1: aren't long enough to bruise seventy cups of coffee, much 593 00:30:20,040 --> 00:30:22,080 Speaker 1: less drink them. That's true. But you know, speaking of 594 00:30:22,120 --> 00:30:24,920 Speaker 1: coffee breaks, and this is a total detour from what 595 00:30:24,960 --> 00:30:27,040 Speaker 1: we were talking about, did you ever wonder how that 596 00:30:27,080 --> 00:30:30,800 Speaker 1: practice got it start? Yeah, like I used to know 597 00:30:30,840 --> 00:30:32,239 Speaker 1: the answer at one point. I feel like it has 598 00:30:32,280 --> 00:30:34,440 Speaker 1: to do with some sort of ad campaign or something. Well, 599 00:30:34,520 --> 00:30:36,560 Speaker 1: yes and no, and they're there are actually some conflicting 600 00:30:36,640 --> 00:30:39,680 Speaker 1: reports about this, much like the origins of coffee itself. 601 00:30:39,760 --> 00:30:42,960 Speaker 1: But according to City Lab, coffee breaks are a product 602 00:30:42,960 --> 00:30:47,120 Speaker 1: of early twentieth century unions. So factories finally standardized the 603 00:30:47,160 --> 00:30:49,920 Speaker 1: work day. They came to be eight hours a day, 604 00:30:49,960 --> 00:30:52,400 Speaker 1: but they also added these rest breaks into the schedule, 605 00:30:52,640 --> 00:30:55,320 Speaker 1: and it was during these breaks that workers would drink 606 00:30:55,320 --> 00:30:57,560 Speaker 1: coffee to get that quick jolt of energy so they 607 00:30:57,560 --> 00:31:00,880 Speaker 1: could finish the work day. And of course, entrepreneurs took 608 00:31:00,920 --> 00:31:03,520 Speaker 1: notice of this practice, and pretty soon you started seeing 609 00:31:03,560 --> 00:31:06,640 Speaker 1: these street carts and coffee counters and vending machines just 610 00:31:06,760 --> 00:31:10,040 Speaker 1: popping up all over the place. So I mean, it 611 00:31:10,120 --> 00:31:12,160 Speaker 1: makes complete sense to me that coffee breaks would be 612 00:31:12,240 --> 00:31:15,640 Speaker 1: this American invention, you know, American workers coming up with it. 613 00:31:15,720 --> 00:31:18,600 Speaker 1: But you said some folks don't actually bind it that theory. Well, 614 00:31:18,640 --> 00:31:21,560 Speaker 1: in particular, these would be the citizens of Stoughton, Wisconsin. 615 00:31:21,640 --> 00:31:25,120 Speaker 1: They don't buy into it at all. So on the contrary, 616 00:31:25,160 --> 00:31:27,479 Speaker 1: this tiny town insists that it was actually the area's 617 00:31:27,480 --> 00:31:31,320 Speaker 1: population of Norwegian female immigrants who invented coffee breaks. And 618 00:31:31,320 --> 00:31:33,720 Speaker 1: this would have been back in the late nineteenth century. 619 00:31:34,360 --> 00:31:36,760 Speaker 1: So apparently there was a tobacco warehouse in the town 620 00:31:36,840 --> 00:31:39,920 Speaker 1: that hired these Norwegian women to help strip the plants, 621 00:31:40,520 --> 00:31:42,960 Speaker 1: and since the warehouse wasn't too far from their homes, 622 00:31:42,960 --> 00:31:45,360 Speaker 1: the women would routinely pop in to check on their 623 00:31:45,440 --> 00:31:48,280 Speaker 1: kids or get dinner started, and of course grab a 624 00:31:48,320 --> 00:31:51,240 Speaker 1: cup of coffee before heading back to work. And even 625 00:31:51,240 --> 00:31:54,240 Speaker 1: though outsiders continue to challenge Stoughton's claim to fame, the 626 00:31:54,280 --> 00:31:58,320 Speaker 1: town itself has no doubt about this local lore being true. 627 00:31:58,640 --> 00:32:01,080 Speaker 1: In fact, the residents still under the town's history each 628 00:32:01,160 --> 00:32:05,040 Speaker 1: year by holding this official coffee break festival, and they 629 00:32:05,080 --> 00:32:08,160 Speaker 1: build it. As quote the weekend when everyone is Norwegian. 630 00:32:09,720 --> 00:32:13,280 Speaker 1: Well that's pretty sweet. But wait, so I was thinking 631 00:32:13,360 --> 00:32:15,840 Speaker 1: coffee breaks had something to do with marketing and ad 632 00:32:15,840 --> 00:32:17,840 Speaker 1: Caffei's did Did I just make that up? Now? So 633 00:32:17,920 --> 00:32:20,760 Speaker 1: that's another legit option. See, if you look back to 634 00:32:20,760 --> 00:32:24,360 Speaker 1: the early nineteen hundreds, you had multiple companies beginning to 635 00:32:24,440 --> 00:32:28,760 Speaker 1: offer coffee breaks as these official job perks for their employees, like, 636 00:32:28,800 --> 00:32:31,360 Speaker 1: for instance, the company that makes bark A Loungers agreed 637 00:32:31,400 --> 00:32:33,640 Speaker 1: to give workers short breaks during the morning in the 638 00:32:33,720 --> 00:32:36,080 Speaker 1: afternoon and then they could heat up a cup of 639 00:32:36,080 --> 00:32:39,800 Speaker 1: coffee on like a kerosene fueled hot plate. While all 640 00:32:39,920 --> 00:32:42,600 Speaker 1: kinds of companies like claim to having offered the first 641 00:32:42,640 --> 00:32:46,000 Speaker 1: official coffee break, the first group to actually coin the 642 00:32:46,040 --> 00:32:49,120 Speaker 1: phrase coffee break didn't come along until nineteen fifty two. 643 00:32:49,720 --> 00:32:52,240 Speaker 1: And that's the year that Pan American Coffee Bureau launched 644 00:32:52,280 --> 00:32:55,920 Speaker 1: an ad campaign encouraging the public to quote, give yourself 645 00:32:55,920 --> 00:32:59,800 Speaker 1: a coffee break and get what coffee gives you. That's 646 00:32:59,800 --> 00:33:02,920 Speaker 1: just great ad coffee right there. But I always think 647 00:33:02,960 --> 00:33:05,680 Speaker 1: it's so fun to find out where the lingo surrounding 648 00:33:05,840 --> 00:33:08,760 Speaker 1: words and phrases comes from. And did you know the 649 00:33:08,760 --> 00:33:11,240 Speaker 1: phrase cup of Joe might have come from a US 650 00:33:11,360 --> 00:33:16,240 Speaker 1: naval secretary named Josephus Daniels. No. He apparently banned all 651 00:33:16,320 --> 00:33:19,080 Speaker 1: drinks stronger than coffee from being served in the mess halls, 652 00:33:19,120 --> 00:33:21,240 Speaker 1: so the officers started applying his name to the only 653 00:33:21,240 --> 00:33:23,920 Speaker 1: stiff drink he approved of. And of course there's also 654 00:33:24,040 --> 00:33:26,680 Speaker 1: a good chance the phrase goes back even further, like 655 00:33:26,760 --> 00:33:30,080 Speaker 1: some people say, Joe is a shortening of the word jamoke, 656 00:33:30,360 --> 00:33:33,520 Speaker 1: which I guess is a hybrid of java and mocho, 657 00:33:34,000 --> 00:33:38,320 Speaker 1: you know, two regions known for coffee cultivation. I'd actually 658 00:33:38,320 --> 00:33:40,920 Speaker 1: never heard that. Well, since we're on that subject, the 659 00:33:40,960 --> 00:33:44,000 Speaker 1: bureau that gave us coffee breaks was also behind another 660 00:33:44,040 --> 00:33:47,240 Speaker 1: famous coffee phrase, and that's the phrase one for the road. 661 00:33:47,640 --> 00:33:49,640 Speaker 1: You know that phrases typically used now to mean like 662 00:33:49,760 --> 00:33:53,080 Speaker 1: one more drink before I go, It was originally more 663 00:33:53,160 --> 00:33:56,920 Speaker 1: literally taken. So remember the country's interstate highway system was 664 00:33:57,040 --> 00:33:59,600 Speaker 1: brand new at this time, so that idea of one 665 00:33:59,640 --> 00:34:01,880 Speaker 1: more for the road, it was really intended as a 666 00:34:01,920 --> 00:34:04,960 Speaker 1: safety measure to make sure Americans were staying awake or 667 00:34:05,000 --> 00:34:07,040 Speaker 1: not falling asleep while they were at the wheel during 668 00:34:07,080 --> 00:34:10,839 Speaker 1: these long distance drives. That's awesome, but speaking of one 669 00:34:10,840 --> 00:34:12,719 Speaker 1: more for the road, it looks like Tristan still got 670 00:34:12,719 --> 00:34:14,799 Speaker 1: a full pot of Civic coffee over there. If you're 671 00:34:14,800 --> 00:34:16,960 Speaker 1: feeling thirsty before the fact, Yeah, I think I was 672 00:34:17,000 --> 00:34:20,040 Speaker 1: gonna be a hard pass from the mango, But but 673 00:34:20,200 --> 00:34:30,319 Speaker 1: I am ready for the fact off. So I'm reading 674 00:34:30,400 --> 00:34:32,279 Speaker 1: up for this episode. I was looking at this New 675 00:34:32,320 --> 00:34:34,520 Speaker 1: York Times article from a couple of years back that 676 00:34:34,600 --> 00:34:37,240 Speaker 1: was about the fact that a surprising number of flights 677 00:34:37,239 --> 00:34:40,840 Speaker 1: are delayed each year because of broken coffee makers. So, 678 00:34:40,880 --> 00:34:43,919 Speaker 1: as the article explained, these are incredibly expensive coffee pots, 679 00:34:43,960 --> 00:34:48,160 Speaker 1: and we're talking ten dollars apiece, sometimes more, and that's 680 00:34:48,160 --> 00:34:51,160 Speaker 1: because they have so many safety features like circuit breakers 681 00:34:51,200 --> 00:34:54,520 Speaker 1: and special wiring. What that also means is that there 682 00:34:54,520 --> 00:34:56,960 Speaker 1: are more things that could possibly go wrong, and so 683 00:34:57,080 --> 00:34:59,719 Speaker 1: if a coffee maker isn't working, they then have to 684 00:34:59,719 --> 00:35:02,239 Speaker 1: do the full investigation to make sure it's not because 685 00:35:02,280 --> 00:35:05,120 Speaker 1: of bad wiring on the plane or anything like that. 686 00:35:05,640 --> 00:35:08,200 Speaker 1: But you know, people can't live without their coffee, so 687 00:35:08,239 --> 00:35:11,319 Speaker 1: we just deal with this. That's amazing. So here's the 688 00:35:11,320 --> 00:35:13,640 Speaker 1: fact about the role coffee played and trying to get 689 00:35:13,640 --> 00:35:16,640 Speaker 1: the Brazilian Olympic delegation to the Nine two Games, and 690 00:35:16,719 --> 00:35:19,719 Speaker 1: this was in Los Angeles. It was a super expensive trip, 691 00:35:19,800 --> 00:35:22,560 Speaker 1: so they decided to load up fifty thousand bags of 692 00:35:22,600 --> 00:35:25,040 Speaker 1: Brazilian coffee on the ship they were traveling on, and 693 00:35:25,080 --> 00:35:26,960 Speaker 1: the plan was to sell as much of it as 694 00:35:27,000 --> 00:35:30,000 Speaker 1: possible along the way to pay for the trip. But unfortunately, 695 00:35:30,040 --> 00:35:32,160 Speaker 1: they didn't sell quite as much as they had hoped, 696 00:35:32,560 --> 00:35:34,560 Speaker 1: and when they made it to the port in l 697 00:35:34,600 --> 00:35:36,839 Speaker 1: a they couldn't afford to pay the one dollar per 698 00:35:36,840 --> 00:35:40,120 Speaker 1: person charge, so only about half the team could get 699 00:35:40,120 --> 00:35:42,720 Speaker 1: off the boat, and in fact, there were still fifteen 700 00:35:42,719 --> 00:35:44,520 Speaker 1: athletes who were never able to get off the ship 701 00:35:44,560 --> 00:35:48,360 Speaker 1: in the States, so during the entire voyage, these fifteen 702 00:35:48,400 --> 00:35:51,359 Speaker 1: people never got off the ship. Yeah, it's terrible. I've 703 00:35:51,400 --> 00:35:54,320 Speaker 1: been wondering if there was an actual Maxwell House. I 704 00:35:54,320 --> 00:35:56,319 Speaker 1: don't know why I was wondering this, but you know, 705 00:35:56,400 --> 00:35:59,280 Speaker 1: it turns out that there was so Maxwell House hotel. 706 00:36:00,000 --> 00:36:01,719 Speaker 1: It up just a few years after the Civil War, 707 00:36:01,800 --> 00:36:06,000 Speaker 1: and it was the fanciest hotel in Nashville. Apparently Teddy 708 00:36:06,120 --> 00:36:09,160 Speaker 1: Roosevelt liked visiting, as well as several of the Vanderbilts, 709 00:36:09,560 --> 00:36:12,160 Speaker 1: and the coffee actually got its name from this hotel. 710 00:36:12,520 --> 00:36:14,360 Speaker 1: I was looking into the history of it and Sally 711 00:36:14,440 --> 00:36:18,319 Speaker 1: the hotel burned down in nine so it's no longer there. 712 00:36:18,400 --> 00:36:21,080 Speaker 1: But there was actually a Maxwell house. That's crazy. It 713 00:36:21,160 --> 00:36:23,920 Speaker 1: was there until the sixties though. That's pretty impressive. So 714 00:36:24,280 --> 00:36:26,720 Speaker 1: it turns out Beethoven was a big fan of coffee, 715 00:36:26,760 --> 00:36:29,520 Speaker 1: but he was also incredibly particular about how it was 716 00:36:29,560 --> 00:36:32,280 Speaker 1: to be made. In fact, he only wanted his cups 717 00:36:32,280 --> 00:36:35,839 Speaker 1: made with precisely sixty beans. And I don't know why 718 00:36:35,880 --> 00:36:38,600 Speaker 1: I find that surprising, but that's actually how I'll be 719 00:36:38,680 --> 00:36:41,240 Speaker 1: ordering my coffee from now on, like like a venti 720 00:36:41,400 --> 00:36:46,440 Speaker 1: Beethoven style. Right, all right, Well, I think I had 721 00:36:46,480 --> 00:36:48,400 Speaker 1: actually seen this fact before. But did you know that 722 00:36:48,440 --> 00:36:51,319 Speaker 1: the first ever webcam was used at Cambridge? But it 723 00:36:51,360 --> 00:36:54,000 Speaker 1: was actually set up to do something much less academic 724 00:36:54,040 --> 00:36:56,480 Speaker 1: than you might imagine. It was used to give the 725 00:36:56,520 --> 00:36:59,319 Speaker 1: researchers there the ability to monitor the coffee in the 726 00:36:59,360 --> 00:37:01,880 Speaker 1: break room without having to get up to check it. 727 00:37:03,080 --> 00:37:05,319 Speaker 1: I love that that became like an Internet star and 728 00:37:05,360 --> 00:37:08,480 Speaker 1: everyone was checking the Cambridge coffee. But you know what 729 00:37:08,640 --> 00:37:12,320 Speaker 1: we opened talking about cat poop coffee. Well, I figured 730 00:37:12,360 --> 00:37:14,880 Speaker 1: maybe we should close the show with an equally gross, 731 00:37:14,960 --> 00:37:18,440 Speaker 1: but different kind of bean processing. That's vanilla flavored monkey 732 00:37:18,520 --> 00:37:23,880 Speaker 1: saliva coffee and this comes from Taiwan. Apparently, these monkeys 733 00:37:23,880 --> 00:37:26,279 Speaker 1: were becoming a big problem for coffee farms because they 734 00:37:26,320 --> 00:37:29,120 Speaker 1: were like trying to get their buzz and destroying the crops. 735 00:37:29,120 --> 00:37:31,000 Speaker 1: They would just suck on the coffee cherries and then 736 00:37:31,000 --> 00:37:33,720 Speaker 1: spit out the pits. But one thing a farmer noticed 737 00:37:33,800 --> 00:37:36,000 Speaker 1: was that these beans the monkeys that spit out, had 738 00:37:36,000 --> 00:37:38,720 Speaker 1: a unique vanilla flavor to them. So he just decided 739 00:37:38,719 --> 00:37:40,400 Speaker 1: to team up with the monkeys, and now we have 740 00:37:40,480 --> 00:37:43,359 Speaker 1: an even more rare coffee for Tristan to love. That 741 00:37:43,520 --> 00:37:46,360 Speaker 1: is pretty wild. And I have to respect Mango, the 742 00:37:46,400 --> 00:37:48,960 Speaker 1: fact that you were bold enough to start off the 743 00:37:48,960 --> 00:37:52,400 Speaker 1: episode talking about poop coffee and in the episode talking 744 00:37:52,400 --> 00:37:56,480 Speaker 1: about monkey spit coffee. So those might both be gross, 745 00:37:56,520 --> 00:37:58,120 Speaker 1: but I respect that. So I'm going to have to 746 00:37:58,160 --> 00:38:01,680 Speaker 1: give you today's trophy. Thank you very much, and thank 747 00:38:01,719 --> 00:38:04,000 Speaker 1: you guys for listening. I'm sure we left out some 748 00:38:04,080 --> 00:38:06,880 Speaker 1: great facts about coffee, so don't hesitate to let us 749 00:38:06,920 --> 00:38:08,719 Speaker 1: know the ones that we missed. We always love to 750 00:38:08,719 --> 00:38:10,640 Speaker 1: hear from You can email us part time Genius and 751 00:38:10,680 --> 00:38:13,960 Speaker 1: how stuff works dot com or call us one Fact 752 00:38:14,040 --> 00:38:17,040 Speaker 1: hot line. That's eight four four pt Genius. You can 753 00:38:17,040 --> 00:38:19,360 Speaker 1: always hit us up on Facebook or Twitter. Thanks so 754 00:38:19,440 --> 00:38:35,600 Speaker 1: much for listening, Kay, thanks again for listening. Part Time 755 00:38:35,600 --> 00:38:37,840 Speaker 1: Genius is a production of how stuff works and wouldn't 756 00:38:37,840 --> 00:38:40,600 Speaker 1: be possible without several brilliant people who do the important 757 00:38:40,640 --> 00:38:43,759 Speaker 1: things we couldn't even begin to understand. Tristan McNeil does 758 00:38:43,760 --> 00:38:46,040 Speaker 1: the editing thing. Noel Brown made the theme song and 759 00:38:46,080 --> 00:38:49,000 Speaker 1: does the MIXI mixy sound thing. Jerry Rowland does the 760 00:38:49,040 --> 00:38:52,480 Speaker 1: exact producer thing. Gabeluesier is our lead researcher, with support 761 00:38:52,520 --> 00:38:55,360 Speaker 1: from the Research Army including Austin Thompson, Nolan Brown and 762 00:38:55,440 --> 00:38:57,600 Speaker 1: Lucas Adams and Eve Jeff Cook gets the show to 763 00:38:57,640 --> 00:38:59,960 Speaker 1: your ears. Good job, Eves. If you like what you heard, 764 00:39:00,000 --> 00:39:02,000 Speaker 1: and we hope you'll subscribe, And if you really really 765 00:39:02,040 --> 00:39:03,719 Speaker 1: like what you've heard, maybe you could leave a good 766 00:39:03,719 --> 00:39:06,680 Speaker 1: review for us, do you, Suget Jason who