1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:18,239 Speaker 1: Ridiculous History is a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:26,920 --> 00:00:29,880 Speaker 2: Welcome back to the show, fellow Ridiculous Historians. Thank you, 3 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:33,919 Speaker 2: as always so much for tuning in. Let's hear it 4 00:00:34,040 --> 00:00:38,600 Speaker 2: for the shiny, beautiful baby boy of our podcast. Super 5 00:00:38,640 --> 00:00:40,560 Speaker 2: producer mister Max Williams. 6 00:00:42,200 --> 00:00:43,839 Speaker 3: I'm not gonna be able to bounce back from that one. 7 00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:46,440 Speaker 3: I can't give you a retort. I'm just baby, you 8 00:00:46,479 --> 00:00:47,720 Speaker 3: should be able to bounce back. 9 00:00:48,120 --> 00:00:48,960 Speaker 2: He's just blushing. 10 00:00:49,120 --> 00:00:54,840 Speaker 3: He's blushing. I think it's cherubic downright. Cherubic is the word. 11 00:00:54,640 --> 00:00:59,400 Speaker 2: That's old brown. I'm Ben Bullen. We are super excited, folks, 12 00:00:59,720 --> 00:01:04,760 Speaker 2: uh to talk about a category of invention that's going 13 00:01:04,840 --> 00:01:08,360 Speaker 2: to be familiar to a lot of our ridiculous historians 14 00:01:08,480 --> 00:01:12,760 Speaker 2: in the crowd. Congratulations to all the new parents tuning in. 15 00:01:13,560 --> 00:01:17,000 Speaker 2: Hope you get some sleep here and there. We understand 16 00:01:17,080 --> 00:01:22,160 Speaker 2: that's a struggle. But Noel, when when you were a 17 00:01:22,200 --> 00:01:27,720 Speaker 2: new parent with your child, you and your partner doubtlessly 18 00:01:28,120 --> 00:01:33,160 Speaker 2: had to do this whole rigmarole about getting advice on 19 00:01:33,319 --> 00:01:36,600 Speaker 2: raising a baby. Probably had to keep buying clothing or 20 00:01:36,640 --> 00:01:39,959 Speaker 2: getting hand me downs as the kid just kept kept growing. 21 00:01:41,319 --> 00:01:44,200 Speaker 2: Did you go to baby showers. Did you all have 22 00:01:44,240 --> 00:01:44,919 Speaker 2: a baby shower? 23 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:48,720 Speaker 3: Oh? Yeah, we did, and I've been to maybe one. 24 00:01:49,440 --> 00:01:53,520 Speaker 4: But i'll tell you, Ben, I say this not in 25 00:01:53,600 --> 00:01:57,680 Speaker 4: any kind of like derogatory way, but that time in 26 00:01:57,720 --> 00:02:01,440 Speaker 4: my life was so stressful that I have largely like 27 00:02:02,280 --> 00:02:05,760 Speaker 4: men in black behind, erased it from my But one 28 00:02:05,800 --> 00:02:09,600 Speaker 4: thing I do remember, Ben distinctly, is the snot sucker. 29 00:02:10,280 --> 00:02:10,760 Speaker 2: Ah. 30 00:02:10,840 --> 00:02:13,360 Speaker 3: Yes, Edge, I didn't know it was branded. 31 00:02:13,560 --> 00:02:17,560 Speaker 4: But as our wonderful research associate Wren pointed out, she 32 00:02:17,840 --> 00:02:21,640 Speaker 4: recently discovered some of these things in attending a baby 33 00:02:21,639 --> 00:02:26,280 Speaker 4: shower for her sister who recently had a little one, 34 00:02:26,360 --> 00:02:32,200 Speaker 4: and mentioned this idea of nasal congestion for the tykes. Well, 35 00:02:32,240 --> 00:02:34,280 Speaker 4: the answer to that is the snot sucker, and she 36 00:02:34,360 --> 00:02:38,160 Speaker 4: spelled it out the capital snot capital sucker capital s 37 00:02:38,440 --> 00:02:40,600 Speaker 4: connected right up to snot. And I just always thought 38 00:02:40,600 --> 00:02:42,919 Speaker 4: that was a pro pejorative. But it is in fact 39 00:02:43,000 --> 00:02:47,600 Speaker 4: a rubber bulb that you stick into the baby's nose 40 00:02:47,639 --> 00:02:50,560 Speaker 4: and you squeeze it and it sucks the snot right 41 00:02:50,600 --> 00:02:51,000 Speaker 4: out of it. 42 00:02:51,720 --> 00:02:54,040 Speaker 3: She describes it as a slurpy straw for snot. Not 43 00:02:54,120 --> 00:02:56,320 Speaker 3: quite how I remember it. Yeah, some of them look 44 00:02:56,440 --> 00:02:57,320 Speaker 3: like bulbs. 45 00:02:57,360 --> 00:02:59,400 Speaker 2: They look like the top of a turkey baster. 46 00:02:59,639 --> 00:03:00,679 Speaker 3: That's the one that I had. 47 00:03:00,760 --> 00:03:03,280 Speaker 4: Maybe things have come a long way since my time 48 00:03:03,520 --> 00:03:06,240 Speaker 4: as a new parent. But she also mentions if your 49 00:03:06,240 --> 00:03:09,200 Speaker 4: baby is sassy and gassy, there's something for that too. 50 00:03:09,760 --> 00:03:12,960 Speaker 4: She should have been in baby product advertising. Colic is 51 00:03:12,960 --> 00:03:16,600 Speaker 4: no match for Windy the gas passer with an eye, 52 00:03:16,760 --> 00:03:20,200 Speaker 4: which may sound like a character from amany python film, 53 00:03:20,560 --> 00:03:23,120 Speaker 4: specifically fully Grail, but it is actually a sort of 54 00:03:23,160 --> 00:03:27,680 Speaker 4: an alien looking fart hose that's packaged up to look cutesy. 55 00:03:28,800 --> 00:03:30,480 Speaker 3: It's pretty gross. 56 00:03:30,639 --> 00:03:34,320 Speaker 4: And yet, you know, a comfort to new parents because 57 00:03:34,400 --> 00:03:36,720 Speaker 4: manacious exactly. 58 00:03:36,960 --> 00:03:40,160 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, because it shows us the parents will do 59 00:03:40,720 --> 00:03:45,000 Speaker 2: anything to ensure that their newest addition to the family 60 00:03:45,600 --> 00:03:49,480 Speaker 2: is safe, healthy, is comfortable. And you know, there's a 61 00:03:49,520 --> 00:03:53,160 Speaker 2: lot of misinformation out there. There's a lot of well 62 00:03:53,200 --> 00:03:57,280 Speaker 2: intentioned I'll say it, well intentioned hogwashed and it can 63 00:03:57,320 --> 00:04:01,080 Speaker 2: be challenging when you're a parent. You're already, especially in 64 00:04:01,120 --> 00:04:04,520 Speaker 2: the United States, you're already paying a lot of money 65 00:04:04,600 --> 00:04:10,480 Speaker 2: for various unexpected expenses. So it can be stressful, as 66 00:04:10,520 --> 00:04:13,120 Speaker 2: we said, to have a bunch of people coming out 67 00:04:13,200 --> 00:04:16,120 Speaker 2: of the woodwork and saying, I know this thing is 68 00:04:16,160 --> 00:04:19,200 Speaker 2: fifty to one hundred and fifty or more dollars, but 69 00:04:19,400 --> 00:04:21,080 Speaker 2: you absolutely must have. 70 00:04:21,120 --> 00:04:22,760 Speaker 3: It for sure. 71 00:04:22,800 --> 00:04:25,680 Speaker 4: And I mean marketers know that they have parents kind 72 00:04:25,680 --> 00:04:28,440 Speaker 4: of by the jimmies. As you say, Ben, they are 73 00:04:28,480 --> 00:04:31,159 Speaker 4: in fact a captive audience in terms of like, they 74 00:04:31,240 --> 00:04:33,200 Speaker 4: gotta have some of this stuff, whether it's their version 75 00:04:33,320 --> 00:04:36,360 Speaker 4: or another version, things like car seats. We're going to 76 00:04:36,400 --> 00:04:38,760 Speaker 4: get into the history of that. But it occuraged to 77 00:04:38,920 --> 00:04:42,800 Speaker 4: Ren in going to her sister's baby shower and seeing 78 00:04:42,800 --> 00:04:46,760 Speaker 4: all of these new fangled products targeted parents who want 79 00:04:46,760 --> 00:04:50,680 Speaker 4: nothing but to do right by their new babies, that 80 00:04:50,760 --> 00:04:54,000 Speaker 4: this likely has been the case since the dawn of time. 81 00:04:54,520 --> 00:04:56,560 Speaker 3: However, parents of yesteryear. 82 00:04:56,160 --> 00:04:59,839 Speaker 4: Relied on a lot of anecdotal advice from generations past 83 00:05:00,160 --> 00:05:03,000 Speaker 4: than science to care for their little ones, which resulted 84 00:05:03,040 --> 00:05:10,520 Speaker 4: in some admittedly creative, possibly ridiculous remedies for you know, 85 00:05:10,560 --> 00:05:12,159 Speaker 4: taking care of little ones. 86 00:05:12,760 --> 00:05:16,240 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, and Wren, we can't thank you enough for 87 00:05:16,520 --> 00:05:20,120 Speaker 2: this perspective and this excellent research, and we want to 88 00:05:20,279 --> 00:05:24,880 Speaker 2: represent you accurately to our fellow ridiculous historians. You like 89 00:05:25,600 --> 00:05:29,560 Speaker 2: some of us in the crowd. Tonight did end up 90 00:05:29,600 --> 00:05:34,000 Speaker 2: on the receiving end of some of these inventions, particularly 91 00:05:34,240 --> 00:05:38,440 Speaker 2: those human leashes that attached to a child's back. And 92 00:05:38,760 --> 00:05:43,680 Speaker 2: this is the beginning of the ridiculous history of baby gear. 93 00:05:50,440 --> 00:05:52,480 Speaker 2: We got to get to one real quick. No, this 94 00:05:52,640 --> 00:05:56,440 Speaker 2: reminds me of an episode I did years ago for 95 00:05:56,839 --> 00:06:01,200 Speaker 2: my very first official podcast, kar Stuff. Not the most 96 00:06:01,240 --> 00:06:03,279 Speaker 2: creative name, but it was a fun show. We hope 97 00:06:03,279 --> 00:06:05,600 Speaker 2: you tune in. No'll produced a lot of it. We 98 00:06:05,640 --> 00:06:10,200 Speaker 2: all know about car seats for babies. Now they're necessity. 99 00:06:11,160 --> 00:06:15,120 Speaker 2: There are tons of variations or brands out there, But 100 00:06:15,640 --> 00:06:21,840 Speaker 2: during the early nineteen hundreds, before automobiles were ubiquitous, the 101 00:06:21,960 --> 00:06:25,479 Speaker 2: car itself was a luxury item for the rich, the 102 00:06:25,600 --> 00:06:30,880 Speaker 2: decayed aristocracy, you know, the one percenters of the Gilded Age. 103 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:35,240 Speaker 2: It wasn't until the Model T came out that the 104 00:06:35,400 --> 00:06:40,480 Speaker 2: automobile became increasingly mass produced and democratized. 105 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:43,440 Speaker 4: Yeah, and in doing so, I mean, we know that 106 00:06:43,720 --> 00:06:47,880 Speaker 4: safety was not exactly the prime selling point for some 107 00:06:47,960 --> 00:06:52,080 Speaker 4: of these early automobiles, and in order to make it 108 00:06:52,200 --> 00:06:55,520 Speaker 4: safer for children, they needed a little bit of modification. 109 00:06:56,440 --> 00:06:59,240 Speaker 4: So nineteen thirties did, of course bring it a little 110 00:06:59,240 --> 00:07:02,080 Speaker 4: bit of a hiccup known as the Great Depression to 111 00:07:02,120 --> 00:07:04,719 Speaker 4: your point, but nothing great about it, which means that 112 00:07:04,760 --> 00:07:07,120 Speaker 4: a lot of the less fortunate folks in the United 113 00:07:07,120 --> 00:07:11,600 Speaker 4: States were more concerned with feeding their families than getting 114 00:07:11,600 --> 00:07:15,480 Speaker 4: the latest car. However, after World War Two, much like 115 00:07:15,600 --> 00:07:18,720 Speaker 4: the soft served craze that we talked about in the 116 00:07:18,800 --> 00:07:24,320 Speaker 4: last episode, the country was rescued from economic peril and 117 00:07:24,560 --> 00:07:27,600 Speaker 4: it gave folks some new options once they settled back 118 00:07:27,600 --> 00:07:31,720 Speaker 4: in after returning from the war. Families, mothers, fathers needed 119 00:07:32,120 --> 00:07:35,440 Speaker 4: larger vehicles to transport themselves and of course they're growing 120 00:07:35,680 --> 00:07:39,280 Speaker 4: heard of children and their groceries, of course, to and 121 00:07:39,440 --> 00:07:40,680 Speaker 4: from their home. 122 00:07:41,120 --> 00:07:45,440 Speaker 2: Yeah, because grocery stores were also modernizing at this point, folks, 123 00:07:46,640 --> 00:07:52,520 Speaker 2: the days of the counter service are falling, falling into obscurity. 124 00:07:52,640 --> 00:07:57,000 Speaker 2: And now we've got the supermarket, which is entirely designed 125 00:07:57,360 --> 00:08:01,080 Speaker 2: to make it easier and more tempting to buy more 126 00:08:01,200 --> 00:08:03,800 Speaker 2: and more stuff. So you need room in your car. 127 00:08:04,360 --> 00:08:04,560 Speaker 3: Well. 128 00:08:04,600 --> 00:08:07,960 Speaker 4: And like we said, Ben, while safety wasn't exactly top 129 00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:10,520 Speaker 4: of mind for the design of the first model TS, 130 00:08:11,520 --> 00:08:14,200 Speaker 4: neither was its top of mind with the design of 131 00:08:14,280 --> 00:08:16,800 Speaker 4: the first car seats that were invented during the nineteen 132 00:08:16,840 --> 00:08:17,560 Speaker 4: thirties by. 133 00:08:17,440 --> 00:08:19,840 Speaker 3: The Bunny Bear Company. What is he man? Is he 134 00:08:19,880 --> 00:08:22,280 Speaker 3: a bunny or is he a bear? He needs to 135 00:08:22,320 --> 00:08:23,080 Speaker 3: make up his mind. 136 00:08:23,640 --> 00:08:27,920 Speaker 4: It looked like something you might see in a sanatorium, 137 00:08:28,600 --> 00:08:32,120 Speaker 4: some sort of torture device. It was designed, however, for 138 00:08:32,360 --> 00:08:36,320 Speaker 4: the fun of the tyke, not for safety. It was 139 00:08:36,360 --> 00:08:39,320 Speaker 4: made from wood and fabric, and it was designed to 140 00:08:39,480 --> 00:08:43,679 Speaker 4: quote elevate children so they could see their surroundings during 141 00:08:43,800 --> 00:08:44,440 Speaker 4: car rides. 142 00:08:45,160 --> 00:08:49,080 Speaker 2: Yeah, and it also did something that we see time 143 00:08:49,160 --> 00:08:53,600 Speaker 2: and time again in children's toys. It allows you, the 144 00:08:53,720 --> 00:08:58,360 Speaker 2: tyke or the brood of the family, to emulate the 145 00:08:58,440 --> 00:09:03,120 Speaker 2: activities of adults, of your parents, of other grown people 146 00:09:03,160 --> 00:09:09,640 Speaker 2: you've encountered. That's why children's kitchen toys are so ubiquitous 147 00:09:09,679 --> 00:09:13,760 Speaker 2: even now. That's why this car seat would include stuff 148 00:09:13,920 --> 00:09:17,600 Speaker 2: like a dummy steering wheel and maybe some you know, 149 00:09:18,040 --> 00:09:23,880 Speaker 2: pretend buttons you could push. It does look like the 150 00:09:24,280 --> 00:09:27,680 Speaker 2: first model, which came out in nineteen thirty three from 151 00:09:27,679 --> 00:09:31,920 Speaker 2: Buddy Bear. It looks like one of those bring your 152 00:09:31,960 --> 00:09:34,920 Speaker 2: own lawn chairs that you would have at a concert 153 00:09:35,040 --> 00:09:35,720 Speaker 2: or a picnic. 154 00:09:36,040 --> 00:09:38,720 Speaker 3: Yeah, but from hell right right. 155 00:09:38,760 --> 00:09:43,120 Speaker 2: But it's canvas. It's got several straps to keep the 156 00:09:43,200 --> 00:09:47,800 Speaker 2: tike in and it has an elongated rack at the 157 00:09:47,840 --> 00:09:52,920 Speaker 2: bottom ending with a wooden bar that is probably too 158 00:09:53,040 --> 00:09:56,920 Speaker 2: far for the average kid's feet to reach. I hope 159 00:09:56,960 --> 00:09:59,679 Speaker 2: based on this image that Wren gave us, but it 160 00:10:00,160 --> 00:10:05,320 Speaker 2: I think it most likely was meant to securate it grace. 161 00:10:05,800 --> 00:10:08,160 Speaker 4: Yeah yeah, yeah, but it also seems like in the 162 00:10:08,160 --> 00:10:10,199 Speaker 4: event of a crash, it would just be I don't know. 163 00:10:10,240 --> 00:10:12,040 Speaker 4: Rend pointed this out actually in the name of the 164 00:10:12,040 --> 00:10:15,480 Speaker 4: section car Seats aka the Artist formerly known as Little 165 00:10:15,520 --> 00:10:19,280 Speaker 4: Baby death Trap. And this big old hunk of chunk 166 00:10:19,280 --> 00:10:23,480 Speaker 4: of wood would likely become a deadly projectile in. 167 00:10:23,400 --> 00:10:27,000 Speaker 2: The car, just like those steering wheels that were so 168 00:10:27,200 --> 00:10:30,080 Speaker 2: popular in the forties and fifties that had the torpedo 169 00:10:30,200 --> 00:10:31,880 Speaker 2: design pointing at the drivers. 170 00:10:31,880 --> 00:10:35,040 Speaker 3: Oh did yeah? Final destination? Anybody come on? 171 00:10:35,880 --> 00:10:40,360 Speaker 2: And in the nineteen forties a bunch of French guys 172 00:10:40,679 --> 00:10:45,040 Speaker 2: agreed with me and Noel here a company called ben 173 00:10:45,160 --> 00:10:51,000 Speaker 2: Hall fol decided that the current baby car seat models 174 00:10:51,720 --> 00:10:56,360 Speaker 2: that they were seeing were probably uncomfortable for kiddos. There 175 00:10:56,360 --> 00:11:00,280 Speaker 2: were also a pain in the keyster to install. They 176 00:11:00,320 --> 00:11:03,640 Speaker 2: made a new kind of baby car seat. It hooks 177 00:11:03,640 --> 00:11:07,640 Speaker 2: over the front passenger seat, the shotgun seat. Yep, babies 178 00:11:07,679 --> 00:11:09,800 Speaker 2: are still sitting in the front at this period of time, 179 00:11:10,280 --> 00:11:14,400 Speaker 2: and then you had a single strap across the waist. 180 00:11:14,880 --> 00:11:20,680 Speaker 2: Now this is totally in opposition to modern safety standards 181 00:11:20,760 --> 00:11:23,040 Speaker 2: because as we know, you're not supposed to put a 182 00:11:23,040 --> 00:11:26,480 Speaker 2: baby car seat in the front of the car because 183 00:11:26,559 --> 00:11:30,760 Speaker 2: airbags could really harm a child. But people liked being 184 00:11:30,760 --> 00:11:33,760 Speaker 2: able to see their kid next to them again, riding 185 00:11:33,800 --> 00:11:34,760 Speaker 2: shotgun as they. 186 00:11:34,679 --> 00:11:39,040 Speaker 4: Drive, and they like where like a little baby Maggie's 187 00:11:39,040 --> 00:11:41,000 Speaker 4: got their own little hack Hawk with marsh. 188 00:11:41,040 --> 00:11:44,360 Speaker 2: It pops out. Yeah, and they also loved how easy 189 00:11:44,400 --> 00:11:47,720 Speaker 2: it was to install this. But if you look at 190 00:11:47,720 --> 00:11:51,560 Speaker 2: a picture of this French baby seat, what you'll see 191 00:11:51,760 --> 00:11:57,319 Speaker 2: is that the kid is strapped in at the top 192 00:11:57,360 --> 00:12:01,440 Speaker 2: of the seat, but the seat go down far enough 193 00:12:01,480 --> 00:12:04,680 Speaker 2: to put them on the actual car seat. They're just 194 00:12:04,840 --> 00:12:10,120 Speaker 2: hanging out, kind of like an extreme mountaineer who straps 195 00:12:10,160 --> 00:12:12,400 Speaker 2: themselves to the side of a rock face to sleep. 196 00:12:12,640 --> 00:12:17,800 Speaker 4: Yes, definitely, and it's equally treacherous just so, and we 197 00:12:17,920 --> 00:12:22,160 Speaker 4: know if we fast forward again, every company is aware 198 00:12:22,240 --> 00:12:23,880 Speaker 4: there's a huge market for this. 199 00:12:24,240 --> 00:12:27,280 Speaker 2: Parents will do anything they can for their children, so 200 00:12:27,559 --> 00:12:32,360 Speaker 2: car seat technology continues to innovate. Go to nineteen sixty two, 201 00:12:32,720 --> 00:12:36,160 Speaker 2: we see the Jena car seat. I am doing the 202 00:12:36,200 --> 00:12:40,280 Speaker 2: forest gumbaccent, but it is spelled jee inay. 203 00:12:40,720 --> 00:12:42,240 Speaker 3: I think that's the only way to say it. 204 00:12:42,240 --> 00:12:46,480 Speaker 4: Ben Frankly, this one would be the first model on 205 00:12:46,520 --> 00:12:49,200 Speaker 4: the market designed for backseat use, and it did have 206 00:12:49,280 --> 00:12:59,319 Speaker 4: safety in mind, so good on them. Moving on, we're 207 00:12:59,360 --> 00:13:04,160 Speaker 4: going to get into to the idea of you know, bassinets, cradles. 208 00:13:04,400 --> 00:13:07,800 Speaker 4: They don't really call them cradles as much anymore, play pins. 209 00:13:07,880 --> 00:13:11,720 Speaker 4: All of that is another category of baby gear, maybe 210 00:13:12,559 --> 00:13:18,240 Speaker 4: exactly like a crate for your baby. The first automatic cradles, 211 00:13:18,720 --> 00:13:22,080 Speaker 4: however colloquial all know as rockers, were created and patented 212 00:13:22,160 --> 00:13:26,600 Speaker 4: by a master mechanic and the serial tinkerer named John 213 00:13:26,880 --> 00:13:31,280 Speaker 4: Boulcolt in eighteen ninety seven. He used a clockwork mechanism 214 00:13:31,600 --> 00:13:37,080 Speaker 4: to automatically kind of swing the basinet to help lull 215 00:13:37,120 --> 00:13:38,880 Speaker 4: the baby to sleep. It was born out of a 216 00:13:38,920 --> 00:13:42,199 Speaker 4: request from his wife, who, being exhausted as a new mother, 217 00:13:42,360 --> 00:13:44,520 Speaker 4: dreamt of a machine that could rock her baby to 218 00:13:44,559 --> 00:13:48,240 Speaker 4: sleep so that she could focus on her household chores. 219 00:13:48,679 --> 00:13:54,160 Speaker 3: I you know, I think really according to Bulkan, Yes, yeah. 220 00:13:53,960 --> 00:13:56,440 Speaker 2: According to the official story. But I'm with Ready here. 221 00:13:56,920 --> 00:14:02,560 Speaker 2: I think it was probably more realistically. Boo called spouse saying, 222 00:14:03,240 --> 00:14:06,199 Speaker 2: why do I have to stay up and rock the 223 00:14:06,280 --> 00:14:08,440 Speaker 2: kid to sleep? Like, when is it your turn? 224 00:14:08,800 --> 00:14:12,679 Speaker 3: Dude? And so he's busy tinkering, right, He's like. 225 00:14:12,640 --> 00:14:16,120 Speaker 2: I'm a serial tinkerer. He got to work and he 226 00:14:16,320 --> 00:14:22,000 Speaker 2: was literally investigating this in his garage over in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. 227 00:14:22,560 --> 00:14:25,520 Speaker 2: And this research he was doing while he was not 228 00:14:25,720 --> 00:14:29,040 Speaker 2: rocking the baby, by the way, led him to patent 229 00:14:29,120 --> 00:14:33,520 Speaker 2: the first automated cradle. You can see pictures of this online. 230 00:14:34,280 --> 00:14:38,480 Speaker 2: You would not have considered it automatic by twenty twenty 231 00:14:38,520 --> 00:14:42,880 Speaker 2: six standards because you had to if your parent, you 232 00:14:42,960 --> 00:14:46,560 Speaker 2: have to hand crank the cradle to start the rocking motion. 233 00:14:47,080 --> 00:14:51,320 Speaker 2: You're powering up a spring and then the spring slowly, 234 00:14:51,520 --> 00:14:56,640 Speaker 2: you know, expands over time, creating that rocking sensation. Still 235 00:14:56,720 --> 00:14:59,360 Speaker 2: is way better than having to sit there for hours. 236 00:14:59,440 --> 00:15:01,480 Speaker 2: Just back for sure. 237 00:15:02,320 --> 00:15:05,000 Speaker 4: Yeah, And like a lot of these types of things. 238 00:15:05,040 --> 00:15:08,680 Speaker 4: His original company name was Mega Dry if descriptive. It 239 00:15:08,720 --> 00:15:13,560 Speaker 4: was the automatic cradle manufacturing company. It did see some 240 00:15:13,600 --> 00:15:15,960 Speaker 4: pretty early success, and so you figured that was a 241 00:15:16,000 --> 00:15:19,120 Speaker 4: good que two rebrand. There's something a little more pleasant 242 00:15:19,200 --> 00:15:21,359 Speaker 4: the Lullaby Furniture Corporation. 243 00:15:22,800 --> 00:15:23,000 Speaker 3: Yeah. 244 00:15:23,040 --> 00:15:26,120 Speaker 4: So, by nineteen thirty, the company sold three additional products. 245 00:15:26,400 --> 00:15:29,800 Speaker 4: They had bassinets, a three and one high share slash rocker, 246 00:15:30,160 --> 00:15:33,240 Speaker 4: and a go kart for children that seems super safe, 247 00:15:33,880 --> 00:15:37,880 Speaker 4: as well as something called the Flivver Flyver. 248 00:15:38,880 --> 00:15:41,920 Speaker 2: Uh, let's call it the fliver because of the CVS, 249 00:15:42,240 --> 00:15:44,320 Speaker 2: or we could call it the Fliur if we want 250 00:15:44,360 --> 00:15:48,120 Speaker 2: to shut out as the shitch. To be clear, that 251 00:15:48,200 --> 00:15:51,120 Speaker 2: go kart folks is not the go kart you're thinking 252 00:15:51,200 --> 00:15:55,040 Speaker 2: of from Andretti's or something like that. It's it's just 253 00:15:55,200 --> 00:15:56,320 Speaker 2: something they could sit in. 254 00:15:56,320 --> 00:15:57,200 Speaker 3: That has wheels. 255 00:15:57,760 --> 00:16:00,880 Speaker 4: Got it so more like a power wheel minus the 256 00:16:00,920 --> 00:16:03,040 Speaker 4: power Yeah, yeah, just so. 257 00:16:03,280 --> 00:16:06,840 Speaker 2: And by the end of nineteen thirty, the Lullaby Furniture 258 00:16:06,920 --> 00:16:13,359 Speaker 2: Corporation is just mad cap with success. They're gross assets 259 00:16:13,560 --> 00:16:17,200 Speaker 2: in nineteen thirty are two hundred and seventeen thousand, two 260 00:16:17,280 --> 00:16:20,640 Speaker 2: hundred and twelve dollars and fourteen cents, which means it's 261 00:16:20,720 --> 00:16:22,920 Speaker 2: time for our inflation calculator. 262 00:16:23,120 --> 00:16:24,720 Speaker 3: Oh can we beep? Can we boop? 263 00:16:24,840 --> 00:16:25,000 Speaker 2: Oh? 264 00:16:25,040 --> 00:16:27,840 Speaker 3: We must we mustop with deep there. 265 00:16:27,680 --> 00:16:30,400 Speaker 2: We are, so a little bit north of two hundred 266 00:16:30,400 --> 00:16:34,160 Speaker 2: and seventy thousand dollars in nineteen thirty thanks to inflation, 267 00:16:34,840 --> 00:16:37,920 Speaker 2: is now in twenty twenty six four million, two hundred 268 00:16:37,920 --> 00:16:41,760 Speaker 2: and forty two one hundred thousand, ten dollars and sixty 269 00:16:41,880 --> 00:16:42,600 Speaker 2: three cents. 270 00:16:42,720 --> 00:16:44,600 Speaker 3: Nice one. Heck, yeah it is right. 271 00:16:44,640 --> 00:16:48,400 Speaker 4: I mean, still modest by today's standards, but they're on 272 00:16:48,440 --> 00:16:51,760 Speaker 4: the way up. As his success grew, bull Colt had 273 00:16:51,800 --> 00:16:54,680 Speaker 4: his share of competitors, of course, entering the market, including 274 00:16:54,720 --> 00:16:58,840 Speaker 4: an inventor named Luther P. Jones who came up with 275 00:16:59,560 --> 00:17:03,960 Speaker 4: this spended baby hammock situation which could self rock for 276 00:17:04,080 --> 00:17:06,399 Speaker 4: up to two hours after being wound. Sorry, I got 277 00:17:06,480 --> 00:17:08,159 Speaker 4: to jumped the gun on this one. This was the 278 00:17:08,240 --> 00:17:12,239 Speaker 4: clock mechanism. So like a wristwatch that you wind and 279 00:17:12,240 --> 00:17:15,080 Speaker 4: it has power reserve, you wind this up and then 280 00:17:15,160 --> 00:17:18,560 Speaker 4: it will it will essentially rock itself for up to 281 00:17:18,640 --> 00:17:21,720 Speaker 4: two hours with that stored energy. So, judging from the 282 00:17:21,800 --> 00:17:25,439 Speaker 4: illustrations that we have here, that ren provided it was 283 00:17:25,480 --> 00:17:29,240 Speaker 4: pretty high up and the mechanism on top, you probably 284 00:17:29,240 --> 00:17:30,720 Speaker 4: would have had to have like some kind of step 285 00:17:30,800 --> 00:17:32,919 Speaker 4: ladder at the very least, if not a full a 286 00:17:33,040 --> 00:17:35,280 Speaker 4: frame ladder to get to Yeah. 287 00:17:35,359 --> 00:17:39,320 Speaker 2: And also this is clearly for people who are a 288 00:17:39,359 --> 00:17:42,000 Speaker 2: little bit more well to do big time. This thing 289 00:17:42,080 --> 00:17:45,359 Speaker 2: is do you know what I mean? Like there you 290 00:17:45,920 --> 00:17:50,159 Speaker 2: can see the design clearly. It is definitely going to 291 00:17:50,240 --> 00:17:53,000 Speaker 2: dominate whatever room you put it in, just on an 292 00:17:53,000 --> 00:17:57,080 Speaker 2: interior decoration rate. So you probably need to afford your 293 00:17:57,240 --> 00:18:01,080 Speaker 2: own specific room in your domicile for this. And then 294 00:18:01,320 --> 00:18:03,399 Speaker 2: you know at some point you'd have to have somebody 295 00:18:03,520 --> 00:18:04,960 Speaker 2: service the machine, right. 296 00:18:05,240 --> 00:18:08,080 Speaker 4: Oh, clearly it's that level of machine and the ad 297 00:18:08,080 --> 00:18:11,640 Speaker 4: illustration it says at the bottom, don't waste time rocking 298 00:18:11,720 --> 00:18:14,080 Speaker 4: yo baby's cradle. Let theimoto rock it for you. And 299 00:18:14,160 --> 00:18:17,080 Speaker 4: when baby wakes he can watch the wheels go round. 300 00:18:17,800 --> 00:18:21,840 Speaker 2: Absolutely, and we know that bullcult soldiered on despite this 301 00:18:22,040 --> 00:18:27,240 Speaker 2: emerging competition. In nineteen thirty six, this guy buys an 302 00:18:27,240 --> 00:18:32,000 Speaker 2: island expressly for the purposes of logging hardwood. A few 303 00:18:32,040 --> 00:18:36,000 Speaker 2: years later, as to historians, you will remember, World War 304 00:18:36,040 --> 00:18:40,679 Speaker 2: Two began because Germany invaded Poland, which meant that the 305 00:18:40,760 --> 00:18:46,040 Speaker 2: Lullaby Corporation, like so many other Allied businesses, shifted to 306 00:18:46,200 --> 00:18:50,280 Speaker 2: the war effort, and so instead of building baby cradles, 307 00:18:50,359 --> 00:18:56,800 Speaker 2: now or flivvers. They ended up providing Allied countries the 308 00:18:57,000 --> 00:19:01,000 Speaker 2: raw materials that would later be used to build mosquito 309 00:19:01,119 --> 00:19:02,320 Speaker 2: bomber airplanes. 310 00:19:02,880 --> 00:19:06,360 Speaker 4: Yeah, and they were nicknamed wooden wonders. These airplanes, which 311 00:19:06,359 --> 00:19:09,280 Speaker 4: I hadn't heard of before the to Havel the land 312 00:19:09,520 --> 00:19:12,960 Speaker 4: d H ninety eight mosquito bomber airplanes, to be precise, 313 00:19:13,200 --> 00:19:15,560 Speaker 4: could reach a top speed of four hundred miles per 314 00:19:15,600 --> 00:19:19,760 Speaker 4: hour while carrying around four thousand pounds worth of explosives. 315 00:19:20,240 --> 00:19:24,800 Speaker 2: Absolutely, yet, is this is gonna sound kind of crazy 316 00:19:25,280 --> 00:19:29,920 Speaker 2: when we're saying that these are, you know, wooden planes, 317 00:19:30,080 --> 00:19:32,600 Speaker 2: But that's that's where the technology was at the time. 318 00:19:33,480 --> 00:19:33,880 Speaker 3: For sure. 319 00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:35,600 Speaker 4: We know a lot about what is it, the HH 320 00:19:35,680 --> 00:19:39,359 Speaker 4: Huntley or the HS Hunting. The wooden submarines was also 321 00:19:39,400 --> 00:19:39,680 Speaker 4: a thing. 322 00:19:40,119 --> 00:19:43,480 Speaker 2: Oh yeah, well, wood is a great way to start 323 00:19:43,480 --> 00:19:47,280 Speaker 2: building something. It's also real flammable. It's also really it's 324 00:19:47,320 --> 00:19:49,520 Speaker 2: not perfect, but it's a great way to start ed 325 00:19:49,680 --> 00:19:55,280 Speaker 2: for sure. So yeah, over time, the wars come and go. 326 00:19:56,000 --> 00:20:01,360 Speaker 2: The Lullaby Company has several name changes, ownership back and forth. 327 00:20:01,840 --> 00:20:07,639 Speaker 2: Eventually Lullaby ends their business, but they don't do that 328 00:20:07,840 --> 00:20:12,800 Speaker 2: until nineteen ninety five. So good on you, lullaby. I 329 00:20:12,800 --> 00:20:15,879 Speaker 2: think we've got time for one more we really wanted 330 00:20:15,880 --> 00:20:20,160 Speaker 2: to talk about. This is crazy, Nola Max. This reminds 331 00:20:20,200 --> 00:20:24,600 Speaker 2: me of an infamous viral photo from years and years 332 00:20:24,640 --> 00:20:31,840 Speaker 2: ago where the controversial legendary musician Michael Jackson held his 333 00:20:31,960 --> 00:20:36,600 Speaker 2: baby out a lot out of a wimbo style, Simba style, 334 00:20:37,359 --> 00:20:40,439 Speaker 2: lion king style to a bunch of reporters. And I 335 00:20:40,520 --> 00:20:44,640 Speaker 2: think he wanted it to be a wholesome moment. Look 336 00:20:44,680 --> 00:20:47,800 Speaker 2: at my child, look at what I had wrought. But 337 00:20:47,960 --> 00:20:52,600 Speaker 2: the reporters and the paparazzi immediately said, what the heck 338 00:20:52,680 --> 00:20:55,120 Speaker 2: are you doing? Hold it a child out the window? 339 00:20:55,280 --> 00:20:57,360 Speaker 3: Well, bet he clearly wanted it to get fresh air 340 00:20:57,560 --> 00:21:00,560 Speaker 3: required to renew and purify the baby's blood, because those 341 00:21:00,600 --> 00:21:03,959 Speaker 3: who sleep out of doors are stronger children. Man, he 342 00:21:04,040 --> 00:21:04,919 Speaker 3: must have been reading. 343 00:21:05,640 --> 00:21:08,879 Speaker 4: He must have been reading Luther Emmett Holtz eighteen ninety 344 00:21:08,920 --> 00:21:12,640 Speaker 4: four book The Care and Feeding of Children, which made 345 00:21:12,720 --> 00:21:16,840 Speaker 4: these very claims. That is delightful. That name alone is 346 00:21:16,880 --> 00:21:19,440 Speaker 4: worth the price of admission. That is talking about them 347 00:21:19,480 --> 00:21:21,240 Speaker 4: like their marmots or something. 348 00:21:21,400 --> 00:21:24,320 Speaker 2: And doctor Holt is a qualified pediatrician. 349 00:21:25,119 --> 00:21:28,640 Speaker 3: Tay, I really loved kids, the care and feeding your children. 350 00:21:28,720 --> 00:21:33,040 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's also a it's still a practice in parts 351 00:21:33,040 --> 00:21:36,880 Speaker 2: of northern Europe to bundle a baby up and leave 352 00:21:36,920 --> 00:21:38,359 Speaker 2: them outdoors in the cold. 353 00:21:38,840 --> 00:21:42,440 Speaker 4: Sure, so they will die of exposure because they were 354 00:21:42,480 --> 00:21:45,479 Speaker 4: born the wrong sex or something. For their Viking tribe, 355 00:21:45,520 --> 00:21:46,400 Speaker 4: that's crazy. 356 00:21:46,760 --> 00:21:49,520 Speaker 2: It's to renew and purify the blood, just like dogholes. 357 00:21:49,560 --> 00:21:53,679 Speaker 3: I see, if you sleep outdoors, you're a stronger child. 358 00:22:00,600 --> 00:22:03,520 Speaker 4: It does occur to me, Ben, and it probably occurred 359 00:22:03,600 --> 00:22:07,200 Speaker 4: to the inventor Ernest J. Henry Pattent did the first 360 00:22:07,200 --> 00:22:10,680 Speaker 4: window crib in nineteen nineteen. That not only was this 361 00:22:10,920 --> 00:22:14,399 Speaker 4: maybe something that parents might glom onto because of the 362 00:22:15,240 --> 00:22:19,640 Speaker 4: Holt Book, but parents living in small apartments or tenement 363 00:22:19,640 --> 00:22:23,560 Speaker 4: buildings in New York City for example, or Chicago places 364 00:22:23,600 --> 00:22:26,080 Speaker 4: like that, you know, they might not have had much room, 365 00:22:26,280 --> 00:22:29,679 Speaker 4: so they take advantage of having like a little cage 366 00:22:29,720 --> 00:22:34,600 Speaker 4: that hangs out the window exactly. Because again these are practical. 367 00:22:34,960 --> 00:22:37,240 Speaker 2: Yeah, these are not the super well to do people 368 00:22:37,320 --> 00:22:41,160 Speaker 2: who can dedicate an entire room in a nursery. Often 369 00:22:41,280 --> 00:22:45,600 Speaker 2: they can't dedicate an entire room to individual bedroom for 370 00:22:45,640 --> 00:22:49,919 Speaker 2: their older kids. So a lot of these folks during 371 00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:54,600 Speaker 2: the second wave of the Industrial Revolution, leave their homes 372 00:22:54,680 --> 00:22:58,080 Speaker 2: in rural areas of the country to seek a job 373 00:22:58,119 --> 00:23:01,760 Speaker 2: opportunity in the big city. And this is compounded by 374 00:23:01,960 --> 00:23:05,760 Speaker 2: a lot of immigration at the time, mostly from Europe 375 00:23:05,800 --> 00:23:09,679 Speaker 2: at this point in US history, and those folks automatically 376 00:23:10,080 --> 00:23:15,240 Speaker 2: go to cities because typically they're going to have a 377 00:23:15,320 --> 00:23:19,080 Speaker 2: community that pre exists of people who are from their 378 00:23:19,119 --> 00:23:23,960 Speaker 2: home country. This means that real estate goes through the roof. 379 00:23:24,440 --> 00:23:26,560 Speaker 2: If you live in a major city at this time, 380 00:23:26,680 --> 00:23:30,120 Speaker 2: like your Chicago's or your New York's, you were probably 381 00:23:30,160 --> 00:23:34,320 Speaker 2: living in an apartment. You are probably, as you said, 382 00:23:34,440 --> 00:23:39,520 Speaker 2: no super super squeezed for any kind of space. You're 383 00:23:39,520 --> 00:23:42,320 Speaker 2: living in a tenement, right, you might share a bathroom 384 00:23:42,359 --> 00:23:47,000 Speaker 2: with an entire floor of people. I gotta say it. 385 00:23:47,680 --> 00:23:52,080 Speaker 2: The photo that Red has attached here of an actual 386 00:23:53,640 --> 00:23:58,359 Speaker 2: window crib. It looks like chicken wire. But the baby 387 00:23:58,400 --> 00:24:03,399 Speaker 2: looks happy, confused. The baby doesn't look angry. 388 00:24:03,720 --> 00:24:05,720 Speaker 4: I don't think it looks angry. It doesn't look looks 389 00:24:05,720 --> 00:24:07,920 Speaker 4: a little bewildered in the mall. It's actually kind of 390 00:24:07,960 --> 00:24:10,760 Speaker 4: a creepy photo, Ben, because the mother's facing away and 391 00:24:10,800 --> 00:24:13,239 Speaker 4: the way the lighting is it almost looks like she 392 00:24:13,320 --> 00:24:16,080 Speaker 4: has no face or something like. It's a little bit 393 00:24:16,080 --> 00:24:18,520 Speaker 4: of a It looks like an art piece, like a 394 00:24:18,600 --> 00:24:22,679 Speaker 4: disturbing dystopian art piece, because I keep saying the cage, 395 00:24:22,720 --> 00:24:25,160 Speaker 4: because that's what it looks like. It is essentially a 396 00:24:25,200 --> 00:24:28,760 Speaker 4: cage like enclosure hanging out the window god knows how 397 00:24:28,760 --> 00:24:32,080 Speaker 4: many stories up. And they looked at this as not 398 00:24:32,119 --> 00:24:34,560 Speaker 4: only a way of saving space, but potentially in the 399 00:24:34,600 --> 00:24:38,280 Speaker 4: cities of a way of providing their children with fresh air. However, 400 00:24:38,440 --> 00:24:42,520 Speaker 4: during the Industrial Revolution and the Second Wave, the air 401 00:24:42,560 --> 00:24:46,240 Speaker 4: weren't so fresh, right. Yeah, we have to remember the 402 00:24:46,280 --> 00:24:52,520 Speaker 4: EPA wouldn't be established the Environmental Protection Agency until nineteen seventy, 403 00:24:52,680 --> 00:24:54,560 Speaker 4: and we don't know how long it's going to be 404 00:24:54,560 --> 00:24:57,320 Speaker 4: able to stick around the modern day. So a lot 405 00:24:57,359 --> 00:25:00,800 Speaker 4: of these folks, and these are all very well ent parents, 406 00:25:01,119 --> 00:25:03,280 Speaker 4: a lot of these folks in the city. They want 407 00:25:03,320 --> 00:25:06,880 Speaker 4: fresh air for their kiddos, but they are not aware 408 00:25:07,080 --> 00:25:11,760 Speaker 4: of the invisible dangers in polluted city air. We're talking 409 00:25:11,760 --> 00:25:18,040 Speaker 4: about toxic byproducts made by the smelting of metal, chromium, arsenic, benzene, lead, 410 00:25:18,240 --> 00:25:23,080 Speaker 4: all the nasty stuff in a terrible cocktail. And when 411 00:25:23,119 --> 00:25:27,800 Speaker 4: they were purchasing these window cribs, which were relatively affordable 412 00:25:27,840 --> 00:25:32,399 Speaker 4: by design, they were actually putting their kids, especially like 413 00:25:32,440 --> 00:25:35,280 Speaker 4: the higher you get as well, they were putting their 414 00:25:35,400 --> 00:25:42,119 Speaker 4: kids in the front lines in the atmospheric trenches of 415 00:25:42,320 --> 00:25:47,600 Speaker 4: stuff that history and health studies have conclusively proven is very, 416 00:25:47,760 --> 00:25:50,800 Speaker 4: very bad for humans for sure. So it is in 417 00:25:50,840 --> 00:25:53,880 Speaker 4: fact they wonder that any of our grandparents survived long 418 00:25:54,000 --> 00:25:57,639 Speaker 4: enough to have our parents and allow us to you know, 419 00:25:57,960 --> 00:26:00,560 Speaker 4: enjoy our own resh air. 420 00:26:01,680 --> 00:26:02,720 Speaker 3: Yeah, this is wild. 421 00:26:02,720 --> 00:26:06,159 Speaker 4: A lot of these inventions, as Bren points out, could 422 00:26:06,320 --> 00:26:10,400 Speaker 4: be categorized as dumb, bad, and even deadly. And there 423 00:26:10,440 --> 00:26:12,880 Speaker 4: are of course plenty more where that came from. We're 424 00:26:12,920 --> 00:26:15,040 Speaker 4: going to talk about just a few more here at 425 00:26:15,080 --> 00:26:17,840 Speaker 4: the end and then save some for a future Tangents 426 00:26:17,880 --> 00:26:19,240 Speaker 4: and Trivia episode. 427 00:26:19,520 --> 00:26:22,640 Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah, So the window caage, just so you know, folks, 428 00:26:23,040 --> 00:26:26,879 Speaker 2: mounted just like a window based air conditioning unit, still 429 00:26:27,000 --> 00:26:30,760 Speaker 2: very common in cities across the planet, so that's kind 430 00:26:30,760 --> 00:26:35,080 Speaker 2: of its legacy. We talked about how our buddy Johnny B. 431 00:26:35,080 --> 00:26:40,040 Speaker 2: Buckolt was an inventor or what you called a serial tinker. 432 00:26:40,280 --> 00:26:40,480 Speaker 3: Ren. 433 00:26:41,320 --> 00:26:43,760 Speaker 2: Let's talk about one of the other things he invented. 434 00:26:43,960 --> 00:26:49,159 Speaker 2: He made an automatic cow milker, which is very unpleasant 435 00:26:49,200 --> 00:26:51,919 Speaker 2: for the cows. I imagine it latches onto the cows 436 00:26:52,040 --> 00:26:55,920 Speaker 2: utters and it uses a lot of them. The spring 437 00:26:56,080 --> 00:27:00,640 Speaker 2: mechanisms that he pioneered for the automatic cradle, you squeeze 438 00:27:00,680 --> 00:27:03,679 Speaker 2: the utter and get the milk out. He called it 439 00:27:03,720 --> 00:27:08,760 Speaker 2: the Western milky machine. It was super unpopular with cows 440 00:27:08,920 --> 00:27:10,639 Speaker 2: at being diplomatic. 441 00:27:10,480 --> 00:27:13,240 Speaker 4: For sure, and that didn't really take off because farmers 442 00:27:13,240 --> 00:27:15,720 Speaker 4: didn't want to freak their cows out lest they kicked 443 00:27:15,840 --> 00:27:19,879 Speaker 4: the farmers in the teeth. That pollution, though, Ben, we 444 00:27:19,880 --> 00:27:22,480 Speaker 4: were talking about in American cities was so bad from 445 00:27:22,480 --> 00:27:25,600 Speaker 4: the late eighteen hundreds through nineteen twenties that carbon emissions 446 00:27:25,640 --> 00:27:30,600 Speaker 4: actually coated birds in soot, changing the colors of their feathers. 447 00:27:30,600 --> 00:27:34,600 Speaker 4: And to this day, scientists observe birds to gauge the 448 00:27:34,640 --> 00:27:38,119 Speaker 4: severity of pollution and other environmental factors that could negatively 449 00:27:38,160 --> 00:27:40,680 Speaker 4: impact human health. Ben, we've talked about this on stuff 450 00:27:40,720 --> 00:27:44,600 Speaker 4: that I want you to know. Another way scientists to 451 00:27:44,680 --> 00:27:50,920 Speaker 4: use animals to test for environmental contaminants is at nuclear 452 00:27:51,119 --> 00:27:55,640 Speaker 4: super fun sites like at Savannah River site near where 453 00:27:55,680 --> 00:27:59,920 Speaker 4: we live here in Atlanta, Georgia, where Legacy nuclear waste 454 00:28:00,320 --> 00:28:04,199 Speaker 4: from the creation of nuclear warheads was stored and disposed of, 455 00:28:04,520 --> 00:28:08,679 Speaker 4: contaminating the groundwater and buried in these open pits, and 456 00:28:08,760 --> 00:28:11,480 Speaker 4: so scientists there as part of I believe the Army 457 00:28:11,520 --> 00:28:14,919 Speaker 4: Corps of Engineers test wildlife on a regular basis with 458 00:28:15,000 --> 00:28:17,840 Speaker 4: Geiger counters. They tag them and then find them and 459 00:28:17,880 --> 00:28:22,000 Speaker 4: then test them to make sure that the decontamination processes 460 00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:22,720 Speaker 4: are going well. 461 00:28:23,440 --> 00:28:27,280 Speaker 2: And further, folks, here's another look. This is my favorite 462 00:28:27,320 --> 00:28:32,320 Speaker 2: example of how crazy the pollution was during the Industrial Revolution. 463 00:28:32,720 --> 00:28:35,600 Speaker 2: If you go over to England, you see that the 464 00:28:35,800 --> 00:28:41,520 Speaker 2: soot was so widespread it actually caused the population of 465 00:28:41,560 --> 00:28:46,400 Speaker 2: peppered moths to shift their colors. As a species, they 466 00:28:46,480 --> 00:28:51,280 Speaker 2: used to be pale and speckled, and because the air 467 00:28:51,360 --> 00:28:55,080 Speaker 2: in their natural environment got so dark and sooty, they 468 00:28:55,560 --> 00:29:02,240 Speaker 2: began to become dark black. For so it actually changed 469 00:29:02,320 --> 00:29:06,720 Speaker 2: the color of some animals. This is nuts, And you 470 00:29:06,800 --> 00:29:09,240 Speaker 2: also shouted out stuff they don't want you to know. 471 00:29:09,640 --> 00:29:12,920 Speaker 2: This is a great thing for anybody who's interested in 472 00:29:12,960 --> 00:29:16,120 Speaker 2: some of the darker sides of pollution. In a previous 473 00:29:16,160 --> 00:29:20,280 Speaker 2: episode on Her sister show, we talk about the idea 474 00:29:20,480 --> 00:29:24,120 Speaker 2: of lead creating serial killers. So check out a book 475 00:29:24,160 --> 00:29:28,560 Speaker 2: called Murderland published twenty twenty five, wherein the author Caroline 476 00:29:28,640 --> 00:29:33,360 Speaker 2: Fraser talks about the pollution related to smelting and how 477 00:29:33,480 --> 00:29:37,000 Speaker 2: it could have been the cause of the Pacific Northwest 478 00:29:37,320 --> 00:29:40,840 Speaker 2: serial killer explosion during the nineteen seventies. 479 00:29:41,000 --> 00:29:42,560 Speaker 3: We talked about this stuff that I want you to 480 00:29:42,600 --> 00:29:44,720 Speaker 3: know very recently. Yeah, and do. 481 00:29:44,840 --> 00:29:47,080 Speaker 2: Check out that episode, folks. We know it's a little 482 00:29:47,120 --> 00:29:49,760 Speaker 2: bit of a dark turn for a show about baby gear, 483 00:29:50,080 --> 00:29:51,640 Speaker 2: but we hope you enjoyed it well. 484 00:29:51,800 --> 00:29:54,680 Speaker 4: But Ben, this also kind of ties into the notion 485 00:29:54,880 --> 00:29:57,880 Speaker 4: that pollution from smelting could have led to the downfall 486 00:29:57,920 --> 00:30:02,160 Speaker 4: of the Roman Empire because of you know, environmental contaminants 487 00:30:02,160 --> 00:30:04,160 Speaker 4: that led to cognitive decline. 488 00:30:05,000 --> 00:30:05,800 Speaker 3: Yeah, good call. 489 00:30:05,840 --> 00:30:09,840 Speaker 2: And also check out our earlier Ridiculous History episode on 490 00:30:10,000 --> 00:30:13,120 Speaker 2: the fall of the Roman Empire as well as the 491 00:30:13,160 --> 00:30:16,200 Speaker 2: fall of the Ottoman Empire. And while you're on the internet, 492 00:30:16,440 --> 00:30:19,360 Speaker 2: why not give us a nice little rating on your 493 00:30:19,400 --> 00:30:23,720 Speaker 2: podcast platform of choice and stay tuned for our upcoming episodes. 494 00:30:24,120 --> 00:30:25,360 Speaker 3: Absolutely please do. 495 00:30:25,560 --> 00:30:28,440 Speaker 4: You can find us on Apple Podcasts, where the reviews 496 00:30:28,480 --> 00:30:30,920 Speaker 4: really go a long way to helping people discover the show. 497 00:30:31,160 --> 00:30:35,400 Speaker 4: We're also on Spotify and anywhere else you get your podcast. Ben, 498 00:30:35,840 --> 00:30:37,880 Speaker 4: this was a fun one, man, a little on the 499 00:30:37,880 --> 00:30:40,600 Speaker 4: shorter side, but absolutely delightful. 500 00:30:41,320 --> 00:30:44,720 Speaker 2: Yeah, big, big thanks to our super producer Max the 501 00:30:44,720 --> 00:30:48,640 Speaker 2: Bouncing baby Boy Williams Bouncing Bleshing baby Boy Williams. Big 502 00:30:48,680 --> 00:30:52,400 Speaker 2: thanks to Alex Williams who composed this track, as well 503 00:30:52,440 --> 00:30:56,320 Speaker 2: as Doctor Rachel Big Spinach Lance and aj Bahamas Jacobs. 504 00:30:56,760 --> 00:31:00,720 Speaker 4: Thanks again to Wren for doing the research on this episode. 505 00:31:00,720 --> 00:31:03,320 Speaker 4: Will look forward to hearing more from her in the 506 00:31:03,440 --> 00:31:04,720 Speaker 4: not too distant. 507 00:31:04,360 --> 00:31:05,400 Speaker 3: Future as well. 508 00:31:05,480 --> 00:31:09,160 Speaker 4: Christopher Hasiotis and Eaves Jeffco Thanks to them here in spirit, 509 00:31:09,440 --> 00:31:11,160 Speaker 4: and Ben, thanks to you man. 510 00:31:11,240 --> 00:31:12,800 Speaker 3: This was a fun one and. 511 00:31:13,040 --> 00:31:16,680 Speaker 2: A hearty goo goo gaga to all our young ridiculous 512 00:31:16,760 --> 00:31:18,040 Speaker 2: historians tuning in. 513 00:31:18,520 --> 00:31:19,800 Speaker 3: We'll see you next time, folks. 514 00:31:26,760 --> 00:31:30,560 Speaker 4: For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 515 00:31:30,640 --> 00:31:32,800 Speaker 4: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.