1 00:00:04,320 --> 00:00:06,840 Speaker 1: Hey, you welcome to the short stuff. I'm Josh. There's 2 00:00:07,000 --> 00:00:09,920 Speaker 1: chuck this short stuff, as I said, and that means 3 00:00:10,480 --> 00:00:13,880 Speaker 1: we're going to start now to talk about Humpty Hump. 4 00:00:14,840 --> 00:00:19,159 Speaker 1: Do the Humpty Hump Dumpty R I P what he 5 00:00:19,200 --> 00:00:23,239 Speaker 1: passed away recently? I didn't. I definitely did not know that. No, 6 00:00:23,480 --> 00:00:27,080 Speaker 1: that's sad. It was shocked. G Is that right? I 7 00:00:27,120 --> 00:00:31,159 Speaker 1: thought his name was Humpty. That's not Humpty. Yeah, I 8 00:00:31,160 --> 00:00:35,840 Speaker 1: mean I think he died just like within the past 9 00:00:35,840 --> 00:00:39,200 Speaker 1: couple of months even, Yeah, he din he done in April. Man, 10 00:00:39,280 --> 00:00:42,080 Speaker 1: that is very sad. Yeah, and I gotta say to 11 00:00:42,320 --> 00:00:46,600 Speaker 1: just very quickly. That's a great song. But um Digital 12 00:00:46,680 --> 00:00:50,000 Speaker 1: Underground was awesome, Like that was their big MTV hit. 13 00:00:50,080 --> 00:00:51,840 Speaker 1: But they and it was kind of joky and fun, 14 00:00:51,880 --> 00:00:54,000 Speaker 1: but they had they were really really good. Yeah, he 15 00:00:54,080 --> 00:00:56,920 Speaker 1: was like on this one song that I should say track, 16 00:00:56,960 --> 00:00:59,920 Speaker 1: I guess the sound hip with a rapper Nameed Merge 17 00:01:00,080 --> 00:01:02,800 Speaker 1: called Risky Business, and like you get a really good 18 00:01:02,880 --> 00:01:05,920 Speaker 1: view of what like Humpty was all about. It's pretty cool. 19 00:01:05,959 --> 00:01:09,480 Speaker 1: So if you liked the Humpty dancing, you want to 20 00:01:09,560 --> 00:01:15,240 Speaker 1: learn more? I would start there alright, So um Humpy 21 00:01:15,680 --> 00:01:19,280 Speaker 1: Specting that Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. Do you 22 00:01:19,280 --> 00:01:21,560 Speaker 1: need a minute? Are you good? You just go on, 23 00:01:21,640 --> 00:01:24,600 Speaker 1: I'll gather myself while you're talking. Humpty Dumpty sat on 24 00:01:24,600 --> 00:01:27,280 Speaker 1: a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the 25 00:01:27,360 --> 00:01:29,640 Speaker 1: king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put Humpty 26 00:01:29,760 --> 00:01:35,560 Speaker 1: together again. And the whole point of this episode is 27 00:01:35,600 --> 00:01:38,240 Speaker 1: to sort of talk about why do we think this 28 00:01:38,280 --> 00:01:41,400 Speaker 1: thing is an egg when it doesn't say it's an 29 00:01:41,400 --> 00:01:45,600 Speaker 1: egg anywhere? And what are some of the theories about 30 00:01:45,800 --> 00:01:49,280 Speaker 1: how this whole thing came about to begin with? Well, supposedly, 31 00:01:49,280 --> 00:01:52,600 Speaker 1: and I found it very confusing in the article, the 32 00:01:53,280 --> 00:01:56,640 Speaker 1: rhyme you just said is actually a riddle. It's meant 33 00:01:56,640 --> 00:01:59,560 Speaker 1: to be a riddle, and somewhere along the way the 34 00:01:59,640 --> 00:02:03,360 Speaker 1: riddle was answered for us. And now we don't even 35 00:02:03,400 --> 00:02:05,720 Speaker 1: think of this as a riddle. But that's that's one 36 00:02:05,760 --> 00:02:09,760 Speaker 1: thing to to bear in mind. When the nursery rhyme 37 00:02:09,800 --> 00:02:11,960 Speaker 1: about Humpty Dumpty first came out, it was meant to 38 00:02:12,440 --> 00:02:16,000 Speaker 1: apparently there was some line like what is it? And 39 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:18,799 Speaker 1: you were supposed to go an egg? And then that 40 00:02:18,919 --> 00:02:22,480 Speaker 1: was the delight that you found in it. Yeah, And 41 00:02:22,480 --> 00:02:25,320 Speaker 1: It's also something that's been rewritten in different forms over 42 00:02:25,360 --> 00:02:28,840 Speaker 1: the years. I think the first time the rhyme itself 43 00:02:29,000 --> 00:02:34,360 Speaker 1: was in a book and Juvenile Amusement by Samuel Arnold, 44 00:02:35,160 --> 00:02:37,720 Speaker 1: and the third line, instead of all the king's horses 45 00:02:37,760 --> 00:02:40,600 Speaker 1: and all the king's men, it said four score men 46 00:02:40,760 --> 00:02:43,680 Speaker 1: and four score more. So all of a sudden, it's 47 00:02:43,720 --> 00:02:49,080 Speaker 1: not rhyming, right unless it's four scoreman and four score more. 48 00:02:49,280 --> 00:02:53,840 Speaker 1: Couldn't help get Humpty restored or something like that. Sure, 49 00:02:54,600 --> 00:02:57,400 Speaker 1: that's what I'm going with. I like that. But the 50 00:02:57,440 --> 00:03:00,000 Speaker 1: first the first rhyme, did you say, it was back 51 00:03:00,040 --> 00:03:03,920 Speaker 1: in when it first appeared. Yeah, And so from the 52 00:03:04,080 --> 00:03:06,399 Speaker 1: from the get go, I think everybody was like, what 53 00:03:06,480 --> 00:03:09,880 Speaker 1: is what is everybody talking about here? There's got to 54 00:03:09,960 --> 00:03:12,520 Speaker 1: be something to this. So people started thinking that they 55 00:03:12,560 --> 00:03:15,400 Speaker 1: were there were there was more to the Humpty Nursery 56 00:03:15,440 --> 00:03:17,720 Speaker 1: rhyme because it is so bizarre, like it gives you 57 00:03:18,400 --> 00:03:23,280 Speaker 1: almost no context whatsoever. It's really dumb. It's a little dumb. 58 00:03:23,800 --> 00:03:26,120 Speaker 1: You know, not a lot happens, and the thing that 59 00:03:26,160 --> 00:03:30,239 Speaker 1: does happen is very unsatisfying. So so I think people 60 00:03:31,160 --> 00:03:34,080 Speaker 1: after the people who understood what this was all about 61 00:03:34,120 --> 00:03:36,360 Speaker 1: had died off and failed to pass along with what 62 00:03:36,400 --> 00:03:40,280 Speaker 1: they meant. Um, those people started wondering exactly what was 63 00:03:40,320 --> 00:03:44,400 Speaker 1: behind all this, and so there's some theories started developing. Yeah, 64 00:03:44,520 --> 00:03:47,080 Speaker 1: one of it is that Humpty Dumpty was supposed to 65 00:03:47,080 --> 00:03:51,560 Speaker 1: be Richard the third, King of England. Uh And Shakespeare 66 00:03:52,200 --> 00:03:55,560 Speaker 1: about Richard the Third, He's depicted as a poisonous, humpback 67 00:03:55,720 --> 00:03:58,680 Speaker 1: toad and that's basically how history came to see him 68 00:03:58,800 --> 00:04:02,760 Speaker 1: thanks to Shakespeare's to fiction. Right, But King Richard was 69 00:04:02,800 --> 00:04:06,640 Speaker 1: only in office, ruled for a couple of years, about 70 00:04:06,640 --> 00:04:10,080 Speaker 1: twenty six months, and supposedly, like you know, fought for 71 00:04:10,120 --> 00:04:13,440 Speaker 1: the common man and was against you know, corruption and 72 00:04:13,480 --> 00:04:16,120 Speaker 1: bribery and enacted a bunch of laws to fight that stuff. 73 00:04:16,720 --> 00:04:20,880 Speaker 1: So not fair to King Richard. No, for some reason, 74 00:04:20,960 --> 00:04:23,280 Speaker 1: some little part of my brain is being tickled right now, 75 00:04:23,320 --> 00:04:25,839 Speaker 1: Like we talked about King Richard as if he was 76 00:04:26,400 --> 00:04:29,080 Speaker 1: and I think the Robin was there a robin Hood episode. 77 00:04:29,160 --> 00:04:32,320 Speaker 1: Isn't King Richard like the bad guy in that? Maybe 78 00:04:32,680 --> 00:04:35,520 Speaker 1: like he was like a just a lion who just 79 00:04:35,600 --> 00:04:38,360 Speaker 1: wanted his pudding or something weird like that. I don't remember, 80 00:04:38,839 --> 00:04:41,040 Speaker 1: But yeah, apparently he wasn't a bad king, but it 81 00:04:41,200 --> 00:04:43,640 Speaker 1: was basically Shakespeare who did that. But the point is 82 00:04:43,640 --> 00:04:46,359 Speaker 1: is Richard the Third was the last English king to 83 00:04:46,400 --> 00:04:53,800 Speaker 1: die in battle. He died at the Battle of Boswell Bosworth. Bosworth. Yeah, 84 00:04:54,640 --> 00:04:56,880 Speaker 1: I've been watching a lot of Charlie's Angels lately and 85 00:04:57,040 --> 00:04:59,360 Speaker 1: I wanted to say Bosley at first, are you really 86 00:04:59,360 --> 00:05:03,120 Speaker 1: watching lunch? Yeah? Remember they keep re showing that one 87 00:05:03,200 --> 00:05:09,080 Speaker 1: where Sammy Davis Jr. Place that got you hooked. But yeah, 88 00:05:09,160 --> 00:05:12,800 Speaker 1: King Richard had a horse named Wall and supposedly fell 89 00:05:12,839 --> 00:05:15,800 Speaker 1: off of the horse and was bludgeoned. So you know, 90 00:05:15,960 --> 00:05:18,920 Speaker 1: fell off. U sat on a wall and fell off 91 00:05:18,960 --> 00:05:21,560 Speaker 1: the wall. So that's sort of where that connection comes in. 92 00:05:21,600 --> 00:05:24,640 Speaker 1: Couldn't be saved, all the king's horses and all the 93 00:05:24,680 --> 00:05:27,120 Speaker 1: king's men, couldn't put them back together again, So do it. 94 00:05:27,440 --> 00:05:30,520 Speaker 1: This is where my money is. I just want everyone 95 00:05:30,560 --> 00:05:32,599 Speaker 1: to know that that is where I think. That's what 96 00:05:32,680 --> 00:05:35,560 Speaker 1: I think Humpty Dumpty is all about. All right, Well, 97 00:05:35,600 --> 00:05:38,560 Speaker 1: let's take our break and we'll come back and talk 98 00:05:38,600 --> 00:05:41,279 Speaker 1: about Louis Carroll kind of gumming up the works and 99 00:05:41,360 --> 00:06:06,320 Speaker 1: some other theories right after this. All right, Chucks, is 100 00:06:06,320 --> 00:06:09,520 Speaker 1: where it first starts, Um, We've we see him again 101 00:06:09,520 --> 00:06:12,080 Speaker 1: a few years later in a book called Mother Goose's 102 00:06:12,160 --> 00:06:18,080 Speaker 1: Melody from eighteen oh three. Right, yeah, and that one, Um, 103 00:06:18,120 --> 00:06:21,160 Speaker 1: it was like a little little tubby kid because the 104 00:06:21,279 --> 00:06:23,839 Speaker 1: last line is couldn't set Humpty up again? I guess 105 00:06:23,839 --> 00:06:25,919 Speaker 1: just couldn't get him up right, kind of like an 106 00:06:25,960 --> 00:06:31,160 Speaker 1: Augustus Gloup type character. Yeah and um. Supposedly the British 107 00:06:31,160 --> 00:06:35,479 Speaker 1: satire Punch, the weekly magazine, said that Humpty was a 108 00:06:35,560 --> 00:06:39,120 Speaker 1: symbol for Cardinal Wolsey, and other people said that that 109 00:06:39,200 --> 00:06:42,800 Speaker 1: might be right too. So that's another theory. That one 110 00:06:42,839 --> 00:06:45,239 Speaker 1: to me. So Cardinal Wolsey was the guy who couldn't 111 00:06:45,240 --> 00:06:48,360 Speaker 1: get um, couldn't get a divorce from the pope for 112 00:06:48,680 --> 00:06:51,880 Speaker 1: Henry the eighth. Um, so we kind of went down 113 00:06:51,880 --> 00:06:57,120 Speaker 1: in infamy. Is not a great advisor helper to the king. Um. 114 00:06:57,279 --> 00:07:01,160 Speaker 1: That's a little politically nuanced for me, because remember this 115 00:07:01,200 --> 00:07:04,320 Speaker 1: is a nursery rhyme. So I don't see kids like 116 00:07:04,480 --> 00:07:08,760 Speaker 1: singing a nursery rhyme about, you know, Cardinal Wolsey falling 117 00:07:08,800 --> 00:07:11,360 Speaker 1: from favor with Henry the Eighth. I do see them 118 00:07:11,400 --> 00:07:14,360 Speaker 1: singing a nursery rhyme about the death of King Richard. 119 00:07:14,440 --> 00:07:19,040 Speaker 1: Though I'm with you so far. I mean, adults don't say, like, hey, kids, 120 00:07:19,040 --> 00:07:20,840 Speaker 1: I got a nursery rhyme for you here it is. 121 00:07:21,120 --> 00:07:24,840 Speaker 1: Don't adults just like right down nursery rhymes that they 122 00:07:24,920 --> 00:07:27,560 Speaker 1: hear kids saying, and then that's how they become widespread 123 00:07:27,560 --> 00:07:32,240 Speaker 1: and popularized. But they're ultimately created by kids. I think 124 00:07:32,240 --> 00:07:34,800 Speaker 1: that's a deal. So yeah, all the more reason I 125 00:07:34,880 --> 00:07:37,640 Speaker 1: got my money on rich with the third All right, well, 126 00:07:37,680 --> 00:07:41,800 Speaker 1: then Lewis Carroll comes in through Alice. I'm sorry, through 127 00:07:41,840 --> 00:07:45,360 Speaker 1: the looking Glass in eighteen seventy one, one of the 128 00:07:45,400 --> 00:07:51,320 Speaker 1: more spectacularly seemingly drug fueled tones to ever be written, 129 00:07:51,880 --> 00:07:55,840 Speaker 1: and the Eggman has a chapter in this dedicated to him, 130 00:07:56,200 --> 00:07:59,080 Speaker 1: where in Alice says, she clearly saw that it was 131 00:07:59,160 --> 00:08:02,840 Speaker 1: Humpty Dumpty himself. It can't be anybody else. I'm as 132 00:08:02,840 --> 00:08:05,320 Speaker 1: certain of it as if his name were written all 133 00:08:05,320 --> 00:08:08,840 Speaker 1: over his face. And great and uh, you know, if 134 00:08:08,840 --> 00:08:11,000 Speaker 1: you've ever read that or even parts of it, it's 135 00:08:11,000 --> 00:08:15,000 Speaker 1: it's really out there. So the idea of a walking, 136 00:08:15,040 --> 00:08:19,040 Speaker 1: talking egg person human hybrid is not like far off 137 00:08:19,080 --> 00:08:22,560 Speaker 1: the mark, right um, and so like that was the 138 00:08:22,600 --> 00:08:25,800 Speaker 1: whole thing where like you and me and everybody else 139 00:08:25,840 --> 00:08:29,320 Speaker 1: breathing today thinks of Humpty Dumpty as an egg thanks 140 00:08:29,360 --> 00:08:31,920 Speaker 1: to that book, thanks to that chapter on him, thinks 141 00:08:31,920 --> 00:08:33,640 Speaker 1: of the fact that he was just out and out 142 00:08:33,640 --> 00:08:36,240 Speaker 1: an egg. There was no riddle at this point any longer. 143 00:08:36,320 --> 00:08:39,440 Speaker 1: It was just Humpty Dumpty is an egg. And the 144 00:08:39,520 --> 00:08:45,679 Speaker 1: illustrator Um for that first edition, John Tenniel or tenniel Um, 145 00:08:45,800 --> 00:08:49,480 Speaker 1: his illustration of Humpty Dumpty is like an egg with 146 00:08:49,600 --> 00:08:54,240 Speaker 1: pants on and a face and um, you know, arms 147 00:08:54,240 --> 00:08:57,320 Speaker 1: and legs and all that stuff. That's that's where like 148 00:08:57,400 --> 00:08:59,880 Speaker 1: the idea of Humpty Dumpty that we have today finds 149 00:08:59,880 --> 00:09:04,680 Speaker 1: a roots almost you know, visually and through our imagination, um, 150 00:09:04,720 --> 00:09:08,160 Speaker 1: from that book. That's right. That's the first time it 151 00:09:08,200 --> 00:09:11,080 Speaker 1: was like, look, it's definitely an egg. Let's just let's 152 00:09:11,080 --> 00:09:13,680 Speaker 1: just cut to the chase. Face. It cut to the 153 00:09:13,720 --> 00:09:16,600 Speaker 1: chase and there was also that was printed differently in 154 00:09:16,640 --> 00:09:19,120 Speaker 1: that book to the actual rhyme. The final line is 155 00:09:19,880 --> 00:09:24,280 Speaker 1: I couldn't put Humpty Dumpty in his place again, so 156 00:09:25,080 --> 00:09:27,920 Speaker 1: there wasn't even an egg breaking in that version, which 157 00:09:27,960 --> 00:09:33,360 Speaker 1: I found kind of sweet, nice, Um, so there's one 158 00:09:33,400 --> 00:09:35,959 Speaker 1: more theory. There's a few more theories, some are literally 159 00:09:36,000 --> 00:09:39,560 Speaker 1: not even worth mentioning. But um, there's an idea that 160 00:09:39,600 --> 00:09:44,280 Speaker 1: a humpty dumpty was actually the name of a drink, right, 161 00:09:44,440 --> 00:09:47,400 Speaker 1: and this is a boy. This doesn't sound good to me, 162 00:09:47,480 --> 00:09:50,120 Speaker 1: but you never know? And in the old does this 163 00:09:50,120 --> 00:09:55,640 Speaker 1: sound good to you? Yes? So? Uh, beer boiled with brandy? Okay, 164 00:09:55,640 --> 00:09:57,840 Speaker 1: not the boiled part. Did you check out the recipe 165 00:09:57,920 --> 00:10:02,360 Speaker 1: that was revived by by bartenders today? Oh you mean 166 00:10:02,880 --> 00:10:05,720 Speaker 1: the modern version? Yes, now, I'm sure they made that 167 00:10:05,760 --> 00:10:08,720 Speaker 1: taste good. Yeah, yeah, okay, I'm talking about the original 168 00:10:08,840 --> 00:10:11,920 Speaker 1: version ale boiled with brandy was called and this is 169 00:10:11,960 --> 00:10:14,679 Speaker 1: the first time that the rhyme wasn't there. But the 170 00:10:14,720 --> 00:10:17,280 Speaker 1: words humpty dumpty ever appeared in print was in sixte 171 00:10:18,080 --> 00:10:21,320 Speaker 1: and a slang dictionary, and it was ale boiled with brandy. 172 00:10:21,480 --> 00:10:26,120 Speaker 1: And uh. The connection there is that, um, really, that 173 00:10:26,200 --> 00:10:30,240 Speaker 1: really strong beer was called hum and so humpty dumpty. Hum. 174 00:10:30,320 --> 00:10:33,880 Speaker 1: There you have it. So, I mean, I feel like 175 00:10:33,920 --> 00:10:36,280 Speaker 1: we should give the recipe for the Humpty Dumpty, don't you? 176 00:10:37,520 --> 00:10:40,080 Speaker 1: And I think it sounds delicious. So you take one 177 00:10:40,120 --> 00:10:42,480 Speaker 1: ounce of brandy one and a half ounces of ale 178 00:10:43,040 --> 00:10:45,959 Speaker 1: I would go with pale ale FI were you a 179 00:10:46,040 --> 00:10:50,480 Speaker 1: quarter ounce of lemon juice a dash of angustura, and 180 00:10:50,600 --> 00:10:52,560 Speaker 1: you put it in a mixing glass with some ice, 181 00:10:52,600 --> 00:10:56,320 Speaker 1: stir fifteen seconds and strained into a glass without the ice, 182 00:10:56,440 --> 00:10:59,400 Speaker 1: garne with the lemon peel and raise a glass to 183 00:10:59,640 --> 00:11:06,760 Speaker 1: your and humpty dumpty and Chuck g Apparently that's a great, 184 00:11:07,000 --> 00:11:10,120 Speaker 1: great call back. You got anything else for a great MC? 185 00:11:10,840 --> 00:11:14,599 Speaker 1: I got nothing else. Well, uh, since Chuck said he 186 00:11:14,640 --> 00:11:16,920 Speaker 1: has nothing else, I can attest that I have nothing else. 187 00:11:17,000 --> 00:11:18,840 Speaker 1: That means we have nothing else to share with you 188 00:11:18,880 --> 00:11:21,440 Speaker 1: in this episode of short Stuff, which means short stuff 189 00:11:21,480 --> 00:11:26,880 Speaker 1: is apt stuff you should know is a production of 190 00:11:26,880 --> 00:11:30,200 Speaker 1: I heart Radio. For more podcasts my heart Radio, visit 191 00:11:30,240 --> 00:11:33,040 Speaker 1: the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you 192 00:11:33,120 --> 00:11:34,360 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.