WEBVTT - Short Stuff: SINA

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, welcome to short stuff. I'm Josh, and there's Chuck

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<v Speaker 1>and this is short stuff. And as I say, sometimes

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<v Speaker 1>getty up, but in this case it'd be getty up,

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<v Speaker 1>you horse with pants on that was smooth as sandpaper.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh that hurts, Chuck. Uh, this is pretty good. You

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<v Speaker 1>dug this one up. The Society for indecent indecency to

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<v Speaker 1>naked animals, that's right, which is kind of which is

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<v Speaker 1>kind of like the the finest example of the the

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<v Speaker 1>stodgy kind of morality. Um that that was characteristic of

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<v Speaker 1>the nineteen fifties. Like, this is the apex of that.

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<v Speaker 1>That's right. It was a group of people that got

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<v Speaker 1>together and said, you know what, we can't have anymore

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<v Speaker 1>in our society. Are these naked animals walking around in

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<v Speaker 1>their disgusting parts. We need to put clothing on animals

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<v Speaker 1>on anything over four inches tall or six inches long.

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<v Speaker 1>Our children are at steak. Get the clothed. Yes, they

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<v Speaker 1>were offended by naked animals, this group, and they wanted

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<v Speaker 1>to clothe animals. That was their purpose, that was their drive.

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<v Speaker 1>And at first it was a very little known group.

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<v Speaker 1>But then in May of nineteen nine, the president of

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<v Speaker 1>Sina ge Clifford Pruite, Jr. Uh appeared on the Today

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<v Speaker 1>Show and basically explaining what SINA was all about and

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<v Speaker 1>calling for all animals to be clothed um and he

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<v Speaker 1>said a lot of weird things, not just in this interview,

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<v Speaker 1>but in multiple interviews that came over the following years,

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<v Speaker 1>where he said things like um zoos were peep shows

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<v Speaker 1>for kids. One of his favorite phrases was a nude

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<v Speaker 1>horse is a rude horse, m hmm. And basically called

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<v Speaker 1>for support and membership. And after that Today Show appearance

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<v Speaker 1>in nineteen nine, membership swelled like almost overnight. Yes, believe

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<v Speaker 1>it or not, there were more than fifty thousand people

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<v Speaker 1>in the United States. They said, I agree, we need

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<v Speaker 1>to get clothing on all animals. Here's some money. I

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<v Speaker 1>was a woman in Santa Barbara, California. You sent a

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<v Speaker 1>forty thousand dollar check in nine in the nineteen fifties.

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<v Speaker 1>This was about three fifty dollars today to help fund

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<v Speaker 1>clothing for animals. And they basically said, all right, get involved.

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<v Speaker 1>To get your community involved issue UH sign us sub

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<v Speaker 1>summons is to your neighbors, if you see them walking

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<v Speaker 1>their dog without pants on, you need to give them

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<v Speaker 1>a summons, They picketed the White House. They sent letters

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<v Speaker 1>to President Kennedy that said, you need to get pants

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<v Speaker 1>on your horses, sir, cover private parts. Yeah, cover those

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<v Speaker 1>horse penises. And it was kind of see that one.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah have you seen? Have you seen? Um? What's it called?

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<v Speaker 1>I think you should leave? What is that? How do

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<v Speaker 1>I know that? I can't remember? The guy's name is hilarious.

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<v Speaker 1>He's like best friends with Andy Samberg's Tim something sounds

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<v Speaker 1>really familiar. Anyway, It's on Netflix and they have this

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<v Speaker 1>one kind of fake ad and it was for a

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<v Speaker 1>ranch um where they bred horses to have very very

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<v Speaker 1>small penises so that men don't have to be ashamed

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<v Speaker 1>of their own penis size when they ride these horses

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<v Speaker 1>around this dude ranch. Oh and that that guy Tim Robinson. Yes, yes,

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<v Speaker 1>because I have not seen that though. It's wonderful. Uh,

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<v Speaker 1>but I am seeing now that Adie Bryant's husband, Connor

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<v Speaker 1>O'Malley is on their Connor Listen to Stuff you Should

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<v Speaker 1>Know at one point, and he is one of the

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<v Speaker 1>great weirdo comedians ever. Yeah, it's like a magnet for

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<v Speaker 1>weirdo comedians. This year was Uh, that's pretty funny. So

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<v Speaker 1>Americans are getting involved, like I said, they're petitioning the

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<v Speaker 1>president there uh um picketting the White House, and then

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<v Speaker 1>it culminates in eighteen I'm sorry, in nineteen sixty two. Uh,

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<v Speaker 1>it feels like it should be eighteen sixty two when

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<v Speaker 1>ge Clifford Prut appears with none other than Walter Cronkite,

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<v Speaker 1>most trusted news person in the country, and he was

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<v Speaker 1>interviewed on CBS News Prime Time. He sang the Sena's

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<v Speaker 1>anthem called Wings of Decency with a ukulele, and it

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<v Speaker 1>was a very very big deal and sort of the

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<v Speaker 1>apex of this movement. Can we sing the wings of decency?

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<v Speaker 1>Um sign an anthem? You can high on the wings

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<v Speaker 1>of sign Uh we fight for the future. Now let's

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<v Speaker 1>close every pet and and um mole weather, dog, cat,

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<v Speaker 1>horse or cow. Ge Clifford Prue our president. He works

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<v Speaker 1>for you and me, so clothed all your pets in

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<v Speaker 1>joined the march for worldwide decency. So he's playing this

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<v Speaker 1>anna ukulele on uh CBS News with Walter Cronkite interviewing him.

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<v Speaker 1>Ge Clifford Prout Jr. Is the president of SIGNA and

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<v Speaker 1>there's a There's a guy who is operating the camera

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<v Speaker 1>for CBS News that says, hey, wait a minute, that

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<v Speaker 1>guy looks awfully familiar, doesn't n Chuck, that's right, and

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<v Speaker 1>perhaps here's where we should take our break. Right, that's right, agreed.

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<v Speaker 1>If you want to know, then you're in luck. Just

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<v Speaker 1>listen to Chuck. Alright, we're back. Cameraman at CBS News

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<v Speaker 1>sits up and says, wait a minute, I recognized that guy,

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<v Speaker 1>and what did he say? He said, that's no g

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<v Speaker 1>Clifford Prute. That man's name is Buck Henry and in

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<v Speaker 1>the future he's going to be a very famous screenwriter

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<v Speaker 1>and actor for comedy. That's right. There was no g

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<v Speaker 1>Clifford Prute. There was no Society for Indecency to Naked

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<v Speaker 1>Animals tally Well, technically there was, but it was just

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<v Speaker 1>a big put on. It was just a big joke. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>there's a guy named Alan Abel who would go on

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<v Speaker 1>to become one of America's most famous and prolific and

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<v Speaker 1>successful hoaxters. And I think like he's got half a

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<v Speaker 1>dozen short stuffs coming down the pike himself. He was

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<v Speaker 1>just that prolific. But this was the first time America

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<v Speaker 1>was introduced to alan Abel, and they had been had

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<v Speaker 1>that for four years. I saw in some places six years.

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<v Speaker 1>Buck Henry kept up this this ruse at the behest

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<v Speaker 1>of alan Abel and went on Cronkite, went on The

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<v Speaker 1>Today Show, went on tons of national interview shows, and

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<v Speaker 1>earnestly professed a need for animals to be clothed. So

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<v Speaker 1>he must not have been known by face at all

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<v Speaker 1>at that point. Hard but Henry, Yeah, no, his crew

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<v Speaker 1>is just starting out. It's astounding that he was ever

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<v Speaker 1>recognized at all. And even when he was, it was

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<v Speaker 1>a good three years into the hoax to that cameraman.

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<v Speaker 1>Cameraman was deep on the independent comedy circuit. I think exactly.

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<v Speaker 1>That's how I take it. That's pretty great. So, yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>it was all a hoax, um he you know, And

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<v Speaker 1>as is many times with hoaxes like this, there is

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<v Speaker 1>a a statement being made. And the statement here was

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<v Speaker 1>Able was really turned off by the moral, uh the

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<v Speaker 1>moral majority of the United States in the nineteen fifties,

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<v Speaker 1>and how put off they would be about everything. And

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<v Speaker 1>he said, maybe a good way to to take the

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<v Speaker 1>the p out of this thing would would be two

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<v Speaker 1>become one of them. And he said he's been hired

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<v Speaker 1>by uh. Something he saw in Texas in the nineteen fifties.

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<v Speaker 1>He was driving on a highway and saw like traffic

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<v Speaker 1>was stopped and everyone was kind of standing around. And

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<v Speaker 1>when he got out, he saw that traffic had stopped

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<v Speaker 1>because two cows were having sex in the middle of

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<v Speaker 1>the highway. And he said he he just saw the

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<v Speaker 1>looks on these piece faces, at these people's faces. Some

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<v Speaker 1>of them were clearly disgusted. Some of them wouldn't couldn't

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<v Speaker 1>even bear to look at it and cover their eyes.

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<v Speaker 1>One woman was angry, and he he was just like,

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<v Speaker 1>what is going on? These cows? They don't know morality,

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<v Speaker 1>They're just doing what cows do. And these Americans are

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<v Speaker 1>so stuffy that they're literally upset about this, right, they're

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<v Speaker 1>offended by this. It's yeah. So he at first tried

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<v Speaker 1>out some low hanging fruit and he um wrote a

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<v Speaker 1>letter to the editor of the Saturday Evening Post, um,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, professing for the first time signa and the

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<v Speaker 1>it's it's goals and aims as a joke um And

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<v Speaker 1>he got a rejection like her, but the tone of

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<v Speaker 1>the rejection letter kind of spurred him to keep going.

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<v Speaker 1>The editor you know, wrote indignantly that he really disagreed

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<v Speaker 1>with this and he thought it was a terrible idea.

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<v Speaker 1>And Um alan Able realized that this guy had had

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<v Speaker 1>failed to take it as a joke that he thought

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<v Speaker 1>was really and he's like, well, who else can I fool?

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<v Speaker 1>Let's see where else we can take this. And he

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<v Speaker 1>went to his friend Buck Henry and said, hey, no

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<v Speaker 1>one knows what you look like yet or who you are.

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<v Speaker 1>Will you pose as G. Clifford Prute, the president of Sina?

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<v Speaker 1>And this was right up Buck Henry's alley. He said,

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<v Speaker 1>oh yeah. And they kept this up for four to

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<v Speaker 1>six years, Chuck, not secretly, not quietly, as loudly and

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<v Speaker 1>nationally as they possibly could. They kept this hoax going. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>I get the feeling this was had more legs than

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<v Speaker 1>he ever dreamed it would. Yes, and just decided, as

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<v Speaker 1>any great um sort of Andy Kaufman like comedian like,

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<v Speaker 1>to keep rolling with it once once it's going, if

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<v Speaker 1>everyone is fooled. And even after it was exposed in

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen sixty four by Time magazine, UM, people like Walter

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<v Speaker 1>Cronkite was still really mad. He felt he had been

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<v Speaker 1>made a full of obviously Uh, it's important to point

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<v Speaker 1>out that he did not take any of this money.

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<v Speaker 1>He wasn't drifting people, So that forty grand that check

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<v Speaker 1>was never cashed or anything. Yeah, that's yeah, Like people

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<v Speaker 1>would be angry. There's listeners right now, they're like, wait

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<v Speaker 1>a minute, this guy stole all this money, right, and

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<v Speaker 1>he was a comedian, right, So that never happened, thankfully,

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<v Speaker 1>no hum. But the thing that was most astounding was

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<v Speaker 1>that they accidentally inadvertently created a moral movement to clothe animals.

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<v Speaker 1>Those fifty thousand people that joined SINA were earnest, like,

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<v Speaker 1>they were passionately supportive of clothing animals because it was

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<v Speaker 1>indecent to have naked animals running around. A joke became reality,

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<v Speaker 1>and that is about the best you could possibly hope

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<v Speaker 1>for from a hoax. That's a cultural criticism. Yeah, I'm

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<v Speaker 1>not a big fan of clothing on animals at all.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm not either lead the animals alone everybody, Like if

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<v Speaker 1>if your dog needs a sweater in the winter or something,

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<v Speaker 1>that's okay to me. But like these people that dress

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<v Speaker 1>up their animals and take pictures of I don't know,

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<v Speaker 1>I feel it's not very respectful. Oh I see what

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<v Speaker 1>you mean. Yeah, we dressed moment, but it's just for warmth. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>then that's different if, like I said, if your dog

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<v Speaker 1>needs a sweater or a thunderbuddy, which is what we

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<v Speaker 1>called the thundercoats the vests. What about ThunderCats, I don't

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<v Speaker 1>know anything about ThunderCats. You don't know the ThunderCats that

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<v Speaker 1>cartoon from the eighties. I've heard of it, but it

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<v Speaker 1>was a little after my time. Oh I could see that,

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<v Speaker 1>but it was directly in my wheelhouse. And that is

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<v Speaker 1>one of the all time greats. All right. Uh So, obviously,

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<v Speaker 1>since we started talking about ThunderCats, that signals that this

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<v Speaker 1>episode of short Stuff is over right, that's right. Before

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<v Speaker 1>we go, Chuck, I want to say thank you very

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<v Speaker 1>much as Zachary Crockett and Priceonomics, the Museum of Hoaxes

0:11:58.160 --> 0:12:00.200
<v Speaker 1>and Ripley's believe it or not, believe it or not

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<v Speaker 1>for being sources about this. So keep an ear out

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<v Speaker 1>for alan Able short Stuffs in the future, because he's

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<v Speaker 1>got plenty more coming. In the meantime, everybody, short Stuff

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<v Speaker 1>is out. Stuff you should Know is a production of

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<v Speaker 1>I Heart Radio. For more podcasts my Heart Radio, visit

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