1 00:00:00,070 --> 00:00:04,550 Speaker 1: Fellow ridiculous historians, we are returning with a week of 2 00:00:04,630 --> 00:00:08,180 Speaker 1: classics because in honor of Labor Day, we decided to 3 00:00:08,240 --> 00:00:10,399 Speaker 1: kick back and take a little time off. 4 00:00:10,720 --> 00:00:12,200 Speaker 2: Yeah. Without laboring. 5 00:00:12,800 --> 00:00:13,060 Speaker 3: Yes. 6 00:00:13,080 --> 00:00:15,800 Speaker 2: Turns out Labor Day is not about laboring. It's about 7 00:00:16,400 --> 00:00:20,680 Speaker 2: not laboring and honoring them what labor. And all the, 8 00:00:21,280 --> 00:00:23,460 Speaker 2: you know, shout out to Max, the progress we've made. 9 00:00:24,750 --> 00:00:29,070 Speaker 2: give or take, as a country towards unionization and treating 10 00:00:29,110 --> 00:00:31,610 Speaker 2: people with respect when it comes to working and all that. 11 00:00:32,930 --> 00:00:36,519 Speaker 1: And so in honor of that celebration, as we said, 12 00:00:36,630 --> 00:00:39,620 Speaker 1: we're away for a week, but we didn't want to 13 00:00:39,670 --> 00:00:42,379 Speaker 1: leave you without some dope episodes to step to or 14 00:00:42,440 --> 00:00:46,760 Speaker 1: listen to. This story sticks with us. This comes to 15 00:00:46,840 --> 00:00:52,160 Speaker 1: us from 2019 when we explored the story of King 16 00:00:52,600 --> 00:00:57,420 Speaker 1: Frederick I, Wilhelm I, very into super soldiers. 17 00:00:58,460 --> 00:00:59,980 Speaker 2: Super tall soldiers, Ben. 18 00:01:00,400 --> 00:01:01,380 Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah. 19 00:01:01,470 --> 00:01:03,990 Speaker 2: It was a bit of an odd flex. A bunch 20 00:01:04,030 --> 00:01:07,190 Speaker 2: of gangly dudes with a lot of reach. Kind of 21 00:01:07,209 --> 00:01:09,069 Speaker 2: like our buddy Abraham Lincoln. 22 00:01:09,250 --> 00:01:09,670 Speaker 1: Tall? 23 00:01:10,310 --> 00:01:13,449 Speaker 2: I don't quite understand the strategy here. 24 00:01:14,490 --> 00:01:18,310 Speaker 1: Yeah, there were a lot of strange things about this 25 00:01:18,400 --> 00:01:22,880 Speaker 1: crew called the Potsdam Giants. Specifically the fact that If 26 00:01:22,920 --> 00:01:25,700 Speaker 1: you were a tall person and the king wanted you 27 00:01:25,740 --> 00:01:27,810 Speaker 1: in his army and you didn't want to sign up, 28 00:01:28,450 --> 00:01:30,570 Speaker 1: he would straight up kidnap you. 29 00:01:31,090 --> 00:01:34,810 Speaker 2: I mean, I guess it's sort of like Pete Hegsguth 30 00:01:34,870 --> 00:01:36,630 Speaker 2: saying no fatties in the army. 31 00:01:37,030 --> 00:01:42,060 Speaker 1: This is no shorties, you know? And we can't wait 32 00:01:42,340 --> 00:01:44,680 Speaker 1: to hear your thoughts on this one. Noel, what say 33 00:01:44,740 --> 00:01:45,800 Speaker 1: we just roll the tape? 34 00:01:46,080 --> 00:01:47,700 Speaker 2: Well, Ben, I say huzzah. 35 00:01:50,990 --> 00:02:18,560 Speaker 1: Ridiculous History is a production of iHeartRadio. ¶ ¶ Welcome 36 00:02:18,580 --> 00:02:21,779 Speaker 1: to the show, Ridiculous Historians, and thank you for tuning in. 37 00:02:21,919 --> 00:02:24,150 Speaker 1: My name is Ben. I've got a question. Do you 38 00:02:24,169 --> 00:02:26,110 Speaker 1: guys remember the band They Might Be Giants? 39 00:02:26,410 --> 00:02:28,350 Speaker 3: Maybe. Certainly do, yeah. 40 00:02:28,950 --> 00:02:30,270 Speaker 2: I was doing a bit, because it's like, They Might 41 00:02:30,310 --> 00:02:32,769 Speaker 2: Be Giants, I might remember. They Might Be Giants. I'm Noel, 42 00:02:32,790 --> 00:02:33,390 Speaker 2: by the way. Who are you? 43 00:02:34,050 --> 00:02:34,950 Speaker 1: Oh, I'm Ben. I said that. 44 00:02:34,990 --> 00:02:36,450 Speaker 2: Yeah, I see. I can never remember if you said 45 00:02:36,470 --> 00:02:38,460 Speaker 2: it or not. That's super producer Casey Pegram. 46 00:02:39,940 --> 00:02:40,260 Speaker 3: Hello. 47 00:02:40,500 --> 00:02:43,100 Speaker 1: Casey, you said you remember They Might Be Giants? 48 00:02:43,460 --> 00:02:47,160 Speaker 3: Yeah, I remember the Istanbul song. I remember Particle Man. 49 00:02:47,850 --> 00:02:48,710 Speaker 2: Birdhouse in Your Soul? 50 00:02:48,790 --> 00:02:51,010 Speaker 3: Yep, yep. All the stuff that kind of made its 51 00:02:51,030 --> 00:02:52,470 Speaker 3: way into Animaniacs. 52 00:02:53,210 --> 00:02:56,850 Speaker 1: And Animaniacs had some great music going on in general, right? 53 00:02:57,330 --> 00:02:58,960 Speaker 1: That song where they name all the countries? 54 00:02:58,970 --> 00:03:00,919 Speaker 3: I was just thinking about that. 55 00:03:00,940 --> 00:03:03,880 Speaker 1: That's the one that's actually, since we're talking a bit 56 00:03:03,919 --> 00:03:08,579 Speaker 1: about nostalgia, that is the song that inspired me as 57 00:03:08,639 --> 00:03:11,680 Speaker 1: a child to learn one of my many useless skills, 58 00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:18,400 Speaker 1: which is naming all UN-recognized countries in the world. which 59 00:03:18,440 --> 00:03:22,720 Speaker 1: I can do and, you know, is completely useless. No 60 00:03:22,780 --> 00:03:23,150 Speaker 1: one cares. 61 00:03:23,570 --> 00:03:25,030 Speaker 2: Let's see if I can pull up a little lyric 62 00:03:25,050 --> 00:03:27,049 Speaker 2: sheet of the song and see if I can even 63 00:03:27,070 --> 00:03:32,730 Speaker 2: do it. So it's United States, Canada, Mexico, Panama, Haiti, Jamaica, Peru, Republic, Dominica, Cuba, Caribbean, Greenland, 64 00:03:32,770 --> 00:03:34,190 Speaker 2: El Salvador too. That's the song. 65 00:03:34,250 --> 00:03:34,470 Speaker 1: Yeah. 66 00:03:34,630 --> 00:03:36,650 Speaker 2: I just wanted to see if I could fit the 67 00:03:36,690 --> 00:03:38,130 Speaker 2: syllables in correctly. If you could do the K, I 68 00:03:38,160 --> 00:03:38,920 Speaker 2: absolutely could. 69 00:03:38,940 --> 00:03:39,290 Speaker 3: You got it. 70 00:03:39,320 --> 00:03:42,600 Speaker 1: You nailed it. So we're talking about They Might Be 71 00:03:42,640 --> 00:03:46,020 Speaker 1: Giants and a little bit of nostalgia, mainly because it's 72 00:03:46,080 --> 00:03:50,830 Speaker 1: such a, creative band name, right? But also because today's 73 00:03:50,990 --> 00:03:54,950 Speaker 1: episode is about people who actually were giants or they 74 00:03:54,990 --> 00:03:59,910 Speaker 1: were called giants. Specifically, they were called the Potsdam Giants. 75 00:04:00,710 --> 00:04:06,190 Speaker 1: So here's the shtick. Today's story takes place in Prussia. 76 00:04:07,330 --> 00:04:10,350 Speaker 1: Prussia at the time, and this is around the, this 77 00:04:10,850 --> 00:04:14,000 Speaker 1: is leading up to the early 18th century. So just 78 00:04:14,040 --> 00:04:18,690 Speaker 1: before then, Prussia at the time It was a military state, 79 00:04:19,010 --> 00:04:23,250 Speaker 1: but it was poor. It didn't have a huge population. 80 00:04:24,070 --> 00:04:26,830 Speaker 1: The land wasn't super fertile. They didn't have a ton 81 00:04:26,890 --> 00:04:30,990 Speaker 1: of resources, you know, like mines or natural fisheries. And 82 00:04:31,029 --> 00:04:34,950 Speaker 1: they didn't have many natural borders, like rivers or mountains 83 00:04:35,040 --> 00:04:39,440 Speaker 1: and so on. It kind of blended in to other 84 00:04:39,520 --> 00:04:42,400 Speaker 1: German states in the West and then sort of washed 85 00:04:42,480 --> 00:04:45,300 Speaker 1: into a gradient of Poland in the East. And this 86 00:04:45,380 --> 00:04:47,240 Speaker 1: meant that it was Pretty easy to invade. 87 00:04:47,440 --> 00:04:51,720 Speaker 2: Turns out, no connection to Russia whatsoever. Completely different etymology. 88 00:04:51,900 --> 00:04:52,760 Speaker 1: Yes. Yeah. 89 00:04:53,200 --> 00:04:56,300 Speaker 2: And now, I mean, you may be like, where's Prussia? 90 00:04:56,339 --> 00:04:58,520 Speaker 2: What's Prussia all about? Prussia no longer a thing. But 91 00:04:58,540 --> 00:05:00,729 Speaker 2: there is a city in Pennsylvania called King of Prussia, 92 00:05:01,010 --> 00:05:02,390 Speaker 2: and it's got a pretty nice outlet mall. 93 00:05:03,450 --> 00:05:03,670 Speaker 3: Yes. 94 00:05:03,990 --> 00:05:07,530 Speaker 1: Yeah. King of Prussia always baffled me as far as 95 00:05:07,570 --> 00:05:10,490 Speaker 1: names go. Actually, you know what, folks? While you're listening 96 00:05:10,550 --> 00:05:13,159 Speaker 1: to today's episode, just if it occurs to you Will 97 00:05:13,200 --> 00:05:16,260 Speaker 1: you please write to us and let us know your 98 00:05:16,380 --> 00:05:21,150 Speaker 1: favorite weird town names? There's Batman Australia. That's a real thing. 99 00:05:21,870 --> 00:05:22,610 Speaker 1: King of Prussia. 100 00:05:22,770 --> 00:05:23,110 Speaker 2: I don't know. 101 00:05:23,150 --> 00:05:24,650 Speaker 1: That's one of the best ones we have here. 102 00:05:24,670 --> 00:05:26,570 Speaker 2: For sure. Now you're putting me on the spot. I 103 00:05:26,610 --> 00:05:29,000 Speaker 2: definitely have one that's a go-to, but it's escaping right now. 104 00:05:29,010 --> 00:05:29,850 Speaker 2: See if I can come up with it by the 105 00:05:29,870 --> 00:05:32,419 Speaker 2: end of the episode. But today we are talking about obsession. 106 00:05:32,820 --> 00:05:36,070 Speaker 2: We are talking about... the need to separate yourself from 107 00:05:36,110 --> 00:05:37,750 Speaker 2: the herd, you know, like to kind of like rise 108 00:05:37,810 --> 00:05:40,859 Speaker 2: above the ranks, shall we say. And that is exactly 109 00:05:40,940 --> 00:05:45,500 Speaker 2: what King Frederick William I of Prussia tried to do 110 00:05:46,100 --> 00:05:49,300 Speaker 2: in what ended up being a pretty creepy, kidnappy kind 111 00:05:49,339 --> 00:05:49,860 Speaker 2: of weird way. 112 00:05:50,080 --> 00:05:53,469 Speaker 1: Yes. So here's how we got here. So we said 113 00:05:53,490 --> 00:05:57,130 Speaker 1: when we're setting the stage leading up to the 18th century, 114 00:05:58,180 --> 00:06:02,170 Speaker 1: Since the 15th century or so, it was tough to 115 00:06:02,210 --> 00:06:06,210 Speaker 1: be in charge of this thing called Prussia. However, they 116 00:06:06,230 --> 00:06:10,080 Speaker 1: had a skilled family of rulers. Oh, it's my turn 117 00:06:10,100 --> 00:06:12,860 Speaker 1: for this one, huh? The Hohenzollerns. Sure. 118 00:06:14,210 --> 00:06:14,710 Speaker 2: That sounds good. 119 00:06:15,110 --> 00:06:18,350 Speaker 1: H-O-H-E-N-Z-O-L-L-E-R-N-S. 120 00:06:18,450 --> 00:06:21,500 Speaker 2: Oh, a second H, huh? Interesting. I defer to your knowledge. 121 00:06:21,520 --> 00:06:22,720 Speaker 2: I would have thought it would have been like an 122 00:06:22,900 --> 00:06:26,160 Speaker 2: E with an umlaut, but it's a Hohenzollers. 123 00:06:26,420 --> 00:06:27,620 Speaker 1: I think you did a better job. 124 00:06:27,660 --> 00:06:29,719 Speaker 2: You know, I gave it my best. 125 00:06:30,020 --> 00:06:32,070 Speaker 1: Well, you know, you also used to live in Germany. 126 00:06:32,950 --> 00:06:36,310 Speaker 2: As a small German child. It has since escaped me, 127 00:06:37,050 --> 00:06:40,210 Speaker 2: all of the culture and beautiful culture. tradition of the 128 00:06:40,250 --> 00:06:40,789 Speaker 2: German people. 129 00:06:40,950 --> 00:06:43,590 Speaker 1: You still have the German shining, I believe in you. 130 00:06:44,170 --> 00:06:49,969 Speaker 1: So these rulers held Brandenburg since the 15th century. And 131 00:06:50,290 --> 00:06:54,820 Speaker 1: over time, through their diplomacy and political maneuvering, they came 132 00:06:54,940 --> 00:06:58,460 Speaker 1: to possess other dominions, including the original region, which was 133 00:06:58,480 --> 00:07:01,800 Speaker 1: called Prussia in the east. And in the 17th century, 134 00:07:01,960 --> 00:07:04,440 Speaker 1: it was just another part of this thing called the 135 00:07:04,500 --> 00:07:08,080 Speaker 1: Holy Roman Empire. Great name. Very dramatic. 136 00:07:08,120 --> 00:07:11,260 Speaker 2: Crazy little thing called the Holy Roman Empire. Yes, exactly. 137 00:07:11,980 --> 00:07:16,990 Speaker 1: And in 1660, a guy named Frederick William of the 138 00:07:17,050 --> 00:07:18,790 Speaker 1: House of... How do we say it, Noel? 139 00:07:19,170 --> 00:07:23,190 Speaker 2: Oh, gosh. Hohenzollern. Hohenzollern. Hohenzollern. 140 00:07:23,310 --> 00:07:28,630 Speaker 1: Yes. This guy, Frederick William, he's the grandfather of the 141 00:07:28,670 --> 00:07:32,680 Speaker 1: main character of our story. He inherited all of the 142 00:07:32,710 --> 00:07:36,620 Speaker 1: house's possessions. And he said, look, we can't... rely on 143 00:07:36,630 --> 00:07:40,160 Speaker 1: this economy built on agriculture and natural resources because we 144 00:07:40,180 --> 00:07:43,260 Speaker 1: don't really have enough of that. We can't count on 145 00:07:43,600 --> 00:07:45,800 Speaker 1: natural borders like mountains to protect us. 146 00:07:45,820 --> 00:07:46,700 Speaker 2: Because we don't have those either. 147 00:07:46,920 --> 00:07:47,220 Speaker 1: Right. 148 00:07:47,260 --> 00:07:47,560 Speaker 2: Yeah. 149 00:07:48,180 --> 00:07:52,480 Speaker 1: So he said we need to become a militaristic state. 150 00:07:52,680 --> 00:07:54,640 Speaker 2: Interesting. By the way, there's going to be a lot 151 00:07:54,680 --> 00:07:57,620 Speaker 2: of Fredericks going on here in this lineage, not the 152 00:07:57,660 --> 00:07:59,360 Speaker 2: most creative namers of humans. 153 00:07:59,500 --> 00:08:00,640 Speaker 1: No Matt Fredericks, though. 154 00:08:01,060 --> 00:08:03,520 Speaker 2: Ah, that's a shame. We'll get him back eventually, though, 155 00:08:03,620 --> 00:08:08,020 Speaker 2: I promise. So, yeah, it's true. Frederick William. William? I'm 156 00:08:08,040 --> 00:08:09,960 Speaker 2: going to go with the American pronunciation so I don't 157 00:08:10,000 --> 00:08:16,500 Speaker 2: sound like a tool. Frederick William, yeah, of the house Hohenzollern. 158 00:08:17,400 --> 00:08:20,210 Speaker 2: He said he got all of this stuff and decided, okay, 159 00:08:20,690 --> 00:08:23,970 Speaker 2: he's going to start this obsession a generation before his 160 00:08:24,010 --> 00:08:28,210 Speaker 2: son William of becoming this kind of militaristic state. And 161 00:08:28,430 --> 00:08:32,740 Speaker 2: this really carries over. Okay, so let's go back to Grandfather. 162 00:08:33,570 --> 00:08:35,010 Speaker 2: who decides to assemble this army. 163 00:08:35,429 --> 00:08:39,640 Speaker 1: Prussia was able to advance its position by saying, hey, 164 00:08:40,340 --> 00:08:43,140 Speaker 1: we'll send these troops over for you to help you 165 00:08:43,240 --> 00:08:46,300 Speaker 1: with your combat or with your, you know, whatever you're 166 00:08:46,340 --> 00:08:48,600 Speaker 1: doing in the east or the west or so on. 167 00:08:49,320 --> 00:08:52,900 Speaker 1: And in return, give us some recognition. This comes to 168 00:08:52,960 --> 00:08:56,980 Speaker 1: a head when Frederick William's son, another guy named Frederick, 169 00:08:58,100 --> 00:09:01,260 Speaker 1: uses the military to as leverage against the emperor of 170 00:09:01,300 --> 00:09:05,970 Speaker 1: the Holy Roman Empire in 1701. The emperor says, hey, Prussia, 171 00:09:06,530 --> 00:09:10,810 Speaker 1: I need some extra firepower in the War of Spanish Succession. 172 00:09:11,270 --> 00:09:14,410 Speaker 1: And Frederick says, okay, yeah, we'll send you some of 173 00:09:14,530 --> 00:09:19,170 Speaker 1: our awesome troops if you recognize us as a kingdom. 174 00:09:19,550 --> 00:09:23,840 Speaker 1: And that's how he became King Frederick I of Prussia. 175 00:09:24,510 --> 00:09:30,239 Speaker 1: Fast forward, in 1713, Frederick I William, who is the 176 00:09:30,300 --> 00:09:33,210 Speaker 1: son of Frederick I, a lot of Freds, you're right, 177 00:09:33,679 --> 00:09:37,729 Speaker 1: ascends to the Prussian throne and pretty much immediately gets 178 00:09:37,790 --> 00:09:38,340 Speaker 1: weird with it. 179 00:09:38,670 --> 00:09:40,069 Speaker 2: He definitely does. And I want to point out one 180 00:09:40,250 --> 00:09:43,070 Speaker 2: funny little distinction that I've seen it printed a couple 181 00:09:43,090 --> 00:09:45,890 Speaker 2: of different ways. But the original Frederick, if I'm not mistaken, 182 00:09:45,990 --> 00:09:49,390 Speaker 2: and please, ridiculous historian community, take me to task on this. 183 00:09:49,770 --> 00:09:54,700 Speaker 2: The original title was King in Prussia, not King of Prussia. 184 00:09:55,280 --> 00:09:58,630 Speaker 2: And then it became replaced with the subsequent generation after 185 00:09:58,650 --> 00:10:02,310 Speaker 2: they got a little more leverage with King of Prussia. 186 00:10:03,030 --> 00:10:05,140 Speaker 2: So the original one was almost more like sort of 187 00:10:05,200 --> 00:10:07,760 Speaker 2: King in the North instead of King of the North. 188 00:10:07,800 --> 00:10:11,199 Speaker 2: You know, it's like you're a king, you're in your zone, 189 00:10:11,280 --> 00:10:14,760 Speaker 2: but you're not the king of it because the, you know, 190 00:10:14,820 --> 00:10:17,880 Speaker 2: there was the powers that be. we're still basically in charge. 191 00:10:18,300 --> 00:10:21,190 Speaker 1: Right. I see what you're saying. So you're kind of 192 00:10:21,309 --> 00:10:24,390 Speaker 1: the head assistant. Exactly. 193 00:10:24,590 --> 00:10:24,910 Speaker 2: Still. 194 00:10:25,890 --> 00:10:28,030 Speaker 1: That's fascinating. I didn't think about that, but that's an 195 00:10:28,090 --> 00:10:30,610 Speaker 1: important distinction, man. Thank you for pointing that out. 196 00:10:30,910 --> 00:10:31,429 Speaker 2: Sure thing. 197 00:10:31,650 --> 00:10:34,960 Speaker 1: So Frederick William I, at this point, has spent his 198 00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:38,760 Speaker 1: entire life being told by everyone in a position of 199 00:10:38,800 --> 00:10:43,180 Speaker 1: power that the most important thing their kingdom has is 200 00:10:43,240 --> 00:10:47,099 Speaker 1: the military. As a result... Armies are even more important 201 00:10:47,120 --> 00:10:49,020 Speaker 1: to him than they have been to his father or 202 00:10:49,059 --> 00:10:53,120 Speaker 1: his grandfather. And he got, I said he got weird 203 00:10:53,160 --> 00:10:56,900 Speaker 1: with it, folks. It's not hyperbole. Casey, I asked if 204 00:10:56,920 --> 00:10:59,300 Speaker 1: you wanted to hear the spoilers about this off air 205 00:10:59,360 --> 00:11:01,980 Speaker 1: before we were recording. And Casey said, no, I want 206 00:11:02,000 --> 00:11:03,280 Speaker 1: to hear it in real time. 207 00:11:03,960 --> 00:11:06,920 Speaker 3: I'm a purist, you know. I want to hear it 208 00:11:06,960 --> 00:11:08,859 Speaker 3: like the folks out there in podcast land hear it. 209 00:11:09,440 --> 00:11:10,240 Speaker 2: Casey on the case. 210 00:11:12,220 --> 00:11:14,540 Speaker 1: Perfect. So here we go, Casey. 211 00:11:14,610 --> 00:11:15,250 Speaker 2: This is for you. 212 00:11:15,840 --> 00:11:20,380 Speaker 1: When we say that armies were important to Frederick William I, 213 00:11:21,010 --> 00:11:25,030 Speaker 1: we mean that he adored them on a personal level. 214 00:11:25,130 --> 00:11:27,450 Speaker 1: He was always hanging out with the boys. He was 215 00:11:27,490 --> 00:11:31,579 Speaker 1: popping open a cold one with the boys. He shrunk 216 00:11:31,630 --> 00:11:36,900 Speaker 1: his own household budget and sold most of the horses, jewels, 217 00:11:36,960 --> 00:11:40,200 Speaker 1: and furniture that belonged to his father such that he 218 00:11:40,280 --> 00:11:43,319 Speaker 1: cut his expenses by about three quarters and spent all 219 00:11:43,340 --> 00:11:45,650 Speaker 1: the money he had saved On armies instead. 220 00:11:45,670 --> 00:11:48,070 Speaker 2: I think the word we're looking for maybe is Spartan. 221 00:11:48,110 --> 00:11:51,729 Speaker 2: He existed in this very militaristic and no frills kind 222 00:11:51,750 --> 00:11:54,320 Speaker 2: of way because he wanted to be respected by his guys. 223 00:11:55,660 --> 00:11:58,760 Speaker 2: No real indication that he would fight alongside them or anything, 224 00:11:58,940 --> 00:12:01,459 Speaker 2: but he definitely wanted to at least adopt that lifestyle. 225 00:12:02,340 --> 00:12:06,140 Speaker 2: He was kind of known for being something of a quack, 226 00:12:06,900 --> 00:12:10,380 Speaker 2: a kook, an eccentric perhaps. And he was known– there's 227 00:12:10,420 --> 00:12:13,380 Speaker 2: a really great article on rapiddiffusion.com that goes through some 228 00:12:13,400 --> 00:12:16,700 Speaker 2: of history's most peculiar rulers. And I love that it 229 00:12:16,980 --> 00:12:19,520 Speaker 2: refers to Frederick and his tall blokes, which we're going 230 00:12:19,540 --> 00:12:21,950 Speaker 2: to get to in a minute. But according to this article, 231 00:12:22,230 --> 00:12:26,069 Speaker 2: he would roam the streets of Berlin in kind of 232 00:12:26,150 --> 00:12:30,770 Speaker 2: like a worn uniform. And he would actually just kind 233 00:12:30,809 --> 00:12:33,860 Speaker 2: of like walk up to anyone that he thought wasn't 234 00:12:34,740 --> 00:12:40,320 Speaker 2: acting right, whatever that means, and would– use this walking 235 00:12:40,360 --> 00:12:42,480 Speaker 2: stick he had to give them a good whacking. 236 00:12:43,700 --> 00:12:46,600 Speaker 1: If he felt they were behaving inappropriately, right? 237 00:12:46,620 --> 00:12:50,220 Speaker 2: Seems like a really ill-tempered kind of not a very 238 00:12:50,480 --> 00:12:51,100 Speaker 2: friendly dude. 239 00:12:51,360 --> 00:12:54,620 Speaker 1: So can you imagine maybe you're out somewhere and you're 240 00:12:54,679 --> 00:12:58,010 Speaker 1: partying or you've had an argument, you know, you're somehow 241 00:12:58,290 --> 00:13:01,730 Speaker 1: at a state of enhanced emotions, right? And maybe you're 242 00:13:01,750 --> 00:13:05,270 Speaker 1: not behaving as normal. And then someone starts whacking the 243 00:13:05,330 --> 00:13:07,730 Speaker 1: tar out of you with a cane or a stick. 244 00:13:08,160 --> 00:13:10,540 Speaker 1: And you try to fight back and you realize, oh, wait, 245 00:13:10,700 --> 00:13:11,900 Speaker 1: never mind. That's the king. 246 00:13:12,660 --> 00:13:13,100 Speaker 2: My bad. 247 00:13:13,420 --> 00:13:20,740 Speaker 1: My bad, G. Or my bad, F. So he's a 248 00:13:20,800 --> 00:13:24,420 Speaker 1: complex character, right? He is attacking people in the streets. 249 00:13:24,860 --> 00:13:27,820 Speaker 1: He's not killing them for sport, but he is, as 250 00:13:27,860 --> 00:13:31,420 Speaker 1: you said, he's whacking them. He also doesn't think the 251 00:13:31,460 --> 00:13:34,480 Speaker 1: treasury should be a source of personal revenue. And that's 252 00:13:34,540 --> 00:13:37,440 Speaker 1: something a lot of politicians across the world could learn 253 00:13:37,480 --> 00:13:42,619 Speaker 1: from today. And he greatly emphasized the importance of the military. 254 00:13:43,000 --> 00:13:46,910 Speaker 1: Between his accession to the throne in 1713 and his 255 00:13:46,990 --> 00:13:51,390 Speaker 1: death in 1740, he expanded the size of the Prussian 256 00:13:51,470 --> 00:13:57,110 Speaker 1: army from 38,000 men to 83,000 men. And eventually, according 257 00:13:57,210 --> 00:14:00,950 Speaker 1: to a couple of different sources, one in every nine 258 00:14:01,030 --> 00:14:05,189 Speaker 1: men in Prussia was a soldier in and another 40,000 259 00:14:05,190 --> 00:14:10,010 Speaker 1: were foreign mercenaries. This is why he became known as 260 00:14:10,210 --> 00:14:17,120 Speaker 1: the Soldier King. And he went through these military projects 261 00:14:17,160 --> 00:14:19,720 Speaker 1: that paved the way for his son, who was also, 262 00:14:19,840 --> 00:14:24,840 Speaker 1: spoiler alert, named Frederick, Frederick the Great, to turn Prussia 263 00:14:24,980 --> 00:14:29,340 Speaker 1: into a great European power. But the thing he loved 264 00:14:29,440 --> 00:14:33,570 Speaker 1: the most out of all of his almost 100,000 soldiers, 265 00:14:33,650 --> 00:14:37,990 Speaker 1: out of all of his military trappings, was a personal 266 00:14:38,190 --> 00:14:41,540 Speaker 1: regiment that he designed that we know today as the 267 00:14:41,680 --> 00:14:43,100 Speaker 1: Potsdam Giants. 268 00:14:43,540 --> 00:14:47,760 Speaker 2: Also known as the Potsdamer Riesengard. Riesengard? 269 00:14:48,300 --> 00:14:49,300 Speaker 1: Or the Long Guys. 270 00:14:49,420 --> 00:14:53,540 Speaker 2: Yeah, or the Giant Guard of Potsdam. And this was 271 00:14:53,610 --> 00:14:57,910 Speaker 2: not a coincidence. This was that these men were so stately. 272 00:14:58,590 --> 00:15:01,690 Speaker 2: He recruited them And dare we say, went even further 273 00:15:01,730 --> 00:15:06,410 Speaker 2: than that eventually for this very effect. So he maintained 274 00:15:06,810 --> 00:15:11,410 Speaker 2: and had trained this unit of the tallest men around. 275 00:15:11,950 --> 00:15:14,570 Speaker 2: Some rumor that one, I think a Swedish recruit was 276 00:15:14,650 --> 00:15:16,150 Speaker 2: even like up to eight feet tall. 277 00:15:16,320 --> 00:15:20,260 Speaker 1: Yeah. The only requirement for joining this regiment was that 278 00:15:20,300 --> 00:15:24,320 Speaker 1: you had to be over six feet tall. That doesn't sound. 279 00:15:24,950 --> 00:15:29,110 Speaker 1: especially difficult today. And these are modern ages because people 280 00:15:29,150 --> 00:15:33,010 Speaker 1: are tending to get taller. But back then that was 281 00:15:33,190 --> 00:15:37,050 Speaker 1: freakishly tall. You know what I mean? They were given 282 00:15:37,130 --> 00:15:42,440 Speaker 1: these great uniforms. They were given these weird caps that were, 283 00:15:42,460 --> 00:15:46,020 Speaker 1: I think, 18 inches high to make them look even taller. 284 00:15:46,040 --> 00:15:48,420 Speaker 1: And then they were given the best rooms and the 285 00:15:48,470 --> 00:15:50,770 Speaker 1: best food. And they also got paid, but they got 286 00:15:50,790 --> 00:15:53,430 Speaker 1: paid in a weird way. They didn't get paid by seniority. 287 00:15:53,490 --> 00:15:55,270 Speaker 1: They didn't get paid by experience. 288 00:15:55,550 --> 00:15:59,090 Speaker 2: No, they got paid like literally for their height. And 289 00:15:59,150 --> 00:16:02,260 Speaker 2: let's not forget that this regiment never really saw a battle. 290 00:16:02,420 --> 00:16:04,700 Speaker 2: We'll get into more about how it became this kind 291 00:16:04,720 --> 00:16:08,620 Speaker 2: of like, you know, optical thing, this bargaining chip. But no, 292 00:16:08,760 --> 00:16:12,940 Speaker 2: their rate of pay was very specifically tied to their height. 293 00:16:13,290 --> 00:16:16,240 Speaker 1: So if you're 6'1, that guy next to you that's 6'3, 294 00:16:16,450 --> 00:16:17,550 Speaker 1: is making bank. 295 00:16:17,690 --> 00:16:18,510 Speaker 2: You already know. 296 00:16:18,790 --> 00:16:23,180 Speaker 1: You can tell. So despite all these privileges, a lot 297 00:16:23,200 --> 00:16:28,640 Speaker 1: of these giants, so-called giants, were very unhappy because they 298 00:16:28,700 --> 00:16:34,640 Speaker 1: were reluctant soldiers and their entire lives hinged on the 299 00:16:34,760 --> 00:16:41,370 Speaker 1: whims of Frederick William. It was like, for comparison, imagine 300 00:16:41,390 --> 00:16:47,430 Speaker 1: that you are the favorite entourage member of a Saudi 301 00:16:47,490 --> 00:16:50,570 Speaker 1: prince or something, someone who's literally beyond the law now. 302 00:16:50,670 --> 00:16:50,870 Speaker 2: Sure. 303 00:16:51,210 --> 00:16:54,150 Speaker 1: And they say, like, whatever they think is a cool 304 00:16:54,210 --> 00:16:57,150 Speaker 1: idea at the time, you have to make it happen. And, 305 00:16:57,590 --> 00:17:02,310 Speaker 1: you know, let's say, for instance, Casey, let's say he's 306 00:17:02,370 --> 00:17:05,930 Speaker 1: in the entourage of a Saudi prince, and they want 307 00:17:05,990 --> 00:17:10,050 Speaker 1: you to just be on call 24-7 to show up 308 00:17:10,250 --> 00:17:13,440 Speaker 1: and just say things in French because they think French 309 00:17:13,560 --> 00:17:16,480 Speaker 1: sounds very pleasing to the ear. You would spend the 310 00:17:16,520 --> 00:17:18,840 Speaker 1: rest of your life never knowing when the phone was 311 00:17:18,859 --> 00:17:21,550 Speaker 1: going to ring, never really being able to be too 312 00:17:21,590 --> 00:17:24,730 Speaker 1: far away, and never knowing when this guy in charge 313 00:17:25,030 --> 00:17:29,410 Speaker 1: would say, you know, pronto, make with the French. That's 314 00:17:29,430 --> 00:17:32,429 Speaker 1: what they were doing. Show up and be tall. Whenever 315 00:17:32,490 --> 00:17:33,230 Speaker 1: the king wants. 316 00:17:33,510 --> 00:17:35,870 Speaker 2: But I think it went even further than what we're 317 00:17:35,910 --> 00:17:39,160 Speaker 2: talking about. Right. I mean, he was so obsessed with 318 00:17:39,180 --> 00:17:42,180 Speaker 2: the recruiting the tallest of the tall that he like 319 00:17:42,200 --> 00:17:44,540 Speaker 2: there was word out that, OK, if you're a teacher 320 00:17:44,760 --> 00:17:46,760 Speaker 2: in Prussia, you're supposed to keep an eye out for 321 00:17:46,800 --> 00:17:50,000 Speaker 2: particularly tall children and then just, you know, give them up. 322 00:17:50,660 --> 00:17:51,440 Speaker 3: Right. Yeah. 323 00:17:51,480 --> 00:17:55,869 Speaker 2: To the regiment. Babies even were like marked with a 324 00:17:55,990 --> 00:17:59,270 Speaker 2: red scarf if they were pregnant. seen by the doctor 325 00:17:59,330 --> 00:18:02,629 Speaker 2: as being in a particularly high height and weight percentile 326 00:18:02,650 --> 00:18:05,109 Speaker 2: or whatever, you know, and that was the thing. People 327 00:18:05,130 --> 00:18:09,250 Speaker 2: sold their children. People sold their children. Frederick William made 328 00:18:09,290 --> 00:18:13,710 Speaker 2: it clear to his political allies that they could just 329 00:18:14,010 --> 00:18:18,780 Speaker 2: bestow upon him the gift of tall soldiers for his unit. 330 00:18:18,820 --> 00:18:19,980 Speaker 1: Bring me a tall child. 331 00:18:20,000 --> 00:18:22,180 Speaker 2: Rather than, like, you know, giving him gifts or lands 332 00:18:22,220 --> 00:18:22,859 Speaker 2: or anything like that. 333 00:18:22,880 --> 00:18:23,260 Speaker 3: Right. Absolutely. 334 00:18:23,440 --> 00:18:27,590 Speaker 2: Absolutely. myopic about this whole thing um and. 335 00:18:27,530 --> 00:18:29,770 Speaker 1: What hey no what happened if they didn't want to 336 00:18:29,810 --> 00:18:32,050 Speaker 1: go if these if these tall people. 337 00:18:31,750 --> 00:18:35,030 Speaker 2: I don't imagine anything good no was. 338 00:18:35,090 --> 00:18:37,550 Speaker 1: Did uh did he just say did frederick william just 339 00:18:37,590 --> 00:18:40,270 Speaker 1: say oh well you know i respect your autonomy in 340 00:18:40,350 --> 00:18:41,910 Speaker 1: your opinion no kings. 341 00:18:41,750 --> 00:18:43,810 Speaker 2: Don't do stuff like that do they no what did 342 00:18:43,830 --> 00:18:47,010 Speaker 2: they do um he yeah of course if he couldn't 343 00:18:47,090 --> 00:18:51,550 Speaker 2: legally acquire these uh these larger than average humans he 344 00:18:51,590 --> 00:18:55,320 Speaker 2: would just have them kidnapped in the night Which is crazy. 345 00:18:56,230 --> 00:19:00,640 Speaker 1: One time he tried to kidnap an Austrian diplomat, which 346 00:19:00,880 --> 00:19:03,659 Speaker 1: flies in the face of how diplomacy is supposed to work, right? 347 00:19:03,680 --> 00:19:06,100 Speaker 2: I mean, this is really going into the territory of 348 00:19:06,160 --> 00:19:10,700 Speaker 2: like fetishism instead of actual kind of like functional tactics, 349 00:19:10,720 --> 00:19:13,889 Speaker 2: you know, because, again, did never see battle. It was 350 00:19:13,950 --> 00:19:15,810 Speaker 2: just like for the optics of having a bunch of 351 00:19:15,869 --> 00:19:19,330 Speaker 2: very tall, you know, super soldier looking men that were 352 00:19:19,390 --> 00:19:20,230 Speaker 2: at his beck and call. 353 00:19:20,590 --> 00:19:26,880 Speaker 1: It's clearly, if not fetishization, it is an obsession. There's 354 00:19:26,910 --> 00:19:31,060 Speaker 1: no way around it. He even had people lured to 355 00:19:31,300 --> 00:19:36,200 Speaker 1: his kingdom under false pretenses, sort of the way that, 356 00:19:36,359 --> 00:19:38,979 Speaker 1: you know, that's an ongoing tragedy in the world today. 357 00:19:39,340 --> 00:19:42,730 Speaker 1: There are thousands and thousands and thousands of people who 358 00:19:42,869 --> 00:19:46,330 Speaker 1: are trafficked to different countries because they're told they're going 359 00:19:46,350 --> 00:19:49,090 Speaker 1: to be, you know, domestic workers or they're going to 360 00:19:49,130 --> 00:19:49,970 Speaker 1: work in construction. 361 00:19:50,280 --> 00:19:51,780 Speaker 2: And the bait and switch happens. Yeah. 362 00:19:51,820 --> 00:19:55,580 Speaker 1: And that's what Frederick William was doing. He had, for instance, 363 00:19:55,600 --> 00:20:00,010 Speaker 1: a guy named James Kirkland who was seven feet and 364 00:20:00,310 --> 00:20:02,850 Speaker 1: one inch tall, which is huge for this time. 365 00:20:02,869 --> 00:20:03,090 Speaker 3: Sure. 366 00:20:03,230 --> 00:20:07,659 Speaker 1: It's pretty tall now. And he was Irish and, He 367 00:20:07,700 --> 00:20:12,820 Speaker 1: was given a job as a footman from one Baron Bork, 368 00:20:12,880 --> 00:20:14,760 Speaker 1: who was the Prussian ambassador to London. 369 00:20:15,040 --> 00:20:15,780 Speaker 2: Ah, Baron Bork. 370 00:20:16,119 --> 00:20:19,060 Speaker 1: Good old Baron Bork. It sounds like that's the brand 371 00:20:19,119 --> 00:20:21,639 Speaker 1: name of some kind of canned meat product. 372 00:20:21,700 --> 00:20:22,260 Speaker 2: I agree. 373 00:20:22,880 --> 00:20:24,899 Speaker 1: Baron Bork's Boston baked beans. 374 00:20:25,460 --> 00:20:25,940 Speaker 2: Bean bars. 375 00:20:26,640 --> 00:20:27,189 Speaker 1: Bean bars? 376 00:20:27,270 --> 00:20:29,070 Speaker 2: I don't know. I'm interested. 377 00:20:29,130 --> 00:20:29,610 Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah. 378 00:20:29,790 --> 00:20:32,250 Speaker 2: Yeah, and that job was, of course, a trap. 379 00:20:32,650 --> 00:20:35,959 Speaker 1: Yeah. He was sent to this ship. That was moored 380 00:20:36,119 --> 00:20:40,280 Speaker 1: in Portsmouth, and then he was grabbed, tied up, and gagged, 381 00:20:40,740 --> 00:20:44,460 Speaker 1: and pretty much press ganged into the tall blokes. 382 00:20:44,680 --> 00:20:47,160 Speaker 2: Absolutely insane. You know, the long guys. But they were 383 00:20:47,240 --> 00:20:49,780 Speaker 2: given some special treatment. You know, they got to eat 384 00:20:49,820 --> 00:20:53,500 Speaker 2: really well. You know, in terms of, like, their position 385 00:20:53,520 --> 00:20:57,419 Speaker 2: within the military, they were treated with the utmost care 386 00:20:57,619 --> 00:21:01,480 Speaker 2: because they were, you know, William's special boys. His special 387 00:21:01,520 --> 00:21:02,060 Speaker 2: long boys. 388 00:21:02,900 --> 00:21:04,220 Speaker 1: Bring in my long boys. 389 00:21:04,260 --> 00:21:07,209 Speaker 2: But just the— He seems like a real megalomaniacal creep. 390 00:21:07,540 --> 00:21:08,680 Speaker 1: It seems very strange. 391 00:21:08,780 --> 00:21:09,640 Speaker 2: Yeah, not good. 392 00:21:10,300 --> 00:21:12,880 Speaker 1: It's like something the musician Prince would do. It does. 393 00:21:13,080 --> 00:21:15,240 Speaker 2: It does seem like that. Only, I don't know, Prince, 394 00:21:15,640 --> 00:21:17,660 Speaker 2: probably Prince would ever take it this far. He might 395 00:21:17,700 --> 00:21:20,240 Speaker 2: just have like, you know, really tall llamas or something. 396 00:21:20,270 --> 00:21:21,790 Speaker 1: He might have like one long llama. 397 00:21:21,869 --> 00:21:24,350 Speaker 2: Exactly, the long llama. But yeah, a lot of these 398 00:21:24,609 --> 00:21:30,609 Speaker 2: Potsdam Giants deserted, ran away, or tried to kill themselves. 399 00:21:31,369 --> 00:21:34,130 Speaker 1: Yeah, it seems like a joke now because so much 400 00:21:34,190 --> 00:21:37,090 Speaker 1: time has passed, but this is a really tough life. 401 00:21:37,950 --> 00:21:43,870 Speaker 1: They were more or less these oddities, this personal circus 402 00:21:43,970 --> 00:21:47,629 Speaker 1: for the king. This is a true story, folks. If 403 00:21:47,730 --> 00:21:50,879 Speaker 1: the king was sad, he would, and he's done this 404 00:21:50,910 --> 00:21:53,879 Speaker 1: more than once, he would assemble 200 to 300 of 405 00:21:53,940 --> 00:21:57,379 Speaker 1: his giants and have them march around for him. They 406 00:21:57,400 --> 00:22:01,980 Speaker 1: were preceded by tall people with turbans, playing cymbals and trumpets, 407 00:22:02,540 --> 00:22:06,620 Speaker 1: and an enormous bear that was the mascot of the Giants. 408 00:22:07,119 --> 00:22:12,399 Speaker 2: Oh, goody. Prance for me, my tall boys. Exactly. It 409 00:22:12,440 --> 00:22:15,240 Speaker 2: is I, Frederick Wilhelm I. You know, like, I'm sorry. 410 00:22:15,300 --> 00:22:17,560 Speaker 2: I just, the guy really sounds like a monster. 411 00:22:17,740 --> 00:22:21,340 Speaker 1: And this happened a lot when he was ill. I 412 00:22:21,380 --> 00:22:24,960 Speaker 1: can see the scene, right? When he was feeling poorly, 413 00:22:25,920 --> 00:22:29,980 Speaker 1: this mini parade would march through his bedroom. And he 414 00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:32,820 Speaker 1: would also paint pictures of his favorite giants from memory. 415 00:22:33,140 --> 00:22:35,480 Speaker 1: So it's exactly like you're describing. Well, I picture the 416 00:22:35,500 --> 00:22:40,200 Speaker 1: doctor saying, you know, your highness, you must have melancholic 417 00:22:40,240 --> 00:22:44,159 Speaker 1: humors or something. And he's saying, oh, silence the bear. 418 00:22:44,180 --> 00:22:45,399 Speaker 2: Here's the bear. 419 00:22:46,240 --> 00:22:47,070 Speaker 1: Watch the bear. 420 00:22:47,090 --> 00:22:48,369 Speaker 2: Yeah. Oh, goodness. 421 00:22:48,570 --> 00:22:54,150 Speaker 1: So this also goes into eugenics. 422 00:22:54,550 --> 00:22:55,850 Speaker 2: I was about to say, when are we going to 423 00:22:55,890 --> 00:22:57,629 Speaker 2: get it? When are we going to start dropping the 424 00:22:57,650 --> 00:22:58,410 Speaker 2: E word? 425 00:22:58,570 --> 00:23:01,450 Speaker 1: This is the turn. Casey, can we get a things 426 00:23:01,490 --> 00:23:03,209 Speaker 1: take a dark turn sound? 427 00:23:03,230 --> 00:23:08,540 Speaker 2: Yeah, things that were already pretty dark take an even 428 00:23:08,600 --> 00:23:09,280 Speaker 2: darker turn. 429 00:23:09,580 --> 00:23:15,340 Speaker 1: Yeah, so Frederick William had the means and the motive 430 00:23:16,020 --> 00:23:21,600 Speaker 1: to create more tall people. So he began to experiment 431 00:23:21,640 --> 00:23:27,290 Speaker 1: with what we today call eugenics. He paired the tallest 432 00:23:27,369 --> 00:23:31,090 Speaker 1: of his soldiers with with the tallest women he could 433 00:23:31,130 --> 00:23:36,290 Speaker 1: find and ordered them to breed. This was somewhat effective. 434 00:23:36,590 --> 00:23:40,379 Speaker 1: As a result, the town was littered with unusually tall 435 00:23:40,420 --> 00:23:43,880 Speaker 1: men by the end of the 18th century. And that's 436 00:23:43,920 --> 00:23:46,859 Speaker 1: not all he did. He also tortured these people to 437 00:23:46,900 --> 00:23:49,620 Speaker 1: make them taller. Well, I mean, to make them taller, 438 00:23:49,880 --> 00:23:52,419 Speaker 1: eye roll city, right? I mean, you're either tall or 439 00:23:52,460 --> 00:23:54,689 Speaker 1: you ain't. If you're getting stretched on the rack, it's 440 00:23:54,710 --> 00:23:57,629 Speaker 1: just going to mess up your bones and make you 441 00:23:58,119 --> 00:24:00,800 Speaker 1: render you ineffective as a soldier entirely. Yeah. 442 00:24:00,840 --> 00:24:04,020 Speaker 2: He would stretch these men on the rack in the 443 00:24:04,060 --> 00:24:06,919 Speaker 2: hopes of making them taller. It's just another, like, you know, 444 00:24:07,020 --> 00:24:10,090 Speaker 2: example of how people didn't understand how science worked back 445 00:24:10,130 --> 00:24:14,170 Speaker 2: in the day. Um, and yeah, they, they, of course 446 00:24:14,230 --> 00:24:17,810 Speaker 2: people were deserting and attempting suicide. You're not tall enough, 447 00:24:17,890 --> 00:24:20,030 Speaker 2: you know, or like maybe if I'm only a little taller, 448 00:24:20,070 --> 00:24:22,680 Speaker 2: he'll like me better and I'll get a little more money. Sure. 449 00:24:22,760 --> 00:24:25,460 Speaker 2: I'll submit myself to be stretched on the rack. 450 00:24:25,520 --> 00:24:25,680 Speaker 1: Yeah. 451 00:24:25,700 --> 00:24:30,490 Speaker 2: Or whatever. Exactly. And if anyone attempted to get out 452 00:24:30,530 --> 00:24:32,890 Speaker 2: of any of this stuff, we talked about how he would, 453 00:24:32,950 --> 00:24:36,369 Speaker 2: you know, stoop so low as to stage kidnappings. If 454 00:24:36,450 --> 00:24:39,210 Speaker 2: anyone who was in his company and in his regiment 455 00:24:39,270 --> 00:24:42,939 Speaker 2: refused any of this stuff, including the rack, they would 456 00:24:42,960 --> 00:24:43,419 Speaker 2: be killed. 457 00:24:43,840 --> 00:24:44,060 Speaker 3: Yeah. 458 00:24:44,320 --> 00:24:52,540 Speaker 1: The punishment was death. There was no in-between. Probably one 459 00:24:52,580 --> 00:24:55,020 Speaker 1: of the only upsides of being a soldier in this 460 00:24:55,060 --> 00:24:58,660 Speaker 1: regiment was that you would never actually be in battle 461 00:24:58,720 --> 00:25:02,020 Speaker 1: because the king thought you were far too valuable to waste. 462 00:25:02,680 --> 00:25:05,699 Speaker 1: I can't send my tall boys out. Jeez. 463 00:25:06,940 --> 00:25:07,859 Speaker 2: What a lunatic. 464 00:25:08,060 --> 00:25:08,480 Speaker 3: I know. 465 00:25:08,600 --> 00:25:08,919 Speaker 1: Yeah. 466 00:25:09,220 --> 00:25:09,520 Speaker 2: Yeah. 467 00:25:09,600 --> 00:25:15,480 Speaker 1: Real pill. So we don't know even today whether they 468 00:25:15,590 --> 00:25:19,100 Speaker 1: had any military value. If you think about it, at 469 00:25:19,140 --> 00:25:22,160 Speaker 1: the time, being that tall might have been a disadvantage 470 00:25:22,240 --> 00:25:24,620 Speaker 1: on the battlefield. You're more of a target to hit, right? 471 00:25:25,560 --> 00:25:30,480 Speaker 1: And Frederick also barely fought any wars during his lifetime 472 00:25:31,440 --> 00:25:34,780 Speaker 1: in comparison to other monarchs. By the time he died 473 00:25:34,800 --> 00:25:36,680 Speaker 1: in 1740, he was 51, he had had a total 474 00:25:36,700 --> 00:25:46,300 Speaker 1: of 2,500 tall blokes and his son, the one we 475 00:25:46,320 --> 00:25:48,520 Speaker 1: mentioned earlier, the one we call Frederick the Great. 476 00:25:48,600 --> 00:25:48,780 Speaker 3: Sure. 477 00:25:49,440 --> 00:25:51,600 Speaker 1: He thought these guys were useless. He probably felt a 478 00:25:51,619 --> 00:25:52,659 Speaker 1: little bad for him, too. 479 00:25:52,700 --> 00:25:54,949 Speaker 2: Well, Frederick the Great got the name of Frederick the 480 00:25:55,010 --> 00:25:58,330 Speaker 2: Great because he ended up being a much greater military 481 00:25:58,510 --> 00:26:00,510 Speaker 2: leader than his father. Yeah, good point. 482 00:26:00,550 --> 00:26:01,370 Speaker 1: It's not ironic. 483 00:26:01,450 --> 00:26:01,670 Speaker 3: No. 484 00:26:01,830 --> 00:26:03,330 Speaker 1: It's not like Little Jot or something. 485 00:26:03,369 --> 00:26:07,639 Speaker 2: No, and he basically, like, conquered a large swath of 486 00:26:07,660 --> 00:26:09,200 Speaker 2: the area, of the region. 487 00:26:09,880 --> 00:26:15,260 Speaker 1: Yeah, exactly. And because he saw this... tall blokes thing 488 00:26:15,600 --> 00:26:21,100 Speaker 1: as relatively useless he decided that these men were actually 489 00:26:21,160 --> 00:26:24,180 Speaker 1: soldiers and he would use them as actual soldiers so 490 00:26:24,609 --> 00:26:28,230 Speaker 1: he sent most of them to active combat units and 491 00:26:28,250 --> 00:26:32,270 Speaker 1: the pots and giants regiment itself wouldn't be fully dissolved 492 00:26:32,450 --> 00:26:39,460 Speaker 1: until 1806 but by this point the story was notorious 493 00:26:39,520 --> 00:26:42,600 Speaker 1: throughout europe everybody knew about this they also knew about 494 00:26:42,700 --> 00:26:47,600 Speaker 1: the breeding program And this leads us to, you know, 495 00:26:47,619 --> 00:26:50,400 Speaker 1: an even darker turn. We see the consequences of what 496 00:26:50,530 --> 00:26:57,270 Speaker 1: was an eccentric obsession, possibly a fetish. The Nazi government 497 00:26:57,530 --> 00:27:02,430 Speaker 1: in Germany, the Nazi regime, had its root. Their attempts 498 00:27:02,510 --> 00:27:07,070 Speaker 1: to create a so-called Aryan master race had their roots 499 00:27:07,230 --> 00:27:11,450 Speaker 1: in this Prussian militarism, along with, you know, their own 500 00:27:11,520 --> 00:27:12,990 Speaker 1: take on Darwinism. 501 00:27:13,300 --> 00:27:16,870 Speaker 2: Even though that was clearly... Frederick William I, that was 502 00:27:17,190 --> 00:27:20,070 Speaker 2: more responsible for that image, Frederick the Great, becoming a 503 00:27:20,090 --> 00:27:22,869 Speaker 2: much more successful military leader, kind of got stuck with 504 00:27:22,910 --> 00:27:25,820 Speaker 2: some of that too. Not saying he was a perfect 505 00:27:25,859 --> 00:27:29,040 Speaker 2: man or anything, but he has a really interesting backstory 506 00:27:29,080 --> 00:27:33,920 Speaker 2: because his father, remember the walking stick? He was a 507 00:27:33,940 --> 00:27:36,879 Speaker 2: notorious crank who would beat up his son with his 508 00:27:36,920 --> 00:27:38,960 Speaker 2: walking stick, and when he found out that his son 509 00:27:39,020 --> 00:27:42,050 Speaker 2: had a male lover— He had them both thrown in 510 00:27:42,109 --> 00:27:45,629 Speaker 2: jail and had the lover executed in front of his son, 511 00:27:45,880 --> 00:27:49,280 Speaker 2: Frederick the Great. So once his father died, I mean 512 00:27:49,320 --> 00:27:52,320 Speaker 2: he definitely had an ax to grind. And it seems 513 00:27:52,380 --> 00:27:54,080 Speaker 2: like he had like a fire in his belly that 514 00:27:54,100 --> 00:27:56,010 Speaker 2: kind of made him want to really like prove himself. 515 00:27:56,070 --> 00:27:58,290 Speaker 2: And I'm just speculating here a little bit. But he 516 00:27:58,330 --> 00:28:01,609 Speaker 2: definitely proved to be more effective than his father in 517 00:28:01,650 --> 00:28:02,450 Speaker 2: terms of conquering. 518 00:28:03,250 --> 00:28:08,090 Speaker 1: Right. So he ruled Frederick the Great. Frederick II ruled 519 00:28:08,109 --> 00:28:11,480 Speaker 1: the kingdom of Prussia from 1740, when his father passed away, 520 00:28:11,580 --> 00:28:16,580 Speaker 1: until 1786. So that's a reign of 46 years. That 521 00:28:16,619 --> 00:28:21,110 Speaker 1: makes him the longest reigning of any Hohenzollern king. He 522 00:28:21,369 --> 00:28:24,409 Speaker 1: reorganized the Prussian armies. He was a patron of the 523 00:28:24,590 --> 00:28:28,030 Speaker 1: arts and the enlightenment. He really earned his name with 524 00:28:28,070 --> 00:28:31,770 Speaker 1: his success in the Seven Years' War. He was the 525 00:28:31,810 --> 00:28:35,389 Speaker 1: last monarch titled King in Prussia, and he declared himself 526 00:28:35,490 --> 00:28:40,230 Speaker 1: King of Prussia. Boom. So he's the reason the name changed. 527 00:28:40,820 --> 00:28:46,380 Speaker 1: He's leading military power, and he was nicknamed Der alte Fritz, 528 00:28:46,760 --> 00:28:49,700 Speaker 1: or the old Fritz by the Prussian people and eventually 529 00:28:49,740 --> 00:28:52,400 Speaker 1: the rest of Germany. So he did a lot of 530 00:28:52,420 --> 00:28:55,250 Speaker 1: stuff that his forefathers were unable to do in terms 531 00:28:55,330 --> 00:28:57,790 Speaker 1: of political and military organization. 532 00:28:57,930 --> 00:28:58,330 Speaker 2: For sure. 533 00:28:58,790 --> 00:29:02,950 Speaker 1: So despite his successes— And he was definitely an imperfect 534 00:29:02,990 --> 00:29:07,670 Speaker 1: person as well. Frederick the Great was unfairly associated with 535 00:29:07,710 --> 00:29:11,330 Speaker 1: the Potsdam Giants. You know, they mixed up their Fredericks, right? 536 00:29:12,270 --> 00:29:15,990 Speaker 1: Charles Darwin even refers to the Potsdam Giants, by the way. 537 00:29:16,130 --> 00:29:20,620 Speaker 1: He says, unlike livestock, human beings have never been forcibly 538 00:29:20,680 --> 00:29:24,760 Speaker 1: bred for select characteristics, quote, except in the well-known case 539 00:29:25,160 --> 00:29:30,920 Speaker 1: of the Prussian Grenadiers, the Potsdam Giants. Wow. Where are 540 00:29:30,960 --> 00:29:35,700 Speaker 1: we at now? What is the legacy of these Potsdam Giants? 541 00:29:36,970 --> 00:29:40,160 Speaker 1: Maybe you're listening to this and you're not completely on 542 00:29:40,200 --> 00:29:43,340 Speaker 1: the same page as us. Maybe you think, I don't know, guys, 543 00:29:43,360 --> 00:29:46,900 Speaker 1: this sounds pretty cool. I'd like to see that march. 544 00:29:47,140 --> 00:29:49,460 Speaker 1: I love bears and cymbals and trumpets. 545 00:29:49,760 --> 00:29:55,250 Speaker 2: Fun! Well, lucky for you, if you go to langa-caris.de, 546 00:29:55,590 --> 00:29:59,030 Speaker 2: you can hire Potsdam Giant reenactors to march around your 547 00:29:59,110 --> 00:30:02,600 Speaker 2: very bedroom. Not sure if that includes a bear, but 548 00:30:02,660 --> 00:30:07,400 Speaker 2: this is an association in Potsdam, Germany, that tries to 549 00:30:07,510 --> 00:30:09,930 Speaker 2: kind of carry on the legacy of the tall boys. 550 00:30:10,650 --> 00:30:13,370 Speaker 2: And you can get them to perform this authentic military 551 00:30:13,430 --> 00:30:15,330 Speaker 2: drill at your family picnic. 552 00:30:15,710 --> 00:30:18,150 Speaker 1: I don't think they have a bear, though. That's one note, 553 00:30:18,690 --> 00:30:19,150 Speaker 1: one difference. 554 00:30:19,170 --> 00:30:21,870 Speaker 2: Would this have been a dancing bear? Like, I'm picturing 555 00:30:21,910 --> 00:30:23,990 Speaker 2: it balancing on a ball, circus style, or would it 556 00:30:24,010 --> 00:30:25,910 Speaker 2: have just been like a big, lumbering, scary bear? 557 00:30:26,530 --> 00:30:31,310 Speaker 1: It was probably trained to do some things. Without going 558 00:30:32,410 --> 00:30:34,950 Speaker 1: too far down the rabbit hole, I would not be 559 00:30:35,010 --> 00:30:38,930 Speaker 1: surprised if Frederick William maybe had the bear trained to 560 00:30:38,990 --> 00:30:43,320 Speaker 1: do like rough reenactments of military drills, you know, give 561 00:30:43,360 --> 00:30:45,000 Speaker 1: it a stick it plays with or something. 562 00:30:45,020 --> 00:30:46,020 Speaker 2: There you go. 563 00:30:46,040 --> 00:30:51,280 Speaker 1: So this concludes our story. Casey, we have to ask. 564 00:30:52,030 --> 00:30:55,410 Speaker 1: Was this, was this worth learning organically? We didn't string 565 00:30:55,430 --> 00:30:57,450 Speaker 1: you along. Do you feel like you got your time's worth? 566 00:30:57,840 --> 00:31:00,560 Speaker 3: I absolutely got way more than I bargained for. 567 00:31:00,640 --> 00:31:03,480 Speaker 2: So yeah. Uh, good job. So say we all Casey 568 00:31:03,520 --> 00:31:03,960 Speaker 2: on the case. 569 00:31:05,700 --> 00:31:09,220 Speaker 1: Casey on the case. And thank you so much for 570 00:31:09,380 --> 00:31:11,870 Speaker 1: tuning in. We want to hear, remember, we want to 571 00:31:11,930 --> 00:31:15,070 Speaker 1: hear the weird town names in your neck of the 572 00:31:15,110 --> 00:31:18,360 Speaker 1: global woods. And, uh, Where do we go with this? 573 00:31:18,760 --> 00:31:20,420 Speaker 2: I will tell you one thing. When I was originally 574 00:31:20,460 --> 00:31:24,150 Speaker 2: starting to research this, I just Googled super soldiers or 575 00:31:24,250 --> 00:31:26,630 Speaker 2: Frederick super soldiers and like that. And a bunch of 576 00:31:26,670 --> 00:31:30,770 Speaker 2: YouTube videos came up about this notion of are there 577 00:31:30,910 --> 00:31:35,790 Speaker 2: super soldier Nephilim like angels in the United States military? 578 00:31:36,650 --> 00:31:37,020 Speaker 3: Oh, yeah. 579 00:31:37,260 --> 00:31:41,820 Speaker 1: Yeah. I'm familiar with that idea as well. It's a 580 00:31:41,840 --> 00:31:42,580 Speaker 1: little bit out there. 581 00:31:42,700 --> 00:31:43,480 Speaker 2: Oh, it was way out there. 582 00:31:44,010 --> 00:31:45,550 Speaker 1: But you know what? Let us know if you are 583 00:31:45,620 --> 00:31:49,070 Speaker 1: listening to this episode and you are a Nephilim super soldier, 584 00:31:49,710 --> 00:31:52,190 Speaker 1: either in the U.S. or abroad. We would love to 585 00:31:52,250 --> 00:31:54,370 Speaker 1: hear your story. Tell us about the great battle for 586 00:31:54,630 --> 00:31:55,230 Speaker 1: good and evil. 587 00:31:55,390 --> 00:31:59,050 Speaker 2: You can write to us at ridiculous at iheartradio.com. You 588 00:31:59,070 --> 00:32:00,910 Speaker 2: can hit us up on our Facebook group. That is 589 00:32:00,950 --> 00:32:02,750 Speaker 2: the Ridiculous Historians. All you have to do is come 590 00:32:02,810 --> 00:32:04,810 Speaker 2: up with either my name or Ben's name. I really 591 00:32:04,830 --> 00:32:07,610 Speaker 2: don't understand why people bother writing, I don't know, when 592 00:32:07,650 --> 00:32:09,330 Speaker 2: they put their responses. I mean, look it up. If 593 00:32:09,610 --> 00:32:10,970 Speaker 2: you really want to be a member of the group, 594 00:32:10,990 --> 00:32:14,650 Speaker 2: you could clearly look up mine or Ben's name. It 595 00:32:14,690 --> 00:32:16,850 Speaker 2: flabbergasted me a little bit. Or, you know, do a 596 00:32:16,930 --> 00:32:19,730 Speaker 2: clever diversion that like is a reference to the show 597 00:32:19,790 --> 00:32:20,610 Speaker 2: or just make us laugh. 598 00:32:20,650 --> 00:32:22,290 Speaker 1: Yeah, just make me laugh. 599 00:32:22,350 --> 00:32:23,250 Speaker 2: Not an exclusive group. 600 00:32:23,490 --> 00:32:26,430 Speaker 1: Also, you know what? I love when people are sending 601 00:32:26,490 --> 00:32:30,550 Speaker 1: out T-shirt ideas. I'm going to say it. I'm interested 602 00:32:30,610 --> 00:32:35,170 Speaker 1: in seeing a design for Baron Bork's Boston Baked Bean bars. 603 00:32:35,690 --> 00:32:38,110 Speaker 2: I also really want to do some straight seahorse teeth 604 00:32:38,150 --> 00:32:41,590 Speaker 2: shirts because I am surprised and amazed and honestly touched. 605 00:32:42,120 --> 00:32:44,680 Speaker 2: That phrase has taken off the way it has. I 606 00:32:44,860 --> 00:32:45,260 Speaker 2: told you. 607 00:32:45,280 --> 00:32:47,219 Speaker 1: I told you on air. Sometimes you just know when 608 00:32:47,260 --> 00:32:48,600 Speaker 1: the idea is happening. It's true. 609 00:32:48,620 --> 00:32:50,920 Speaker 2: If you want to check me and Ben out in 610 00:32:51,020 --> 00:32:53,600 Speaker 2: our personal private time lives, you can hit me up 611 00:32:53,940 --> 00:32:56,530 Speaker 2: on Instagram at HowNowNoelBrown. 612 00:32:57,120 --> 00:32:59,969 Speaker 1: You can see me get kicked into and out of 613 00:33:00,050 --> 00:33:03,790 Speaker 1: various airports around the world at Ben Bullen. You can 614 00:33:03,890 --> 00:33:06,530 Speaker 1: also always, as I said, write to us with some 615 00:33:06,670 --> 00:33:10,040 Speaker 1: T-shirt ideas and hate. Let us know if you would 616 00:33:10,100 --> 00:33:13,830 Speaker 1: join the Potsdam Giants. If, you know, it sounds like 617 00:33:14,240 --> 00:33:17,510 Speaker 1: it's not a bad gig for someone who consented to 618 00:33:17,570 --> 00:33:20,570 Speaker 1: be in it. Sure, sure. Let us know. Thank you 619 00:33:20,650 --> 00:33:24,030 Speaker 1: so much to Christopher Haciotis, friend of the show. Of course, 620 00:33:24,230 --> 00:33:28,910 Speaker 1: thank you to Casey Labouche-Pagram for returning from abroad. 621 00:33:28,930 --> 00:33:32,630 Speaker 2: Thanks to our research associate, Gabe Lussier. Thanks to Alex Williams, 622 00:33:32,650 --> 00:33:35,070 Speaker 2: who composed our theme. And as always, thanks to you, Ben, 623 00:33:35,110 --> 00:33:38,920 Speaker 2: for Being such a dapper pal and co-host on this 624 00:33:38,940 --> 00:33:39,340 Speaker 2: here show. 625 00:33:39,700 --> 00:33:40,400 Speaker 1: Likewise, Noel. 626 00:33:40,420 --> 00:33:40,860 Speaker 2: Likewise. 627 00:33:40,880 --> 00:33:43,720 Speaker 1: Hey, Casey, can we get like a little military music 628 00:33:43,780 --> 00:33:52,030 Speaker 1: to play us out? Everyone pretend to be seven feet tall. 629 00:33:52,650 --> 00:33:53,250 Speaker 1: Feels so good. 630 00:33:53,990 --> 00:34:01,750 Speaker 2: See you, folks. For more podcasts from iHeart Radio, visit 631 00:34:01,770 --> 00:34:04,810 Speaker 2: the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen 632 00:34:04,850 --> 00:34:05,770 Speaker 2: to your favorite shows.