1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:06,480 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio, Hey 2 00:00:06,519 --> 00:00:10,280 Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren Bogobam. Here know someone who doesn't get 3 00:00:10,320 --> 00:00:12,920 Speaker 1: into the holiday spirit? Why they must be a Grinch 4 00:00:13,520 --> 00:00:16,079 Speaker 1: with his green fur, scowling face and heart that was 5 00:00:16,120 --> 00:00:18,760 Speaker 1: two sizes too small. The fictional figure of the Grine 6 00:00:18,800 --> 00:00:21,840 Speaker 1: leapt into the American consciousness from his miserly home a 7 00:00:21,880 --> 00:00:25,239 Speaker 1: top Mount Crumpet in seven with the publication of How 8 00:00:25,280 --> 00:00:28,840 Speaker 1: the Grinch Stole Christmas. He's lived on in vintage cartoons, 9 00:00:28,880 --> 00:00:32,559 Speaker 1: full length motion pictures, and merchandise ever since. But did 10 00:00:32,560 --> 00:00:37,239 Speaker 1: the Grinch have a real life doppelganger? Surprisingly yes, and 11 00:00:37,400 --> 00:00:41,680 Speaker 1: more surprisingly it was probably his creator, Dr SEUs Theodore 12 00:00:41,800 --> 00:00:45,360 Speaker 1: SEUs Geisel, under the pseudonym Dr Seuss, wrote an illustrated 13 00:00:45,400 --> 00:00:48,400 Speaker 1: dozens of books, including How the Grin Stole Christmas. His 14 00:00:48,479 --> 00:00:51,960 Speaker 1: creative works for children were initially met with lukewarm commercial success, 15 00:00:52,240 --> 00:00:56,000 Speaker 1: but Dr Seus's exploration and refinement of his craft coincided 16 00:00:56,040 --> 00:00:59,680 Speaker 1: with the mid twentieth century educational evolution of children's reading material. 17 00:01:00,760 --> 00:01:03,880 Speaker 1: Imagine being a learning to read student pro offered a 18 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:07,600 Speaker 1: time worn Dick and Jane series and then suddenly encountering 19 00:01:07,640 --> 00:01:10,160 Speaker 1: a colorful page turner. Like Seus's Cat in the Hat 20 00:01:10,440 --> 00:01:14,640 Speaker 1: with its inventive illustrations and lyrical rhymes. This is exactly 21 00:01:14,640 --> 00:01:17,520 Speaker 1: what occurred for nearly an entire generation of students who 22 00:01:17,520 --> 00:01:21,120 Speaker 1: were learning to read, rather than learning whole words from repetition, 23 00:01:21,200 --> 00:01:24,160 Speaker 1: which was the Dick and Jane approach. Dr Seus's Cat 24 00:01:24,200 --> 00:01:26,320 Speaker 1: in the Hat book helped lay the foundation for an 25 00:01:26,319 --> 00:01:29,480 Speaker 1: approach that was based on phonics and emphasized making reading 26 00:01:29,560 --> 00:01:32,920 Speaker 1: more fun. The Cat in the Hat became Dr Seus's 27 00:01:32,959 --> 00:01:35,200 Speaker 1: first commercial hit, and the book sold more than a 28 00:01:35,280 --> 00:01:38,400 Speaker 1: quarter of a million copies by Christmas of nineteen fifty seven. 29 00:01:39,040 --> 00:01:42,160 Speaker 1: Before long, it was joined by another Christmas miracle. Over 30 00:01:42,200 --> 00:01:44,240 Speaker 1: the course of a few short weeks, the story of 31 00:01:44,240 --> 00:01:47,720 Speaker 1: the Grinch practically poured from Dr Seus's pen. It was, 32 00:01:47,800 --> 00:01:50,680 Speaker 1: he said in a nineteen seven interview with Red Book magazine, 33 00:01:50,960 --> 00:01:54,080 Speaker 1: the easiest book of my career to write. And he 34 00:01:54,120 --> 00:01:56,040 Speaker 1: said it was so easy because he only needed to 35 00:01:56,080 --> 00:01:59,560 Speaker 1: look in the mirror for inspiration. He told Red Book quote, 36 00:01:59,720 --> 00:02:01,480 Speaker 1: I was brushing my teeth on the morning of the 37 00:02:02,360 --> 00:02:05,800 Speaker 1: last December when I noted a very grinch ish countenance 38 00:02:05,840 --> 00:02:08,880 Speaker 1: in the mirror. It was SEUs something had gone wrong 39 00:02:08,919 --> 00:02:12,240 Speaker 1: with Christmas, I realized, or more likely with me. So 40 00:02:12,440 --> 00:02:14,919 Speaker 1: I wrote the story about my sour friend the Grinch, 41 00:02:15,040 --> 00:02:17,400 Speaker 1: to see if I could rediscover something about Christmas that 42 00:02:17,520 --> 00:02:21,720 Speaker 1: obviously I had lost. If that wasn't proof enough, On 43 00:02:21,760 --> 00:02:25,560 Speaker 1: the occasion of unveiling Dr. Seuss commemorative and posthumous US 44 00:02:25,600 --> 00:02:29,040 Speaker 1: Postal Service stamp in two thousand three, his stepdaughter Lark 45 00:02:29,120 --> 00:02:33,000 Speaker 1: Gray Diamond Kates remarked that quote Grinch was ted on 46 00:02:33,040 --> 00:02:35,839 Speaker 1: his bad days, and the author and his wife drove 47 00:02:35,840 --> 00:02:38,919 Speaker 1: a vehicle with the vanity license plate showcasing just one 48 00:02:38,960 --> 00:02:44,280 Speaker 1: word Grinch. By the way, science has been thinking about 49 00:02:44,320 --> 00:02:46,839 Speaker 1: the Grinch's heart. You know how it started off two 50 00:02:46,840 --> 00:02:49,280 Speaker 1: sizes too small and then grew three sizes in a 51 00:02:49,280 --> 00:02:53,679 Speaker 1: single day, Pretty unusual for most beings. But cardiologist Dr 52 00:02:53,800 --> 00:02:57,600 Speaker 1: David Cass theorized on All Things Considered that perhaps grinches 53 00:02:57,639 --> 00:03:01,720 Speaker 1: are related to the Burmese python. Burmese pythons grow an 54 00:03:01,720 --> 00:03:04,480 Speaker 1: additional of the muscle mass of their hearts in the 55 00:03:04,480 --> 00:03:06,760 Speaker 1: two days following a big meal so that they can 56 00:03:06,800 --> 00:03:10,399 Speaker 1: pump more blood through their bodies, thus enabling digestion. Afterwards, 57 00:03:10,400 --> 00:03:12,919 Speaker 1: their hearts shrink back down with no harm to the snake, 58 00:03:13,320 --> 00:03:21,040 Speaker 1: and the Grinch is certainly slithery. Today's episode was written 59 00:03:21,040 --> 00:03:23,840 Speaker 1: by Laureal Dove and produced by Tyler clag. Brain Stuff 60 00:03:23,840 --> 00:03:25,959 Speaker 1: is a production of iHeart Radio's Has Stuff Works. For 61 00:03:26,040 --> 00:03:27,600 Speaker 1: more on this and lots of other topics that are 62 00:03:27,639 --> 00:03:29,639 Speaker 1: at least as charming as an eel, visit our home 63 00:03:29,639 --> 00:03:32,600 Speaker 1: planet has to Works dot com and for more podcasts 64 00:03:32,600 --> 00:03:35,640 Speaker 1: for my heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 65 00:03:35,680 --> 00:03:37,280 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.