1 00:00:01,160 --> 00:00:04,120 Speaker 1: Welcome to Steph you missed in history class from how 2 00:00:04,160 --> 00:00:13,560 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot Com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,560 --> 00:00:17,720 Speaker 1: I'm Honley Fry and I'm Tracy B. Wilson Tracy Yep. 4 00:00:18,520 --> 00:00:22,759 Speaker 1: It's time for delicious holiday snacks for some people to 5 00:00:22,800 --> 00:00:25,440 Speaker 1: celebrate Christmas or other winter holidays. The snacks are the 6 00:00:25,440 --> 00:00:28,520 Speaker 1: best thing about the season. I think Tracy and I 7 00:00:28,560 --> 00:00:31,080 Speaker 1: have told the ridiculous story of us being two of 8 00:00:31,120 --> 00:00:33,599 Speaker 1: the only people in the office during Christmas holidays one 9 00:00:33,680 --> 00:00:39,000 Speaker 1: year and making s'mores with um chocolate moose peeps and 10 00:00:39,040 --> 00:00:42,479 Speaker 1: peppermint bark and running around like we were wild animals. 11 00:00:42,600 --> 00:00:45,879 Speaker 1: It was amazing because the sugar rush was more than 12 00:00:45,920 --> 00:00:48,920 Speaker 1: we can handle. Yeah, and it was super fun. And 13 00:00:48,960 --> 00:00:52,920 Speaker 1: even if you like don't celebrate the religious holidays, or 14 00:00:53,040 --> 00:00:55,560 Speaker 1: even like the more cultural like the people who are 15 00:00:55,600 --> 00:00:59,160 Speaker 1: more culturally Christian and celebrate Chris Christmas in a more 16 00:00:59,200 --> 00:01:01,080 Speaker 1: secular way, like even if you don't know why any 17 00:01:01,120 --> 00:01:03,120 Speaker 1: of that, a lot of these things is the only 18 00:01:03,160 --> 00:01:06,560 Speaker 1: time of the year that you really find them. Yeah uh, 19 00:01:06,640 --> 00:01:09,520 Speaker 1: and yummy snacks or yummy snacks, But many of these 20 00:01:09,520 --> 00:01:12,399 Speaker 1: snacks have histories that go back hundreds of years. But 21 00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:15,000 Speaker 1: because of the nature of the subject, things get really 22 00:01:15,040 --> 00:01:17,520 Speaker 1: confusing in a hurry, because, after all, all of the 23 00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:21,200 Speaker 1: historical evidence is pretty much eaten. Uh. And so there's 24 00:01:21,240 --> 00:01:24,399 Speaker 1: a lot of apocrypha going on. Uh. And So in 25 00:01:24,440 --> 00:01:26,760 Speaker 1: the interest of examining the stories behind some of the 26 00:01:26,800 --> 00:01:30,080 Speaker 1: most ingested holiday consumables, we're going to sort through that 27 00:01:30,080 --> 00:01:33,280 Speaker 1: apocrypha and the known facts, and we'll probably all be 28 00:01:33,319 --> 00:01:37,640 Speaker 1: craving something sweet and delicious by the end. Expectations management 29 00:01:37,720 --> 00:01:40,200 Speaker 1: right out of the gate. We already talked about eggnog 30 00:01:40,240 --> 00:01:42,920 Speaker 1: and its origins a bit in our Eggnog Riot episode, 31 00:01:42,959 --> 00:01:44,959 Speaker 1: so we're not going to talk about eggnog today. We 32 00:01:45,040 --> 00:01:48,240 Speaker 1: do have another drink, which is wattle, and we'll also 33 00:01:48,320 --> 00:01:56,440 Speaker 1: cover candy canes and gingerbread. I'm excited because, uh, a 34 00:01:56,480 --> 00:01:59,160 Speaker 1: lot of these things are delicious. So candy canes bright 35 00:01:59,280 --> 00:02:03,720 Speaker 1: and cheerful six of peppermint goodness, but no one really 36 00:02:03,760 --> 00:02:06,600 Speaker 1: knows exactly where they came from. There are a lot 37 00:02:06,760 --> 00:02:11,640 Speaker 1: of unsubstantiated stories about the origins, though, and three of 38 00:02:11,680 --> 00:02:14,320 Speaker 1: them are the ones that are the most commonly repeated. 39 00:02:15,320 --> 00:02:18,079 Speaker 1: So one version of this story goes that candy canes 40 00:02:18,080 --> 00:02:22,000 Speaker 1: were originally invented in Germany in the sixteen hundreds, And 41 00:02:22,040 --> 00:02:25,320 Speaker 1: in this apocryphal version, a choir master at a cathedral 42 00:02:25,440 --> 00:02:28,839 Speaker 1: invented candy canes as a way to keep children who 43 00:02:28,840 --> 00:02:32,920 Speaker 1: are normally a little bit fidgety and sometimes noisy, occupied 44 00:02:32,960 --> 00:02:36,640 Speaker 1: and quiet in church. And he had the candy sticks 45 00:02:36,639 --> 00:02:39,000 Speaker 1: made by a confection or with a crook at the 46 00:02:39,040 --> 00:02:41,680 Speaker 1: top so that they echoed the shape of a shepherd's staff, 47 00:02:42,160 --> 00:02:45,679 Speaker 1: making the idea of candy in church more acceptable to parents. 48 00:02:46,560 --> 00:02:49,680 Speaker 1: Sometimes this story is told, along with color symbolism, that 49 00:02:49,720 --> 00:02:53,880 Speaker 1: the choirmaster specifically chose white sticks of candy to represent 50 00:02:54,000 --> 00:02:57,440 Speaker 1: purity and Christ. But there is absolutely no record of 51 00:02:57,520 --> 00:03:00,000 Speaker 1: such a thing, and no one seems to know who 52 00:03:00,120 --> 00:03:02,480 Speaker 1: this choirmaster was, even though they're an awful lot of 53 00:03:02,520 --> 00:03:07,600 Speaker 1: details about his thought process. So again it's a lovely story, 54 00:03:07,639 --> 00:03:11,200 Speaker 1: but unsubstantiated. I'll say I would have much preferred candy 55 00:03:11,280 --> 00:03:13,440 Speaker 1: as a way to keep quiet in church then what 56 00:03:13,600 --> 00:03:16,919 Speaker 1: I actually had, which was doodling on the church bulletin. 57 00:03:18,160 --> 00:03:21,720 Speaker 1: Church bulletins are generally not delicious, no shade to any 58 00:03:21,800 --> 00:03:25,280 Speaker 1: church bulletins, but no, but I would draw on them. 59 00:03:25,560 --> 00:03:29,880 Speaker 1: So another origin story attributes the invention of the candy 60 00:03:29,880 --> 00:03:33,760 Speaker 1: cane to a particularly devout confectioner in the United States, 61 00:03:33,800 --> 00:03:38,080 Speaker 1: specifically Indiana, who carefully designed the candy cane as an 62 00:03:38,120 --> 00:03:42,920 Speaker 1: expression of the story of Christ. And this similarly sites 63 00:03:42,960 --> 00:03:45,640 Speaker 1: the white of the candy cane is a symbol of purity, 64 00:03:45,720 --> 00:03:47,840 Speaker 1: and the red stripes this symbolic of the blood of 65 00:03:47,920 --> 00:03:50,880 Speaker 1: Christ with the crucifixion, and then the cane shape, according 66 00:03:50,920 --> 00:03:55,080 Speaker 1: to this version, is actually the letter J for Jesus. Again, 67 00:03:55,120 --> 00:03:59,240 Speaker 1: there's no evidence for this story. Uh, that's that's similar 68 00:03:59,240 --> 00:04:01,040 Speaker 1: to like the one that I heard the most growing up, 69 00:04:01,080 --> 00:04:04,480 Speaker 1: although I heard the combination of the colors being this 70 00:04:04,520 --> 00:04:08,080 Speaker 1: one and then the crook is the shepherd's. Yeah, And 71 00:04:08,120 --> 00:04:09,760 Speaker 1: it's one of those things like if people like to 72 00:04:09,800 --> 00:04:12,200 Speaker 1: think of them that way, that's great, but like there's 73 00:04:12,240 --> 00:04:15,440 Speaker 1: not really any historical backing for that being how and 74 00:04:15,480 --> 00:04:19,559 Speaker 1: why they were invented. Um. A third story is less 75 00:04:19,600 --> 00:04:22,960 Speaker 1: about the invention of the peppermint treat and it's more 76 00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:25,960 Speaker 1: about the introduction of it to the US. And this 77 00:04:26,040 --> 00:04:30,000 Speaker 1: tale features a German immigrant named August m Guard and 78 00:04:30,040 --> 00:04:33,720 Speaker 1: according to the legend, m Guard put up the Christmas tree. Uh. 79 00:04:33,800 --> 00:04:37,919 Speaker 1: The first in Ohio when he decorated his in eighty seven, 80 00:04:38,520 --> 00:04:41,480 Speaker 1: and it said that m Guard's tree had paper ornaments 81 00:04:41,520 --> 00:04:43,920 Speaker 1: and candy canes on it. At least that is how 82 00:04:44,040 --> 00:04:47,920 Speaker 1: some versions of the story go. There are other accounts 83 00:04:47,960 --> 00:04:50,240 Speaker 1: that say that it was actually a type of decorated 84 00:04:50,279 --> 00:04:53,120 Speaker 1: Bavarian cookie that was used to grace the tree, along 85 00:04:53,120 --> 00:04:55,680 Speaker 1: with the paper ornaments, as well as nuts that were 86 00:04:55,680 --> 00:05:00,479 Speaker 1: painted gold. M Guard does remain associated with one of 87 00:05:00,480 --> 00:05:02,960 Speaker 1: the earliest Christmas trees in the US, although I think 88 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:06,000 Speaker 1: he is no longer referenced as the first Christmas tree 89 00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:09,240 Speaker 1: in the US, But the candy cane aspect of the story, 90 00:05:09,320 --> 00:05:11,960 Speaker 1: in terms of him bringing it to the United States 91 00:05:11,960 --> 00:05:16,039 Speaker 1: and decorating with it, is again not substantiated in any way. 92 00:05:16,480 --> 00:05:20,400 Speaker 1: As for the striped peppermint sticks themselves, they're clearly described 93 00:05:20,440 --> 00:05:24,799 Speaker 1: in the book The Complete Confectioner, Pastry, Cook and Baker 94 00:05:25,040 --> 00:05:29,280 Speaker 1: by Eleanor Parkinson. In a section of the text titled Clove, 95 00:05:29,480 --> 00:05:33,880 Speaker 1: Ginger or Peppermint Candy. The process of making striped candy 96 00:05:34,120 --> 00:05:39,600 Speaker 1: is described this way. For clove, the mixture whilst boiling 97 00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:43,279 Speaker 1: is colored with cocon heal ginger with saffron, but the 98 00:05:43,320 --> 00:05:46,920 Speaker 1: peppermint must be kept perfectly white except the stripes, which 99 00:05:46,960 --> 00:05:49,080 Speaker 1: is done by cutting off as many pieces from the 100 00:05:49,080 --> 00:05:52,160 Speaker 1: bulk as you have colors which should be in powder. 101 00:05:52,560 --> 00:05:55,200 Speaker 1: Put a sufficiency in each piece to give the desired 102 00:05:55,240 --> 00:05:58,320 Speaker 1: tent and keep them warm. When the remaining portion of 103 00:05:58,360 --> 00:06:00,880 Speaker 1: the sugar is pulled, lay the over the surface and 104 00:06:01,000 --> 00:06:03,800 Speaker 1: narrow stripes double the roll together and the face each 105 00:06:03,839 --> 00:06:07,040 Speaker 1: way will be alike. Pull them out into long sticks 106 00:06:07,080 --> 00:06:10,360 Speaker 1: and twist them, make them round by rolling them under 107 00:06:10,360 --> 00:06:12,760 Speaker 1: the hand, or they may be cut into small pieces 108 00:06:12,760 --> 00:06:16,920 Speaker 1: with a pair of shears or scissors. Yeah. So in 109 00:06:17,000 --> 00:06:19,520 Speaker 1: terms of that, it's more a matter of put in 110 00:06:19,640 --> 00:06:22,839 Speaker 1: stripes to make them colorful and festive, not so much 111 00:06:22,839 --> 00:06:25,840 Speaker 1: with any kind of meaning. Uh. And while we may 112 00:06:25,839 --> 00:06:28,680 Speaker 1: not be able to trace the invention of candy canes 113 00:06:28,720 --> 00:06:31,479 Speaker 1: back to its origin point, we do know a bit 114 00:06:31,520 --> 00:06:34,200 Speaker 1: more about the mass production of candy canes and where 115 00:06:34,279 --> 00:06:38,000 Speaker 1: that started. Bob's Candies, founded by a man named Bob 116 00:06:38,080 --> 00:06:42,080 Speaker 1: McCormick in Albany, Georgia, was the first confectionery company to 117 00:06:42,160 --> 00:06:44,760 Speaker 1: start mass producing candy canes, which they did in the 118 00:06:44,800 --> 00:06:49,159 Speaker 1: early nineteen twenties. Incidentally, Bob's Candies was also the first 119 00:06:49,160 --> 00:06:52,359 Speaker 1: to offer cellophane wrapped candy canes. Tracy, I don't know 120 00:06:52,400 --> 00:06:55,240 Speaker 1: about you, but I accidentally ingested a lot of cellophane 121 00:06:55,279 --> 00:06:57,800 Speaker 1: as a child because I cannot always peel it off 122 00:06:57,800 --> 00:07:04,160 Speaker 1: the candy cane. Initially, the hooks that were being added 123 00:07:04,160 --> 00:07:07,080 Speaker 1: to the canes were done by hand before the candy 124 00:07:07,160 --> 00:07:10,160 Speaker 1: cooled and hardened. But this method had a high rate 125 00:07:10,160 --> 00:07:12,400 Speaker 1: of waste, because more than one fifth of the candy 126 00:07:12,400 --> 00:07:16,560 Speaker 1: canes broke and consequently could not be sold. Bob McCormick's 127 00:07:16,600 --> 00:07:18,840 Speaker 1: brother in law, a priest by the name of Gregory 128 00:07:18,920 --> 00:07:23,240 Speaker 1: Harding Keller, invented a machine to automate the hook shaping process, 129 00:07:23,280 --> 00:07:26,360 Speaker 1: which had a much lower rate of candy breakage. The 130 00:07:26,480 --> 00:07:29,120 Speaker 1: Keller machine not to be confused with the one on doctor, 131 00:07:29,160 --> 00:07:33,600 Speaker 1: who was further refined by too Bob's Candies employees named 132 00:07:33,600 --> 00:07:36,640 Speaker 1: Dick Driscoll and Jimmy Spratling, and then after that, almost 133 00:07:36,680 --> 00:07:40,360 Speaker 1: all the candy canes produced were perfect. This novel invention, 134 00:07:40,400 --> 00:07:42,760 Speaker 1: which was really the start of the modern candy cane 135 00:07:42,800 --> 00:07:46,360 Speaker 1: industry one killer his fifteen minutes of fame. He even 136 00:07:46,400 --> 00:07:49,200 Speaker 1: appeared on the game show what's my line, so contestants 137 00:07:49,200 --> 00:07:52,880 Speaker 1: could guess his profession. Yeah, I would imagine that was 138 00:07:52,920 --> 00:07:56,280 Speaker 1: a stumper. Most priests do not also invent machinery for 139 00:07:56,360 --> 00:08:00,000 Speaker 1: the confectionery trade. Um. There is a great picture of 140 00:08:00,080 --> 00:08:01,840 Speaker 1: him that I found online and he's in his full 141 00:08:01,960 --> 00:08:04,760 Speaker 1: like you know, priest caller and everything, standing next to 142 00:08:04,800 --> 00:08:07,800 Speaker 1: this machine and it's very charming. Next up, we're going 143 00:08:07,840 --> 00:08:10,040 Speaker 1: to talk about a winter beverage that's been having a 144 00:08:10,040 --> 00:08:12,920 Speaker 1: bit of a resurgence in popularity in recent years, and 145 00:08:12,960 --> 00:08:15,520 Speaker 1: that is wostle. But first we're gonna take a quick 146 00:08:15,560 --> 00:08:24,800 Speaker 1: break for a word from one of our fantastic sponsors. Okay, so, 147 00:08:24,880 --> 00:08:27,480 Speaker 1: if you're like me for a long time, maybe you 148 00:08:27,480 --> 00:08:30,760 Speaker 1: aren't sure if you've ever had wostle before. Odds are yes, 149 00:08:30,840 --> 00:08:33,040 Speaker 1: because there are a lot of different versions of it, Like, 150 00:08:33,080 --> 00:08:36,160 Speaker 1: there's no one this is what equals true wostle. So 151 00:08:36,360 --> 00:08:39,920 Speaker 1: probably something you have had could fall into the very 152 00:08:39,960 --> 00:08:43,160 Speaker 1: loose definition. Uh. And also there's a bit of confusion 153 00:08:43,200 --> 00:08:45,600 Speaker 1: about whether wastle is a thing you drink or a 154 00:08:45,640 --> 00:08:48,000 Speaker 1: thing you do, and it's actually both, and we'll get 155 00:08:48,040 --> 00:08:51,200 Speaker 1: into that. It's a word that has pretty soft edges 156 00:08:51,280 --> 00:08:55,000 Speaker 1: around its definition. Of course, there's also a wastle song, 157 00:08:55,720 --> 00:08:58,200 Speaker 1: which I'm not going to sing to you because no 158 00:08:58,240 --> 00:09:01,120 Speaker 1: one needs to be subjected to that. You might have 159 00:09:01,240 --> 00:09:04,839 Speaker 1: heard it with the reference to whastle subseeded out with 160 00:09:04,880 --> 00:09:06,520 Speaker 1: another term, So it's the one that goes, here we 161 00:09:06,559 --> 00:09:09,240 Speaker 1: come a whastling among the leaves so green. Here we 162 00:09:09,320 --> 00:09:11,599 Speaker 1: come a wandering so fair to be seen. Love and 163 00:09:11,679 --> 00:09:14,320 Speaker 1: joy come to you and to your your wastle too, 164 00:09:14,640 --> 00:09:17,120 Speaker 1: and God bless you and send you a happy New Year. 165 00:09:17,240 --> 00:09:21,720 Speaker 1: So sometimes a wastling has swapped out for a caroling, 166 00:09:22,400 --> 00:09:25,720 Speaker 1: and instead of to you your whastle, it's us something 167 00:09:25,720 --> 00:09:30,040 Speaker 1: along the lines of plaid Christmas or a merry Christmas. Yeah, 168 00:09:30,080 --> 00:09:33,440 Speaker 1: the really popular version in the United States that was 169 00:09:33,480 --> 00:09:37,240 Speaker 1: recorded by Perry Como definitely subs out whastl ing for 170 00:09:38,080 --> 00:09:40,400 Speaker 1: a caroling and glad Christmas, and there have been other 171 00:09:40,440 --> 00:09:43,000 Speaker 1: recordings as well that do the same. I'm not sure 172 00:09:43,040 --> 00:09:46,200 Speaker 1: if that was because they didn't want any reference to alcohol, 173 00:09:46,440 --> 00:09:48,200 Speaker 1: or if it was because they thought people might not 174 00:09:48,240 --> 00:09:52,080 Speaker 1: know what whastling was. But in any case, uh, it 175 00:09:52,120 --> 00:09:54,080 Speaker 1: gets subbed out. But you know the song, even if 176 00:09:54,120 --> 00:09:56,360 Speaker 1: you don't think you do, it always makes me think 177 00:09:56,559 --> 00:10:00,959 Speaker 1: of the version of Little Women's Starring One to ride 178 00:10:01,720 --> 00:10:05,400 Speaker 1: uh And One of the earliest mentions of wastle as 179 00:10:05,400 --> 00:10:08,200 Speaker 1: a form of toasting and well wishing is found in 180 00:10:08,240 --> 00:10:12,080 Speaker 1: the Old English epic Beowulf, most likely pinned somewhat sometime 181 00:10:12,160 --> 00:10:15,040 Speaker 1: between the eighth and tenth century. It's exact date is unknown, 182 00:10:15,640 --> 00:10:18,679 Speaker 1: and the word is evolved from the greeting veshile an 183 00:10:18,720 --> 00:10:22,720 Speaker 1: Old Norse, and it's Old English counterpart washaw, both of 184 00:10:22,720 --> 00:10:25,200 Speaker 1: which convey a wish to someone for their good health 185 00:10:25,280 --> 00:10:28,840 Speaker 1: or good fortune. But aside from a fairly clear connection 186 00:10:28,880 --> 00:10:32,400 Speaker 1: to root words, the path of the wastle tradition through 187 00:10:32,440 --> 00:10:36,560 Speaker 1: time is a very winding one with many branches. According 188 00:10:36,600 --> 00:10:40,360 Speaker 1: to Robert Dors, writing for the Colonial Williamsburg Journal, it 189 00:10:40,440 --> 00:10:43,520 Speaker 1: was England's Danish speaking community that started using it as 190 00:10:43,559 --> 00:10:46,360 Speaker 1: a toast, but it caught on so quickly throughout the 191 00:10:46,400 --> 00:10:48,880 Speaker 1: country that by the time William the Duke of Normandy 192 00:10:48,960 --> 00:10:52,199 Speaker 1: brought the Norman French army to the Battle of Hastings 193 00:10:52,200 --> 00:10:55,400 Speaker 1: in ten sixty six to have an episode about an archive, 194 00:10:56,000 --> 00:11:00,240 Speaker 1: the invaders believed that it was an English custom e yees, 195 00:11:00,360 --> 00:11:03,360 Speaker 1: So even though it probably did not originate with um 196 00:11:03,559 --> 00:11:06,400 Speaker 1: natives of England, they adopted it so quickly that it's 197 00:11:06,400 --> 00:11:09,240 Speaker 1: now very much associated with England. And one of the 198 00:11:09,280 --> 00:11:13,120 Speaker 1: more specific origin stories of the wastle toast is the 199 00:11:13,160 --> 00:11:17,559 Speaker 1: tale of Vortigern and Rowena. Vortigern, a fifth century British king, 200 00:11:17,679 --> 00:11:20,240 Speaker 1: was allegedly struck with Rowan his beauty, and when she 201 00:11:20,280 --> 00:11:24,560 Speaker 1: approached him and uttered the greeting washa, he, after conferring 202 00:11:24,559 --> 00:11:28,280 Speaker 1: with an interpreter, answered drink how and then the two 203 00:11:28,320 --> 00:11:30,400 Speaker 1: shared a drink of spiced wine, which would have been 204 00:11:30,440 --> 00:11:34,040 Speaker 1: a luxury item. Uh. And while this story is unverifiable 205 00:11:34,160 --> 00:11:38,120 Speaker 1: and it has taken on many variations throughout time UH, 206 00:11:38,160 --> 00:11:41,680 Speaker 1: including versions that happened later where they were sharing a 207 00:11:41,760 --> 00:11:44,000 Speaker 1: cup with a whole group of people. And there was 208 00:11:44,040 --> 00:11:46,600 Speaker 1: also a play which was allegedly written by Shakespeare but 209 00:11:46,679 --> 00:11:50,040 Speaker 1: was eventually revealed as a forgery. Uh. This exchange of 210 00:11:50,080 --> 00:11:53,480 Speaker 1: greetings continues into modern time, although now it is not 211 00:11:53,640 --> 00:11:56,960 Speaker 1: linked to romance as the original story was, but merely 212 00:11:57,040 --> 00:11:59,520 Speaker 1: to revelry and merriment, like as a call in response 213 00:11:59,559 --> 00:12:03,199 Speaker 1: to people to start sort of a drinking party. By 214 00:12:03,240 --> 00:12:07,079 Speaker 1: the thirteenth century, this idea of a communal drinking vessel 215 00:12:07,280 --> 00:12:11,040 Speaker 1: filled filled with wastle had become popular. This was a 216 00:12:11,080 --> 00:12:13,800 Speaker 1: bowl of the drink which you would dip baked goods 217 00:12:13,840 --> 00:12:16,719 Speaker 1: into to like soak up the wastle. And this is 218 00:12:16,760 --> 00:12:19,320 Speaker 1: allegedly where the use of the word toast comes from 219 00:12:19,400 --> 00:12:23,080 Speaker 1: to mean a greeting before a group drinks together, because 220 00:12:23,120 --> 00:12:26,320 Speaker 1: pieces of toast were sometimes dipped or floated in the 221 00:12:26,360 --> 00:12:33,920 Speaker 1: wattle bowl, So wet alcoholic toast, Just putting that out there. Uh. 222 00:12:33,960 --> 00:12:36,720 Speaker 1: The wostle bowl became part of a roving street party 223 00:12:36,760 --> 00:12:40,360 Speaker 1: practice in the fifteen hundreds, so revelers also called wostlers 224 00:12:40,760 --> 00:12:43,199 Speaker 1: would visit homes sort of similar to the way that 225 00:12:43,280 --> 00:12:48,160 Speaker 1: carolers might, offering drinks and well wishes. And some locations, 226 00:12:48,200 --> 00:12:51,920 Speaker 1: whastling was part of the pagan winter Solstis festival Saturnalia, 227 00:12:52,520 --> 00:12:55,880 Speaker 1: dressing into skies or inverting social roles as part of 228 00:12:55,880 --> 00:12:58,559 Speaker 1: this practice, and it became a time when the wealthy 229 00:12:58,600 --> 00:13:01,920 Speaker 1: would share their bounty with people who had less financial fortune, 230 00:13:02,200 --> 00:13:05,080 Speaker 1: although there were also accounts that suggest the sharing had 231 00:13:05,120 --> 00:13:12,520 Speaker 1: been demanded by drunken mobs rather than being offered magnanimously. Yeah, 232 00:13:12,600 --> 00:13:15,360 Speaker 1: so some you know, versions of this were a case 233 00:13:15,360 --> 00:13:18,040 Speaker 1: where people would pass this wastle bowl around, maybe get 234 00:13:18,480 --> 00:13:20,760 Speaker 1: a little bit of liquid courage, and then go to 235 00:13:20,800 --> 00:13:23,800 Speaker 1: the rich guy's house and demand that he share his 236 00:13:23,840 --> 00:13:26,720 Speaker 1: wealth with them, or it was you know, feudal lords 237 00:13:26,760 --> 00:13:28,760 Speaker 1: would then kind of have the people under them come 238 00:13:28,760 --> 00:13:31,120 Speaker 1: to their house and go, hey, you should share with us. 239 00:13:31,920 --> 00:13:34,920 Speaker 1: That is a very very watered down version of it. Um. 240 00:13:34,960 --> 00:13:37,880 Speaker 1: The pagan wattle tradition was also part of farming life 241 00:13:37,880 --> 00:13:40,600 Speaker 1: in Britain. Farmers would drink to the health of their 242 00:13:40,640 --> 00:13:43,480 Speaker 1: animals and their orchards, and they would leave wastle soaked 243 00:13:43,480 --> 00:13:46,880 Speaker 1: bread and trees, or just pour the wazzle directly onto 244 00:13:46,880 --> 00:13:49,520 Speaker 1: tree trunks. And this could also involve groups of farmers 245 00:13:49,520 --> 00:13:53,000 Speaker 1: and their families moving from one farm to another throughout 246 00:13:53,000 --> 00:13:55,240 Speaker 1: the course of an evening to wish prosperity on the 247 00:13:55,280 --> 00:13:58,880 Speaker 1: crops of everyone in the community. So obviously, all of 248 00:13:58,880 --> 00:14:03,280 Speaker 1: these various iterations of watling also evolved to coincide with 249 00:14:03,360 --> 00:14:07,679 Speaker 1: the different beliefs and celebrations in different areas. While there 250 00:14:07,720 --> 00:14:10,360 Speaker 1: were paying roots to some of the farm practices, which 251 00:14:10,400 --> 00:14:13,640 Speaker 1: included the desire to ward off bad spirits from orchards 252 00:14:14,040 --> 00:14:16,920 Speaker 1: as part of Christian holidays, wostling became part of twelve 253 00:14:17,040 --> 00:14:21,320 Speaker 1: Night festivities, and in more relaxed definitions of wastling, the 254 00:14:21,360 --> 00:14:24,080 Speaker 1: word has been used in a modern way to refer 255 00:14:24,120 --> 00:14:28,320 Speaker 1: to almost any instance of in winter where neighbors visit 256 00:14:28,400 --> 00:14:30,880 Speaker 1: each other and bring some sort of wostle or other 257 00:14:31,080 --> 00:14:35,200 Speaker 1: libation to enjoy together. Yeah, like I said, it's got 258 00:14:35,320 --> 00:14:39,000 Speaker 1: very soft edges on the definition of this word. Uh. 259 00:14:39,040 --> 00:14:41,240 Speaker 1: And all of this drinking around the holidays, we should 260 00:14:41,280 --> 00:14:44,720 Speaker 1: point out, was not always looked upon as good cheer. 261 00:14:45,320 --> 00:14:48,200 Speaker 1: So in both England and the North American colonies where 262 00:14:48,200 --> 00:14:51,880 Speaker 1: the wostling tradition had moved along with the colonists, seventeenth 263 00:14:51,920 --> 00:14:55,600 Speaker 1: century Puritan church leaders were not enthused with the practice 264 00:14:55,640 --> 00:15:00,320 Speaker 1: of drinking to celebrate a Christian holiday in the sober 265 00:15:00,440 --> 00:15:04,800 Speaker 1: with Saturnalia on the calendar further wrankled them. Uh. There were, 266 00:15:04,840 --> 00:15:08,360 Speaker 1: in fact, attempts to banish wasstle and watling and many 267 00:15:08,360 --> 00:15:13,600 Speaker 1: other Christmas activities completely, while the practice and the beverage survived, 268 00:15:13,640 --> 00:15:17,080 Speaker 1: and they were romanticized in nineteenth century literature. As part 269 00:15:17,120 --> 00:15:21,560 Speaker 1: of a traditional English Christmas celebration, carrying a giant bowl 270 00:15:21,600 --> 00:15:24,040 Speaker 1: of punch door to door is maybe a little too 271 00:15:24,080 --> 00:15:28,040 Speaker 1: cumbersome to remain a popular practice. Yeah, there are still 272 00:15:28,080 --> 00:15:31,960 Speaker 1: places where people do it, and and villages and towns 273 00:15:31,960 --> 00:15:33,600 Speaker 1: where it is a big part of the tradition, but 274 00:15:33,760 --> 00:15:37,000 Speaker 1: it's really not as common as it would have been 275 00:15:37,360 --> 00:15:40,640 Speaker 1: several hundred years ago. Um And we mentioned earlier that 276 00:15:40,720 --> 00:15:43,400 Speaker 1: if the story of Rowena and Vortigern were true, the 277 00:15:43,480 --> 00:15:46,840 Speaker 1: wine spiced with ingredients that would have been imported would 278 00:15:46,840 --> 00:15:50,360 Speaker 1: have been highly valuable. But while that drink was merely 279 00:15:50,440 --> 00:15:52,880 Speaker 1: present according to the lore at the moment when the 280 00:15:52,920 --> 00:15:55,200 Speaker 1: idea of wastling was born, and would not have been 281 00:15:55,200 --> 00:15:58,240 Speaker 1: called wostle itself. There are plenty of other drinks that 282 00:15:58,320 --> 00:16:01,840 Speaker 1: have been called wostle through the es so. Some were 283 00:16:01,880 --> 00:16:05,760 Speaker 1: made with more affordable spiced ale rather than wine. Some 284 00:16:05,920 --> 00:16:10,680 Speaker 1: replicated that more expensive wine with spices. Some have been 285 00:16:10,720 --> 00:16:13,600 Speaker 1: made by whipping beer or ale into a froth and 286 00:16:13,640 --> 00:16:17,960 Speaker 1: then dropping roasted crab apples into the foam. There are 287 00:16:18,000 --> 00:16:21,400 Speaker 1: a lot of versions. And then, of course, considering the 288 00:16:21,680 --> 00:16:25,160 Speaker 1: orchard focused traditions of watling and more rural areas, it's 289 00:16:25,200 --> 00:16:29,040 Speaker 1: really no surprise that most modern wastle recipes are really 290 00:16:29,080 --> 00:16:32,360 Speaker 1: apple centric. If you search online, you'll find that most 291 00:16:32,440 --> 00:16:35,120 Speaker 1: start with apple cider and then add some combo of 292 00:16:35,200 --> 00:16:39,800 Speaker 1: other fruit juices, including orange, pineapple, and even cranberry. The 293 00:16:39,840 --> 00:16:44,560 Speaker 1: whole cider fruit juice mixture is cooked with spices like nutmeg, cloves, allspice, 294 00:16:44,600 --> 00:16:48,080 Speaker 1: and ginger, and some include eggs. The drink is served hot, 295 00:16:48,120 --> 00:16:50,160 Speaker 1: often with a fruit garnish or a piece of fruit 296 00:16:50,240 --> 00:16:53,840 Speaker 1: stewed in the beverage as it's simmered, and then alcoholic 297 00:16:53,880 --> 00:16:58,440 Speaker 1: Wasastle recipes can start with cider and spices combined with sherry, brandy, rum, 298 00:16:58,600 --> 00:17:04,080 Speaker 1: muld wine, and so on. I feel like I should 299 00:17:04,080 --> 00:17:09,040 Speaker 1: confess that this is not my thing. It's fine, not 300 00:17:09,200 --> 00:17:11,560 Speaker 1: at all. I feel like a bad celebrant. But I'm like, 301 00:17:11,600 --> 00:17:16,600 Speaker 1: please don't hand me hot sugar water. Well, I am 302 00:17:16,680 --> 00:17:20,879 Speaker 1: fond of like a hot mulled cider um with like 303 00:17:21,040 --> 00:17:26,520 Speaker 1: lots of cinnamon and whatnot. Um, I am not find 304 00:17:26,720 --> 00:17:29,920 Speaker 1: fond of the idea of communally drinking from the same 305 00:17:30,040 --> 00:17:35,480 Speaker 1: bowl maybe strangers. That's true. That's another thing that I 306 00:17:35,520 --> 00:17:38,240 Speaker 1: didn't mention in in these notes that there is also 307 00:17:38,359 --> 00:17:41,040 Speaker 1: like a hygiene element that may have made this lose 308 00:17:41,040 --> 00:17:44,480 Speaker 1: a little bit of favor over the years. Um yeah, 309 00:17:44,520 --> 00:17:46,159 Speaker 1: to me, I mean I have that thing where it 310 00:17:46,240 --> 00:17:49,040 Speaker 1: was somewhere along the line ingrained in me that apple 311 00:17:49,080 --> 00:17:52,879 Speaker 1: cider served warm is very dangerous as a potential haven 312 00:17:52,920 --> 00:17:56,520 Speaker 1: of bacteria, and my brain cannot get past that possibility. 313 00:17:56,600 --> 00:17:59,480 Speaker 1: Even if someone shows me all of the ways they 314 00:17:59,480 --> 00:18:04,280 Speaker 1: have maintained in safety and food standards throughout prep and serving, 315 00:18:04,520 --> 00:18:08,080 Speaker 1: I'm still like all I see is auger well as 316 00:18:08,119 --> 00:18:10,840 Speaker 1: a person who worked in food safety for part of 317 00:18:10,880 --> 00:18:14,600 Speaker 1: my career, Like, it is true that, um that like 318 00:18:14,760 --> 00:18:18,440 Speaker 1: fresh pressed apple ciders and stuff, if they're not pasteurized, 319 00:18:19,119 --> 00:18:23,480 Speaker 1: can be dangerous. Um My, my dad kind of caught 320 00:18:23,520 --> 00:18:28,080 Speaker 1: around this. Uh. Often the the apple cider would be 321 00:18:28,520 --> 00:18:30,320 Speaker 1: way too hot to put it in your mouth when 322 00:18:30,320 --> 00:18:32,080 Speaker 1: you put it into the cup, like you needed to 323 00:18:32,080 --> 00:18:35,919 Speaker 1: give time. So had there been anything in it, it 324 00:18:35,960 --> 00:18:41,760 Speaker 1: was dead. Yeah. Yeah, I'm more of an eggnog drinker 325 00:18:41,800 --> 00:18:45,800 Speaker 1: than a wattle drinker, but ER's to anyone who likes 326 00:18:45,840 --> 00:18:49,600 Speaker 1: their wastle. I do love eggnog. Yeah, me too. Uh. 327 00:18:49,680 --> 00:18:51,639 Speaker 1: We're going to move on to some more sober but 328 00:18:51,960 --> 00:18:55,800 Speaker 1: very delicious baked goods. We'll talk all about gingerbread right 329 00:18:55,800 --> 00:19:04,199 Speaker 1: after we first pause for a little sponsor break. Gingerbread 330 00:19:04,600 --> 00:19:08,639 Speaker 1: is closely associated with Christmas celebrations, but its history is 331 00:19:08,680 --> 00:19:11,720 Speaker 1: truly international and it is not tied in its origins 332 00:19:11,760 --> 00:19:15,560 Speaker 1: to any holiday. Gingerbread has been popular in some form 333 00:19:15,640 --> 00:19:18,040 Speaker 1: or another, We'll talk about its many forms for hundreds 334 00:19:18,080 --> 00:19:21,760 Speaker 1: of years. There's even a reference to it in Shakespeare's 335 00:19:21,840 --> 00:19:25,080 Speaker 1: Loves Labor's Lost, because it was so wildly popular already 336 00:19:25,400 --> 00:19:30,159 Speaker 1: by the sixteenth century. The earliest known existence of gingerbread 337 00:19:30,280 --> 00:19:33,880 Speaker 1: is all the way back in Ancient Greece around ce 338 00:19:34,280 --> 00:19:38,200 Speaker 1: Or it was used in ceremonies. Ancient Egyptians also used 339 00:19:38,200 --> 00:19:42,080 Speaker 1: some form of baked ginger spice food and ritual customs. 340 00:19:42,560 --> 00:19:45,800 Speaker 1: The earliest known instance of an Asian baked good cooked 341 00:19:45,800 --> 00:19:50,240 Speaker 1: with ginger is from China in the tenth century. Yeah, 342 00:19:50,280 --> 00:19:52,879 Speaker 1: Asian countries were using ginger in all kinds of other ways, 343 00:19:52,880 --> 00:19:55,800 Speaker 1: but this is specifically two baked goods um and we 344 00:19:55,880 --> 00:19:59,560 Speaker 1: know gingerbread was in Europe by the eleventh century, possibly 345 00:20:00,160 --> 00:20:04,240 Speaker 1: almost entirely, likely brought back from the Crusades, and for 346 00:20:04,280 --> 00:20:08,240 Speaker 1: the remainder of the medieval period, gingerbread's popularity grew and 347 00:20:08,320 --> 00:20:10,919 Speaker 1: it spread throughout Europe, and it actually became a staple 348 00:20:10,960 --> 00:20:14,760 Speaker 1: at festivals. But through this early period, while words that 349 00:20:14,800 --> 00:20:18,440 Speaker 1: equated roughly to gingerbread were being used in various languages, 350 00:20:19,200 --> 00:20:22,520 Speaker 1: it did not really refer to what we call gingerbread today, 351 00:20:22,560 --> 00:20:25,199 Speaker 1: and there really was not a consistent meaning for it 352 00:20:25,640 --> 00:20:28,800 Speaker 1: at all then, so sometimes it would simply be referred 353 00:20:28,840 --> 00:20:33,720 Speaker 1: to preserve ginger that was edible. Early versions of gingerbread 354 00:20:33,800 --> 00:20:36,639 Speaker 1: is a baked item in Europe included ginger, of course, 355 00:20:37,080 --> 00:20:41,439 Speaker 1: but also ground almonds, stale bread crumbs, rose water, and sugar. 356 00:20:41,520 --> 00:20:43,480 Speaker 1: And then this made a paste that could be pressed 357 00:20:43,520 --> 00:20:47,359 Speaker 1: into molds before baking, and the dense mixture retained the 358 00:20:47,400 --> 00:20:52,240 Speaker 1: shape of those molds really well. And as gingerbread's popularity grew, 359 00:20:52,560 --> 00:20:54,959 Speaker 1: so did the variety of shapes that it was baked in, 360 00:20:55,480 --> 00:20:57,399 Speaker 1: and the level of detail that was used in the 361 00:20:57,480 --> 00:21:00,560 Speaker 1: molds also got a lot more intense, uh and it 362 00:21:00,600 --> 00:21:04,120 Speaker 1: wasn't long before animals and flora were crafted from gingerbread. 363 00:21:04,600 --> 00:21:07,200 Speaker 1: Soon this baked treat became a way to mark current 364 00:21:07,240 --> 00:21:11,399 Speaker 1: events and theme the gingerbread to specific celebrations. By the 365 00:21:11,440 --> 00:21:15,199 Speaker 1: fifteenth century, though, the various translations of the word gingerbread 366 00:21:15,240 --> 00:21:17,840 Speaker 1: all started to refer to some sort of ginger cake 367 00:21:18,359 --> 00:21:22,440 Speaker 1: with varying degrees of denseness along the spectrum between spongy 368 00:21:22,520 --> 00:21:25,960 Speaker 1: cake and hard cookie. Even today, the term gingerbread can 369 00:21:26,040 --> 00:21:28,720 Speaker 1: refer to a cake or a cookie, and recipes really 370 00:21:28,880 --> 00:21:32,919 Speaker 1: very pretty greatly. You've probably had thin, crisp ginger cookies, 371 00:21:33,240 --> 00:21:37,359 Speaker 1: thick bready cookies, and everything in between, with Baker's experimenting 372 00:21:37,520 --> 00:21:40,520 Speaker 1: and regional ingredient differences that have led to a huge 373 00:21:40,680 --> 00:21:45,400 Speaker 1: wealth of different kinds of gingerbread, and over time, of course, 374 00:21:45,440 --> 00:21:49,440 Speaker 1: the recipe shifted. By the sixteenth century, flour was used 375 00:21:49,520 --> 00:21:52,760 Speaker 1: instead of bread crumbs, and eggs and other sweet spices 376 00:21:52,760 --> 00:21:56,360 Speaker 1: were incorporated, and it was actually during the sixteenth century 377 00:21:56,400 --> 00:21:59,800 Speaker 1: that the first gingerbread man was allegedly baked. So, according 378 00:21:59,800 --> 00:22:04,159 Speaker 1: to counts Queen Elizabeth, the first had miniature gingerbread replicas 379 00:22:04,200 --> 00:22:07,280 Speaker 1: of prominent guests baked, and so when they arrived at 380 00:22:07,320 --> 00:22:11,000 Speaker 1: court to visitors were presented with their tiny tasty dopplegangers 381 00:22:11,760 --> 00:22:14,160 Speaker 1: that might treat me out a little bit, they were 382 00:22:14,320 --> 00:22:17,640 Speaker 1: apparently delighted. It was. It was a cute little thing, 383 00:22:17,760 --> 00:22:22,120 Speaker 1: not something spooky I'm just imagining, like a very meticulous, 384 00:22:22,240 --> 00:22:26,240 Speaker 1: uncanny valley kind of gingerbread representation of myself given some 385 00:22:26,320 --> 00:22:29,399 Speaker 1: meat to eat that might be weird. So gingerbread had 386 00:22:29,400 --> 00:22:32,000 Speaker 1: also become a token of luck. Was sometimes given to 387 00:22:32,160 --> 00:22:36,080 Speaker 1: nights by ladies wishing them well in tournaments. Hard gingerbread 388 00:22:36,119 --> 00:22:38,320 Speaker 1: was also crumbled and use it as a topping on 389 00:22:38,480 --> 00:22:42,000 Speaker 1: other foods, not for luck, but to hide the scent 390 00:22:42,119 --> 00:22:45,879 Speaker 1: of items that had maybe lost their freshness. Ginger to 391 00:22:45,920 --> 00:22:50,280 Speaker 1: the rescue again, Yeah, they're allegedly meat that was maybe 392 00:22:50,280 --> 00:22:52,760 Speaker 1: starting to turn would sometimes be treated in this way 393 00:22:52,800 --> 00:22:56,560 Speaker 1: to cover its smell. Um. An additional gingerbread lower started 394 00:22:56,600 --> 00:22:59,399 Speaker 1: to crop up, so some believe that if a maiden 395 00:22:59,800 --> 00:23:03,359 Speaker 1: ate gingerbread man intended to represent a husband, that they 396 00:23:03,359 --> 00:23:05,919 Speaker 1: would put sort of cosmic forces of luck in motion 397 00:23:06,240 --> 00:23:10,040 Speaker 1: to bring her a marriage. Ginger is also well known 398 00:23:10,080 --> 00:23:12,959 Speaker 1: as a stomach settler, so it's not surprising that by 399 00:23:13,000 --> 00:23:17,120 Speaker 1: the hundreds gingerbread was also being tatted for its ability 400 00:23:17,119 --> 00:23:20,240 Speaker 1: to soothe your tummy. Henry the eighth that said to 401 00:23:20,280 --> 00:23:23,520 Speaker 1: have hope that ginger baked goods would stave off illnesses. 402 00:23:24,359 --> 00:23:25,879 Speaker 1: I mean, I have to wonder if that's just a 403 00:23:25,880 --> 00:23:31,359 Speaker 1: case of like this is delicious. It's medicinal. Uh, I 404 00:23:31,400 --> 00:23:34,840 Speaker 1: don't know. I think there's there is some definite suggestion 405 00:23:34,960 --> 00:23:38,520 Speaker 1: that chewing candied ginger can help if you have motion sickness. 406 00:23:38,520 --> 00:23:41,080 Speaker 1: Oh for sure. I'm literally meaning Henry the Eighth going 407 00:23:41,119 --> 00:23:47,960 Speaker 1: gingerbread cures all got Yeah. Yeah. Uh. Gingerbread became so 408 00:23:48,080 --> 00:23:51,399 Speaker 1: beloved in England the entire fairs popped up just to 409 00:23:51,440 --> 00:23:54,800 Speaker 1: celebrate it. So it had been sort of a food 410 00:23:54,800 --> 00:23:57,240 Speaker 1: that was served at other fairs and festivals, but eventually 411 00:23:57,440 --> 00:24:01,280 Speaker 1: there were literal gingerbread festivals, and then gingerbread morsels that 412 00:24:01,320 --> 00:24:05,439 Speaker 1: were served at these events got the nicknames fairings for 413 00:24:05,680 --> 00:24:09,080 Speaker 1: the wealthy. Gingerbread was even decorated with gold leaf, and 414 00:24:09,119 --> 00:24:13,280 Speaker 1: the idea of gingerbread became associated with finely detailed design 415 00:24:13,320 --> 00:24:18,240 Speaker 1: and luxury. Yeah. Even today sometimes uh you will hear 416 00:24:19,640 --> 00:24:23,720 Speaker 1: of houses being built with um gingerbread style details, and 417 00:24:23,800 --> 00:24:27,800 Speaker 1: usually that means very sort of meticulous, slightly uh you know, 418 00:24:27,920 --> 00:24:29,960 Speaker 1: I want to say fussy, and that can have a 419 00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:32,159 Speaker 1: negative connotation, but that's not my intent. Just with a 420 00:24:32,160 --> 00:24:34,560 Speaker 1: lot of you know, kind of ornate work on them 421 00:24:34,760 --> 00:24:37,760 Speaker 1: that is still used as a reference. And in the US, 422 00:24:37,960 --> 00:24:41,640 Speaker 1: gingerbread is a tradition as old as the colonies themselves. 423 00:24:42,119 --> 00:24:46,080 Speaker 1: George Washington's mother's gingerbread recipe is still shared and baked 424 00:24:46,280 --> 00:24:48,800 Speaker 1: our previous guest that was on the podcast, and Burn 425 00:24:48,960 --> 00:24:52,240 Speaker 1: included it in her book American Cakes, and after the 426 00:24:52,280 --> 00:24:56,240 Speaker 1: colonies gained independence from Great Britain, gingerbread baked into the 427 00:24:56,240 --> 00:24:59,840 Speaker 1: shape of an eagle actually became popular, and some American 428 00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:03,240 Speaker 1: politicians over the years even took gingerbread on the road 429 00:25:03,560 --> 00:25:06,840 Speaker 1: to share with prospective voters in an effort to gain favor, 430 00:25:07,680 --> 00:25:10,680 Speaker 1: gingerbread cookies and German traditions took on a roll that 431 00:25:10,760 --> 00:25:14,240 Speaker 1: was similar to that of conversation hearts traded in the 432 00:25:14,359 --> 00:25:18,840 Speaker 1: US around Valentine's Day. Leb cooking, as these cookies are called, 433 00:25:19,200 --> 00:25:23,159 Speaker 1: often heart shaped with little sweet nothings, stole messages written 434 00:25:23,240 --> 00:25:27,760 Speaker 1: on them in icing in cities throughout Germany, as well 435 00:25:27,800 --> 00:25:32,359 Speaker 1: as Poland, Russia, Hungary, the Czech Republic. In France, gingerbread 436 00:25:32,400 --> 00:25:35,399 Speaker 1: became so revered and so vital to regional culture that 437 00:25:35,560 --> 00:25:40,000 Speaker 1: gingerbread guilds were established, and in some European cities, antique 438 00:25:40,000 --> 00:25:43,840 Speaker 1: gingerbread molds are still on display in museums. Uh They 439 00:25:43,840 --> 00:25:47,080 Speaker 1: will occasionally also press like beeswax into them to make 440 00:25:47,400 --> 00:25:51,479 Speaker 1: limited edition ornaments that are super duper popular. Germany is 441 00:25:51,600 --> 00:25:54,920 Speaker 1: also the home of the first gingerbread house, often said 442 00:25:54,960 --> 00:25:57,359 Speaker 1: to have been inspired by the candy House and the 443 00:25:57,400 --> 00:26:01,040 Speaker 1: Gram's fairy tale Hansel and Gretel. That story was originally 444 00:26:01,080 --> 00:26:03,760 Speaker 1: published in eighteen twelve as part of the book Grim's 445 00:26:03,840 --> 00:26:07,520 Speaker 1: Ferries Grimm's fairy Tales, and there may also have been 446 00:26:07,760 --> 00:26:10,399 Speaker 1: gingerbread houses even before that, as far back as the 447 00:26:10,440 --> 00:26:14,920 Speaker 1: sixteenth century. But the brothers Grimm's writing made the cookie 448 00:26:14,960 --> 00:26:19,240 Speaker 1: do missiles more popular. Yeah, they really exploded in terms 449 00:26:19,240 --> 00:26:23,399 Speaker 1: of their popularity after that came out. So from Germany, 450 00:26:23,520 --> 00:26:28,160 Speaker 1: the tradition of creating feats of confectionery architecture spread uh, 451 00:26:28,200 --> 00:26:32,120 Speaker 1: although it never really caught on in Europe in sort 452 00:26:32,119 --> 00:26:34,119 Speaker 1: of like the the widespread way that it did in 453 00:26:34,160 --> 00:26:38,919 Speaker 1: the United States, where gingerbread houses are really popular new Today, 454 00:26:39,119 --> 00:26:43,240 Speaker 1: gingerbread houses are so popular that there's ongoing international competition 455 00:26:43,320 --> 00:26:46,040 Speaker 1: to build massive ones that are as large as real houses. 456 00:26:46,520 --> 00:26:49,800 Speaker 1: The current record holder as a house built in in Bryan, 457 00:26:49,960 --> 00:26:53,000 Speaker 1: Texas by a group called Traditions Club. And then that 458 00:26:53,080 --> 00:26:56,119 Speaker 1: house is sixty by forty two ft which is eighteen 459 00:26:56,160 --> 00:26:59,160 Speaker 1: point three by twelve pot meters, had more than two 460 00:26:59,200 --> 00:27:03,000 Speaker 1: thousand square few of interior space visitors could pay to 461 00:27:03,040 --> 00:27:05,600 Speaker 1: have a visit with Santa Claus at the house and 462 00:27:05,680 --> 00:27:08,199 Speaker 1: with all the proceeds going toward a new trauma center 463 00:27:08,280 --> 00:27:12,440 Speaker 1: at St. Joseph's Hospital. That is a lot of gingerbread, 464 00:27:12,600 --> 00:27:16,120 Speaker 1: just a whole lot of gingerbread on a much smaller scale. 465 00:27:16,320 --> 00:27:21,080 Speaker 1: Prior podcast subject, the growth part In has a uh 466 00:27:21,560 --> 00:27:24,399 Speaker 1: gingerbread house competition every year. But they're little ones, a 467 00:27:24,480 --> 00:27:29,320 Speaker 1: little incredibly ornate ones. Yeah, the um. We have talked 468 00:27:29,320 --> 00:27:33,000 Speaker 1: about Disney a couple of times in Disney's Haunted mansions. 469 00:27:33,040 --> 00:27:36,639 Speaker 1: If any of our guests are in Disney World around 470 00:27:36,680 --> 00:27:39,000 Speaker 1: the holidays, one of the coolest things you can do 471 00:27:39,119 --> 00:27:41,000 Speaker 1: is spend a day not going into any of the 472 00:27:41,040 --> 00:27:44,159 Speaker 1: parks in Disney World, but going from hotel to hotel 473 00:27:44,240 --> 00:27:48,000 Speaker 1: because they all have their own special gingerbread house display um, 474 00:27:48,040 --> 00:27:49,960 Speaker 1: and some of them are amazing and I love like 475 00:27:50,000 --> 00:27:52,640 Speaker 1: the Polynesian usually has like a really cute little Hawaiian 476 00:27:52,680 --> 00:27:55,480 Speaker 1: style one that is sort of goofy and sweet. But 477 00:27:55,960 --> 00:28:00,000 Speaker 1: if you are in Anaheim at Disneyland during the holidays, 478 00:28:00,080 --> 00:28:03,439 Speaker 1: you go see the Haunted Mansion holiday where they do 479 00:28:03,480 --> 00:28:06,800 Speaker 1: the Nightmare before Christmas overlay. Usually in the ballroom, there 480 00:28:06,880 --> 00:28:12,880 Speaker 1: is like an astonishing feat of gingerbread physics going on. Um, 481 00:28:12,920 --> 00:28:15,439 Speaker 1: and it just smells amazing in there, and it's really lovely. 482 00:28:16,119 --> 00:28:22,000 Speaker 1: Who doesn't love gingerbread? Yeah, it's so good I would 483 00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:24,480 Speaker 1: make I think we should start making gingerbread year round. 484 00:28:24,480 --> 00:28:26,399 Speaker 1: And I also if you have not had a gingerbread 485 00:28:27,040 --> 00:28:30,800 Speaker 1: cake versus the cookies, I highly recommend it because some 486 00:28:30,880 --> 00:28:34,600 Speaker 1: of those are really delicious. Um. Do you have listener mail? 487 00:28:35,240 --> 00:28:38,080 Speaker 1: I do. It's not related to food, but it does 488 00:28:38,160 --> 00:28:42,320 Speaker 1: mentioned potato starch. Uh. This is from our listener, Gretchen Uh, 489 00:28:42,400 --> 00:28:45,200 Speaker 1: and she says, Hi, guys, I'm a book conservator uh 490 00:28:45,320 --> 00:28:48,480 Speaker 1: working in collection care and I loved your recent podcast 491 00:28:48,520 --> 00:28:51,160 Speaker 1: on the Loomire Brothers. I listened to podcasts all day 492 00:28:51,160 --> 00:28:53,000 Speaker 1: while I work, and yours is one of my favorites. 493 00:28:53,360 --> 00:28:55,800 Speaker 1: I especially enjoyed this most recent one as it brought 494 00:28:55,800 --> 00:28:58,200 Speaker 1: me back to when I was studying to become a conservator. 495 00:28:58,520 --> 00:29:01,720 Speaker 1: And we did a whole week on identifying photographic processes, 496 00:29:01,960 --> 00:29:05,920 Speaker 1: which is where I first encountered autochrome plates. You're right there, 497 00:29:05,960 --> 00:29:09,360 Speaker 1: absolutely stunning, and I love studying them because they're very 498 00:29:09,360 --> 00:29:13,000 Speaker 1: easy to identify. Under a microscope. You can see all 499 00:29:13,040 --> 00:29:15,800 Speaker 1: the little dyed areas and they look like miniature stained 500 00:29:15,800 --> 00:29:19,520 Speaker 1: glass windows. Perhaps the stained glass manufacturers should have been 501 00:29:19,520 --> 00:29:22,040 Speaker 1: the nervous ones. Gretchen, in case you did not hear 502 00:29:22,040 --> 00:29:25,160 Speaker 1: that episode, is referring to um the fact that there 503 00:29:25,200 --> 00:29:28,560 Speaker 1: was some concern when color photography first began, and autochromes, 504 00:29:28,600 --> 00:29:33,440 Speaker 1: in particular, that that painters would be put out of work. Uh. 505 00:29:33,520 --> 00:29:35,720 Speaker 1: The instructor, she goes on to say, failed to mention 506 00:29:35,760 --> 00:29:39,040 Speaker 1: the fascinating story behind their eventual creation, though, So thank 507 00:29:39,080 --> 00:29:42,320 Speaker 1: you for enlightening me further. And the archive you visited 508 00:29:42,560 --> 00:29:45,640 Speaker 1: referring to Tracy's story was very right. Keep those old 509 00:29:45,640 --> 00:29:50,280 Speaker 1: photos cold. Another film photography fun fact. Early acetate films 510 00:29:50,280 --> 00:29:53,120 Speaker 1: are kept very cold to prevent them developing what's called 511 00:29:53,200 --> 00:29:57,280 Speaker 1: vinegar syndrome, which occurs as acetate plastic degrades and creates 512 00:29:57,280 --> 00:30:00,440 Speaker 1: acetic acid, which, in addition to causing further dick nation, 513 00:30:00,600 --> 00:30:04,080 Speaker 1: also makes everything smell like vinegar. Early nitrate films are 514 00:30:04,160 --> 00:30:06,840 Speaker 1: kept very cold so they don't come bust. Thank you again, 515 00:30:06,920 --> 00:30:09,959 Speaker 1: already looking forward to the next episode. Thank you so much, Gretchen. 516 00:30:10,040 --> 00:30:13,600 Speaker 1: That's cool. I would love to look at one of 517 00:30:13,600 --> 00:30:16,760 Speaker 1: these potato starch color photo plates under a microscope. I 518 00:30:16,760 --> 00:30:22,920 Speaker 1: think that would be mind blowing, um like magical, kaleidoscopic wonder. 519 00:30:23,360 --> 00:30:24,920 Speaker 1: If you would like to write to us, you can 520 00:30:24,960 --> 00:30:27,520 Speaker 1: do so at History podcast at house to works dot com. 521 00:30:27,880 --> 00:30:31,080 Speaker 1: We are also across the spectrum of social media as 522 00:30:31,160 --> 00:30:34,240 Speaker 1: Missed in History and Missed in History dot com is 523 00:30:34,280 --> 00:30:36,560 Speaker 1: also our website where you can come and find an 524 00:30:36,600 --> 00:30:39,600 Speaker 1: archive of every episode that's ever existed, plus show notes 525 00:30:39,640 --> 00:30:41,120 Speaker 1: for any of the shows that Tracy and I have 526 00:30:41,200 --> 00:30:43,720 Speaker 1: worked on together. So come and visit us at missed 527 00:30:43,760 --> 00:30:46,920 Speaker 1: in History dot com and uh We'll study history together. 528 00:30:52,640 --> 00:30:55,200 Speaker 1: For more on this and thousands of other topics, visit 529 00:30:55,240 --> 00:31:04,760 Speaker 1: housetop works dot com.