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 --> 00:00:14,800 Speaker 1: of I Heart Radio, Happy Friday, Everybody. I'm Holly Fry 3 00:00:14,840 --> 00:00:18,080 Speaker 1: and I'm Tracy V. Wilson. And this week we talked 4 00:00:18,079 --> 00:00:22,480 Speaker 1: about Amy Levy, who somehow escaped both of our knowledge 5 00:00:23,040 --> 00:00:28,080 Speaker 1: until this. Yeah, so you the first version of the 6 00:00:28,160 --> 00:00:30,319 Speaker 1: episode outline that you sent to me was one that 7 00:00:30,360 --> 00:00:33,599 Speaker 1: wasn't finished yet, so it didn't have the introductory uh 8 00:00:33,760 --> 00:00:38,360 Speaker 1: text in it. Um so unlike normal, where if I 9 00:00:38,400 --> 00:00:41,120 Speaker 1: don't if I'm not already familiar with a person, that 10 00:00:41,159 --> 00:00:45,199 Speaker 1: little introduction clues me in, I had no clue in 11 00:00:45,800 --> 00:00:47,920 Speaker 1: And so I started reading it, like, who is this person? 12 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:49,840 Speaker 1: Their name does not ring a bell at all? I 13 00:00:49,880 --> 00:00:51,960 Speaker 1: had don't think I have ever heard of them? Reading 14 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:58,560 Speaker 1: reading reading Vernon Lee. I researched and wrote the podcast 15 00:00:58,640 --> 00:01:02,000 Speaker 1: episode on Violet Haagett, also known as Vernon Lee, and 16 00:01:02,000 --> 00:01:04,080 Speaker 1: I was like, Okay, even having done that, I don't 17 00:01:04,080 --> 00:01:05,959 Speaker 1: think this name rings a bell. So I stopped what 18 00:01:06,040 --> 00:01:09,760 Speaker 1: I was doing and I went back through my Vernon 19 00:01:09,880 --> 00:01:14,200 Speaker 1: Lee stuff and the only mention of her in the 20 00:01:14,560 --> 00:01:19,559 Speaker 1: entirety of that research is in the footnotes of one biography, 21 00:01:19,640 --> 00:01:23,080 Speaker 1: and only one of those footnotes has any substance to it, 22 00:01:23,200 --> 00:01:25,280 Speaker 1: like the other ones are most like this letter was 23 00:01:25,360 --> 00:01:28,080 Speaker 1: from Amy Levy and that's all that. It's like, it's 24 00:01:28,120 --> 00:01:31,600 Speaker 1: just clarifying who wrote a letter and the like the 25 00:01:31,640 --> 00:01:36,880 Speaker 1: one substantive note just kind of sums up that my 26 00:01:37,000 --> 00:01:43,119 Speaker 1: read on on her relationship. How however, there's all kinds 27 00:01:43,120 --> 00:01:45,880 Speaker 1: of relationships, but like it really read to me from 28 00:01:45,920 --> 00:01:48,920 Speaker 1: having researched Vernon Lee and then having read what you 29 00:01:49,040 --> 00:01:52,400 Speaker 1: prepared on Amy Levy, that it seems like Amy was 30 00:01:52,480 --> 00:01:56,800 Speaker 1: in love with her and that probably wasn't reciprocated, and 31 00:01:56,880 --> 00:02:01,680 Speaker 1: that just seems like what shines through. Um how each 32 00:02:01,720 --> 00:02:04,120 Speaker 1: of them is discussed in work about the other one, 33 00:02:04,600 --> 00:02:08,799 Speaker 1: yes for sure, and in that um uh, the main 34 00:02:08,840 --> 00:02:13,160 Speaker 1: biography that I referenced in that episode, there is also 35 00:02:13,240 --> 00:02:15,919 Speaker 1: mention of at least one other person kind of in 36 00:02:15,919 --> 00:02:20,519 Speaker 1: that social circle who similarly had some sort of crush 37 00:02:20,560 --> 00:02:22,920 Speaker 1: on Vernon Lee, and Vernon Lee was in at that 38 00:02:22,960 --> 00:02:26,280 Speaker 1: point of fairly long term relationship, although not everyone knew 39 00:02:26,320 --> 00:02:29,000 Speaker 1: about it, Like it seems like Amy Levy didn't clue 40 00:02:29,040 --> 00:02:33,600 Speaker 1: in that that was the case. Um. But it's it's again, 41 00:02:33,919 --> 00:02:36,919 Speaker 1: these are guesses based on what we know about her 42 00:02:37,080 --> 00:02:39,880 Speaker 1: and them, and at a time when people probably weren't 43 00:02:39,919 --> 00:02:43,720 Speaker 1: being entirely like Cavalier and open about discussing such things. 44 00:02:44,160 --> 00:02:46,400 Speaker 1: So there's a lot of guesswork. But it seems like 45 00:02:47,240 --> 00:02:49,840 Speaker 1: this would come up periodically for Vernon Lee, where somebody 46 00:02:49,880 --> 00:02:51,160 Speaker 1: would be like, but I've in love with you, and 47 00:02:51,200 --> 00:02:55,800 Speaker 1: she'd be like, nope, but without saying because I'm already 48 00:02:55,800 --> 00:03:02,480 Speaker 1: in love with this person. So it's all very fascinating. Um, 49 00:03:02,600 --> 00:03:06,960 Speaker 1: I really really do quite. I mean, I feel so 50 00:03:07,200 --> 00:03:11,080 Speaker 1: fortunate that again my friend Bernadette introduced me to this 51 00:03:11,120 --> 00:03:16,200 Speaker 1: subject because, um, I really have enjoyed reading Amy Levi's work. 52 00:03:16,480 --> 00:03:21,079 Speaker 1: I mean, it's extraordinarily good. Um. You can also find 53 00:03:21,160 --> 00:03:26,440 Speaker 1: online there are um basically free audio I think it's 54 00:03:26,440 --> 00:03:29,480 Speaker 1: audio box that does the audio books of her novels, 55 00:03:30,440 --> 00:03:32,720 Speaker 1: so they're easy. There's easy to get access to them, 56 00:03:32,760 --> 00:03:36,160 Speaker 1: which is really nice if somebody's curious. But um, and 57 00:03:36,200 --> 00:03:39,000 Speaker 1: they are. They're very very um. I mean, she was 58 00:03:39,240 --> 00:03:43,600 Speaker 1: clearly very talented and it is I mean, the thing 59 00:03:43,640 --> 00:03:46,640 Speaker 1: that really made me go WHOA was the first one 60 00:03:46,640 --> 00:03:48,640 Speaker 1: of the first things I stumbled across was that Oscar 61 00:03:48,640 --> 00:03:54,120 Speaker 1: wild piece, And I'm like to watch or to read 62 00:03:55,080 --> 00:03:59,960 Speaker 1: him being so you know, just heaping praise on on anybody, 63 00:04:00,280 --> 00:04:04,720 Speaker 1: and you know, particularly another writer. I was like, whoa, whoa, 64 00:04:04,840 --> 00:04:08,800 Speaker 1: wait really um, And then what's interesting is that going 65 00:04:08,840 --> 00:04:13,000 Speaker 1: through newspaper accounts, she's everywhere. There was no lack of 66 00:04:13,040 --> 00:04:17,120 Speaker 1: Amy Levy information in newspapers, and so she was very 67 00:04:17,160 --> 00:04:20,000 Speaker 1: popular and very well known. And then somehow just drifts 68 00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:23,960 Speaker 1: off of the mentions early on. You and I talked 69 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:26,240 Speaker 1: about that some while we were while we were discussing 70 00:04:26,240 --> 00:04:29,800 Speaker 1: my whole total surprise at the sudden appearance of Vernon 71 00:04:29,880 --> 00:04:34,159 Speaker 1: Lee in the episode, uh, how it seemed like people 72 00:04:34,480 --> 00:04:38,000 Speaker 1: like just didn't quite know how to process her death 73 00:04:38,040 --> 00:04:42,000 Speaker 1: and how to talk about her afterward, aside from that 74 00:04:42,680 --> 00:04:47,400 Speaker 1: round of speculation about what her reasoning might have been, yeah, 75 00:04:47,440 --> 00:04:50,880 Speaker 1: which is always I mean, that is problematic in so 76 00:04:50,920 --> 00:04:53,800 Speaker 1: many ways to begin with, right, Like, trying to figure 77 00:04:53,800 --> 00:04:59,279 Speaker 1: out why someone decides to end their life when you 78 00:04:59,360 --> 00:05:04,120 Speaker 1: don't is literally just guesswork, which becomes really really dangerous. 79 00:05:04,160 --> 00:05:08,279 Speaker 1: And I think you know, in Clementina Black's letter, she 80 00:05:08,400 --> 00:05:10,680 Speaker 1: makes the very strong case that I think people don't 81 00:05:10,680 --> 00:05:13,800 Speaker 1: always think about it like this would actually be painful 82 00:05:13,880 --> 00:05:17,600 Speaker 1: for that person to know that people were making up 83 00:05:17,680 --> 00:05:23,720 Speaker 1: these kinds of theories about them that could hurt their family. Um. 84 00:05:23,760 --> 00:05:26,799 Speaker 1: So yeah, I was really really glad that I stumbled 85 00:05:26,800 --> 00:05:30,039 Speaker 1: across that particular article in a paper or that letter 86 00:05:30,400 --> 00:05:34,680 Speaker 1: that had been published. Yeah. It's a it's a hard one, 87 00:05:34,720 --> 00:05:40,000 Speaker 1: but also so good. And I really her verse is beautiful. Um. 88 00:05:40,040 --> 00:05:42,039 Speaker 1: I really enjoyed it a great deal. And like I said, 89 00:05:42,080 --> 00:05:45,320 Speaker 1: I feel very foolish because I focused a lot on 90 00:05:45,440 --> 00:05:51,600 Speaker 1: writers from that time and place in college, and yet 91 00:05:52,960 --> 00:05:56,039 Speaker 1: nary a word that I can recall ever uttered about 92 00:05:56,040 --> 00:06:10,599 Speaker 1: her tracy. We talked about some practical jokes and pranks 93 00:06:10,640 --> 00:06:16,240 Speaker 1: this week we did. I have so many thoughts. Yeah, 94 00:06:16,279 --> 00:06:19,400 Speaker 1: I really thought the spaghetti tree one was a lot 95 00:06:19,480 --> 00:06:23,640 Speaker 1: more recent than it really was somehow, Like I knew 96 00:06:23,680 --> 00:06:27,880 Speaker 1: the basic lore of the spaghetti tree thing, and that 97 00:06:27,920 --> 00:06:30,080 Speaker 1: it had been a newscast, and that there were some 98 00:06:30,160 --> 00:06:33,360 Speaker 1: folks that believed the whole thing. But I really thought 99 00:06:33,440 --> 00:06:37,000 Speaker 1: that was like a nine nineties newscast, not a nineteen 100 00:06:37,080 --> 00:06:41,279 Speaker 1: fifties newscast. No. Yeah, I mean I think because it 101 00:06:41,360 --> 00:06:43,000 Speaker 1: does come up a bit. I mean, that's more than 102 00:06:43,040 --> 00:06:46,000 Speaker 1: sixty years old at this point. I don't know, if 103 00:06:46,040 --> 00:06:48,520 Speaker 1: you have the thing that I have, where like time 104 00:06:48,560 --> 00:06:51,279 Speaker 1: is real rubbery, where I'm like the year two thousand 105 00:06:51,360 --> 00:06:53,520 Speaker 1: that was like three years ago, right, So it happens 106 00:06:53,560 --> 00:06:57,200 Speaker 1: to me a lot um So that may be part 107 00:06:57,279 --> 00:06:59,520 Speaker 1: of what contributes to it. But it has been talked 108 00:06:59,520 --> 00:07:01,320 Speaker 1: about three years, so I could see where you would 109 00:07:01,320 --> 00:07:06,200 Speaker 1: think that was more recent. I will say, Um, regarding Carberry, 110 00:07:06,920 --> 00:07:10,040 Speaker 1: you know, his story is only eight years away, less 111 00:07:10,040 --> 00:07:13,480 Speaker 1: than eight years really from its hundredth anniversary. So I 112 00:07:13,560 --> 00:07:16,880 Speaker 1: wonder if the people at Brown who keep that myth 113 00:07:16,920 --> 00:07:20,720 Speaker 1: alive will do something spectacular for it. That'd be cool. Yeah, 114 00:07:20,760 --> 00:07:24,880 Speaker 1: I mean, what's really really interesting about his story is 115 00:07:24,920 --> 00:07:28,360 Speaker 1: that he does show up in a lot of perfectly 116 00:07:29,160 --> 00:07:35,000 Speaker 1: respectable places in print, in journals, in books, etcetera. And 117 00:07:35,080 --> 00:07:37,440 Speaker 1: like I even saw I think it was a t 118 00:07:37,680 --> 00:07:42,920 Speaker 1: w A ad where like the customer endorsement was by 119 00:07:43,560 --> 00:07:47,360 Speaker 1: Josiah Carberry about what a great service it was, which 120 00:07:47,440 --> 00:07:49,720 Speaker 1: I mean, it is very clear that like there are 121 00:07:49,840 --> 00:07:52,920 Speaker 1: people who are alums who keep that story alive in 122 00:07:53,000 --> 00:07:57,000 Speaker 1: other ways throughout There is also a second version of 123 00:07:57,000 --> 00:07:58,960 Speaker 1: it that we didn't get into it that popped up 124 00:07:58,960 --> 00:08:03,040 Speaker 1: at Wesleyan, which happened around the time that the professor 125 00:08:03,120 --> 00:08:05,800 Speaker 1: that started it transferred to that school, So clearly this 126 00:08:05,880 --> 00:08:10,800 Speaker 1: was his brain child, and like has has populated throughout 127 00:08:11,880 --> 00:08:14,400 Speaker 1: North America at least in a variety of ways. And 128 00:08:14,680 --> 00:08:16,520 Speaker 1: I do love that there are people that love the 129 00:08:16,560 --> 00:08:19,480 Speaker 1: story so much that they will try to wedge his 130 00:08:19,600 --> 00:08:25,440 Speaker 1: name into places it maybe doesn't belong. Um. For the 131 00:08:25,480 --> 00:08:27,880 Speaker 1: most part, it always seems like harmless fun. It never 132 00:08:27,920 --> 00:08:32,199 Speaker 1: seems like they're trying to really undermine anybody. Um, let 133 00:08:32,240 --> 00:08:37,400 Speaker 1: me talk about Theodore. Yeah. So um, when you told 134 00:08:37,400 --> 00:08:39,840 Speaker 1: me what you were working on for this episode, I 135 00:08:39,880 --> 00:08:41,880 Speaker 1: was like, ah, yeah, I've had the Berner Street hoax 136 00:08:42,040 --> 00:08:44,280 Speaker 1: on my on my list for a long time. But 137 00:08:44,320 --> 00:08:45,960 Speaker 1: every kind of every time I kind of looked at it, 138 00:08:45,960 --> 00:08:48,800 Speaker 1: I was like, not quite enough there, And then we 139 00:08:48,840 --> 00:08:53,000 Speaker 1: had a conversation about it. M hm. And I probably 140 00:08:53,040 --> 00:08:57,720 Speaker 1: could do, as I said, an entire episode on Theodore Hook, 141 00:08:58,720 --> 00:09:01,520 Speaker 1: but that would become a depressing episode of like a 142 00:09:01,600 --> 00:09:04,439 Speaker 1: privileged person gets away with doing lots of crappy things 143 00:09:04,520 --> 00:09:08,920 Speaker 1: and people celebrate him as a wit. Yeah, including sticking 144 00:09:08,960 --> 00:09:11,440 Speaker 1: his friends with the bill. I didn't like that. No, 145 00:09:11,720 --> 00:09:13,040 Speaker 1: he did something like that all the time, and the 146 00:09:13,040 --> 00:09:16,800 Speaker 1: thing was like, listen, when I was younger, I was 147 00:09:16,840 --> 00:09:19,000 Speaker 1: a little bit of a practical joker. I was that 148 00:09:19,160 --> 00:09:23,480 Speaker 1: kid that got in trouble for doing things like, um, 149 00:09:23,520 --> 00:09:26,000 Speaker 1: you know, at one of our pre graduation sort of 150 00:09:26,040 --> 00:09:29,360 Speaker 1: solemn programs, I wore pig slippers under my gown and 151 00:09:29,400 --> 00:09:32,839 Speaker 1: it made the principle real mad um, you know, I 152 00:09:32,880 --> 00:09:35,160 Speaker 1: would do stuff like that. So there was part of me, 153 00:09:35,280 --> 00:09:38,600 Speaker 1: particularly when they talked about his dad sending him to 154 00:09:38,640 --> 00:09:40,640 Speaker 1: Oxford to try to get him on a real career 155 00:09:40,679 --> 00:09:45,400 Speaker 1: path and him making jokes during the entrance questions, I 156 00:09:45,520 --> 00:09:47,680 Speaker 1: was like, oh, I completely identify with this person. And 157 00:09:47,720 --> 00:09:49,839 Speaker 1: then as it unfurls and he becomes more and more 158 00:09:49,880 --> 00:09:52,640 Speaker 1: of a pain in the neck to people and thinks 159 00:09:52,679 --> 00:09:55,480 Speaker 1: it's surely hilarious, I was like, I identify with him 160 00:09:55,559 --> 00:10:00,600 Speaker 1: less and less. Yeah, yeah, I I I do think 161 00:10:00,640 --> 00:10:03,840 Speaker 1: it's a great disservice that we have no idea what 162 00:10:04,000 --> 00:10:07,280 Speaker 1: happened with that poor woman after all of that madness 163 00:10:07,280 --> 00:10:09,600 Speaker 1: at her house that she didn't ask for and had 164 00:10:09,679 --> 00:10:13,920 Speaker 1: nothing to do with. I mean, I I really do 165 00:10:14,000 --> 00:10:17,400 Speaker 1: as as people listen, I wonder if anybody did what 166 00:10:17,520 --> 00:10:19,360 Speaker 1: I did, And I hope some people did, because it 167 00:10:19,440 --> 00:10:22,280 Speaker 1: is very sobering to think about, Like what if tomorrow 168 00:10:22,280 --> 00:10:24,800 Speaker 1: morning you woke up at five am with someone at 169 00:10:24,840 --> 00:10:28,240 Speaker 1: your house insisting you had ordered a service and you 170 00:10:28,360 --> 00:10:30,600 Speaker 1: finally convinced them that you did not, and then ten 171 00:10:30,679 --> 00:10:33,400 Speaker 1: more people just like them with the same service show 172 00:10:33,520 --> 00:10:37,320 Speaker 1: up insisting the same thing, and then that happens for 173 00:10:37,360 --> 00:10:43,280 Speaker 1: the next thirteen hours. Yeah, I don't I couldn't handle it. 174 00:10:43,360 --> 00:10:46,160 Speaker 1: I would have a breakdown at around our three which 175 00:10:46,600 --> 00:10:49,960 Speaker 1: completely fall apart. Well, and it's like today there are 176 00:10:50,640 --> 00:10:52,880 Speaker 1: there are connotations that weren't so much a thing when 177 00:10:52,880 --> 00:10:54,920 Speaker 1: it actually happened, like people who've had to deal with 178 00:10:54,960 --> 00:11:02,080 Speaker 1: identity theft, or we had a whole big problem uh 179 00:11:02,360 --> 00:11:06,439 Speaker 1: some time ago, um the you know before before our 180 00:11:06,520 --> 00:11:10,960 Speaker 1: job was only doing podcasts stuff, we had two different 181 00:11:11,000 --> 00:11:16,040 Speaker 1: freelancers who had the same name, and a person incorrectly 182 00:11:16,200 --> 00:11:19,959 Speaker 1: merged there two things and the accounts payable system into 183 00:11:20,000 --> 00:11:24,960 Speaker 1: one thing, and the the existence of two people with 184 00:11:25,040 --> 00:11:28,079 Speaker 1: the same name like caused such a huge problem. Like 185 00:11:28,600 --> 00:11:33,040 Speaker 1: those kinds of things were not quite as present in 186 00:11:33,080 --> 00:11:36,839 Speaker 1: the same way as when this prank happened. I'm sure 187 00:11:36,840 --> 00:11:38,560 Speaker 1: there were people with the same name in the nineteenth 188 00:11:38,600 --> 00:11:40,800 Speaker 1: century and it caused lots problems, but like not in 189 00:11:40,840 --> 00:11:43,520 Speaker 1: the way that a computer can propagate that problem to 190 00:11:43,679 --> 00:11:49,640 Speaker 1: every possible place, right, Um, yeah, yeah, it seems like 191 00:11:49,679 --> 00:11:51,760 Speaker 1: it would have been. And when you consider right all 192 00:11:51,840 --> 00:11:55,640 Speaker 1: of them, the police presence that was required to deal 193 00:11:55,679 --> 00:11:57,720 Speaker 1: with it. You know, we talked about it all the time, 194 00:11:57,800 --> 00:12:00,640 Speaker 1: like X happened in a bun to. Police had to 195 00:12:00,679 --> 00:12:03,199 Speaker 1: go do that, which meant they weren't doing all the 196 00:12:03,240 --> 00:12:05,960 Speaker 1: other normal things they're supposed to do. Like there's literally 197 00:12:05,960 --> 00:12:08,920 Speaker 1: such a domino effect in every direction. And that one 198 00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:11,240 Speaker 1: article we quoted talked about it like those are doctors 199 00:12:11,240 --> 00:12:13,760 Speaker 1: who were like not only giving up the hours to 200 00:12:13,840 --> 00:12:16,280 Speaker 1: go see this person, but that meant they also couldn't 201 00:12:16,280 --> 00:12:18,320 Speaker 1: get out of the street to go do their other 202 00:12:18,440 --> 00:12:23,040 Speaker 1: visits to other patients that probably legitimately needed them. Um, 203 00:12:23,080 --> 00:12:25,000 Speaker 1: you know, similar things like that. And when you think 204 00:12:25,000 --> 00:12:29,200 Speaker 1: about a tradesperson in eighteen ten, they probably didn't have 205 00:12:29,240 --> 00:12:32,480 Speaker 1: a lot of like wiggle room in their day in 206 00:12:32,600 --> 00:12:34,719 Speaker 1: terms of like the amount of money they needed to 207 00:12:34,800 --> 00:12:37,319 Speaker 1: make in the amount of appointments they needed to hit 208 00:12:37,760 --> 00:12:41,040 Speaker 1: and if they could not get out after they had 209 00:12:41,080 --> 00:12:46,240 Speaker 1: already wasted X amount of time. Yeah, it's it's not 210 00:12:46,320 --> 00:12:48,760 Speaker 1: a very thoughtful thing to do to a whole lot 211 00:12:48,800 --> 00:12:51,240 Speaker 1: of people. Yeah, well, I I feel like we might 212 00:12:51,280 --> 00:12:54,480 Speaker 1: get emails from people who talk about protests blocking traffic, 213 00:12:54,520 --> 00:12:59,960 Speaker 1: but there's a huge difference between protesting a serious social 214 00:13:00,120 --> 00:13:03,920 Speaker 1: or political issue and causing a problem just to cause 215 00:13:03,960 --> 00:13:15,400 Speaker 1: a problem to yes, yes, um, yeah, anyway, I sound 216 00:13:15,440 --> 00:13:18,080 Speaker 1: like the crabbiest crab of crabtown when it comes to pranks. 217 00:13:18,120 --> 00:13:21,000 Speaker 1: But stuff like that is too well, yeah, I just um, 218 00:13:21,160 --> 00:13:23,880 Speaker 1: tell me about spaghetti trees, but please don't block off 219 00:13:24,200 --> 00:13:27,960 Speaker 1: hundreds of people's days. Yeah. Well, and there are enough 220 00:13:28,000 --> 00:13:30,920 Speaker 1: pranks that seem really mean spirited to me that I'm like, 221 00:13:30,960 --> 00:13:34,480 Speaker 1: this is not fun. And especially when people try to 222 00:13:34,520 --> 00:13:37,920 Speaker 1: prank other people in the workplace, and it's like you're 223 00:13:37,960 --> 00:13:40,640 Speaker 1: compelled to be there at work. It's not like you 224 00:13:40,760 --> 00:13:42,760 Speaker 1: could just be like, oh, I'm checking out for the 225 00:13:42,760 --> 00:13:44,040 Speaker 1: whole You might be able to if you have a 226 00:13:44,080 --> 00:13:47,720 Speaker 1: really lenient boss. But like when people do mean pranks 227 00:13:47,720 --> 00:13:54,679 Speaker 1: on their coworkers, don't do that. No, No, I think 228 00:13:54,720 --> 00:13:57,200 Speaker 1: the meanest prank I ever did, and I couldn't even 229 00:13:57,240 --> 00:14:00,040 Speaker 1: like keep it going for more than seconds was and 230 00:14:00,160 --> 00:14:03,240 Speaker 1: I was in college and I was working with one 231 00:14:03,240 --> 00:14:06,720 Speaker 1: of my professors on like my senior project, which was 232 00:14:06,760 --> 00:14:12,200 Speaker 1: a play, and I UM. I had given her a 233 00:14:12,280 --> 00:14:15,679 Speaker 1: card from me that said, like, guess who's pregnant? And 234 00:14:15,760 --> 00:14:18,880 Speaker 1: she panicked and I couldn't even like by the time 235 00:14:18,920 --> 00:14:20,840 Speaker 1: she had opened the card, I was like, I'm sorry, 236 00:14:20,840 --> 00:14:25,640 Speaker 1: it's not real, Like I couldn't. Yeah. I did basically 237 00:14:25,680 --> 00:14:28,880 Speaker 1: that same prank one time when I was in my 238 00:14:28,960 --> 00:14:31,720 Speaker 1: early my early twenties, and I just I did not 239 00:14:31,800 --> 00:14:34,120 Speaker 1: have my act together. My whole life was just like 240 00:14:34,240 --> 00:14:37,000 Speaker 1: full of drama all the time. And I had this 241 00:14:37,040 --> 00:14:39,640 Speaker 1: one particular friend that I talked to about all of 242 00:14:39,640 --> 00:14:45,040 Speaker 1: these you know, this perpetual dramatic chaos that was my life. Uh, 243 00:14:45,040 --> 00:14:48,720 Speaker 1: And it was similar, like less than a minute passed 244 00:14:48,760 --> 00:14:51,040 Speaker 1: before I was like, no, I'm not actually can't. I 245 00:14:51,040 --> 00:14:53,880 Speaker 1: can't do it now. Yeah, I don't like to cause 246 00:14:53,880 --> 00:14:57,160 Speaker 1: anybody stress or fear the I am a bigger fan 247 00:14:57,240 --> 00:15:02,080 Speaker 1: of surprises than prank's right, where like I UM during 248 00:15:02,120 --> 00:15:06,160 Speaker 1: that magical brief gap where it seemed like we might 249 00:15:06,320 --> 00:15:09,880 Speaker 1: be seeing the curb of the pandemic and people started traveling, 250 00:15:10,040 --> 00:15:12,360 Speaker 1: we went to Chicago to see my best friend, and 251 00:15:12,400 --> 00:15:14,560 Speaker 1: we brought one of our other best friends who she's 252 00:15:14,560 --> 00:15:16,960 Speaker 1: also close friends with, but she didn't know she was coming. 253 00:15:17,000 --> 00:15:20,120 Speaker 1: And like, I remember hugging my best friend after I 254 00:15:20,160 --> 00:15:22,520 Speaker 1: had gotten on the plane in the baggage claim area 255 00:15:22,960 --> 00:15:25,080 Speaker 1: and I literally just said, look over my right shoulder. 256 00:15:25,240 --> 00:15:27,240 Speaker 1: And that was like a super fun surprise that I 257 00:15:27,280 --> 00:15:29,680 Speaker 1: guess you could categorize as a prank, but it wasn't 258 00:15:29,720 --> 00:15:31,800 Speaker 1: really Like But that is about as far as I 259 00:15:31,840 --> 00:15:35,000 Speaker 1: want to go anymore in terms of surprising, even good 260 00:15:35,000 --> 00:15:41,080 Speaker 1: surprises can be dangerous, ye, unexpectedly stressful for people sometimes. Yes, 261 00:15:41,280 --> 00:15:43,560 Speaker 1: I have learned, although it had to be told to 262 00:15:43,600 --> 00:15:49,480 Speaker 1: me explicitly, that my husband does not like surprises. Uh. 263 00:15:49,800 --> 00:15:51,720 Speaker 1: It took me a while, which stinks because I am 264 00:15:51,800 --> 00:15:56,400 Speaker 1: really good at surprising people, but um yeah he he 265 00:15:56,560 --> 00:15:59,840 Speaker 1: literally at one point was like for his forty birthday, 266 00:15:59,840 --> 00:16:02,160 Speaker 1: I kind of went all out with surprise after surprise 267 00:16:02,200 --> 00:16:04,640 Speaker 1: after surprise, and like we were traveling and people would 268 00:16:04,680 --> 00:16:06,680 Speaker 1: show up, and at one point he just turned to 269 00:16:06,680 --> 00:16:08,120 Speaker 1: me and said, I'm really glad to see them, but 270 00:16:08,160 --> 00:16:09,680 Speaker 1: you have to tell me if anything else is happening, 271 00:16:09,680 --> 00:16:11,480 Speaker 1: because I can't take it anymore, and I was like, Okay, 272 00:16:12,280 --> 00:16:14,000 Speaker 1: I have a list of things I need to inform 273 00:16:14,040 --> 00:16:21,800 Speaker 1: you about. So, um, take into account how the surprised 274 00:16:21,920 --> 00:16:26,120 Speaker 1: person would feel. Uh, and certainly trivially so if you 275 00:16:26,160 --> 00:16:28,200 Speaker 1: are going to try to do a practical joker prank, 276 00:16:28,240 --> 00:16:34,720 Speaker 1: because yeah, they're not for everybody. Uh yeah, just everybody 277 00:16:34,840 --> 00:16:39,320 Speaker 1: be nice to each other. It seems so simple. Thank 278 00:16:39,360 --> 00:16:41,080 Speaker 1: you so much for hanging out with us this week. 279 00:16:41,120 --> 00:16:43,960 Speaker 1: We hope you have a wonderful weekend ahead. Uh. And 280 00:16:43,960 --> 00:16:46,320 Speaker 1: if you have time off, that it is RESTful and delightful, 281 00:16:46,400 --> 00:16:48,960 Speaker 1: and that you have only good surprises and they're at 282 00:16:49,000 --> 00:16:51,800 Speaker 1: whatever level you are comfortable with. If you do not 283 00:16:51,960 --> 00:16:54,280 Speaker 1: have time off, we hope that whatever is going on 284 00:16:54,360 --> 00:16:57,080 Speaker 1: in your life goes smoothly and that everybody is kind 285 00:16:57,160 --> 00:16:59,240 Speaker 1: to you. We will be right back here tomorrow with 286 00:16:59,280 --> 00:17:01,040 Speaker 1: a classic episod out, and then we'll see you again 287 00:17:01,080 --> 00:17:08,960 Speaker 1: on Monday with new stuff. Stuff you missed in History 288 00:17:08,960 --> 00:17:11,720 Speaker 1: Class is a production of I heart Radio. For more 289 00:17:11,760 --> 00:17:14,800 Speaker 1: podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, 290 00:17:14,880 --> 00:17:18,040 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.