WEBVTT - Was the Grinch Based on Dr. Seuss?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio, Hey

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff, Lauren Bogobam. Here know someone who doesn't get

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<v Speaker 1>into the holiday spirit? Why they must be a Grinch

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<v Speaker 1>with his green fur, scowling face and heart that was

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<v Speaker 1>two sizes too small. The fictional figure of the Grine

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<v Speaker 1>leapt into the American consciousness from his miserly home a

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<v Speaker 1>top Mount Crumpet in seven with the publication of How

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<v Speaker 1>the Grinch Stole Christmas. He's lived on in vintage cartoons,

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<v Speaker 1>full length motion pictures, and merchandise ever since. But did

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<v Speaker 1>the Grinch have a real life doppelganger? Surprisingly yes, and

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<v Speaker 1>more surprisingly it was probably his creator, Dr SEUs Theodore

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<v Speaker 1>SEUs Geisel, under the pseudonym Dr Seuss, wrote an illustrated

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<v Speaker 1>dozens of books, including How the Grin Stole Christmas. His

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<v Speaker 1>creative works for children were initially met with lukewarm commercial success,

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<v Speaker 1>but Dr Seus's exploration and refinement of his craft coincided

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<v Speaker 1>with the mid twentieth century educational evolution of children's reading material.

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<v Speaker 1>Imagine being a learning to read student pro offered a

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<v Speaker 1>time worn Dick and Jane series and then suddenly encountering

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<v Speaker 1>a colorful page turner. Like Seus's Cat in the Hat

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<v Speaker 1>with its inventive illustrations and lyrical rhymes. This is exactly

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<v Speaker 1>what occurred for nearly an entire generation of students who

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<v Speaker 1>were learning to read, rather than learning whole words from repetition,

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<v Speaker 1>which was the Dick and Jane approach. Dr Seus's Cat

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<v Speaker 1>in the Hat book helped lay the foundation for an

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<v Speaker 1>approach that was based on phonics and emphasized making reading

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<v Speaker 1>more fun. The Cat in the Hat became Dr Seus's

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<v Speaker 1>first commercial hit, and the book sold more than a

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<v Speaker 1>quarter of a million copies by Christmas of nineteen fifty seven.

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<v Speaker 1>Before long, it was joined by another Christmas miracle. Over

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<v Speaker 1>the course of a few short weeks, the story of

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<v Speaker 1>the Grinch practically poured from Dr Seus's pen. It was,

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<v Speaker 1>he said in a nineteen seven interview with Red Book magazine,

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<v Speaker 1>the easiest book of my career to write. And he

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<v Speaker 1>said it was so easy because he only needed to

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<v Speaker 1>look in the mirror for inspiration. He told Red Book quote,

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<v Speaker 1>I was brushing my teeth on the morning of the

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<v Speaker 1>last December when I noted a very grinch ish countenance

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<v Speaker 1>in the mirror. It was SEUs something had gone wrong

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<v Speaker 1>with Christmas, I realized, or more likely with me. So

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<v Speaker 1>I wrote the story about my sour friend the Grinch,

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<v Speaker 1>to see if I could rediscover something about Christmas that

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<v Speaker 1>obviously I had lost. If that wasn't proof enough, On

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<v Speaker 1>the occasion of unveiling Dr. Seuss commemorative and posthumous US

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<v Speaker 1>Postal Service stamp in two thousand three, his stepdaughter Lark

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<v Speaker 1>Gray Diamond Kates remarked that quote Grinch was ted on

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<v Speaker 1>his bad days, and the author and his wife drove

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<v Speaker 1>a vehicle with the vanity license plate showcasing just one

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<v Speaker 1>word Grinch. By the way, science has been thinking about

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<v Speaker 1>the Grinch's heart. You know how it started off two

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<v Speaker 1>sizes too small and then grew three sizes in a

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<v Speaker 1>single day, Pretty unusual for most beings. But cardiologist Dr

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<v Speaker 1>David Cass theorized on All Things Considered that perhaps grinches

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<v Speaker 1>are related to the Burmese python. Burmese pythons grow an

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<v Speaker 1>additional of the muscle mass of their hearts in the

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<v Speaker 1>two days following a big meal so that they can

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<v Speaker 1>pump more blood through their bodies, thus enabling digestion. Afterwards,

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<v Speaker 1>their hearts shrink back down with no harm to the snake,

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<v Speaker 1>and the Grinch is certainly slithery. Today's episode was written

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<v Speaker 1>by Laureal Dove and produced by Tyler clag. Brain Stuff

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<v Speaker 1>is a production of iHeart Radio's Has Stuff Works. For

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<v Speaker 1>more on this and lots of other topics that are

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<v Speaker 1>at least as charming as an eel, visit our home

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<v Speaker 1>planet has to Works dot com and for more podcasts

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