1 00:00:00,050 --> 00:00:02,970 Speaker 1: Fellow Ridiculous Historians, we are returning to you with this 2 00:00:03,170 --> 00:00:06,790 Speaker 1: weekend's classic episode. Noel, you remember Prohibition? 3 00:00:07,130 --> 00:00:08,210 Speaker 2: Nope. 4 00:00:08,230 --> 00:00:08,610 Speaker 1: Do you remember? 5 00:00:08,650 --> 00:00:11,250 Speaker 2: Wasn't there. Heard tell. Sounded like a bummer. 6 00:00:11,670 --> 00:00:14,130 Speaker 1: Do you remember Camouflage? Sure. 7 00:00:14,340 --> 00:00:16,750 Speaker 2: I've got a camo hat or two in my collection. 8 00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:19,060 Speaker 2: You can't see me. There we go. For when I 9 00:00:19,100 --> 00:00:21,579 Speaker 2: go duck hunting, when I'm up in the blinds. There 10 00:00:21,620 --> 00:00:22,120 Speaker 2: we go. 11 00:00:22,200 --> 00:00:25,579 Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah. And if you were to ask us, if 12 00:00:25,620 --> 00:00:29,200 Speaker 1: you were going to say Ben, Noel, Max... How did 13 00:00:29,300 --> 00:00:34,760 Speaker 1: all those Prohibition-era moonshiners outsmart the feds? We have the answer. 14 00:00:35,159 --> 00:00:37,610 Speaker 2: We sure do. Why don't we just roll the tape? 15 00:01:08,040 --> 00:01:11,970 Speaker 1: Well, well, well, ridiculous historians, thank you for tuning in. 16 00:01:12,209 --> 00:01:16,009 Speaker 1: It is a Friday here as we record and we 17 00:01:16,250 --> 00:01:20,920 Speaker 1: are excited. We've got some adventures lined up on the weekend. 18 00:01:21,060 --> 00:01:23,590 Speaker 2: I'm Ben. I'm no one. I'm going to have moonshine 19 00:01:23,790 --> 00:01:27,330 Speaker 2: on the bayou and moonshine on the bayou. That's all 20 00:01:27,370 --> 00:01:27,650 Speaker 2: I got. 21 00:01:28,050 --> 00:01:30,920 Speaker 1: And we've got our super producer, Casey Pegram. 22 00:01:32,280 --> 00:01:35,420 Speaker 2: He's going to have moonshine on the bayou and moonshine on. 23 00:01:35,860 --> 00:01:36,080 Speaker 1: Right? 24 00:01:36,480 --> 00:01:38,899 Speaker 2: Casey, you're into moonshine on the bayou, am I right? Absolutely. 25 00:01:38,959 --> 00:01:41,320 Speaker 2: I love both those things. You're into the shine? Yeah, 26 00:01:41,340 --> 00:01:44,430 Speaker 2: the shine, the bayou, the whole nine. I know, the 27 00:01:44,450 --> 00:01:46,750 Speaker 2: whole nine. That's a rhyme. And that's Casey on the case, 28 00:01:46,770 --> 00:01:47,510 Speaker 2: rhyming edition. 29 00:01:49,350 --> 00:01:53,669 Speaker 1: It's interesting because the The whole nine yards has its 30 00:01:53,810 --> 00:01:58,710 Speaker 1: own strange etymology, right? I think it comes from the Army, 31 00:01:58,970 --> 00:02:01,230 Speaker 1: but I'm not too sure. I'll look into it later. 32 00:02:01,250 --> 00:02:02,150 Speaker 2: It's not a football thing? 33 00:02:02,990 --> 00:02:03,210 Speaker 1: No. 34 00:02:03,470 --> 00:02:03,770 Speaker 2: No. 35 00:02:04,270 --> 00:02:06,890 Speaker 1: I told you about the 99-yard line. 36 00:02:07,140 --> 00:02:08,420 Speaker 2: And our boss, right? 37 00:02:08,440 --> 00:02:08,600 Speaker 1: Yeah. 38 00:02:08,620 --> 00:02:09,680 Speaker 2: Tell it again for the folks at home. 39 00:02:09,700 --> 00:02:10,410 Speaker 1: Did we mention that on air? 40 00:02:10,419 --> 00:02:11,560 Speaker 2: I don't know if we mentioned it on air. It's really, 41 00:02:11,580 --> 00:02:12,040 Speaker 2: really great. 42 00:02:12,080 --> 00:02:16,519 Speaker 1: So our boss, who is a great, great guy, is 43 00:02:16,580 --> 00:02:20,320 Speaker 1: named Connell, and he was in a meeting with us 44 00:02:20,580 --> 00:02:23,959 Speaker 1: one time where he tried to make a sports reference, 45 00:02:24,010 --> 00:02:26,080 Speaker 1: and I don't think he knows a ton of stuff 46 00:02:26,100 --> 00:02:28,660 Speaker 1: about football, because he said, you know, we're on the 47 00:02:28,680 --> 00:02:33,560 Speaker 1: 99-yard line, or we're on the first-yard line. And we 48 00:02:33,600 --> 00:02:37,760 Speaker 1: had to stop him and say, you know, that comparison doesn't... 49 00:02:38,250 --> 00:02:40,490 Speaker 1: What do you think you're saying? You know what I mean? 50 00:02:40,630 --> 00:02:42,350 Speaker 2: Doesn't hold up, yeah. 51 00:02:42,470 --> 00:02:45,730 Speaker 1: Not everybody can be an expert at all things. 52 00:02:45,830 --> 00:02:46,230 Speaker 2: However. 53 00:02:47,250 --> 00:02:52,410 Speaker 1: One group of people who continually get underestimated in even 54 00:02:52,470 --> 00:02:57,230 Speaker 1: these are modern days are bootleggers. And one of the strangest, 55 00:02:57,310 --> 00:03:01,200 Speaker 1: most ridiculous eras in American history was Prohibition. This is 56 00:03:01,240 --> 00:03:03,000 Speaker 1: a perfect thing to talk about on a Friday. 57 00:03:03,300 --> 00:03:06,920 Speaker 2: Oh, man, totally. I'm drunk already. No, I'm not, but 58 00:03:07,520 --> 00:03:11,060 Speaker 2: I am looking forward to it. Yeah, it's true. So 59 00:03:11,480 --> 00:03:14,320 Speaker 2: here's the thing. We know what prohibition was, quick and dirty. 60 00:03:14,880 --> 00:03:15,750 Speaker 2: Alcohol is illegal. 61 00:03:15,930 --> 00:03:19,010 Speaker 1: Boom. 1920 to 1933. 62 00:03:19,010 --> 00:03:19,470 Speaker 2: Temperance. 63 00:03:19,810 --> 00:03:23,070 Speaker 1: People said, you know, folks will vote for prohibition as 64 00:03:23,150 --> 00:03:25,590 Speaker 1: long as they can stagger. 65 00:03:25,090 --> 00:03:27,970 Speaker 2: To the polls. Devil's nectar. What did you call it? 66 00:03:28,270 --> 00:03:29,310 Speaker 1: Oh, grandpa's leg medicine. 67 00:03:29,340 --> 00:03:31,179 Speaker 2: Grandpa's, old grandpa's leg medicine. 68 00:03:31,380 --> 00:03:31,560 Speaker 1: Yeah. 69 00:03:31,930 --> 00:03:34,150 Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly. It was verboten big time. 70 00:03:34,190 --> 00:03:36,280 Speaker 3: But as we know, when you tell people what they 71 00:03:36,290 --> 00:03:38,110 Speaker 3: can't do, they're going to find ways to do it. 72 00:03:38,420 --> 00:03:39,900 Speaker 3: And they're going to find ways to get the thing 73 00:03:39,920 --> 00:03:42,420 Speaker 3: that they can't have. And it's just going to keep going. 74 00:03:42,880 --> 00:03:45,980 Speaker 3: And the people that procure this stuff for them, this 75 00:03:46,320 --> 00:03:49,660 Speaker 3: grandpa's leg medicine, devil's nectar, were called bootleggers. 76 00:03:49,920 --> 00:03:51,120 Speaker 2: And they had to employ some kind. 77 00:03:51,040 --> 00:03:54,160 Speaker 3: Of crafty subterfuges and tricks in order not to get 78 00:03:54,240 --> 00:03:59,090 Speaker 3: caught by, you know, the crazy bug-eyed cop dude. 79 00:03:58,950 --> 00:04:03,440 Speaker 2: From Boardwalk Empire. Remember him? Steve Buscemi? 80 00:04:03,520 --> 00:04:04,240 Speaker 3: No, no, no. 81 00:04:04,260 --> 00:04:06,310 Speaker 2: The other crazy, the bug-eyed cop guy. The cop guy 82 00:04:06,320 --> 00:04:07,210 Speaker 2: who was a true believer. 83 00:04:07,220 --> 00:04:08,410 Speaker 1: He was a true believer. 84 00:04:08,430 --> 00:04:13,210 Speaker 3: He really, really wanted to stamp out anything that was 85 00:04:13,270 --> 00:04:19,090 Speaker 3: impure and ungodly. And to him, liquor represented debauchery and chaos, 86 00:04:19,270 --> 00:04:22,490 Speaker 3: a society coming apart at the seams. So he's who 87 00:04:22,550 --> 00:04:24,250 Speaker 3: I'm picturing is in charge of this whole thing. 88 00:04:24,450 --> 00:04:28,690 Speaker 1: Interesting. I've never seen Boardwalk Empire. I am aware of it, though. 89 00:04:29,250 --> 00:04:32,920 Speaker 1: And I'm very glad that we did not live during 90 00:04:32,960 --> 00:04:37,300 Speaker 1: the era of alcohol prohibition. Long time listeners, if you've 91 00:04:37,339 --> 00:04:40,940 Speaker 1: checked out Boardwalk Empire or you've listened to older episodes 92 00:04:40,960 --> 00:04:44,520 Speaker 1: of our show, then you are doubtlessly well aware of 93 00:04:44,640 --> 00:04:51,630 Speaker 1: the strange hypocrisies that proliferated in this country during the U.S. 94 00:04:51,650 --> 00:04:55,969 Speaker 1: prohibition era. You're also aware of the rampant corruption, you know, 95 00:04:56,529 --> 00:05:01,320 Speaker 1: some gangsters were like Al Capone made vast fortunes. This 96 00:05:01,360 --> 00:05:04,500 Speaker 1: was a huge watershed moment for organized crime. Here's something 97 00:05:04,520 --> 00:05:06,220 Speaker 1: a lot of people don't know that could be a 98 00:05:06,339 --> 00:05:09,440 Speaker 1: good episode all its own. Remember earlier when I said 99 00:05:09,480 --> 00:05:13,440 Speaker 1: these moonshiners get underestimated? This is a fact that a 100 00:05:13,480 --> 00:05:18,190 Speaker 1: lot of people don't know. Prohibition led to NASCAR. NASCAR 101 00:05:18,230 --> 00:05:21,950 Speaker 1: would not have existed without Prohibition because, like you said, Noel, 102 00:05:21,970 --> 00:05:24,910 Speaker 1: they had to be crafty, these bootleggers, and they had 103 00:05:24,970 --> 00:05:28,850 Speaker 1: to be sneaky. So Prohibition a lot of the improvements 104 00:05:28,950 --> 00:05:33,770 Speaker 1: they made to their vehicles led to the growth of NASCAR. 105 00:05:34,190 --> 00:05:36,470 Speaker 3: I did not know that, Ben, and that is a 106 00:05:36,610 --> 00:05:38,440 Speaker 3: fantastic subject for another episode. 107 00:05:38,680 --> 00:05:40,520 Speaker 2: But today we're talking about a different. 108 00:05:40,220 --> 00:05:44,480 Speaker 3: Kind of innovation that they spearheaded, these crafty bootleggers, as 109 00:05:44,520 --> 00:05:45,040 Speaker 3: you call them. 110 00:05:45,839 --> 00:05:50,060 Speaker 2: And it's two words, very simple idea, but pretty damn genius. 111 00:05:50,560 --> 00:05:51,120 Speaker 2: Cow shoes. 112 00:05:51,730 --> 00:05:52,310 Speaker 1: Cow shoes. 113 00:05:52,370 --> 00:05:52,890 Speaker 2: Cow shoes. 114 00:05:52,970 --> 00:05:57,349 Speaker 1: Two separate words. Yeah. So these moonshine stills would be 115 00:05:58,130 --> 00:06:02,620 Speaker 1: out in remote or hidden areas in a holler, maybe 116 00:06:02,800 --> 00:06:05,740 Speaker 1: by a creek, but they would be in the woods. 117 00:06:05,900 --> 00:06:08,000 Speaker 1: You know what I mean? There wouldn't necessarily even be 118 00:06:08,060 --> 00:06:12,380 Speaker 1: like a deer path. The only way that the authorities, 119 00:06:12,440 --> 00:06:15,880 Speaker 1: the G-men and so on, could track down these moonshiners 120 00:06:16,460 --> 00:06:19,060 Speaker 1: once they were physically following them in the woods was 121 00:06:19,160 --> 00:06:23,620 Speaker 1: to find their footprints or do some, you know, do 122 00:06:23,680 --> 00:06:26,979 Speaker 1: some Boy Scout path searching, right? Look for broken branches, 123 00:06:27,040 --> 00:06:31,170 Speaker 1: look for trampled grass, cracked leaves, things like that. And 124 00:06:31,210 --> 00:06:34,510 Speaker 1: depending on the terrain, you might get a footprint. So 125 00:06:34,570 --> 00:06:37,020 Speaker 1: the bootleggers said look, we're going to have to leave 126 00:06:37,100 --> 00:06:38,900 Speaker 1: some kind of prints as we walk in and out 127 00:06:38,920 --> 00:06:41,060 Speaker 1: of here, but why does it have to be a 128 00:06:41,480 --> 00:06:43,099 Speaker 1: human footprint, right? 129 00:06:43,440 --> 00:06:46,020 Speaker 2: Right, indeed. And real quick, I just want to point 130 00:06:46,060 --> 00:06:49,070 Speaker 2: out that you can buy yourself your very own five-gallon 131 00:06:49,110 --> 00:06:56,320 Speaker 2: moonshine still from moonshinestill.com. Um, and the five gallon unit 132 00:06:56,430 --> 00:06:58,200 Speaker 2: is $ 379. And I love the look of these things. 133 00:06:58,230 --> 00:07:01,289 Speaker 3: They look like a cool, like wizard chemistry set with 134 00:07:01,310 --> 00:07:03,550 Speaker 3: like a big boiler and then like a little dome 135 00:07:03,570 --> 00:07:05,800 Speaker 3: that comes off the top and then like kind of a, uh, 136 00:07:05,930 --> 00:07:09,990 Speaker 3: a swan like little tube that then drip, drip, drips 137 00:07:10,050 --> 00:07:14,140 Speaker 3: down into the collection, uh, And that's how they make 138 00:07:14,180 --> 00:07:14,739 Speaker 3: the moonshine. 139 00:07:15,580 --> 00:07:16,080 Speaker 2: Pretty cool. 140 00:07:16,500 --> 00:07:18,080 Speaker 3: So, yeah, they would have these out in sheds in 141 00:07:18,100 --> 00:07:19,920 Speaker 3: the woods or like just out, you know, like in 142 00:07:19,960 --> 00:07:22,340 Speaker 3: hidden in a glen or something like that. But, yeah, 143 00:07:22,400 --> 00:07:25,800 Speaker 3: they needed to get to and from there without leaving 144 00:07:25,840 --> 00:07:28,500 Speaker 3: a trail. And that's exactly what they did, Ben. They 145 00:07:28,520 --> 00:07:31,760 Speaker 3: would attach these cow. 146 00:07:32,550 --> 00:07:34,210 Speaker 2: What do you call them? You know, yeah. 147 00:07:34,230 --> 00:07:36,610 Speaker 3: I was about to say horseshoes for cows. 148 00:07:37,710 --> 00:07:38,350 Speaker 2: They're cow shoes. 149 00:07:38,590 --> 00:07:38,850 Speaker 1: Yeah. 150 00:07:39,110 --> 00:07:42,400 Speaker 2: That's literally what you call them, a shoe. and they 151 00:07:42,420 --> 00:07:44,000 Speaker 2: would attach them to their human shoes. 152 00:07:44,580 --> 00:07:47,210 Speaker 1: And these would look like hoof prints, or that was 153 00:07:47,270 --> 00:07:51,410 Speaker 1: the thought, that someone would be searching through the woods, 154 00:07:51,510 --> 00:07:54,530 Speaker 1: maybe they'd catch part of a trail, and then they 155 00:07:54,570 --> 00:07:56,920 Speaker 1: would look down and they would say, hang on, this 156 00:07:56,950 --> 00:07:59,640 Speaker 1: was just some cow walking in the woods or some 157 00:07:59,740 --> 00:08:05,800 Speaker 1: sort of hoofed creature. The idea most likely came from literature. 158 00:08:06,120 --> 00:08:09,679 Speaker 1: It came from a Sherlock Holmes story, where a bad 159 00:08:09,700 --> 00:08:12,320 Speaker 1: guy in one of the stories attaches fake cow hooves 160 00:08:12,660 --> 00:08:15,260 Speaker 1: to the feet of his horse to avoid detection. 161 00:08:15,280 --> 00:08:18,119 Speaker 2: Spoiler alert, Ben. You just spoiled Sherlock Holmes. 162 00:08:18,880 --> 00:08:20,470 Speaker 1: Yeah, I spoiled the whole thing. 163 00:08:21,050 --> 00:08:22,930 Speaker 2: It's over. Sorry. It's okay. 164 00:08:22,950 --> 00:08:24,970 Speaker 3: I think Sherlock Holmes stories are past the statute of 165 00:08:25,010 --> 00:08:28,610 Speaker 3: limitations of spoilers. Also, that Edgar Allan Poe story, totally 166 00:08:28,650 --> 00:08:29,489 Speaker 3: a monkey with a razor. 167 00:08:29,910 --> 00:08:30,950 Speaker 1: The murders in the room org? 168 00:08:30,970 --> 00:08:32,170 Speaker 2: Yeah, that's the one. Monkey with a razor. 169 00:08:32,929 --> 00:08:36,170 Speaker 1: So the Sherlock Holmes story specifically was called The Adventure 170 00:08:36,290 --> 00:08:41,270 Speaker 1: of the Priory School, which I have not read. But spoilers, 3, 2, 1, 171 00:08:41,270 --> 00:08:44,780 Speaker 1: here be spoilers. The plot involves a mystery surrounding a 172 00:08:44,880 --> 00:08:49,980 Speaker 1: young student who disappears along with his teacher. And Sherlock 173 00:08:50,020 --> 00:08:53,740 Speaker 1: Holmes discovers that the murder culprit made his horses wear 174 00:08:53,840 --> 00:08:58,020 Speaker 1: fake cow hooves. So that's the first time it exists 175 00:08:58,160 --> 00:09:01,500 Speaker 1: in literature. But what was it in real life? Pretty simple. 176 00:09:02,559 --> 00:09:06,840 Speaker 1: They weren't actual cow hooves. They were wooden blocks that 177 00:09:06,880 --> 00:09:09,400 Speaker 1: had been carved to look like the hooves, right, and 178 00:09:09,440 --> 00:09:12,080 Speaker 1: then attached to a metal strip and then strapped to 179 00:09:12,120 --> 00:09:14,800 Speaker 1: a human foot. There was an example of the shoe 180 00:09:14,880 --> 00:09:18,589 Speaker 1: found near Port Tampa and sent to the Prohibition Department 181 00:09:19,030 --> 00:09:22,390 Speaker 1: in Washington, and that's how the feds learned about this. 182 00:09:22,590 --> 00:09:25,929 Speaker 1: So it was a real thing. It actually happened. It 183 00:09:25,970 --> 00:09:28,630 Speaker 1: also was described in a couple of other things, right, 184 00:09:28,710 --> 00:09:29,530 Speaker 1: in some newspapers. 185 00:09:30,070 --> 00:09:31,150 Speaker 2: Absolutely it was, Ben. 186 00:09:31,600 --> 00:09:36,780 Speaker 3: In a 1922 article from the St. Petersburg, Florida paper 187 00:09:36,860 --> 00:09:40,079 Speaker 3: known as the Evening Independent, this is no longer a thing, 188 00:09:40,400 --> 00:09:44,420 Speaker 3: they described this technique as such. A new method of 189 00:09:44,500 --> 00:09:47,209 Speaker 3: evading prohibition agents was revealed here today by A.L. 190 00:09:47,330 --> 00:09:47,520 Speaker 1: Allen. 191 00:09:47,540 --> 00:09:50,770 Speaker 3: See, I'm drifting into the mid-Atlantic accent. It's Florida, though, 192 00:09:50,790 --> 00:09:53,350 Speaker 3: but it's fine. It's still fun for reading this kind 193 00:09:53,390 --> 00:09:54,090 Speaker 3: of old copy. 194 00:09:54,970 --> 00:09:55,310 Speaker 1: A.L. 195 00:09:55,470 --> 00:09:59,189 Speaker 3: Allen, state prohibition enforcement director who displayed what he called 196 00:09:59,250 --> 00:10:02,320 Speaker 3: a cow shoe as the latest thing from the haunts 197 00:10:02,400 --> 00:10:08,120 Speaker 3: of moonshiners. That's from May 27th, 1922, the evening independent. 198 00:10:08,420 --> 00:10:13,890 Speaker 1: So the discovery of this astonishing cow shoe technology did 199 00:10:13,970 --> 00:10:20,110 Speaker 1: not necessarily mean the end of moonshining and bootlegging because... 200 00:10:20,250 --> 00:10:24,630 Speaker 1: people liked to drink nowadays it's weird uh so many 201 00:10:24,690 --> 00:10:28,210 Speaker 1: hipster restaurants and so many of my hipster friends to 202 00:10:28,250 --> 00:10:32,850 Speaker 1: be honest get have gotten into creating or distilling moonshine 203 00:10:32,950 --> 00:10:34,690 Speaker 1: and it's been in my family for a long long 204 00:10:34,750 --> 00:10:38,430 Speaker 1: time right uh we actually do have some old moonshine 205 00:10:38,530 --> 00:10:41,360 Speaker 1: stills really that i wouldn't touch yeah oh you. 206 00:10:41,320 --> 00:10:43,440 Speaker 2: Think they'd be like they would taint they'd be tainted 207 00:10:43,559 --> 00:10:45,819 Speaker 2: with just age and rust and crust. 208 00:10:45,970 --> 00:10:48,870 Speaker 1: I don't know if it's up to health code standards. 209 00:10:49,309 --> 00:10:52,609 Speaker 3: Yeah, and we mentioned it briefly, but that was the 210 00:10:52,630 --> 00:10:55,840 Speaker 3: thing about Prohibition period and these stills is there was 211 00:10:55,910 --> 00:10:59,460 Speaker 3: no health standard. And a lot of people died because 212 00:10:59,600 --> 00:11:01,699 Speaker 3: they would use too much of a certain ingredient or 213 00:11:01,740 --> 00:11:05,060 Speaker 3: like there was too much ethanol in the product and 214 00:11:05,080 --> 00:11:07,199 Speaker 3: it would literally kill people. Not to mention, did we 215 00:11:07,220 --> 00:11:08,440 Speaker 3: do it on this show or was it on Stuff 216 00:11:08,460 --> 00:11:08,980 Speaker 3: I Don't Want You To Know? 217 00:11:09,160 --> 00:11:09,400 Speaker 1: Yeah. 218 00:11:09,700 --> 00:11:15,210 Speaker 3: The government actually intervened to try to– to try to 219 00:11:15,410 --> 00:11:19,380 Speaker 3: basically poison people who were illegally imbibing these products, right, Ben? 220 00:11:19,400 --> 00:11:22,040 Speaker 1: Yeah, we did an episode on this. So long story short, 221 00:11:22,200 --> 00:11:28,420 Speaker 1: Uncle Sam, during Prohibition, decided to deliberately poison industrial alcohol, 222 00:11:28,460 --> 00:11:31,330 Speaker 1: which was being stolen and used to make bootleg stuff. 223 00:11:31,770 --> 00:11:34,449 Speaker 1: And this led to the death of more than 10,000 224 00:11:34,450 --> 00:11:39,010 Speaker 1: people in the U.S. And when Prohibition was finally repealed 225 00:11:39,070 --> 00:11:41,790 Speaker 1: in 1933, a lot of places said, you know what, 226 00:11:41,870 --> 00:11:46,860 Speaker 1: we're going to stay dry. What's the whiskey? Jack Daniels. 227 00:11:46,980 --> 00:11:49,040 Speaker 1: Jack Daniels is made in a dry county still. 228 00:11:49,080 --> 00:11:50,480 Speaker 2: I know. That's so funny. I was just talking. 229 00:11:50,520 --> 00:11:53,600 Speaker 3: I was in Tennessee over the last few days in Nashville. 230 00:11:54,520 --> 00:11:58,040 Speaker 3: And first of all, the Nashville airport is basically like 231 00:11:58,090 --> 00:11:59,920 Speaker 3: a liquor store. Like all of the gift shops just 232 00:11:59,970 --> 00:12:01,620 Speaker 3: sell all of the different types of Tennessee whiskey. 233 00:12:01,640 --> 00:12:03,020 Speaker 2: You know I used to live there. Of course I do. 234 00:12:03,070 --> 00:12:04,650 Speaker 2: I'm not talking to you, Ben. I'm talking to the people. 235 00:12:04,809 --> 00:12:05,030 Speaker 1: All right. 236 00:12:05,370 --> 00:12:09,530 Speaker 3: But somebody told me they took the tour of the 237 00:12:10,090 --> 00:12:13,730 Speaker 3: Jack Daniels distillery and And you're not able to buy 238 00:12:14,010 --> 00:12:16,570 Speaker 3: any liquor there at the Jack Daniels tour. 239 00:12:17,130 --> 00:12:17,590 Speaker 1: It's true. 240 00:12:17,650 --> 00:12:18,130 Speaker 2: It's crazy. 241 00:12:23,490 --> 00:12:27,370 Speaker 1: We also see the effects of this sort of prohibition today. 242 00:12:28,150 --> 00:12:31,319 Speaker 1: There was research conducted by economists at the University of 243 00:12:31,380 --> 00:12:34,719 Speaker 1: Louisville in Kentucky, and they found that meth lab seizures 244 00:12:34,820 --> 00:12:39,880 Speaker 1: in Kentucky are significantly more likely to occur in dry counties. 245 00:12:40,200 --> 00:12:42,140 Speaker 2: Surprise, surprise. Right. 246 00:12:42,460 --> 00:12:45,240 Speaker 3: I'm just saying, you know, you tell people what they 247 00:12:45,260 --> 00:12:47,860 Speaker 3: can't have, they're going to have it one way or another, 248 00:12:49,040 --> 00:12:51,510 Speaker 3: whether it be in alcohol form or in meth form. 249 00:12:51,850 --> 00:12:54,810 Speaker 1: Or Crocodile. Or Jankum. 250 00:12:54,830 --> 00:12:55,450 Speaker 2: You like Jankum? 251 00:12:55,790 --> 00:12:56,750 Speaker 1: That's not my jam. 252 00:12:56,970 --> 00:12:57,510 Speaker 2: No, it's not. 253 00:12:57,670 --> 00:12:58,309 Speaker 1: Not my Jank. 254 00:12:58,350 --> 00:12:58,970 Speaker 2: Definitely it's not. 255 00:12:59,610 --> 00:13:01,189 Speaker 3: Look it up, folks, if you want to be totally, 256 00:13:01,290 --> 00:13:04,670 Speaker 3: totally grossed out. I would consider it not safe for work. Oh, 257 00:13:04,700 --> 00:13:06,280 Speaker 3: it's absolutely not safe for work. 258 00:13:06,660 --> 00:13:09,220 Speaker 1: Like all works of genius, the cow shoes were not 259 00:13:09,280 --> 00:13:14,490 Speaker 1: restricted to a single use or single application, it turns 260 00:13:14,550 --> 00:13:16,650 Speaker 1: out that someone else had come up with the cow 261 00:13:16,690 --> 00:13:19,490 Speaker 1: shoe idea decades beforehand. 262 00:13:19,570 --> 00:13:22,070 Speaker 2: Very true. It was in the 1920s in the town 263 00:13:22,090 --> 00:13:25,330 Speaker 2: of Elko, Nevada. Nevada? Which way am I supposed to 264 00:13:25,370 --> 00:13:25,589 Speaker 2: say it? 265 00:13:25,650 --> 00:13:30,559 Speaker 1: So people outside of Nevada say Nevada. People inside Nevada 266 00:13:30,640 --> 00:13:31,440 Speaker 1: say Nevada. 267 00:13:32,760 --> 00:13:34,280 Speaker 2: So what should I say? I'm outside of it. 268 00:13:34,660 --> 00:13:37,000 Speaker 1: I don't know, man. You got to bring that Vegas 269 00:13:37,120 --> 00:13:37,400 Speaker 1: with you. 270 00:13:37,420 --> 00:13:41,449 Speaker 2: No, man. I'm going to say it how I say it. Nevada. Nevada. Sure. Yeah, Elko, Nevada. 271 00:13:42,070 --> 00:13:45,790 Speaker 3: There was some really odd goings-on that were documented in 272 00:13:45,809 --> 00:13:49,170 Speaker 3: the 1920s. You see, for a couple of months, some 273 00:13:49,210 --> 00:13:53,130 Speaker 3: cows from a place called the Utah Construction Company Ranch. Wait, 274 00:13:53,250 --> 00:13:56,110 Speaker 3: why is there a Utah Construction Company in Nevada? 275 00:13:56,150 --> 00:13:59,750 Speaker 2: We'll never know. They were disappearing, Ben. They were disappearing. 276 00:14:00,740 --> 00:14:04,280 Speaker 3: And you know Nevada's lousy with UFO abductions and UFO 277 00:14:04,880 --> 00:14:06,480 Speaker 3: alien types love cow stuff. 278 00:14:07,230 --> 00:14:10,449 Speaker 2: They love, like, mangling cows. Was it aliens, Ben? What 279 00:14:10,470 --> 00:14:10,760 Speaker 2: was it? 280 00:14:11,330 --> 00:14:14,630 Speaker 1: Well, it may have been aliens in some instances, but 281 00:14:14,750 --> 00:14:17,709 Speaker 1: in at least one instance, it was a guy who 282 00:14:17,790 --> 00:14:20,340 Speaker 1: maybe had read a Sherlock Holmes story or two and 283 00:14:20,460 --> 00:14:24,140 Speaker 1: decided to build himself some cow shoes. A few of 284 00:14:24,180 --> 00:14:27,340 Speaker 1: the cowboys on the ranch followed a mysterious trail of 285 00:14:27,400 --> 00:14:30,500 Speaker 1: hoof prints, and then they came across their missing cattle 286 00:14:30,540 --> 00:14:35,160 Speaker 1: being led away by a notorious troublemaker named J.R. Crazy 287 00:14:35,240 --> 00:14:38,470 Speaker 1: Tix Hazelwood. I don't know why, but I think he's 288 00:14:38,510 --> 00:14:41,050 Speaker 1: got one of those sort of high whistling voices. 289 00:14:41,510 --> 00:14:44,530 Speaker 2: Oh, I love that. Does he kind of whistle when 290 00:14:44,550 --> 00:14:45,770 Speaker 2: he talks like that? 291 00:14:46,150 --> 00:14:50,950 Speaker 1: It's Crazy Tex. Yeah. So the ranchers apprehended Crazy Tex, 292 00:14:51,430 --> 00:14:54,030 Speaker 1: and then they saw he was wearing cow shoes. He 293 00:14:54,070 --> 00:14:57,510 Speaker 1: had two boards mounted on top of two real cow 294 00:14:57,550 --> 00:15:02,370 Speaker 1: hooves each. And according to Howard Hickson, local historian there, 295 00:15:02,930 --> 00:15:07,119 Speaker 1: Tex had no regrets whatsoever. He bragged about how he 296 00:15:07,160 --> 00:15:09,420 Speaker 1: had learned to walk like a cow, like the gait 297 00:15:09,440 --> 00:15:11,080 Speaker 1: of the cow. It wasn't good enough just to have 298 00:15:11,100 --> 00:15:15,620 Speaker 1: the shoes. And now those shoes, his cow shoes, are 299 00:15:15,800 --> 00:15:19,300 Speaker 1: on display today at the Northeastern Nevada Museum. 300 00:15:19,600 --> 00:15:20,000 Speaker 2: You ever been? 301 00:15:20,260 --> 00:15:21,180 Speaker 1: I have not been to that one. 302 00:15:21,200 --> 00:15:21,820 Speaker 2: No, no. 303 00:15:22,380 --> 00:15:27,760 Speaker 1: I have my current goal for Nevada travel wise is 304 00:15:27,840 --> 00:15:30,940 Speaker 1: to spend some time at the Hoover Dam. 305 00:15:31,220 --> 00:15:32,380 Speaker 2: You know, I always remember when I think about the 306 00:15:32,400 --> 00:15:33,280 Speaker 2: Hoover Dam. What's that? 307 00:15:33,400 --> 00:15:36,050 Speaker 3: That scene in Beavis and Butthead, Do America, where Beavis 308 00:15:36,110 --> 00:15:38,310 Speaker 3: is like, is it a goddamn? 309 00:15:39,490 --> 00:15:39,710 Speaker 2: Sorry. 310 00:15:40,310 --> 00:15:41,610 Speaker 1: I don't remember that movie. 311 00:15:41,630 --> 00:15:42,970 Speaker 2: It doesn't hold up. It's not very funny. 312 00:15:43,150 --> 00:15:43,870 Speaker 1: It didn't age well? 313 00:15:43,930 --> 00:15:44,510 Speaker 2: I don't think so. 314 00:15:45,010 --> 00:15:46,510 Speaker 3: There is a cool part where they end up taking 315 00:15:46,580 --> 00:15:49,860 Speaker 3: some sort of psychedelic hallucinogen in the desert, and then 316 00:15:49,880 --> 00:15:52,420 Speaker 3: it all turns into like Rob Zombie animations, and it's 317 00:15:52,460 --> 00:15:56,220 Speaker 3: pretty psychedelic and cool. I got to say, Ben, Howard Hickson, 318 00:15:56,620 --> 00:15:58,340 Speaker 3: great name for a local historian. 319 00:15:59,220 --> 00:16:01,320 Speaker 2: Wouldn't you agree? Yeah. 320 00:16:01,440 --> 00:16:01,580 Speaker 1: Yeah. 321 00:16:01,620 --> 00:16:04,440 Speaker 2: He's the guy that was part of this whole situation here. 322 00:16:05,000 --> 00:16:09,850 Speaker 3: Um, so there's a lot of things that prohibition era, uh, 323 00:16:09,930 --> 00:16:13,150 Speaker 3: hucksters would do to evade the authorities. 324 00:16:13,450 --> 00:16:14,360 Speaker 1: This is the weirdest one. 325 00:16:14,370 --> 00:16:15,090 Speaker 2: This is a weird one. 326 00:16:15,110 --> 00:16:15,370 Speaker 1: Yeah. 327 00:16:15,430 --> 00:16:16,690 Speaker 2: It's about a bad sandwich. 328 00:16:17,530 --> 00:16:21,890 Speaker 1: Yeah. I don't understand this. Okay. So because of the 329 00:16:22,010 --> 00:16:27,540 Speaker 1: way excise laws worked in, in New York state at 330 00:16:27,620 --> 00:16:30,300 Speaker 1: the time in like the end of the 19th century, 331 00:16:31,220 --> 00:16:34,590 Speaker 1: if you went out for a drink, you would have 332 00:16:34,750 --> 00:16:38,520 Speaker 1: a very strange experience. Let's say you go out, you're 333 00:16:39,060 --> 00:16:41,400 Speaker 1: Casey Pegram, out on the town. 334 00:16:41,600 --> 00:16:43,010 Speaker 2: New York, 1890s. 335 00:16:43,620 --> 00:16:46,960 Speaker 1: You go to your local bar and you say, you 336 00:16:47,000 --> 00:16:51,700 Speaker 1: know what, I'll have a beer or I'll have whiskey 337 00:16:51,750 --> 00:16:54,750 Speaker 1: on the rocks or something. The waiter or bartender would 338 00:16:54,790 --> 00:16:56,850 Speaker 1: bring you the drink, but they would bring it out 339 00:16:57,090 --> 00:17:00,290 Speaker 1: with a sandwich. And the sandwich was horrible. 340 00:17:00,850 --> 00:17:03,070 Speaker 3: Yeah, there were a couple variations of it. It was 341 00:17:03,130 --> 00:17:07,690 Speaker 3: more than just horrible. It was inedible, speaking in broad terms. 342 00:17:08,350 --> 00:17:12,740 Speaker 3: It was, quote, an old, desiccated ruin of, this is 343 00:17:12,820 --> 00:17:17,500 Speaker 3: great writing, of dust-laden bread and mummified ham or cheese. 344 00:17:17,900 --> 00:17:21,540 Speaker 3: And that is from the mouth, the mind, the pen 345 00:17:21,859 --> 00:17:25,560 Speaker 3: of the brilliant playwright Eugene O'Neill. That was one variation 346 00:17:25,600 --> 00:17:28,570 Speaker 3: of it. Another variation was it was just made of rubber. 347 00:17:29,090 --> 00:17:32,330 Speaker 1: Yeah, that's gross, right? The thing is you're not supposed 348 00:17:32,350 --> 00:17:35,869 Speaker 1: to eat the sandwich. They would bring the sandwich out 349 00:17:35,890 --> 00:17:38,090 Speaker 1: to you, and then seconds later they would take it back. 350 00:17:38,109 --> 00:17:38,990 Speaker 2: It was the same sandwich. 351 00:17:39,170 --> 00:17:41,760 Speaker 1: It was just the sandwich was making the rounds in 352 00:17:41,780 --> 00:17:42,649 Speaker 1: the restaurant or the bar. 353 00:17:42,670 --> 00:17:44,080 Speaker 2: It was an excuse for what? 354 00:17:44,260 --> 00:17:44,980 Speaker 1: Serving booze. 355 00:17:45,000 --> 00:17:47,920 Speaker 2: That's right. That's right. Very, very creative. 356 00:17:47,940 --> 00:17:51,540 Speaker 3: Again, this involves a lot of innovation and creativity, and 357 00:17:51,580 --> 00:17:53,280 Speaker 3: that is no excuse. 358 00:17:54,520 --> 00:17:57,580 Speaker 2: And, you know, the owners of these establishments argued that 359 00:17:57,880 --> 00:18:00,460 Speaker 2: that this wasn't breaking the law. Right. 360 00:18:01,380 --> 00:18:06,060 Speaker 1: This strange ritual was a result of the Raines Law, 361 00:18:06,640 --> 00:18:10,109 Speaker 1: which was described in Atlas Obscura as a combination of 362 00:18:10,170 --> 00:18:16,090 Speaker 1: good intentions, unstated prejudices, and unforeseen consequences. So the Raines 363 00:18:16,130 --> 00:18:17,610 Speaker 1: Law was meant to get rid. 364 00:18:17,590 --> 00:18:18,510 Speaker 2: Of dive bars. 365 00:18:19,170 --> 00:18:21,609 Speaker 1: It raised the cost of a liquor license to 800 bucks, 366 00:18:22,170 --> 00:18:24,969 Speaker 1: three times what it had been before. It said, You know, 367 00:18:25,010 --> 00:18:27,710 Speaker 1: you can't be open within 200 feet of a school 368 00:18:27,790 --> 00:18:33,620 Speaker 1: or a church. You can't have a free lunch, which 369 00:18:33,660 --> 00:18:35,280 Speaker 1: was a thing that bars used to do. 370 00:18:35,560 --> 00:18:36,120 Speaker 2: Never heard of this. 371 00:18:36,400 --> 00:18:38,320 Speaker 1: I had never heard of it either. I don't think 372 00:18:38,340 --> 00:18:40,679 Speaker 1: it was a great lunch, but you could go somewhere. 373 00:18:40,700 --> 00:18:42,320 Speaker 2: Better than a rain sandwich though, right? 374 00:18:42,380 --> 00:18:43,420 Speaker 1: Yes. Yeah. You go somewhere. 375 00:18:43,440 --> 00:18:44,149 Speaker 2: That's what they called it. 376 00:18:44,440 --> 00:18:47,109 Speaker 1: Yeah. You would get cheese, soda bread, and raw onions 377 00:18:47,170 --> 00:18:47,629 Speaker 1: for free. 378 00:18:47,830 --> 00:18:48,149 Speaker 2: Yikes. 379 00:18:48,170 --> 00:18:49,200 Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah. 380 00:18:49,240 --> 00:18:50,790 Speaker 3: Well, I guess they do kind of do like free 381 00:18:50,869 --> 00:18:53,430 Speaker 3: peanuts and gummy bears in certain bars and snacks. 382 00:18:53,530 --> 00:18:54,170 Speaker 2: Some places. 383 00:18:54,369 --> 00:18:57,070 Speaker 1: I love the snacks. Any situation, I'm down to snack. 384 00:18:58,130 --> 00:19:01,650 Speaker 1: And the law also attacked drinking on Sundays or being 385 00:19:01,790 --> 00:19:04,510 Speaker 1: open on Sundays. But here's what happened. You see, the 386 00:19:04,570 --> 00:19:07,630 Speaker 1: law had a loophole, and then there was a loophole 387 00:19:07,670 --> 00:19:11,790 Speaker 1: within that loophole. The first one was this. The law, 388 00:19:11,810 --> 00:19:15,790 Speaker 1: the way these laws were written, allowed lodging houses with 389 00:19:15,790 --> 00:19:19,609 Speaker 1: 10 rooms or more to serve guests drinks with meals 390 00:19:20,030 --> 00:19:25,910 Speaker 1: seven days a week. And then, incidentally, wealthy New Yorkers 391 00:19:26,330 --> 00:19:30,010 Speaker 1: would just dine out at a ritzy hotel because that's 392 00:19:30,050 --> 00:19:33,140 Speaker 1: a lodging house, so they can serve drinks seven days 393 00:19:33,200 --> 00:19:33,840 Speaker 1: a week. Yeah. 394 00:19:34,380 --> 00:19:37,080 Speaker 3: And honestly, I mean, little loopholes like that still kind 395 00:19:37,119 --> 00:19:40,100 Speaker 3: of exist today in the bars that we go to 396 00:19:40,140 --> 00:19:41,820 Speaker 3: here in Atlanta. Like, more often than not, they want 397 00:19:41,840 --> 00:19:45,980 Speaker 3: to serve food, even if it's not, a big part 398 00:19:46,060 --> 00:19:48,690 Speaker 3: of their income, right? It's important to them to be 399 00:19:48,710 --> 00:19:50,740 Speaker 3: able to serve food because it allows them to be 400 00:19:50,859 --> 00:19:52,960 Speaker 3: open earlier I want to say or that maybe you 401 00:19:53,000 --> 00:19:54,440 Speaker 3: know the law better than me but there's definitely a 402 00:19:54,520 --> 00:19:58,659 Speaker 3: reason that it's beneficial to a business that serves alcohol 403 00:19:58,700 --> 00:20:01,629 Speaker 3: to also serve food I think it means that the 404 00:20:01,650 --> 00:20:04,109 Speaker 3: events don't have to be 21 and up like if 405 00:20:04,130 --> 00:20:06,169 Speaker 3: you're having concerts or whatever maybe that's so that might 406 00:20:06,190 --> 00:20:07,949 Speaker 3: be part of it you can do 18 and up 407 00:20:08,369 --> 00:20:10,570 Speaker 3: events if they serve food I can't. 408 00:20:10,410 --> 00:20:13,119 Speaker 1: Remember what city I was in. I was somewhere in 409 00:20:13,160 --> 00:20:14,520 Speaker 1: kind of a dodgy bar and I was trying to 410 00:20:14,540 --> 00:20:17,900 Speaker 1: figure out if they have food and they had hot dogs. 411 00:20:18,080 --> 00:20:20,300 Speaker 1: But the person who was selling them was like, don't 412 00:20:20,340 --> 00:20:22,140 Speaker 1: eat those. We just keep those so we can say 413 00:20:22,180 --> 00:20:24,480 Speaker 1: we have food. And I ran in and maybe it 414 00:20:24,510 --> 00:20:27,270 Speaker 1: was a real life rain sandwich. Here's how the loophole worked. 415 00:20:27,310 --> 00:20:31,350 Speaker 1: Here's how we got this terrible sandwich. You can't sell 416 00:20:31,390 --> 00:20:33,890 Speaker 1: booze on Sunday. The rain's law doesn't want you to. 417 00:20:34,210 --> 00:20:37,129 Speaker 1: But that is one of the most profitable days for 418 00:20:37,150 --> 00:20:40,740 Speaker 1: a lot of people. Here's what the downtown bar owners did. 419 00:20:41,520 --> 00:20:45,199 Speaker 1: They founded private clubs and then they started handing out 420 00:20:45,280 --> 00:20:47,840 Speaker 1: membership cards to their regulars. It's sort of like if 421 00:20:47,920 --> 00:20:49,680 Speaker 1: our local bar, the local. 422 00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:51,080 Speaker 2: And a burst of creativity. 423 00:20:51,220 --> 00:20:54,500 Speaker 1: Right. That's still so it's hilarious when we say it 424 00:20:54,720 --> 00:20:56,879 Speaker 1: on air like that. But if they had to if 425 00:20:56,920 --> 00:20:59,200 Speaker 1: they had to confront this kind of law, then they 426 00:20:59,290 --> 00:21:02,410 Speaker 1: might very well turn into a club, hand out membership 427 00:21:02,450 --> 00:21:05,649 Speaker 1: cards and so on. These people also converted basements and 428 00:21:05,770 --> 00:21:09,950 Speaker 1: attic spaces into rooms like hotel rooms. And then they said, OK, 429 00:21:09,970 --> 00:21:13,390 Speaker 1: we count as a lodging house. We'll throw tablecloths over 430 00:21:13,430 --> 00:21:15,770 Speaker 1: the pool tables. That makes us kind of a restaurant. 431 00:21:16,350 --> 00:21:18,930 Speaker 1: And because the law says if you're a lodging house 432 00:21:18,970 --> 00:21:22,300 Speaker 1: with 10 or more rooms, you can serve guests drinks 433 00:21:22,800 --> 00:21:26,060 Speaker 1: with food seven days a week. They had to pick 434 00:21:26,220 --> 00:21:29,100 Speaker 1: something they could use that would count as food. Yeah. 435 00:21:29,260 --> 00:21:31,960 Speaker 2: And I guess you could argue it's debatable. 436 00:21:32,510 --> 00:21:35,429 Speaker 3: Whether this disgusting sandwich could be, I don't know, you 437 00:21:35,450 --> 00:21:37,690 Speaker 3: would think that the law could come down on them 438 00:21:37,730 --> 00:21:40,680 Speaker 3: and say, guys, this is in fact inedible. 439 00:21:41,340 --> 00:21:44,800 Speaker 2: This does not qualify as food. Yeah, it's like your 440 00:21:44,820 --> 00:21:45,760 Speaker 2: hot dog story, right? 441 00:21:45,820 --> 00:21:48,560 Speaker 1: Right. Here's the quote, because I love where you're going 442 00:21:48,580 --> 00:21:53,120 Speaker 1: with this. Law enforcement itself bought this. An assistant DA 443 00:21:53,160 --> 00:21:56,399 Speaker 1: in Brooklyn said the following to a group of police 444 00:21:56,440 --> 00:22:01,109 Speaker 1: captains as the first of these rains hotels started hitting 445 00:22:01,150 --> 00:22:04,380 Speaker 1: the scene. He said, Well, I would not say that 446 00:22:04,460 --> 00:22:07,159 Speaker 1: a cracker is a complete meal in itself, but a 447 00:22:07,180 --> 00:22:09,959 Speaker 1: sandwich is. How much did they pay him? 448 00:22:10,300 --> 00:22:10,800 Speaker 2: Good question. 449 00:22:10,820 --> 00:22:11,719 Speaker 1: They paid him something. 450 00:22:12,140 --> 00:22:15,300 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's that sandwich, sweet, sweet sandwich money. No, I 451 00:22:15,300 --> 00:22:16,720 Speaker 2: don't know, man. This is very interesting stuff. 452 00:22:17,000 --> 00:22:20,750 Speaker 3: It's all about the little clever tricks, whether it's to 453 00:22:20,790 --> 00:22:24,990 Speaker 3: disguise something like a footprint or to skirt the law 454 00:22:25,030 --> 00:22:28,270 Speaker 3: in some way. And again, we still see the kind 455 00:22:28,310 --> 00:22:33,070 Speaker 3: of legacy of this playing out. in today's modern world. 456 00:22:33,090 --> 00:22:41,369 Speaker 1: Now, of course, it's tempting to say, wow, what a 457 00:22:41,390 --> 00:22:46,250 Speaker 1: crazy story. What a strange period in U.S. history. But 458 00:22:46,450 --> 00:22:48,790 Speaker 1: as William Faulkner said, the past is not over. The 459 00:22:48,830 --> 00:22:54,740 Speaker 1: past is not even past. The Prohibition Party, dear ridiculous historians, 460 00:22:55,750 --> 00:22:57,330 Speaker 1: is still in play today. 461 00:22:57,470 --> 00:23:00,170 Speaker 2: Still a thing. It's true. It is the oldest third 462 00:23:00,230 --> 00:23:03,680 Speaker 2: party in America. The next oldest would be the Green Party. 463 00:23:04,220 --> 00:23:05,520 Speaker 3: No, that's not true. I don't know what the next 464 00:23:05,560 --> 00:23:07,540 Speaker 3: oldest would be. I did not even know this was 465 00:23:07,580 --> 00:23:11,219 Speaker 3: considered a party. But yeah, it's on the ballot in 466 00:23:11,320 --> 00:23:13,600 Speaker 3: at least three states. You'd think we would have a 467 00:23:13,660 --> 00:23:15,220 Speaker 3: more precise number of that. 468 00:23:15,300 --> 00:23:17,340 Speaker 2: Is it three? Is it at least three? Is it 469 00:23:17,380 --> 00:23:19,640 Speaker 2: more than three? Uh-huh. You tell me. I don't know, Ben. 470 00:23:20,200 --> 00:23:23,270 Speaker 1: Oh, well, whenever somebody says it's on the ballot in 471 00:23:23,350 --> 00:23:26,760 Speaker 1: at least three states, it means that it might be 472 00:23:26,880 --> 00:23:28,220 Speaker 1: in additional ones in the future. 473 00:23:28,240 --> 00:23:31,180 Speaker 2: There you go. That makes sense. So here is how 474 00:23:31,530 --> 00:23:32,350 Speaker 2: this works. 475 00:23:32,810 --> 00:23:36,550 Speaker 3: It's never gotten more than 2.2% of the popular vote, 476 00:23:36,869 --> 00:23:39,510 Speaker 3: but there it is just the same. It's shown up 477 00:23:39,670 --> 00:23:44,370 Speaker 3: on presidential ballots since 1872, every time. And it has 478 00:23:44,430 --> 00:23:48,050 Speaker 3: had some kind of spotlighty type moments, right? Like during 479 00:23:48,070 --> 00:23:53,290 Speaker 3: the 1920 alcohol ban, Prohibition, right? The titular alcohol ban 480 00:23:53,530 --> 00:23:56,510 Speaker 3: of the party, the Prohibition party, That was really its 481 00:23:56,550 --> 00:23:57,350 Speaker 3: time to shine. 482 00:23:57,609 --> 00:23:59,909 Speaker 1: Yeah, and it's strange when you think that the party 483 00:23:59,970 --> 00:24:03,649 Speaker 1: is still extant and it is still so focused on 484 00:24:04,210 --> 00:24:08,040 Speaker 1: a single issue, right? One thing that's really awesome, although 485 00:24:08,130 --> 00:24:10,580 Speaker 1: prohibitionists and I clearly do not see eye to eye 486 00:24:10,680 --> 00:24:14,939 Speaker 1: on a great many things, I found it inspiring and 487 00:24:15,080 --> 00:24:19,300 Speaker 1: really cool that in 1924, the Prohibition Party became the 488 00:24:19,520 --> 00:24:22,399 Speaker 1: first political party in this country to put a woman 489 00:24:22,480 --> 00:24:26,130 Speaker 1: on the presidential ballot. when they named Marie C. Brehm 490 00:24:26,450 --> 00:24:28,230 Speaker 1: as their vice presidential candidate. 491 00:24:28,550 --> 00:24:29,410 Speaker 2: Very interesting. 492 00:24:29,450 --> 00:24:34,050 Speaker 3: Like, oddly forward thinking, but, like, at the same time, 493 00:24:34,450 --> 00:24:39,169 Speaker 3: she was probably a monster. I mean, come on, for 494 00:24:39,210 --> 00:24:40,919 Speaker 3: them to have like pushed her forth, it's just me 495 00:24:40,940 --> 00:24:42,080 Speaker 3: completely editorializing. 496 00:24:42,119 --> 00:24:43,920 Speaker 2: But like, you know, like, again, I'm going to. 497 00:24:43,859 --> 00:24:48,620 Speaker 3: Go back to my prohibition detective and, you know, played 498 00:24:48,660 --> 00:24:52,800 Speaker 3: by Michael Shannon in Boardwalk Empire. The whole thing with 499 00:24:52,820 --> 00:24:56,469 Speaker 3: the prohibition party in that movement is temperance. And that 500 00:24:56,510 --> 00:24:59,690 Speaker 3: is all tied to religious zealotry, right? So a lot 501 00:24:59,710 --> 00:25:01,159 Speaker 3: of times if you're going to be like, You know, 502 00:25:01,180 --> 00:25:03,439 Speaker 3: you have to be the craziest religious zealot to be 503 00:25:03,480 --> 00:25:06,899 Speaker 3: pushed forth as the president of this. That's what I'm 504 00:25:06,920 --> 00:25:08,940 Speaker 3: getting at. You know, not to say that all religious 505 00:25:08,960 --> 00:25:12,050 Speaker 3: people are monsters or anything. I just think this type 506 00:25:12,220 --> 00:25:17,370 Speaker 3: of puritanical zealotry tends to yield troubling results. 507 00:25:17,830 --> 00:25:20,730 Speaker 1: You know, we understand that alcoholism can be a serious 508 00:25:20,770 --> 00:25:26,210 Speaker 1: and very threatening problem. That being said, I love prohibition 509 00:25:26,390 --> 00:25:31,720 Speaker 1: propaganda like the cartoons. They're. amazing. I wish there were 510 00:25:31,740 --> 00:25:32,280 Speaker 1: more like this. 511 00:25:32,380 --> 00:25:32,760 Speaker 2: You know what? 512 00:25:32,840 --> 00:25:35,419 Speaker 1: If I ever own a bar, I'm just going to 513 00:25:35,480 --> 00:25:37,620 Speaker 1: decorate it with prohibition pictures. 514 00:25:38,320 --> 00:25:40,140 Speaker 2: Can you give me some examples? Sure, sure. 515 00:25:40,820 --> 00:25:43,399 Speaker 1: There's this famous one where there were a bunch of 516 00:25:43,480 --> 00:25:47,120 Speaker 1: very angry people standing around a sign that says, lips 517 00:25:47,180 --> 00:25:51,179 Speaker 1: that touch liquor shall not touch ours. There are things saying, 518 00:25:51,760 --> 00:25:56,520 Speaker 1: which gets your vote, mother or the saloon? vote dry. 519 00:25:56,880 --> 00:25:59,580 Speaker 1: Ask the first 10 mothers you meet if they would 520 00:25:59,680 --> 00:26:02,460 Speaker 1: vote for the saloon and govern yourself accordingly. 521 00:26:02,480 --> 00:26:05,320 Speaker 3: And then you have just some like outright, you know, 522 00:26:05,680 --> 00:26:09,320 Speaker 3: fear mongering things that aren't even clever. Like beer doubled 523 00:26:09,400 --> 00:26:13,520 Speaker 3: the child death rate in the first five years of life. 524 00:26:14,020 --> 00:26:15,440 Speaker 2: Children of sober parents. 525 00:26:15,440 --> 00:26:16,000 Speaker 1: 23% died. 526 00:26:16,040 --> 00:26:22,590 Speaker 3: Children of beer drinkers, 45% died. Alcohol, whether in beer 527 00:26:22,690 --> 00:26:26,320 Speaker 3: or in whiskey, is an enemy of child life. 528 00:26:26,800 --> 00:26:29,180 Speaker 1: That was the thing. Yeah, you'll see pictures where it's 529 00:26:29,720 --> 00:26:32,040 Speaker 1: the bar room or the boy. Your vote may settle it. 530 00:26:32,340 --> 00:26:35,540 Speaker 1: And there's a guy drunk outside of, like, a Western-looking saloon, 531 00:26:35,840 --> 00:26:38,359 Speaker 1: and there's a little kid standing on the porch with 532 00:26:38,400 --> 00:26:41,530 Speaker 1: him going, Is that you, Daddy? It's pretty sad. 533 00:26:41,730 --> 00:26:44,429 Speaker 3: You got another one here where it's a cartoon. This 534 00:26:44,490 --> 00:26:47,400 Speaker 3: is a pretty clever one. It's a cartoon... of like 535 00:26:47,510 --> 00:26:49,510 Speaker 3: a dude in kind of like a houndstooth suit, but 536 00:26:49,530 --> 00:26:52,350 Speaker 3: he's not a regular old dude. His head is a globe. 537 00:26:52,390 --> 00:26:53,250 Speaker 2: It is the world. 538 00:26:53,609 --> 00:26:57,030 Speaker 3: And it's being enveloped by something called the liquor octopus, 539 00:26:57,350 --> 00:27:00,470 Speaker 3: which is, as you would imagine, a cartoonish octopus that 540 00:27:00,520 --> 00:27:04,380 Speaker 3: has words printed on it in the style of political cartoons. 541 00:27:04,640 --> 00:27:07,040 Speaker 3: And every tentacle is a different vice, right? We've got 542 00:27:07,119 --> 00:27:09,600 Speaker 3: not vice, but it's a different outcome. We've got poverty 543 00:27:09,920 --> 00:27:15,310 Speaker 3: on one tentacle, crime, disease, debauchery, and waste. And then 544 00:27:15,410 --> 00:27:16,850 Speaker 3: at the bottom... There's like. 545 00:27:16,770 --> 00:27:18,700 Speaker 2: A log or something that he's supposed to sit on. 546 00:27:18,730 --> 00:27:23,240 Speaker 2: It says American Anti-Saloon Methods. That is what this came from. 547 00:27:23,640 --> 00:27:27,260 Speaker 1: I think the last example I'll cite is the propaganda 548 00:27:27,320 --> 00:27:29,840 Speaker 1: poster that just, it's kind of simple. It looks like 549 00:27:29,859 --> 00:27:31,840 Speaker 1: it might be from a different time. It claims there 550 00:27:31,880 --> 00:27:38,070 Speaker 1: are six bad things that alcohol can cause. Adultery, drunks, violence, illness, sinners, 551 00:27:38,290 --> 00:27:39,530 Speaker 1: and atheist. 552 00:27:39,920 --> 00:27:40,330 Speaker 2: Gasp. 553 00:27:41,310 --> 00:27:43,650 Speaker 1: I like the idea that somebody is going to have 554 00:27:43,690 --> 00:27:46,110 Speaker 1: a beer and then instantly go, There's no God. 555 00:27:46,130 --> 00:27:47,030 Speaker 2: There's no God. 556 00:27:48,010 --> 00:27:51,889 Speaker 1: How bad was that beer? Was it like a Michelob? 557 00:27:52,830 --> 00:27:53,730 Speaker 2: Must have been. Ultra? 558 00:27:54,510 --> 00:27:55,129 Speaker 1: Michelob Ultra. 559 00:27:55,150 --> 00:27:57,730 Speaker 2: What's the worst beer, Ben? I don't know. 560 00:27:57,890 --> 00:28:00,440 Speaker 1: I don't know. I haven't drank every beer. I know 561 00:28:00,560 --> 00:28:03,179 Speaker 1: I'm kind of a Philistine in this regard. 562 00:28:03,320 --> 00:28:04,220 Speaker 2: I'm not a beer guy either. 563 00:28:04,580 --> 00:28:07,020 Speaker 1: You know what I can say is a great beer, Noel? 564 00:28:07,220 --> 00:28:08,060 Speaker 2: What's the worst beer? 565 00:28:08,260 --> 00:28:09,350 Speaker 1: I don't know what the worst beer is. 566 00:28:09,359 --> 00:28:09,960 Speaker 2: Okay, what's a good beer? 567 00:28:10,119 --> 00:28:12,700 Speaker 1: A good beer is Miller Lite. It's so good, in fact, 568 00:28:12,740 --> 00:28:14,120 Speaker 1: that you can drink it with your mouth. 569 00:28:14,400 --> 00:28:18,100 Speaker 2: Brought to you by Miller Lite. Is that true? That 570 00:28:18,140 --> 00:28:19,460 Speaker 2: campaign was from years ago, Ben. 571 00:28:19,680 --> 00:28:20,100 Speaker 1: I know. 572 00:28:20,240 --> 00:28:20,840 Speaker 2: I just love that line. 573 00:28:20,880 --> 00:28:22,720 Speaker 3: We're not still getting residuals. Now, that is a good line. 574 00:28:22,940 --> 00:28:25,540 Speaker 3: And I swear to God, if they haven't just like 575 00:28:25,580 --> 00:28:29,550 Speaker 3: lifted that from you and used that in their advertising materials, 576 00:28:30,530 --> 00:28:34,290 Speaker 3: that's like an old man advertising material, then they are 577 00:28:34,390 --> 00:28:35,210 Speaker 3: missing the boat, dude. 578 00:28:35,230 --> 00:28:38,910 Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm more of a whiskey guy. But, you know, 579 00:28:39,010 --> 00:28:41,910 Speaker 2: I mean, you know, I am divorced. It's certainly possible 580 00:28:41,930 --> 00:28:45,890 Speaker 2: that alcohol led to directly or indirectly to my divorce. 581 00:28:45,930 --> 00:28:48,580 Speaker 2: I can neither confirm nor deny that. I do have 582 00:28:48,620 --> 00:28:51,980 Speaker 2: a job. I pay my way. 583 00:28:52,400 --> 00:28:53,180 Speaker 1: Are you a sinner? 584 00:28:53,580 --> 00:28:54,160 Speaker 2: Am I a sinner? 585 00:28:54,180 --> 00:28:54,960 Speaker 1: I don't know. 586 00:28:54,980 --> 00:28:55,660 Speaker 2: I'm not a saint. 587 00:28:56,300 --> 00:28:57,160 Speaker 1: Are you debauched? 588 00:28:57,640 --> 00:29:01,870 Speaker 2: From time to time. I don't know if I'm wholly debauched. 589 00:29:01,990 --> 00:29:03,710 Speaker 3: I think we have our debauched moments. Check out my 590 00:29:03,750 --> 00:29:07,270 Speaker 3: Instagram stories. You can follow me at HowNowNoelBrown on the Gram. 591 00:29:08,000 --> 00:29:11,370 Speaker 1: And you can follow me at Ben Bolin as I 592 00:29:11,410 --> 00:29:17,790 Speaker 1: get kicked into and out of various, uh, events, bars, restaurants, countries, 593 00:29:17,850 --> 00:29:18,890 Speaker 1: there's always something. 594 00:29:18,910 --> 00:29:19,450 Speaker 2: Saloons? 595 00:29:20,110 --> 00:29:20,790 Speaker 1: Saloons. 596 00:29:20,970 --> 00:29:22,990 Speaker 2: Speakeasies? Yeah, all that stuff. 597 00:29:23,300 --> 00:29:25,040 Speaker 3: If you want to join our community group, this is 598 00:29:25,060 --> 00:29:27,540 Speaker 3: a very organic transition to the outro this time, Ben. 599 00:29:27,560 --> 00:29:28,120 Speaker 2: I'm a big fan. 600 00:29:28,440 --> 00:29:30,360 Speaker 3: If you want to join our community on the Facebook, 601 00:29:30,400 --> 00:29:33,010 Speaker 3: you can do so. We are Ridiculous Historians. Just search 602 00:29:33,050 --> 00:29:35,750 Speaker 3: for that group and name one or both or all 603 00:29:35,830 --> 00:29:38,650 Speaker 3: three of us, or just say a joke that lets 604 00:29:38,690 --> 00:29:40,630 Speaker 3: us know that you're cool and we'll let you write it. 605 00:29:40,660 --> 00:29:42,880 Speaker 1: Yeah, if it's a good pun, I'm going to just 606 00:29:43,060 --> 00:29:46,400 Speaker 1: green light it all day. We would also like to thank, 607 00:29:46,600 --> 00:29:50,380 Speaker 1: as always, our super producer, Casey Pegram, our research associates, 608 00:29:50,440 --> 00:29:51,920 Speaker 1: Ryan Barish and Gabe Luzia. 609 00:29:52,180 --> 00:29:54,850 Speaker 3: Alex Williams, who composed our theme, also gets a hefty thanks. 610 00:29:55,830 --> 00:29:57,850 Speaker 3: we'd like to thank Christopher Haciotis here in spirit. There's 611 00:29:57,870 --> 00:29:59,870 Speaker 3: a Christopher-shaped hole in all of our hearts that we 612 00:29:59,910 --> 00:30:01,170 Speaker 3: hope to fill very soon. 613 00:30:01,390 --> 00:30:03,910 Speaker 1: Thanks to the quizster. I miss him. We need to 614 00:30:03,930 --> 00:30:04,690 Speaker 1: bring him back in the game. 615 00:30:04,790 --> 00:30:06,390 Speaker 2: Yeah, he's okay. I'm warming up to the idea. 616 00:30:06,520 --> 00:30:08,260 Speaker 3: When he's gone for a while, it sort of absence 617 00:30:08,320 --> 00:30:10,239 Speaker 3: makes the heart grow fonder and all that. That's kind 618 00:30:10,260 --> 00:30:11,620 Speaker 3: of how I feel. But yeah, we should definitely have 619 00:30:11,660 --> 00:30:13,260 Speaker 3: him in so I can go back to hating him 620 00:30:13,280 --> 00:30:14,700 Speaker 3: with a fire deep inside me. 621 00:30:14,980 --> 00:30:18,940 Speaker 1: Tell us and your fellow listeners your favorite weird prohibition stories. 622 00:30:19,400 --> 00:30:25,060 Speaker 1: Do you have personal family connection to Prohibition, to bootlegging, 623 00:30:25,120 --> 00:30:28,240 Speaker 1: to moonshining. A lot of people in Appalachia do. 624 00:30:28,420 --> 00:30:32,140 Speaker 2: Yeah, you can write to us at Ridiculous at iHeartRadio.com. 625 00:30:32,920 --> 00:30:33,760 Speaker 2: We'll see you next time, folks. 626 00:30:41,920 --> 00:30:45,710 Speaker 3: For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 627 00:30:45,790 --> 00:30:47,850 Speaker 3: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.