1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:04,320 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you missed in History Class, A production 2 00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:14,080 Speaker 1: of I Heart Radio. Hello, and welcome to another casual 3 00:00:14,160 --> 00:00:17,919 Speaker 1: Friday behind the scenes Many, I'm Holly Crying, I'm Tracy 4 00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:21,759 Speaker 1: V Wilson Tracy Today. I feel like a lot of 5 00:00:21,760 --> 00:00:26,600 Speaker 1: our episodes lately have been inspired by our current situation. Uh, 6 00:00:26,600 --> 00:00:28,680 Speaker 1: this is definitely one of them, where we talked about 7 00:00:28,720 --> 00:00:32,199 Speaker 1: Annie Londonderry and her wild trip that was not what 8 00:00:32,280 --> 00:00:37,520 Speaker 1: she said it was nope, around the world. I imagine 9 00:00:37,600 --> 00:00:40,960 Speaker 1: that we will probably continue to have episodes, but maybe 10 00:00:40,960 --> 00:00:43,279 Speaker 1: not all of them, but episodes that are in some 11 00:00:43,320 --> 00:00:46,400 Speaker 1: way inspired by the fact that we are living through 12 00:00:46,440 --> 00:00:49,600 Speaker 1: a pandemic currently. Yeah, I mean, if nothing else, like, 13 00:00:49,640 --> 00:00:52,880 Speaker 1: I think we're being very deliberate in our choices about 14 00:00:52,920 --> 00:00:56,040 Speaker 1: like we could use some lightness, or this may shed 15 00:00:56,120 --> 00:00:59,200 Speaker 1: light on how we deal with with the ideas of 16 00:00:59,240 --> 00:01:03,680 Speaker 1: contagion or whatever. Yeah. In Annie's case, here's the thing 17 00:01:03,720 --> 00:01:05,959 Speaker 1: I love about her that we didn't really talk about 18 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:09,920 Speaker 1: in the episode, because it's kind of like, uh, you know, 19 00:01:10,080 --> 00:01:14,680 Speaker 1: just psychological commentary that there's not real evidence for it, 20 00:01:14,680 --> 00:01:17,720 Speaker 1: it's just conjecture. But I love that when people would 21 00:01:17,760 --> 00:01:22,480 Speaker 1: point out inconsistencies in her story. She never was like, 22 00:01:22,520 --> 00:01:25,440 Speaker 1: oh my gosh, I'm mortified. She would just adjust her 23 00:01:25,480 --> 00:01:28,880 Speaker 1: story to make it all work, like she was like 24 00:01:28,920 --> 00:01:31,840 Speaker 1: doing the fastest footwork ever where it would be like 25 00:01:31,920 --> 00:01:35,040 Speaker 1: you couldn't have gone all this way on your bicycle, 26 00:01:35,040 --> 00:01:36,120 Speaker 1: and she'd be like, oh, no, no no, no, I was 27 00:01:36,160 --> 00:01:37,559 Speaker 1: on a ship, but then I got off the ship 28 00:01:37,560 --> 00:01:39,039 Speaker 1: and went and did things on my bicycle. And they 29 00:01:39,040 --> 00:01:42,200 Speaker 1: would be like, you, you know, couldn't have possibly made 30 00:01:42,200 --> 00:01:43,800 Speaker 1: it back to port in time, and she'd be like, oh, 31 00:01:43,800 --> 00:01:46,160 Speaker 1: well I did. I Uh. It was just very lucky 32 00:01:46,200 --> 00:01:49,840 Speaker 1: on my part, Like she was just always rolling with 33 00:01:49,920 --> 00:01:52,840 Speaker 1: the next like moment of doubt. She did not believe 34 00:01:52,880 --> 00:01:56,280 Speaker 1: in their being bad press. She was definitely like any 35 00:01:56,320 --> 00:01:59,920 Speaker 1: press is good press. And she was, as we talked 36 00:02:00,040 --> 00:02:04,000 Speaker 1: about in the show in it uh, with some very 37 00:02:04,080 --> 00:02:08,079 Speaker 1: savvy money making schemes of making yourself essentially a rolling billboard. 38 00:02:10,240 --> 00:02:14,680 Speaker 1: I kind of, uh, maybe a pathological liar, but I 39 00:02:14,720 --> 00:02:18,400 Speaker 1: really admire her hustle. Yeah, I UM. When I was 40 00:02:18,440 --> 00:02:22,320 Speaker 1: first reading through this outline, I was really focused on, 41 00:02:22,360 --> 00:02:26,000 Speaker 1: like her clothing and how really uncomfortable and impractical that 42 00:02:26,080 --> 00:02:30,880 Speaker 1: seems like for a long bike trip or any bike 43 00:02:30,880 --> 00:02:32,959 Speaker 1: trip a bike trip to the end of the driveway, 44 00:02:33,120 --> 00:02:37,720 Speaker 1: like really very uncomfortable and practical. But then when we 45 00:02:37,760 --> 00:02:40,080 Speaker 1: get to the part about her getting the lighter bicycle 46 00:02:40,800 --> 00:02:43,119 Speaker 1: and it became clear to me that the original bicycle 47 00:02:43,160 --> 00:02:46,000 Speaker 1: had weighed something like forty pounds, I was just like, 48 00:02:46,800 --> 00:02:52,000 Speaker 1: that's so much weight of bicycle. Um Like. It kind 49 00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:54,840 Speaker 1: of reminded me of when people do through hikes of 50 00:02:54,880 --> 00:03:01,560 Speaker 1: the Appalachian Trail and they have, um, you know, super 51 00:03:01,639 --> 00:03:07,320 Speaker 1: duper ultra lightweight backpack with the lightest possible things in there. 52 00:03:08,080 --> 00:03:12,280 Speaker 1: Um and still there have been incidents. I'm sure people 53 00:03:12,320 --> 00:03:15,240 Speaker 1: still do this. It would be better if not, because 54 00:03:15,639 --> 00:03:17,720 Speaker 1: you don't you want to leave things better than you 55 00:03:17,880 --> 00:03:21,400 Speaker 1: found them in nature. But people just being like, you 56 00:03:21,440 --> 00:03:25,280 Speaker 1: know what I don't need is this cup anymore? And 57 00:03:25,480 --> 00:03:29,440 Speaker 1: I'm just gonna leave it here, gonna drop it. Uh. Yeah. 58 00:03:29,520 --> 00:03:32,280 Speaker 1: It also made me think about I have had a 59 00:03:32,360 --> 00:03:36,120 Speaker 1: number of friends who do triathlons, and how several of 60 00:03:36,160 --> 00:03:38,400 Speaker 1: them have that story of the first time I tried 61 00:03:38,480 --> 00:03:41,800 Speaker 1: like a sprint triathlon, which is a much shorter version. 62 00:03:42,160 --> 00:03:44,440 Speaker 1: They didn't want to invest in a triathlon bike because 63 00:03:44,440 --> 00:03:47,720 Speaker 1: they're really expensive until they had tried one to see 64 00:03:47,760 --> 00:03:49,680 Speaker 1: if it was something they actually wanted to do and 65 00:03:49,720 --> 00:03:52,320 Speaker 1: felt like they could rise to the challenge of And 66 00:03:52,360 --> 00:03:54,800 Speaker 1: so they often just are like using whatever their bike is, 67 00:03:54,920 --> 00:03:58,680 Speaker 1: and how that becomes just like the most painful part 68 00:03:58,720 --> 00:04:01,640 Speaker 1: of that whole They it is not the swimming or 69 00:04:01,640 --> 00:04:03,680 Speaker 1: the running, it's biking on a bike that is not 70 00:04:03,720 --> 00:04:06,120 Speaker 1: really appropriate for that. And I feel like that was 71 00:04:06,160 --> 00:04:11,840 Speaker 1: that Columbia bike I had read it weighed forty four pounds. Um. 72 00:04:11,880 --> 00:04:14,880 Speaker 1: We have two exercise bikes in our home, so it's 73 00:04:14,920 --> 00:04:18,360 Speaker 1: kind of a long story how we got to exercise bikes. 74 00:04:18,360 --> 00:04:21,080 Speaker 1: We did not purchase either of them. They were part 75 00:04:21,080 --> 00:04:25,200 Speaker 1: of a beta test for a thing. Um. And the 76 00:04:25,520 --> 00:04:29,800 Speaker 1: seat on the one that I use is so uncomfortable 77 00:04:29,880 --> 00:04:33,679 Speaker 1: until you get used to it that I was really 78 00:04:33,720 --> 00:04:36,800 Speaker 1: thinking about how awful it would be to just be 79 00:04:36,960 --> 00:04:40,080 Speaker 1: on this heavy bike and your heavy, chafey clothing that 80 00:04:40,200 --> 00:04:42,760 Speaker 1: stinks and is so heavy and awful when it's wet. 81 00:04:42,800 --> 00:04:45,559 Speaker 1: And then also probably that bike seat does not feel 82 00:04:45,600 --> 00:04:50,000 Speaker 1: good under your body. And she did not have experience 83 00:04:50,080 --> 00:04:54,760 Speaker 1: as a cyclist, So I mean, there is part of 84 00:04:54,760 --> 00:04:56,880 Speaker 1: me that's a little bit judge because you brought the 85 00:04:56,920 --> 00:05:02,120 Speaker 1: side yourself girl, But um, yeah, it's interesting. We mentioned 86 00:05:02,120 --> 00:05:06,400 Speaker 1: in the show that between Boston and Chicago she had 87 00:05:06,440 --> 00:05:11,520 Speaker 1: lost twenty pounds, but later on uh she describes to 88 00:05:11,520 --> 00:05:14,520 Speaker 1: people that she actually gained forty pounds over the course 89 00:05:14,520 --> 00:05:17,520 Speaker 1: of her trip because she was doing so much physical 90 00:05:17,520 --> 00:05:20,960 Speaker 1: exertion that she built up her muscles. Although building forty 91 00:05:20,960 --> 00:05:23,359 Speaker 1: pounds of muscle because she only weighed like a hundred 92 00:05:23,360 --> 00:05:26,159 Speaker 1: pounds at one point, like a hundred and five. She 93 00:05:26,240 --> 00:05:31,600 Speaker 1: was petite, so building forty pounds of muscle is uh possible? 94 00:05:31,640 --> 00:05:36,599 Speaker 1: I think, Yeah. I mean, I don't know what the 95 00:05:36,640 --> 00:05:40,000 Speaker 1: accommodations were like on these steamers that she was on, 96 00:05:40,120 --> 00:05:44,359 Speaker 1: but having just returned from the very ill advised but 97 00:05:44,640 --> 00:05:48,600 Speaker 1: ultimately fine cruise that I went on. If you were 98 00:05:48,640 --> 00:05:51,200 Speaker 1: just cruising around on a cruise ship in the ocean 99 00:05:51,240 --> 00:05:53,719 Speaker 1: instead of taking your bike ride, it'd be real easy 100 00:05:53,760 --> 00:05:55,320 Speaker 1: to get off way in a lot more than when 101 00:05:55,360 --> 00:05:58,279 Speaker 1: you got on. Yeah, especially over months and months, but 102 00:05:58,520 --> 00:06:06,120 Speaker 1: probably not muscle weights. Uh. Yeah. She continues to delight me, 103 00:06:06,240 --> 00:06:09,840 Speaker 1: even though I think if I actually knew her, I 104 00:06:09,839 --> 00:06:14,320 Speaker 1: would be like, you are infuriating but also apparently so 105 00:06:14,400 --> 00:06:16,800 Speaker 1: charming that a lot of people didn't care even while 106 00:06:16,880 --> 00:06:20,440 Speaker 1: all of those articles about her being a fraud were 107 00:06:20,480 --> 00:06:24,159 Speaker 1: circulating widely in the US, she was still packing lecture 108 00:06:24,160 --> 00:06:27,920 Speaker 1: halls like sell out crowds every time. People were obsessed 109 00:06:27,960 --> 00:06:30,640 Speaker 1: with her. So one of the other things we didn't 110 00:06:30,680 --> 00:06:33,039 Speaker 1: mention in the show, I mentioned that she didn't talk 111 00:06:33,080 --> 00:06:36,719 Speaker 1: about her husband or children, and she was often portrayed 112 00:06:36,720 --> 00:06:40,359 Speaker 1: as this like single young woman traveling the world but 113 00:06:40,680 --> 00:06:45,640 Speaker 1: to kind of like weasel out of what predictably happened, 114 00:06:45,680 --> 00:06:48,280 Speaker 1: which was many men showing up and proposing to her 115 00:06:48,279 --> 00:06:51,280 Speaker 1: at random times. She would also claim that like that 116 00:06:51,320 --> 00:06:53,599 Speaker 1: was another stipulation of her bet was that she could 117 00:06:53,600 --> 00:07:00,280 Speaker 1: not become engaged over the course of the trip. Kind 118 00:07:00,279 --> 00:07:04,320 Speaker 1: of awesome. She was alive for every occasion, oh Annie. 119 00:07:04,680 --> 00:07:07,880 Speaker 1: So our second episode this week was on the eradication 120 00:07:07,920 --> 00:07:12,640 Speaker 1: of render pest. Hooray for eradicating disease. Hooray for eradicating 121 00:07:12,680 --> 00:07:15,760 Speaker 1: disease for sure, hooray for the opportunity to take an 122 00:07:15,760 --> 00:07:18,320 Speaker 1: extended look at an error we made many years ago 123 00:07:19,560 --> 00:07:25,320 Speaker 1: on the show. Um also researching this was a surreal experience, 124 00:07:25,520 --> 00:07:28,240 Speaker 1: not just because we are living in the middle of 125 00:07:28,280 --> 00:07:31,200 Speaker 1: a pandemic um and a lot of the things that 126 00:07:31,240 --> 00:07:34,840 Speaker 1: were being discussed in the attempts to stop render pest 127 00:07:35,000 --> 00:07:42,080 Speaker 1: also are relevant now, things like isolating people slash cattle 128 00:07:42,200 --> 00:07:45,960 Speaker 1: in the case of render pest might be might be infected. 129 00:07:46,240 --> 00:07:50,600 Speaker 1: Um that like stopping the movement of the cattle to 130 00:07:51,040 --> 00:07:53,280 Speaker 1: prevent the spread of disease, all that kind of stuff. 131 00:07:53,760 --> 00:08:01,640 Speaker 1: But also I read the weirdest paper um. This paper 132 00:08:02,040 --> 00:08:06,280 Speaker 1: was called British Physicians, Medical Science and the Cattle Plague 133 00:08:06,320 --> 00:08:09,640 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty five to sixty six. It was written by 134 00:08:09,680 --> 00:08:12,240 Speaker 1: someone named J. R. Fisher, and it talked about that 135 00:08:12,320 --> 00:08:16,280 Speaker 1: whole effort in um in Britain to try to stop 136 00:08:16,400 --> 00:08:21,000 Speaker 1: a render pest outbreak by vaccinating the cows for smallpox. 137 00:08:21,520 --> 00:08:23,920 Speaker 1: So that's weird on its own. I mean, there were 138 00:08:24,280 --> 00:08:26,720 Speaker 1: there wasn't a logic to it. There was a logic 139 00:08:26,800 --> 00:08:30,480 Speaker 1: to it in earlier times people had also noted some 140 00:08:30,520 --> 00:08:33,960 Speaker 1: similarities between render pest and smallpoxes. They did not make 141 00:08:33,960 --> 00:08:35,280 Speaker 1: that up out of thin air, but they were on 142 00:08:36,080 --> 00:08:40,640 Speaker 1: the wrong track. But where it got really weird was 143 00:08:41,520 --> 00:08:44,480 Speaker 1: it read like it was out of a Terry Pratchett novel. 144 00:08:45,960 --> 00:08:48,080 Speaker 1: There was a clerk involved with all of it whose 145 00:08:48,160 --> 00:08:52,240 Speaker 1: last name was Helps. And then this medical officer who 146 00:08:52,480 --> 00:08:56,520 Speaker 1: was described discussing the situation with the cattle plague Commission 147 00:08:56,960 --> 00:09:02,280 Speaker 1: was literally named Tripe and uh, and the whole thing 148 00:09:02,400 --> 00:09:05,679 Speaker 1: was just so strange and surreal, and it had this 149 00:09:05,800 --> 00:09:10,079 Speaker 1: quote in it that said quote the episode was not 150 00:09:10,280 --> 00:09:13,800 Speaker 1: one of the more glorious in English medical history in 151 00:09:13,840 --> 00:09:16,560 Speaker 1: the nineteenth century. And I just the whole time I 152 00:09:16,600 --> 00:09:19,120 Speaker 1: was reading that paper, I was like, am I dreaming 153 00:09:19,200 --> 00:09:22,120 Speaker 1: right now? Have I fallen into some kind of weird 154 00:09:22,240 --> 00:09:29,720 Speaker 1: pandemic alternate reality where everyone's name is comical and the 155 00:09:29,840 --> 00:09:34,000 Speaker 1: person writing the paper is um, just delightfully glib about 156 00:09:34,000 --> 00:09:38,040 Speaker 1: the state of things. Maybe maybe we're gonna find out later. 157 00:09:38,120 --> 00:09:40,680 Speaker 1: You like completely wrote the whole thing in some sort 158 00:09:40,679 --> 00:09:45,360 Speaker 1: of Tyler Norton esque moment of your life, um for 159 00:09:45,480 --> 00:09:49,600 Speaker 1: self amusement and self care without knowing it. Yeah, I 160 00:09:49,640 --> 00:09:51,240 Speaker 1: thought you were going to say. The thing that you 161 00:09:51,280 --> 00:09:54,640 Speaker 1: found funny was that this episode connects to a jillion 162 00:09:54,679 --> 00:09:56,880 Speaker 1: other episode. It does connect to a lot of it 163 00:09:57,280 --> 00:10:01,440 Speaker 1: by accidents, Like, Yeah, I feel like that happens more 164 00:10:01,480 --> 00:10:03,560 Speaker 1: and more, and it's natural because as we cover more 165 00:10:03,600 --> 00:10:07,280 Speaker 1: and more history, we're connecting dots anyway, But this one 166 00:10:07,320 --> 00:10:10,280 Speaker 1: really was like and also that and also that guy 167 00:10:10,320 --> 00:10:12,199 Speaker 1: we talked about just a little while ago, and also 168 00:10:12,280 --> 00:10:14,679 Speaker 1: this one too hey yea over that episode. Like it's 169 00:10:14,760 --> 00:10:18,280 Speaker 1: kind of a fabulous connector point. It also connects to 170 00:10:18,320 --> 00:10:22,640 Speaker 1: things that we didn't specifically call out. It connecting to um, 171 00:10:22,679 --> 00:10:25,920 Speaker 1: like the fact that that Coke's research was happening in 172 00:10:25,960 --> 00:10:29,120 Speaker 1: South Africa at the request of the de Beers company, 173 00:10:29,280 --> 00:10:32,720 Speaker 1: Like that has tied to previous episodes where we've talked 174 00:10:32,760 --> 00:10:36,679 Speaker 1: about the diamond industry and all that kind of stuff 175 00:10:36,720 --> 00:10:38,959 Speaker 1: like that there it was just the whole web of things. 176 00:10:39,679 --> 00:10:42,960 Speaker 1: It also does a really good job of making it 177 00:10:43,000 --> 00:10:48,280 Speaker 1: clear that that things that happen in history aren't confined 178 00:10:48,360 --> 00:10:51,840 Speaker 1: to the things that that human beings are saying and doing. 179 00:10:51,880 --> 00:10:54,520 Speaker 1: They are also related to animals. Like we've we've talked 180 00:10:54,559 --> 00:10:57,920 Speaker 1: about a bunch of natural disasters on the show before, 181 00:10:58,080 --> 00:11:03,400 Speaker 1: like volcanoes and floods and earthquakes and that type of thing. Um, 182 00:11:03,440 --> 00:11:07,480 Speaker 1: we haven't talked about as much about times that there 183 00:11:07,480 --> 00:11:10,199 Speaker 1: have been huge things related to animals in history. Like 184 00:11:10,240 --> 00:11:14,000 Speaker 1: the things that I can think of are uh this episode, um, 185 00:11:14,120 --> 00:11:16,760 Speaker 1: the one on the rabbit proof fence in Australia, after 186 00:11:16,840 --> 00:11:19,960 Speaker 1: rabbits had been introduced to Australia and uh, and there 187 00:11:19,960 --> 00:11:24,320 Speaker 1: were attempts to to purtail the rabbit population with these fences. 188 00:11:25,040 --> 00:11:29,520 Speaker 1: The Emu war was more of an isolated incident in history. 189 00:11:29,640 --> 00:11:32,960 Speaker 1: But like, I don't think we've spent as much time 190 00:11:33,040 --> 00:11:36,160 Speaker 1: on how in a lot of ways humans and animals 191 00:11:36,200 --> 00:11:45,240 Speaker 1: are deeply interconnected, Uh in the world. What's so weird? Uh? Yeah, 192 00:11:45,280 --> 00:11:46,960 Speaker 1: I don't think we really have either, And it is 193 00:11:47,000 --> 00:11:50,320 Speaker 1: one of those things that, um, it's easy to lose 194 00:11:50,360 --> 00:11:53,640 Speaker 1: track of, but that will lead to all kinds of trouble. Yeah, 195 00:11:53,840 --> 00:11:56,480 Speaker 1: So I think that's a good place to leave it 196 00:11:56,559 --> 00:12:00,000 Speaker 1: off for today. UM, if you want to send us 197 00:12:00,000 --> 00:12:02,480 Speaker 1: an email about this or any other episode, anything we've 198 00:12:02,480 --> 00:12:05,199 Speaker 1: talked about on the show recently, we're at History Podcast 199 00:12:05,400 --> 00:12:08,360 Speaker 1: at i heeart radio dot com and you can subscribe 200 00:12:08,400 --> 00:12:10,480 Speaker 1: to our show on Apple podcast or the I heart 201 00:12:10,520 --> 00:12:13,600 Speaker 1: radio app, or anywhere else that you get your podcasts. 202 00:12:18,720 --> 00:12:20,880 Speaker 1: Stuff you missed in History Class is a production of 203 00:12:20,960 --> 00:12:24,160 Speaker 1: I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from I heart Radio, 204 00:12:24,320 --> 00:12:27,480 Speaker 1: visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you 205 00:12:27,600 --> 00:12:28,920 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.