1 00:00:01,200 --> 00:00:04,160 Speaker 1: Welcome to steph you missed in history class from how 2 00:00:04,240 --> 00:00:13,840 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,920 --> 00:00:17,119 Speaker 1: I'm Tracy V. Wilson and I'm Holly Frying. It is 4 00:00:17,160 --> 00:00:22,680 Speaker 1: time for six Impossible episodes. Our last few six Impossibles 5 00:00:22,680 --> 00:00:25,760 Speaker 1: have had a running theme. We had a set of 6 00:00:25,840 --> 00:00:29,639 Speaker 1: six stories that were about frontline heroism from soldiers and spies, 7 00:00:29,960 --> 00:00:32,680 Speaker 1: and before that we had six episodes that sound a 8 00:00:32,800 --> 00:00:36,440 Speaker 1: lot like episodes we had already done. Before that, there 9 00:00:36,440 --> 00:00:40,040 Speaker 1: were six stories that might have been apocryphal, maybe not. 10 00:00:40,560 --> 00:00:43,840 Speaker 1: And so today we once again have six short stories. 11 00:00:44,240 --> 00:00:46,519 Speaker 1: As these things go, but this time it's kind of 12 00:00:46,520 --> 00:00:51,320 Speaker 1: a hodgepodge. These are all frequent requests, several of them 13 00:00:51,479 --> 00:00:55,040 Speaker 1: very heavily requested, and we're going to talk about them 14 00:00:55,040 --> 00:00:58,279 Speaker 1: all in one go. Um, they don't have a lot 15 00:00:58,280 --> 00:01:01,720 Speaker 1: of thematic commonality among one another except the fact that 16 00:01:01,760 --> 00:01:04,240 Speaker 1: people have asked us to talk about them. And just 17 00:01:04,280 --> 00:01:06,919 Speaker 1: a quick note that a couple of these are quite violent, 18 00:01:07,040 --> 00:01:09,560 Speaker 1: and the first one includes a couple of brief mentions 19 00:01:09,600 --> 00:01:13,880 Speaker 1: of rape and sexual assault. So first up in July 20 00:01:13,959 --> 00:01:17,120 Speaker 1: of this year, which we are recording in, we got 21 00:01:17,160 --> 00:01:20,560 Speaker 1: a whole lot of requests via email and social media 22 00:01:21,080 --> 00:01:24,720 Speaker 1: to do a podcast about Olive Yang. Yang died on 23 00:01:24,800 --> 00:01:27,800 Speaker 1: July thirteenth at the age of ninety, and their obituary 24 00:01:27,880 --> 00:01:31,600 Speaker 1: got a lot of attention. Yang was born Yang Kin 25 00:01:31,720 --> 00:01:35,520 Speaker 1: sue In and what was then British Burma and is 26 00:01:35,560 --> 00:01:38,680 Speaker 1: now more commonly known as Myan mar This was in 27 00:01:38,760 --> 00:01:41,919 Speaker 1: the Golden Triangle of Southeast Asia, that's our region along 28 00:01:41,959 --> 00:01:45,039 Speaker 1: the border of jan Mart, Laos and Thailand, was a 29 00:01:45,080 --> 00:01:47,800 Speaker 1: major supplier in the global opium trade for a lot 30 00:01:47,800 --> 00:01:51,279 Speaker 1: of the twentieth century. Yang was descended from the royal 31 00:01:51,320 --> 00:01:53,840 Speaker 1: house of the Shan state of ko Lang, but the 32 00:01:53,880 --> 00:01:57,880 Speaker 1: family fled the region during Japanese invasions in World War Two. 33 00:01:59,160 --> 00:02:03,360 Speaker 1: Yang defied gender expectations and was described as a tomboy, 34 00:02:03,560 --> 00:02:07,080 Speaker 1: wearing boy's clothes and carrying guns, and having no desire 35 00:02:07,200 --> 00:02:10,480 Speaker 1: at all to marry or become a mother. In their 36 00:02:10,560 --> 00:02:15,240 Speaker 1: later years, Olive, whose native language has no gendered pronouns uh, 37 00:02:15,280 --> 00:02:18,200 Speaker 1: what asked to be called Uncle Yang. And all of 38 00:02:18,240 --> 00:02:21,040 Speaker 1: this together is why for this episode we are going 39 00:02:21,080 --> 00:02:24,640 Speaker 1: with the pronoun they when we reference Olive. In spite 40 00:02:24,639 --> 00:02:27,959 Speaker 1: of their protests, Yang was forced into an arranged marriage 41 00:02:27,960 --> 00:02:31,440 Speaker 1: with a younger cousin. Yang's mother died before the wedding 42 00:02:31,520 --> 00:02:34,320 Speaker 1: day and their father was in very ill health, But 43 00:02:34,400 --> 00:02:37,920 Speaker 1: the wedding went on as planned, and Yang then left 44 00:02:37,960 --> 00:02:41,200 Speaker 1: with this unwanted duty of providing an air refused to 45 00:02:41,200 --> 00:02:44,840 Speaker 1: do it, reportedly throwing a chamber pot at the groom 46 00:02:44,919 --> 00:02:49,480 Speaker 1: on their wedding night. Yang's son Jipou was ultimately conceived 47 00:02:49,480 --> 00:02:54,960 Speaker 1: through marital rape. Even before Gepoo was born, Yang had 48 00:02:54,960 --> 00:02:57,640 Speaker 1: already left the family and fallen in with bandits and 49 00:02:57,680 --> 00:03:01,280 Speaker 1: opium traders. With a reputation Asian for a fiery temper 50 00:03:01,360 --> 00:03:04,800 Speaker 1: and always being armed, they wound up being offered the 51 00:03:04,840 --> 00:03:08,440 Speaker 1: command of an army of three hundred men. On the 52 00:03:08,440 --> 00:03:11,880 Speaker 1: way in a take command, Yang's caravan encountered some drunken 53 00:03:11,919 --> 00:03:16,720 Speaker 1: officers trying to extort bribes, so Yang kidnapped the officers 54 00:03:16,760 --> 00:03:18,560 Speaker 1: and brought them along the rest of the way to 55 00:03:18,600 --> 00:03:23,240 Speaker 1: the outpost. This ruffled some feathers. Yeah, there's a lot 56 00:03:23,280 --> 00:03:26,280 Speaker 1: of I'm gonna do what I want, and then people 57 00:03:26,360 --> 00:03:29,440 Speaker 1: being like, okay, that was maybe maybe that that is 58 00:03:29,520 --> 00:03:33,280 Speaker 1: going to raise some eyebrows. After gp was born in 59 00:03:33,320 --> 00:03:36,320 Speaker 1: the one, Yang left him with a wet nurse he 60 00:03:36,400 --> 00:03:38,880 Speaker 1: went on to be raised by a series of uncles. 61 00:03:39,400 --> 00:03:42,200 Speaker 1: Yang then turned their attention to developing the trade routes 62 00:03:42,280 --> 00:03:45,120 Speaker 1: that would turn the region into the world's largest supplier 63 00:03:45,160 --> 00:03:48,320 Speaker 1: of opium for a time, commanding a fighting force of 64 00:03:48,400 --> 00:03:51,120 Speaker 1: up to a thousand men and developing a reputation for 65 00:03:51,200 --> 00:03:56,240 Speaker 1: being particularly fierce. During the Cold War, the United States 66 00:03:56,280 --> 00:03:59,760 Speaker 1: wanted to influence policy and military outcomes in parts of 67 00:03:59,760 --> 00:04:02,960 Speaker 1: the war world where it wasn't really supposed to be operating, 68 00:04:03,520 --> 00:04:05,960 Speaker 1: and this was especially true when it came to attempts 69 00:04:06,000 --> 00:04:09,600 Speaker 1: to stop or roll back the spread of communism. Without 70 00:04:09,680 --> 00:04:13,440 Speaker 1: the ability to publicly intervene, the United States instead turned 71 00:04:13,480 --> 00:04:16,520 Speaker 1: to a number of covert programs to try to achieve 72 00:04:16,560 --> 00:04:20,720 Speaker 1: the same end. One of these was codenamed Operation Paper, 73 00:04:20,880 --> 00:04:24,880 Speaker 1: in which the CIA funded and armed various militias, most 74 00:04:24,960 --> 00:04:29,640 Speaker 1: of them involved in opium trafficking. These forces included remnants 75 00:04:29,640 --> 00:04:34,360 Speaker 1: of the Chinese Nationalist Army Cooman Tang or KMT, which 76 00:04:34,360 --> 00:04:37,480 Speaker 1: had been defeated by Mao Zedong in nineteen forty nine. 77 00:04:38,240 --> 00:04:42,480 Speaker 1: Some of the KMT were under Yang's command. Yang's troops 78 00:04:42,480 --> 00:04:44,919 Speaker 1: were on the receiving end of these covert air drops 79 00:04:44,960 --> 00:04:48,080 Speaker 1: at least once. In nineteen fifty two, Yang's force crossed 80 00:04:48,080 --> 00:04:50,960 Speaker 1: the border into Thailand illegally to retrieve weapons that had 81 00:04:51,000 --> 00:04:54,960 Speaker 1: been dropped by an unmarked CIA owned aircraft. The government 82 00:04:55,000 --> 00:04:57,960 Speaker 1: of what was then Burma complained to the UN General Assembly. 83 00:04:58,279 --> 00:05:01,599 Speaker 1: Yang was later arrested sentenced to five years in prison. 84 00:05:02,200 --> 00:05:04,840 Speaker 1: A couple of years after being released, Yang took over 85 00:05:04,880 --> 00:05:08,080 Speaker 1: the former army of their elder brother, who had advocated 86 00:05:08,160 --> 00:05:11,560 Speaker 1: his role in the Shan government, and thus became the 87 00:05:11,640 --> 00:05:15,440 Speaker 1: region's de facto leader. In nineteen sixty three, Yang was 88 00:05:15,480 --> 00:05:18,520 Speaker 1: captured again and spent more than six years in prison, 89 00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:22,600 Speaker 1: much of it in solitary confinement. They later reported to 90 00:05:22,640 --> 00:05:26,200 Speaker 1: relatives that they were repeatedly tortured and sexually abused while 91 00:05:26,200 --> 00:05:30,239 Speaker 1: behind bars. After their second release from prison, Yang found 92 00:05:30,240 --> 00:05:33,640 Speaker 1: that one of their lieutenants, Losing Han, had essentially taken 93 00:05:33,800 --> 00:05:37,520 Speaker 1: over the opium trade that Yang had built. Losing Han 94 00:05:37,680 --> 00:05:40,440 Speaker 1: wound up being a far more notorious name in the 95 00:05:40,440 --> 00:05:43,239 Speaker 1: opium trade than Yang did, at least until more recently. 96 00:05:44,120 --> 00:05:48,920 Speaker 1: Following some news coverage, Yang described themselves as a lesbian, 97 00:05:49,120 --> 00:05:52,080 Speaker 1: and their relationships were often the fodder of gossip columns 98 00:05:52,080 --> 00:05:56,160 Speaker 1: and tabloids. Including a reported relationship with actress Wah Wah 99 00:05:56,240 --> 00:05:59,960 Speaker 1: Win Schui in ten Win Schwi did nine that really 100 00:06:00,040 --> 00:06:02,479 Speaker 1: lationship in spite of having lived in a house that 101 00:06:02,600 --> 00:06:05,640 Speaker 1: Yang owned and giving the interview in question in a 102 00:06:05,720 --> 00:06:09,440 Speaker 1: rebuilt house that sat on the same property. Not all 103 00:06:09,520 --> 00:06:13,440 Speaker 1: of Yang's life was so notorious or sensationalized. Though later 104 00:06:13,480 --> 00:06:16,559 Speaker 1: on their active time and the opium trade was essentially over, 105 00:06:16,680 --> 00:06:19,960 Speaker 1: but Yang still had really extensive connections within all of 106 00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:23,560 Speaker 1: these criminal organizations, which led to their being recruited to 107 00:06:23,560 --> 00:06:27,359 Speaker 1: try to negotiate peace agreements with those organizations on behalf 108 00:06:27,400 --> 00:06:31,080 Speaker 1: of the government. So obviously there is a lot going 109 00:06:31,120 --> 00:06:35,000 Speaker 1: on here. Al of Yang is a fascinating and complicated 110 00:06:35,080 --> 00:06:38,760 Speaker 1: character who was connected to the opium trade, international dispute, 111 00:06:39,160 --> 00:06:43,040 Speaker 1: and covert CIA programs. Me and mar has been in 112 00:06:43,080 --> 00:06:45,240 Speaker 1: the news a lot over the last few years, but 113 00:06:45,400 --> 00:06:47,680 Speaker 1: for a range of reasons, its history hasn't really been 114 00:06:47,680 --> 00:06:50,960 Speaker 1: covered on our show. So it's not surprising at all 115 00:06:51,000 --> 00:06:54,080 Speaker 1: that people asked for more. But here's the thing about 116 00:06:54,080 --> 00:06:56,359 Speaker 1: trying to make a whole episode about all of Yang. 117 00:06:56,800 --> 00:06:59,880 Speaker 1: In terms of what's available in English, pretty much all 118 00:07:00,080 --> 00:07:03,640 Speaker 1: of this information goes back to reporting done by Gabrielle Poluke, 119 00:07:04,000 --> 00:07:06,600 Speaker 1: which was picked up and redistributed by the World from 120 00:07:06,640 --> 00:07:09,440 Speaker 1: p r I. Other outlets that picked it up from 121 00:07:09,480 --> 00:07:12,600 Speaker 1: there either go back to Poluke's reporting or to Poluke 122 00:07:12,640 --> 00:07:15,640 Speaker 1: herself in interviews. So it's clear from all of this 123 00:07:15,760 --> 00:07:19,800 Speaker 1: reporting that other information about al of Yeng exists, but 124 00:07:20,040 --> 00:07:22,440 Speaker 1: most of that isn't really information that we can get 125 00:07:22,480 --> 00:07:25,760 Speaker 1: to as an English speaking podcast on the other side 126 00:07:25,760 --> 00:07:28,440 Speaker 1: of the world. And Poluke is reportedly working on a 127 00:07:28,480 --> 00:07:30,880 Speaker 1: book according to the Washington Post, about all of this, 128 00:07:31,240 --> 00:07:34,800 Speaker 1: and we would absolutely read that. We absolutely want that's 129 00:07:34,800 --> 00:07:36,680 Speaker 1: going to be a running theme in this show. There 130 00:07:36,680 --> 00:07:39,080 Speaker 1: are going to be several people who if there were 131 00:07:39,720 --> 00:07:42,800 Speaker 1: you know, uh and uh maybe not official, but if 132 00:07:42,800 --> 00:07:45,400 Speaker 1: there were a comprehensive biography on their life, then probably 133 00:07:45,440 --> 00:07:48,040 Speaker 1: we could do a complete episode. And they are all 134 00:07:48,080 --> 00:07:51,200 Speaker 1: biographies that I would jump on the opportunity to read. 135 00:07:51,480 --> 00:07:54,080 Speaker 1: Next up, we have another request that came in from 136 00:07:54,120 --> 00:07:56,680 Speaker 1: a lot of people thanks to the Internet, and that 137 00:07:56,800 --> 00:07:59,920 Speaker 1: was the nineteen seventeen Silent Parade, which was also the 138 00:08:00,040 --> 00:08:02,560 Speaker 1: subject of a Google Doodle, which is what led so 139 00:08:02,600 --> 00:08:05,480 Speaker 1: many people to ask about it. The Silent Parade, known 140 00:08:05,600 --> 00:08:09,000 Speaker 1: at the time as the Negro Silent Protest Parade was 141 00:08:09,040 --> 00:08:13,080 Speaker 1: a protest that took place on July seventeen on Fifth 142 00:08:13,120 --> 00:08:16,240 Speaker 1: Avenue in New York City. The n double a CP 143 00:08:16,480 --> 00:08:20,400 Speaker 1: organized this protest in response to Jim Crow Laws, ongoing 144 00:08:20,480 --> 00:08:23,520 Speaker 1: lynchings and a riot in East St. Louis in which 145 00:08:23,560 --> 00:08:26,320 Speaker 1: a white mob had killed more than one hundred black 146 00:08:26,360 --> 00:08:29,840 Speaker 1: residents and destroyed the homes of about six thousand more. 147 00:08:30,760 --> 00:08:33,679 Speaker 1: The riot had taken place over July one through the third, 148 00:08:33,960 --> 00:08:36,959 Speaker 1: and that had been sparked in part by striking white 149 00:08:36,960 --> 00:08:40,720 Speaker 1: workers resentment that black strikebreakers were replacing them at a 150 00:08:40,760 --> 00:08:43,800 Speaker 1: box site processing plants. So taken from the letter that 151 00:08:43,880 --> 00:08:46,079 Speaker 1: was distributed in advance of the march, sort of as 152 00:08:46,120 --> 00:08:49,800 Speaker 1: instructions quote, we marched because, by the grace of God 153 00:08:49,920 --> 00:08:52,880 Speaker 1: and the force of truth, the dangerous hampering walls of 154 00:08:52,880 --> 00:08:57,200 Speaker 1: prejudice and inhuman injustices must fall. We marched because we 155 00:08:57,240 --> 00:09:00,800 Speaker 1: want to make impossible a repetition of way go Memphis 156 00:09:00,800 --> 00:09:03,880 Speaker 1: and East St. Louis by rousing the conscience of the 157 00:09:03,920 --> 00:09:07,120 Speaker 1: country and bring the murderers of our brothers, sisters, and 158 00:09:07,160 --> 00:09:10,240 Speaker 1: innocent children to justice. We marched because we deem it 159 00:09:10,320 --> 00:09:13,040 Speaker 1: a crime to be silenced in the face of such 160 00:09:13,080 --> 00:09:15,440 Speaker 1: barbaric acts. So that goes on with all of the 161 00:09:15,480 --> 00:09:18,280 Speaker 1: reasons that they are marching, and they also gets into 162 00:09:18,720 --> 00:09:22,200 Speaker 1: procedures for the march. And then the letter ended quote 163 00:09:22,280 --> 00:09:27,280 Speaker 1: Yours in righteous indignation, Reverend Chaz Martin, Secretary. A list 164 00:09:27,280 --> 00:09:30,680 Speaker 1: of mottoes, first signs and banners was distributed in advance 165 00:09:30,679 --> 00:09:35,840 Speaker 1: of the march as well, including make America Safe for democracy, Mothers, 166 00:09:35,880 --> 00:09:39,319 Speaker 1: do lynchers go to Heaven, two hundred thousand black men 167 00:09:39,480 --> 00:09:42,920 Speaker 1: fought for your liberty in the Civil War, and Tracy's 168 00:09:42,920 --> 00:09:47,000 Speaker 1: favorite pray for the Lady Macbeth's of East St. Louis. Uh. 169 00:09:47,040 --> 00:09:49,520 Speaker 1: There have been a couple of different interpretations that have 170 00:09:49,559 --> 00:09:52,440 Speaker 1: been circulated for that last one, one being that it 171 00:09:52,480 --> 00:09:55,640 Speaker 1: referenced the white women of St. Louis who had egged 172 00:09:55,679 --> 00:09:59,040 Speaker 1: on the mob. So about ten thousand people, all of 173 00:09:59,080 --> 00:10:01,920 Speaker 1: them black, partici the pated in the silent March. The 174 00:10:02,080 --> 00:10:04,960 Speaker 1: organizers went first, and then children and then women who 175 00:10:04,960 --> 00:10:07,160 Speaker 1: were all dressed in white, followed by all the men 176 00:10:07,200 --> 00:10:10,800 Speaker 1: who were in dark suits. The protesters included W. E. B. 177 00:10:10,920 --> 00:10:15,040 Speaker 1: Du Bois and James Walton Johnson, James Weldon Johnson later 178 00:10:15,040 --> 00:10:17,800 Speaker 1: wrote about it and his autobiography, saying, quote, the streets 179 00:10:17,800 --> 00:10:20,480 Speaker 1: of New York have witnessed many strange sites, but I 180 00:10:20,559 --> 00:10:24,000 Speaker 1: judge never one stranger than this. Among the watchers were 181 00:10:24,000 --> 00:10:27,600 Speaker 1: those with tears in their eyes. This was certainly an 182 00:10:27,600 --> 00:10:30,720 Speaker 1: important event in civil rights history. It was one of 183 00:10:30,720 --> 00:10:33,960 Speaker 1: the first, if not the first, non violent mass protest 184 00:10:34,040 --> 00:10:37,800 Speaker 1: against racism and racist violence. And the fact that all 185 00:10:37,840 --> 00:10:41,079 Speaker 1: the marchers were black was also important. At this point, 186 00:10:41,200 --> 00:10:45,160 Speaker 1: most civil rights organizations and activities were integrated, in part 187 00:10:45,240 --> 00:10:48,559 Speaker 1: because the idea was so contentious that seeing white people 188 00:10:48,640 --> 00:10:52,560 Speaker 1: involved made it somewhat more palatable to other white people. 189 00:10:53,360 --> 00:10:57,360 Speaker 1: Having white people involved also offered at least some degree 190 00:10:57,520 --> 00:11:01,400 Speaker 1: of protection, Like there are so many stories about violence 191 00:11:01,480 --> 00:11:03,240 Speaker 1: during the civil rights movement, and this is a little 192 00:11:03,240 --> 00:11:05,000 Speaker 1: bit earlier than what a lot of people think of 193 00:11:05,080 --> 00:11:09,160 Speaker 1: as the movement. Um, So it wasn't a guarantee of safety, 194 00:11:09,320 --> 00:11:12,680 Speaker 1: but it was like a slight measure of safety sometimes. 195 00:11:12,720 --> 00:11:16,520 Speaker 1: So it's likely that there's enough information about this march, 196 00:11:16,600 --> 00:11:19,560 Speaker 1: and archives are special collections to make it into a 197 00:11:19,559 --> 00:11:22,720 Speaker 1: whole episode. But in terms of what's publicly available to 198 00:11:22,800 --> 00:11:26,280 Speaker 1: us right now, that's the overview and we're gonna have 199 00:11:26,320 --> 00:11:28,240 Speaker 1: some more stories, but first we're gonna pause for a 200 00:11:28,240 --> 00:11:36,160 Speaker 1: little sponsor break. Next up on our list. We have 201 00:11:36,240 --> 00:11:40,640 Speaker 1: gotten several requests for the Massacre of Glencoe, including from 202 00:11:40,679 --> 00:11:45,280 Speaker 1: Haga and Neil Ramona, ros Leia Megan, and almost certainly others, 203 00:11:45,400 --> 00:11:47,240 Speaker 1: and a lot of these came in around the time 204 00:11:47,240 --> 00:11:50,280 Speaker 1: of the Game of Thrones episode The Reigns of Castomir, 205 00:11:51,000 --> 00:11:54,280 Speaker 1: which also led to requests for another historical event known 206 00:11:54,280 --> 00:11:57,960 Speaker 1: as the Black Dinner. The Glencoe Massacre was one of 207 00:11:58,080 --> 00:12:01,200 Speaker 1: many bloody events in Scottish history that followed in the 208 00:12:01,200 --> 00:12:04,559 Speaker 1: wake of the Glorious Revolution. We talked more about the 209 00:12:04,559 --> 00:12:08,000 Speaker 1: Glorious Revolution in our podcast on the Jacobite Rising of 210 00:12:08,080 --> 00:12:10,640 Speaker 1: seventy five, and we will link to that in the 211 00:12:10,679 --> 00:12:14,000 Speaker 1: show notes, but very briefly, King James the seventh of 212 00:12:14,040 --> 00:12:17,000 Speaker 1: Scotland and second of England was Catholic, and when he 213 00:12:17,080 --> 00:12:21,360 Speaker 1: had a son, James Francis Edward Stewart, Protestants became concerned 214 00:12:21,400 --> 00:12:24,719 Speaker 1: about having another Catholic in the line of succession. So 215 00:12:24,840 --> 00:12:27,880 Speaker 1: Protestants in Scotland and elsewhere had hoped that James would 216 00:12:27,920 --> 00:12:30,360 Speaker 1: die without an heir and then be succeeded by a 217 00:12:30,400 --> 00:12:34,240 Speaker 1: Protestant monarch. With that no longer a possibility, some prominent 218 00:12:34,280 --> 00:12:37,080 Speaker 1: Protestants got in touch with William of Orange and basically 219 00:12:37,120 --> 00:12:39,360 Speaker 1: invited him and his army to come to England and 220 00:12:39,400 --> 00:12:42,800 Speaker 1: take over. So he did, and William and his wife 221 00:12:42,840 --> 00:12:46,280 Speaker 1: Mary became monarchs in sixteen eighty nine. Obviously, that's very 222 00:12:46,360 --> 00:12:51,040 Speaker 1: highly condensed. That's the speed round version. A number of 223 00:12:51,040 --> 00:12:54,040 Speaker 1: Scottish clans remained loyal to King James into the House 224 00:12:54,080 --> 00:12:57,840 Speaker 1: of Stewart for both political and religious reasons. This was 225 00:12:57,880 --> 00:13:00,160 Speaker 1: the basis for the Jacobite movement that we cover in 226 00:13:00,200 --> 00:13:03,760 Speaker 1: that previous episode and just f y I also makes 227 00:13:03,840 --> 00:13:07,239 Speaker 1: up the first chunk of the Outlander TV show and books. 228 00:13:07,280 --> 00:13:10,880 Speaker 1: The new monarchs, William and Mary, recognizing the threat that 229 00:13:10,880 --> 00:13:13,360 Speaker 1: that the Jacobites posed both to their reign and to 230 00:13:13,480 --> 00:13:16,160 Speaker 1: the overall stability of the kingdom, tried to secure the 231 00:13:16,160 --> 00:13:20,280 Speaker 1: Scottish clans loyalty. It took a very stick and carrot approach. 232 00:13:20,440 --> 00:13:23,200 Speaker 1: They offered an indemnity to the clans that agreed to 233 00:13:23,240 --> 00:13:26,720 Speaker 1: sign an oath of allegiance to them, while authorizing attacks 234 00:13:26,800 --> 00:13:29,840 Speaker 1: against the clans that didn't. As time went on, though 235 00:13:29,960 --> 00:13:32,520 Speaker 1: the focus got a lot more heavily on the stick 236 00:13:32,559 --> 00:13:35,600 Speaker 1: than on the carrot. This deadline for signing this oath 237 00:13:35,640 --> 00:13:40,760 Speaker 1: of allegiance was January one of six, and this presented 238 00:13:40,800 --> 00:13:44,320 Speaker 1: a number of logistical problems. Most clan chiefs needed to 239 00:13:44,400 --> 00:13:46,840 Speaker 1: travel somewhere to sign the oath in the presence of 240 00:13:46,840 --> 00:13:50,440 Speaker 1: a magistrate or sheriff, and winter in Scotland made that 241 00:13:50,679 --> 00:13:54,079 Speaker 1: rather difficult. Also, many of the clans had already sworn 242 00:13:54,120 --> 00:13:56,920 Speaker 1: an oath to James Stewart and they couldn't sign another 243 00:13:56,920 --> 00:13:59,839 Speaker 1: one until they were released from that first oath, and 244 00:14:00,040 --> 00:14:04,600 Speaker 1: that didn't happen until mid December. So a number of factors, 245 00:14:04,640 --> 00:14:08,240 Speaker 1: including travel, weather and the magistrate not actually being present 246 00:14:08,320 --> 00:14:11,559 Speaker 1: when they got there, Captain McDonald's of glen Coe from 247 00:14:11,600 --> 00:14:15,920 Speaker 1: meeting the January first deadline. Alistair McLean, chief of the clan, 248 00:14:16,160 --> 00:14:18,520 Speaker 1: arrived in time to do the signing, but he couldn't 249 00:14:18,559 --> 00:14:22,520 Speaker 1: actually do it until January six. Alistair McLean was not 250 00:14:22,600 --> 00:14:24,880 Speaker 1: the only chief in the area who missed the deadline, 251 00:14:25,000 --> 00:14:28,120 Speaker 1: but for whatever reason, he was the only one who 252 00:14:28,200 --> 00:14:30,920 Speaker 1: was not included in an indemnity that was issued for 253 00:14:30,960 --> 00:14:35,720 Speaker 1: everyone who had Instead. McLean and the McDonald's of glen 254 00:14:35,720 --> 00:14:39,800 Speaker 1: co were subject to punishment by the quote utmost extremity 255 00:14:39,880 --> 00:14:42,800 Speaker 1: of the law. It may have just been an oversight 256 00:14:43,000 --> 00:14:45,200 Speaker 1: or an intentional effort to make an example of the 257 00:14:45,240 --> 00:14:48,800 Speaker 1: McDonald's of glen Cove for having been publicly loyal to 258 00:14:48,840 --> 00:14:53,400 Speaker 1: the Stewarts, but the elements of that are still unclear. Regardless, 259 00:14:53,400 --> 00:14:57,120 Speaker 1: and early February, soldiers arrived at glen Coe seeking shelter. 260 00:14:57,600 --> 00:15:00,240 Speaker 1: They reported that they had been assigned to Fort will Um, 261 00:15:00,320 --> 00:15:02,440 Speaker 1: which was not too far away, only to find that 262 00:15:02,480 --> 00:15:05,840 Speaker 1: the fort was already past capacity. So the soldiers were 263 00:15:05,840 --> 00:15:09,640 Speaker 1: billeted in the McDonald's homes, and then on February thirteenth, 264 00:15:09,760 --> 00:15:12,880 Speaker 1: starting at about five in the morning, the soldiers, along 265 00:15:12,920 --> 00:15:16,280 Speaker 1: with others who joined them from Fort William, massacred members 266 00:15:16,280 --> 00:15:20,160 Speaker 1: of the McDonald plan there in their homes. Alistair McLaine 267 00:15:20,240 --> 00:15:22,760 Speaker 1: was the first to be killed, while he was rising 268 00:15:22,840 --> 00:15:26,880 Speaker 1: from his bed by soldiers who were his guests. About 269 00:15:26,880 --> 00:15:29,920 Speaker 1: thirty eight people were killed in the massacre on the thirteenth, 270 00:15:30,080 --> 00:15:33,720 Speaker 1: but since the soldiers also burned people's homes, many more 271 00:15:33,800 --> 00:15:38,040 Speaker 1: died of exposure. After the actual conflict was over three 272 00:15:38,120 --> 00:15:41,680 Speaker 1: years later, a Scottish Parliamentary Commission described it as quote 273 00:15:41,800 --> 00:15:45,440 Speaker 1: murder under trust. The Campbell clan has long taken the 274 00:15:45,480 --> 00:15:49,480 Speaker 1: blame for having orchestrated and executed this whole thing. There 275 00:15:49,560 --> 00:15:52,360 Speaker 1: was certainly a long standing feud between the Campbells and 276 00:15:52,400 --> 00:15:55,920 Speaker 1: the McDonald's, and the Campbells were heavily represented among the 277 00:15:55,960 --> 00:16:00,440 Speaker 1: military units that committed the massacre. But the Jacobite backdown 278 00:16:00,560 --> 00:16:04,120 Speaker 1: was really a much bigger issue than the Campbell McDonald feud. 279 00:16:04,480 --> 00:16:08,280 Speaker 1: The Campbells might have, and some would say definitely did, 280 00:16:08,480 --> 00:16:11,840 Speaker 1: taken the opportunity to exact some kind of justice after 281 00:16:11,960 --> 00:16:15,160 Speaker 1: years of skirmishes and cattle raids, but it was really 282 00:16:15,280 --> 00:16:18,160 Speaker 1: William and Mary who put such a sharp focus on 283 00:16:18,240 --> 00:16:20,880 Speaker 1: rooting out the Jacobites in the first place. We didn't 284 00:16:20,920 --> 00:16:23,480 Speaker 1: do a full episode about this one, largely because the 285 00:16:23,520 --> 00:16:26,840 Speaker 1: Game of Thrones episode that prompted so many requests came 286 00:16:26,840 --> 00:16:30,400 Speaker 1: out in at which point you couldn't turn around without 287 00:16:30,480 --> 00:16:33,560 Speaker 1: running into an article about the Glencoe massacre, so ours 288 00:16:33,600 --> 00:16:36,280 Speaker 1: kind of would have been redundant, And after that it 289 00:16:36,360 --> 00:16:39,360 Speaker 1: started to feel like the moment had really passed. That 290 00:16:39,440 --> 00:16:41,520 Speaker 1: was even more true after we did our show on 291 00:16:41,560 --> 00:16:45,240 Speaker 1: the Jacobite rising of since it covers so much of 292 00:16:45,280 --> 00:16:48,200 Speaker 1: the same territory. The Black Dinner, on the other hand, 293 00:16:48,200 --> 00:16:50,120 Speaker 1: which is the other thing that everyone asked us to 294 00:16:50,120 --> 00:16:52,840 Speaker 1: talk about in response to this Game of Thrones episode 295 00:16:53,480 --> 00:16:55,880 Speaker 1: that's often summed up as a paragraph, so we are 296 00:16:55,920 --> 00:16:57,960 Speaker 1: going to include it. This kind of a bonus seventh 297 00:16:58,000 --> 00:17:02,040 Speaker 1: Impossible episode. In four team forty, sixteen year old William, 298 00:17:02,120 --> 00:17:05,720 Speaker 1: Earl of Douglas and his younger brother David were invited 299 00:17:05,760 --> 00:17:08,280 Speaker 1: to visit King James the Second of Scotland, who was 300 00:17:08,320 --> 00:17:11,280 Speaker 1: then ten, at Edinburgh Castle. So yes, this is a 301 00:17:11,280 --> 00:17:13,560 Speaker 1: completely different King James and the one we were talking 302 00:17:13,560 --> 00:17:17,400 Speaker 1: about earlier in this segment. After being served the head 303 00:17:17,440 --> 00:17:19,720 Speaker 1: of a black bull, which was a symbol of death, 304 00:17:19,840 --> 00:17:22,480 Speaker 1: the two boys were taken out into the yard, given 305 00:17:22,480 --> 00:17:26,040 Speaker 1: a mock trial, convicted of treason, and beheaded. All of 306 00:17:26,040 --> 00:17:29,199 Speaker 1: this connects to an ongoing power struggle between the monarch 307 00:17:29,240 --> 00:17:31,399 Speaker 1: and the Douglas clan. At this point really more like 308 00:17:31,440 --> 00:17:34,600 Speaker 1: the monarch's advisors because the monarch himself was only ten 309 00:17:35,080 --> 00:17:37,560 Speaker 1: uh So basically the idea was that they were trying 310 00:17:37,560 --> 00:17:41,840 Speaker 1: to check the Douglas influence. But the whole story is 311 00:17:41,920 --> 00:17:44,840 Speaker 1: really full of said to have and may have been, 312 00:17:45,000 --> 00:17:48,679 Speaker 1: and it's really not clear who arranged this or what 313 00:17:48,760 --> 00:17:53,000 Speaker 1: their endgame was. Now to completely change gears, Oh yeah, 314 00:17:53,080 --> 00:17:56,520 Speaker 1: we're like so completely, so get ready because if you 315 00:17:56,520 --> 00:18:00,400 Speaker 1: may have a bump as we grind through the um. 316 00:18:00,480 --> 00:18:03,680 Speaker 1: Next up, Marian Downs, who is known as the mother 317 00:18:03,800 --> 00:18:08,800 Speaker 1: of pediatric audiology and requested most recently by Lee and Megan. 318 00:18:09,160 --> 00:18:12,720 Speaker 1: Unlike so many other doctors we've talked about on the show, 319 00:18:12,880 --> 00:18:15,720 Speaker 1: Downs didn't spend her whole life planning to go into medicine. 320 00:18:16,040 --> 00:18:18,240 Speaker 1: She dropped out of college in the nineteen thirties to 321 00:18:18,280 --> 00:18:20,960 Speaker 1: get married and have children, which was really common among 322 00:18:21,040 --> 00:18:24,159 Speaker 1: female undergraduates at the time. Once her children got a 323 00:18:24,200 --> 00:18:27,040 Speaker 1: little older, though, she decided she wanted to go back 324 00:18:27,080 --> 00:18:29,600 Speaker 1: to school. And this was right after the end of 325 00:18:29,600 --> 00:18:33,119 Speaker 1: World War Two, when colleges and universities were flooded with 326 00:18:33,160 --> 00:18:36,440 Speaker 1: returning soldiers pursuing an education under the g I Bill. 327 00:18:37,240 --> 00:18:39,480 Speaker 1: So when Downs went to register for classes at the 328 00:18:39,560 --> 00:18:42,600 Speaker 1: University of Denver, she picked a course of study by 329 00:18:42,640 --> 00:18:45,959 Speaker 1: finding the shortest line, and that line was for speech 330 00:18:46,000 --> 00:18:49,639 Speaker 1: pathology and audiology. Now didn't really know what that was 331 00:18:49,760 --> 00:18:52,560 Speaker 1: when she enrolled but she really excelled at it, and 332 00:18:52,600 --> 00:18:56,679 Speaker 1: she's known today for her pioneering work in infant hearing screenings. 333 00:18:57,720 --> 00:18:59,920 Speaker 1: I love when someone just sort of stumbles a degree 334 00:19:00,040 --> 00:19:04,200 Speaker 1: and exactly what happened has doubled into the short line 335 00:19:04,200 --> 00:19:07,720 Speaker 1: of greatness. Uh. In terms of the brain, a person's 336 00:19:07,760 --> 00:19:10,760 Speaker 1: language ability develops a lot in their first two years 337 00:19:10,760 --> 00:19:14,080 Speaker 1: of life, regardless of whether that language is verbal or 338 00:19:14,119 --> 00:19:18,600 Speaker 1: non verbal. And when Down started practicing, most children didn't 339 00:19:18,640 --> 00:19:20,639 Speaker 1: really get their hearing checked until they were three or 340 00:19:20,680 --> 00:19:23,639 Speaker 1: four years old, and even then that was usually because 341 00:19:23,640 --> 00:19:27,160 Speaker 1: the child's parent was concerned that perhaps their speech was delayed. 342 00:19:27,359 --> 00:19:30,439 Speaker 1: And Downs thought this was a huge disservice, that missing 343 00:19:30,440 --> 00:19:33,040 Speaker 1: out on those early years of language development was actually 344 00:19:33,040 --> 00:19:37,160 Speaker 1: setting people up for lifelong trouble with all aspects of communication, 345 00:19:37,280 --> 00:19:41,600 Speaker 1: including reading, and she was, of course right. So she 346 00:19:41,680 --> 00:19:45,080 Speaker 1: started testing children's hearing while they were still babies and 347 00:19:45,119 --> 00:19:47,040 Speaker 1: fitting them with hearing aids when they were as young 348 00:19:47,080 --> 00:19:50,280 Speaker 1: as a year old if they needed one. She encountered 349 00:19:50,400 --> 00:19:53,919 Speaker 1: a lot of resistance to this, in addition to everything 350 00:19:53,960 --> 00:19:57,000 Speaker 1: that comes along with being one of very few women 351 00:19:57,080 --> 00:20:00,840 Speaker 1: in a male dominated field. Other doctor insisted that a 352 00:20:00,920 --> 00:20:04,160 Speaker 1: child's brain wasn't ready to handle a hearing aid until 353 00:20:04,200 --> 00:20:07,679 Speaker 1: age three or four, and that her work was damaging. 354 00:20:08,119 --> 00:20:12,000 Speaker 1: From a neurology perspective, Downs was right. Her naysayers were 355 00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:16,480 Speaker 1: wrong that that just refusing to fit children with hearing 356 00:20:16,520 --> 00:20:19,080 Speaker 1: aids meant that the people who were hard of hearing 357 00:20:19,840 --> 00:20:22,520 Speaker 1: and with a little support could learn to, you know, 358 00:20:22,600 --> 00:20:25,640 Speaker 1: listen and speak, like just denying that brain development time 359 00:20:25,720 --> 00:20:28,360 Speaker 1: for a couple of years meant that the brain development 360 00:20:28,480 --> 00:20:32,000 Speaker 1: wasn't happening at all. In nineteen sixty three, Down started 361 00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:37,280 Speaker 1: the first systematic infant hearing screening program in Denver, Colorado. Today, 362 00:20:38,280 --> 00:20:41,080 Speaker 1: percent of children born at hospitals and birthing centers in 363 00:20:41,119 --> 00:20:44,159 Speaker 1: the United States have their hearing tested as soon as 364 00:20:44,200 --> 00:20:47,720 Speaker 1: they are born, maybe not literally the delivery room, but 365 00:20:47,800 --> 00:20:50,879 Speaker 1: before they leave the hospital or birthing center, they have 366 00:20:50,920 --> 00:20:53,800 Speaker 1: a screening. So these tests, of course, are very different 367 00:20:53,840 --> 00:20:56,359 Speaker 1: today than they were in the sixties. When Downs was 368 00:20:56,400 --> 00:20:59,199 Speaker 1: creating her testing protocol, she was using a device to 369 00:20:59,240 --> 00:21:03,200 Speaker 1: play specific sounds and then observing babies responses to them. 370 00:21:03,280 --> 00:21:05,280 Speaker 1: So some of the cues that she was looking for 371 00:21:05,480 --> 00:21:08,600 Speaker 1: could be really subtle, especially in newborns. There were things 372 00:21:08,640 --> 00:21:12,080 Speaker 1: like blinking or widening, their eyes are moving a little bit, 373 00:21:12,359 --> 00:21:15,320 Speaker 1: so you have to be really good at observation. Today, 374 00:21:15,400 --> 00:21:17,919 Speaker 1: the screening is usually use a device that plays a 375 00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:22,480 Speaker 1: tone into the ear and then measures basically the echo 376 00:21:22,600 --> 00:21:25,040 Speaker 1: from the inner ear. That's a bit of a simplification, 377 00:21:25,080 --> 00:21:28,360 Speaker 1: but it's an analogy. Another test which is often done 378 00:21:28,400 --> 00:21:31,240 Speaker 1: if that first one UH suggests that the child might 379 00:21:31,280 --> 00:21:34,760 Speaker 1: have hearing loss, that one measures like the actual brain 380 00:21:34,840 --> 00:21:38,840 Speaker 1: stem response to sounds using little sort of electrode attachments. 381 00:21:39,040 --> 00:21:41,960 Speaker 1: And today there's also some debate about what the best 382 00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:44,960 Speaker 1: strategy should be for deaf and heart of hearing babies, 383 00:21:45,600 --> 00:21:47,640 Speaker 1: But at this point there is a lot of evidence 384 00:21:47,680 --> 00:21:49,600 Speaker 1: backing up the fact that there needs to be some 385 00:21:49,680 --> 00:21:53,080 Speaker 1: kind of strategy. Children who don't begin to learn language 386 00:21:53,080 --> 00:21:55,080 Speaker 1: in their first months of life really miss out on 387 00:21:55,119 --> 00:21:58,440 Speaker 1: critical brain development and the effects of that missing space 388 00:21:58,720 --> 00:22:03,040 Speaker 1: are lifelong. Yeah, there's a whole a hole at this 389 00:22:03,119 --> 00:22:06,800 Speaker 1: point body of research about everything from you know, the 390 00:22:06,840 --> 00:22:10,760 Speaker 1: ability to comprehend language to be able to express themselves, 391 00:22:10,800 --> 00:22:14,159 Speaker 1: to children who don't begin to learn some sort of language, 392 00:22:14,160 --> 00:22:17,600 Speaker 1: either verbal or nonverbal, having trouble reading and not being 393 00:22:17,600 --> 00:22:20,199 Speaker 1: able to to read well. For basically the rest of 394 00:22:20,200 --> 00:22:23,240 Speaker 1: their life. So in addition to her work as a doctor, 395 00:22:23,560 --> 00:22:26,560 Speaker 1: Downs was also a teacher. She published nearly a hundred 396 00:22:26,600 --> 00:22:29,919 Speaker 1: books and articles on audiology during her career. Towards the 397 00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:32,199 Speaker 1: end of her life, she also wrote shut Up and 398 00:22:32,280 --> 00:22:34,959 Speaker 1: Live You know How, a ninety three year old skuide 399 00:22:35,000 --> 00:22:37,880 Speaker 1: to living to her rifled age. I kind of want 400 00:22:37,880 --> 00:22:42,359 Speaker 1: to read it now. Uh. Downs died on November at 401 00:22:42,400 --> 00:22:44,879 Speaker 1: the age of one hundred, having made a lot of 402 00:22:44,920 --> 00:22:48,080 Speaker 1: advances in the world of audiology while also surviving a 403 00:22:48,080 --> 00:22:51,919 Speaker 1: plane crash, traveling all over the world, playing tennis, skiing, 404 00:22:52,040 --> 00:22:55,080 Speaker 1: and narrowly avoiding being blown up by a grenade during 405 00:22:55,119 --> 00:22:58,080 Speaker 1: the Vietnam War. It is clear that she was both 406 00:22:58,080 --> 00:23:01,600 Speaker 1: a medical trailblazer and a character or and somebody that 407 00:23:01,720 --> 00:23:04,600 Speaker 1: chooses her life course based on the like for it. 408 00:23:05,200 --> 00:23:08,280 Speaker 1: But there's more medical than personal information available about her 409 00:23:08,320 --> 00:23:11,280 Speaker 1: at this point. So maybe someday someone will write her 410 00:23:11,280 --> 00:23:14,800 Speaker 1: biography and we would certainly read that book as well. Ye, 411 00:23:15,280 --> 00:23:17,840 Speaker 1: We're gonna take another quick sponsor break before we talk 412 00:23:17,840 --> 00:23:26,640 Speaker 1: about our last two impossible episodes. For our last two segments, 413 00:23:26,640 --> 00:23:28,560 Speaker 1: we're going to start with one that came in as 414 00:23:28,560 --> 00:23:31,240 Speaker 1: either a post or a comment on our Facebook page, 415 00:23:31,280 --> 00:23:34,600 Speaker 1: and I didn't immediately write down who said it, which 416 00:23:34,680 --> 00:23:39,720 Speaker 1: sadly means that's now lost forever. Facebook comments and posts 417 00:23:39,720 --> 00:23:42,119 Speaker 1: are the hardest things to try to track down later on. 418 00:23:42,640 --> 00:23:47,680 Speaker 1: So thank you whoever asked us to talk about Lena Himmelstein, 419 00:23:47,920 --> 00:23:51,040 Speaker 1: who was the founder of Lane Bryant. Himmelstein was born 420 00:23:51,119 --> 00:23:55,760 Speaker 1: in a stettle in Lithuania. Her parents died when she 421 00:23:55,840 --> 00:23:58,919 Speaker 1: was young, and she was raised by her grandparents. She 422 00:23:59,040 --> 00:24:01,600 Speaker 1: immigrated to the and In States when she was sixteen, 423 00:24:01,760 --> 00:24:04,640 Speaker 1: joining her older sister Anna, and the two of them 424 00:24:04,680 --> 00:24:08,679 Speaker 1: worked in a sweatshop. Haimilstein married a jeweler named David 425 00:24:08,680 --> 00:24:12,640 Speaker 1: Bryant in They had a son together, who they named Rafael, 426 00:24:13,160 --> 00:24:17,199 Speaker 1: but David died not long after Rafael's birth. Widowed and 427 00:24:17,240 --> 00:24:20,680 Speaker 1: without a source of income, Hamilstein returned to sewing, this 428 00:24:20,760 --> 00:24:23,960 Speaker 1: time opening a dress shop where she focused on making 429 00:24:24,040 --> 00:24:29,200 Speaker 1: expensive dresses and lingerie, which were euphemistically called bridal sets. 430 00:24:29,720 --> 00:24:34,080 Speaker 1: In seven a customer asked her to design a maternity dress, 431 00:24:34,320 --> 00:24:37,080 Speaker 1: and this was at the time a new concept in 432 00:24:37,119 --> 00:24:41,679 Speaker 1: American fashion. People generally wore their regular clothes during pregnancy, 433 00:24:41,880 --> 00:24:44,680 Speaker 1: letting out the seams or adding extra material to make 434 00:24:44,720 --> 00:24:47,720 Speaker 1: more room because they're belly swelled and they needed different 435 00:24:47,720 --> 00:24:52,560 Speaker 1: garments fits During very advanced pregnancy. When this was not practical, 436 00:24:52,680 --> 00:24:55,760 Speaker 1: people who could afford to typically just stayed at home. 437 00:24:56,600 --> 00:24:58,520 Speaker 1: But a lot of people couldn't afford to just stay 438 00:24:58,600 --> 00:25:01,760 Speaker 1: home while pregnant, and there was this huge unmet need 439 00:25:01,800 --> 00:25:05,959 Speaker 1: for a practical, modest, comfortable maternity garment that was appropriate 440 00:25:06,040 --> 00:25:09,439 Speaker 1: to be warned to work. So Haimilstein's first design was 441 00:25:09,480 --> 00:25:12,639 Speaker 1: a simple adjustable dress that used pleats and elastic to 442 00:25:12,760 --> 00:25:17,400 Speaker 1: expand as needed, and it was an immediate success. When 443 00:25:17,440 --> 00:25:20,760 Speaker 1: she realized how much demand there was for maturity clothing, 444 00:25:20,880 --> 00:25:24,600 Speaker 1: Haimilstein branched out into more designs, using elastic and flared 445 00:25:24,600 --> 00:25:27,879 Speaker 1: skirts and draw strings, sashes and ties to try to 446 00:25:27,920 --> 00:25:32,560 Speaker 1: fashion dresses that were comfortable, expandable, and often also concealing. 447 00:25:33,200 --> 00:25:35,920 Speaker 1: Many of them were designed to still be wearable, sometimes 448 00:25:35,920 --> 00:25:38,480 Speaker 1: with a little bit of alteration after the baby was born. 449 00:25:39,080 --> 00:25:42,200 Speaker 1: This concealment of pregnancy was actually a really big deal. 450 00:25:42,720 --> 00:25:45,920 Speaker 1: In the first decades of Himilstein's business, people who could 451 00:25:45,960 --> 00:25:49,520 Speaker 1: afford it replaced their regular coursets with maternity coursets which 452 00:25:49,560 --> 00:25:52,800 Speaker 1: were designed to both support the figure and conceal the 453 00:25:52,840 --> 00:25:55,800 Speaker 1: appearance of pregnancy, and you can actually buy these at 454 00:25:55,800 --> 00:25:59,600 Speaker 1: a number of retailers, including Lane Bryant. As I was 455 00:25:59,600 --> 00:26:02,520 Speaker 1: looking to see if I can find a picture of her, 456 00:26:02,920 --> 00:26:05,680 Speaker 1: or like a good historical picture of a of an 457 00:26:05,680 --> 00:26:08,600 Speaker 1: old storefront or something, I kept finding all of these 458 00:26:08,640 --> 00:26:11,919 Speaker 1: maternity corset ads and they were all on scans of 459 00:26:11,960 --> 00:26:14,280 Speaker 1: newspaper pages, and there would be three or four other 460 00:26:14,359 --> 00:26:17,600 Speaker 1: maternity corset ads right around there. So maternity course it's 461 00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:23,200 Speaker 1: hot item at the time. In two Himilstein remarried Lithuanian 462 00:26:23,240 --> 00:26:27,919 Speaker 1: American mechanical engineer Albert Malson. They eventually had three children together. 463 00:26:28,440 --> 00:26:31,359 Speaker 1: Milson started working on the financial and logistical side of 464 00:26:31,400 --> 00:26:35,119 Speaker 1: the business, helping it to expand, and the business incorporated 465 00:26:35,200 --> 00:26:39,000 Speaker 1: as Lane Bryant Incorporated in nineteen sixteen, when she had 466 00:26:39,080 --> 00:26:42,000 Speaker 1: opened her first bank account for the business. Back in 467 00:26:42,040 --> 00:26:45,400 Speaker 1: those earlier days of that first dress shop, her name 468 00:26:45,480 --> 00:26:49,160 Speaker 1: had been Lena Bryant, but the bank misspelled it as 469 00:26:49,320 --> 00:26:51,960 Speaker 1: Lane and the name just stuck. So was she going 470 00:26:52,000 --> 00:26:55,440 Speaker 1: by that name? Nope, Nope, I don't think she personally 471 00:26:55,480 --> 00:26:58,040 Speaker 1: was going by the name, but it was just the 472 00:26:58,119 --> 00:27:01,000 Speaker 1: business name. But yeah that when the bank misspelled it 473 00:27:01,080 --> 00:27:05,840 Speaker 1: on her her business account, that definitely stuck for the 474 00:27:05,840 --> 00:27:10,120 Speaker 1: business name Gotcha. Sales grew rapidly, from fifty thousand dollars 475 00:27:10,160 --> 00:27:14,280 Speaker 1: to five million dollars between nineteen o nine and ninety three. 476 00:27:15,240 --> 00:27:18,560 Speaker 1: In nineteen seventeen, she also branched out from Eternity, where 477 00:27:18,680 --> 00:27:22,360 Speaker 1: in two plus sized clothing, this time after having measured 478 00:27:22,400 --> 00:27:25,240 Speaker 1: thousands of women and found that they all generally fit 479 00:27:25,280 --> 00:27:28,480 Speaker 1: into one of three body types, so she made clothing 480 00:27:28,560 --> 00:27:32,000 Speaker 1: in larger sizes for each of those types. By nineteen 481 00:27:32,040 --> 00:27:34,960 Speaker 1: sixty nine, lane Bryant had more than a hundred stores, 482 00:27:35,320 --> 00:27:37,880 Speaker 1: and this was in spite of cultural taboos that had 483 00:27:37,880 --> 00:27:41,399 Speaker 1: prevented Hamilstein herself from being able to advertise in the 484 00:27:41,440 --> 00:27:45,040 Speaker 1: earliest years of the business. Most of her early advertising 485 00:27:45,119 --> 00:27:46,960 Speaker 1: was done through word of mouth, and most of her 486 00:27:47,000 --> 00:27:51,440 Speaker 1: sales came from mail order catalogs. Even so, for decades, 487 00:27:51,560 --> 00:27:55,120 Speaker 1: most of the women in lane Bryant's advertisements were very slender. 488 00:27:55,600 --> 00:27:59,320 Speaker 1: None of them were visibly pregnant. They were basically like 489 00:28:00,440 --> 00:28:03,800 Speaker 1: people like like women in little little dresses with little 490 00:28:03,840 --> 00:28:07,000 Speaker 1: tiny waists, being like yes, you can expand the stress 491 00:28:07,080 --> 00:28:10,640 Speaker 1: quite a lot. Well, and that's one of those things 492 00:28:10,640 --> 00:28:13,199 Speaker 1: that's even carried through into the modern era. Only in 493 00:28:13,280 --> 00:28:17,160 Speaker 1: the fairly recent era in plus sized catalogs have models 494 00:28:17,200 --> 00:28:22,040 Speaker 1: been anything over like a twelve. So it's changing now, 495 00:28:22,119 --> 00:28:29,000 Speaker 1: but slowly, but but happening. Yes. In addition to designing 496 00:28:29,040 --> 00:28:32,200 Speaker 1: and selling clothing for populations that were not really being 497 00:28:32,240 --> 00:28:35,879 Speaker 1: served by the fashion industry, Lena Hamilstein was also on 498 00:28:35,920 --> 00:28:40,000 Speaker 1: the forefront of labor rights for retail employees. During her 499 00:28:40,040 --> 00:28:43,960 Speaker 1: time at the company's helm, employees received reimbursements for medical care, 500 00:28:44,360 --> 00:28:49,120 Speaker 1: along with pensions, life insurance, disability coverage, and profit sharing. 501 00:28:49,800 --> 00:28:52,920 Speaker 1: She was also a philanthropist, donating to the Hebrew Immigrant 502 00:28:52,960 --> 00:28:56,360 Speaker 1: Aid Society and the New York Federation of Jewish Philanthropies, 503 00:28:56,640 --> 00:29:01,120 Speaker 1: among others. Hamilstein died on September nineteen fifty one, at 504 00:29:01,160 --> 00:29:04,080 Speaker 1: which point Lane Bryant was the largest plus sized clothing 505 00:29:04,120 --> 00:29:08,200 Speaker 1: retailer in the United States. And in today's running theme, 506 00:29:08,240 --> 00:29:11,960 Speaker 1: if someone wrote a full biography of Lena Haimilstein, I 507 00:29:12,000 --> 00:29:15,600 Speaker 1: would read that for sure. Uh, and now once again 508 00:29:15,640 --> 00:29:18,600 Speaker 1: another gear change. Uh. We're gonna go out on a 509 00:29:18,680 --> 00:29:21,200 Speaker 1: much later note. Courtesy of our listener Mike, and that 510 00:29:21,360 --> 00:29:24,800 Speaker 1: is the Great Wyndham Frog Fight of seventeen fifty four. 511 00:29:25,400 --> 00:29:29,000 Speaker 1: At least it's lighter if you're not especially uh soft 512 00:29:29,080 --> 00:29:32,080 Speaker 1: on frogs or really love okay, if you if you 513 00:29:32,160 --> 00:29:34,400 Speaker 1: like frogs a lot, or just animals in general. Not 514 00:29:34,480 --> 00:29:37,760 Speaker 1: so much of a lighter story. But it is really weird. 515 00:29:38,200 --> 00:29:41,880 Speaker 1: So things weren't going too well in Wyndham, Connecticut in 516 00:29:41,920 --> 00:29:44,719 Speaker 1: the summer of seventeen fifty four. The French and Indian 517 00:29:44,720 --> 00:29:47,360 Speaker 1: War has started that May, and the region had also 518 00:29:47,440 --> 00:29:51,400 Speaker 1: been beset by rout and then on one particularly muggy 519 00:29:51,480 --> 00:29:55,320 Speaker 1: night in June, I did not find anywhere that specified 520 00:29:55,360 --> 00:30:00,640 Speaker 1: what night in June specifically, residents were arra find out 521 00:30:00,720 --> 00:30:05,680 Speaker 1: of their beds by a horrible, inexplicable cacophony. People heard 522 00:30:05,720 --> 00:30:08,920 Speaker 1: all kinds of shouts among the clamor and they sounded 523 00:30:08,960 --> 00:30:12,400 Speaker 1: like calls for rum or gin, or the names of 524 00:30:12,400 --> 00:30:16,400 Speaker 1: the town's militia leaders, or the names of the people listening, 525 00:30:17,120 --> 00:30:20,560 Speaker 1: or war cries from an invading army, or the trumpets 526 00:30:20,560 --> 00:30:24,760 Speaker 1: on Judgment Day. Sometimes people call it the frog Fright 527 00:30:25,080 --> 00:30:27,440 Speaker 1: because it was so very frightening. There was just so 528 00:30:27,560 --> 00:30:30,640 Speaker 1: much noise. Some of the local militia did take up 529 00:30:30,760 --> 00:30:33,880 Speaker 1: arms and fire into the darkness, but that had little effect. 530 00:30:34,280 --> 00:30:37,840 Speaker 1: By morning, though the sound had died down. After dawn, 531 00:30:38,120 --> 00:30:41,600 Speaker 1: the residents of Wyndham left their homes to find hundreds 532 00:30:41,640 --> 00:30:44,959 Speaker 1: of bull frogs belly up all over the place, and 533 00:30:45,000 --> 00:30:47,720 Speaker 1: they eventually concluded that they had been fighting over the 534 00:30:47,800 --> 00:30:50,959 Speaker 1: last remnant of water in a nearly dry pond, and 535 00:30:51,000 --> 00:30:54,040 Speaker 1: that those frogs fighting had caused all of this noise. 536 00:30:54,800 --> 00:30:59,640 Speaker 1: We're also taking with a grain of salt how many 537 00:30:59,680 --> 00:31:04,520 Speaker 1: frog they're really were, because we only have the accounts 538 00:31:04,520 --> 00:31:09,000 Speaker 1: of people who were frightened out of their wits. Uh 539 00:31:09,080 --> 00:31:13,680 Speaker 1: So this became a weirdly popular story. In the eighteenth century. 540 00:31:14,520 --> 00:31:17,080 Speaker 1: The town put a frog on its official seal. There 541 00:31:17,120 --> 00:31:20,080 Speaker 1: were poems and ballads and even an operetta written about it. 542 00:31:20,440 --> 00:31:24,120 Speaker 1: The Windham Bank even issued money with a pair of frogs, 543 00:31:24,560 --> 00:31:27,200 Speaker 1: one living in one dead, with the living one kind 544 00:31:27,240 --> 00:31:30,960 Speaker 1: of like lording over the dead one in a position 545 00:31:30,960 --> 00:31:34,880 Speaker 1: of victory in the lower right corner. Today Wyndham is 546 00:31:34,920 --> 00:31:38,440 Speaker 1: known as Willomantic, and there's a bridge over the Willomantic 547 00:31:38,560 --> 00:31:43,040 Speaker 1: River has giant bronze frog sculptures on it. So that's 548 00:31:43,080 --> 00:31:49,800 Speaker 1: basically the whole story why that's why we're not doing 549 00:31:49,800 --> 00:31:52,200 Speaker 1: a whole episode on it. It's very weird, but there 550 00:31:52,240 --> 00:31:55,160 Speaker 1: there's just not not a lot more there. I like 551 00:31:55,240 --> 00:31:57,960 Speaker 1: how it's like the frog spooked us real bad and 552 00:31:58,000 --> 00:32:06,840 Speaker 1: now it's our town identity. Exactly what happened? Do you 553 00:32:06,920 --> 00:32:10,760 Speaker 1: have some listener mails? Sure you? Uh? And this is 554 00:32:10,880 --> 00:32:13,680 Speaker 1: from Kara and it goes back all the way back 555 00:32:13,720 --> 00:32:18,360 Speaker 1: to our Her Nana's Versus Texas episode which was earlier 556 00:32:18,480 --> 00:32:21,959 Speaker 1: this fall, and Kara says, Hi, Holly and Tracy, I 557 00:32:22,000 --> 00:32:23,840 Speaker 1: love the show. I listened on my way to work, 558 00:32:24,080 --> 00:32:25,840 Speaker 1: and I love finding out new and interesting things on 559 00:32:25,920 --> 00:32:28,720 Speaker 1: my commute. I had honestly thought I would never have 560 00:32:28,760 --> 00:32:31,280 Speaker 1: a reason to write in about an episode because I 561 00:32:31,320 --> 00:32:34,320 Speaker 1: thought that my life and experience did not particularly intersect 562 00:32:34,360 --> 00:32:36,400 Speaker 1: with history. But then I heard your episode on Her 563 00:32:36,440 --> 00:32:40,120 Speaker 1: Nanda's Versus Texas. I was delighted to hear a brief 564 00:32:40,160 --> 00:32:43,640 Speaker 1: reference to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. I'm a lawyer, 565 00:32:43,720 --> 00:32:46,800 Speaker 1: and after graduating from law school, I clerked for a 566 00:32:46,880 --> 00:32:50,560 Speaker 1: judge on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. A clerkship 567 00:32:50,640 --> 00:32:53,280 Speaker 1: is a one or two year position where a generally 568 00:32:53,400 --> 00:32:57,800 Speaker 1: newly graduated lawyer assists a judge by reviewing petitions, doing research, 569 00:32:57,880 --> 00:33:00,360 Speaker 1: advising the judge, and helping to draft a pit unions. 570 00:33:00,720 --> 00:33:03,360 Speaker 1: My time with this little known court was very interesting 571 00:33:03,440 --> 00:33:06,160 Speaker 1: and I'm so glad for the experience. I still fondly 572 00:33:06,200 --> 00:33:08,560 Speaker 1: remember eating my lunch on a bench outside the Texas 573 00:33:08,600 --> 00:33:11,440 Speaker 1: State Capital nearly every day when looking at the beautiful 574 00:33:11,440 --> 00:33:14,600 Speaker 1: flowers that are planted there. Here's a bit of legal trivia. 575 00:33:14,840 --> 00:33:17,320 Speaker 1: The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals is one of only 576 00:33:17,360 --> 00:33:21,720 Speaker 1: two high courts that exclusively here's criminal cases in Texas. 577 00:33:21,760 --> 00:33:24,600 Speaker 1: The Texas Supreme Court Here's only civil that is, non 578 00:33:24,640 --> 00:33:28,200 Speaker 1: criminal cases, while the Court of Criminal Appeals is at 579 00:33:28,240 --> 00:33:30,960 Speaker 1: the same level as the Texas Supreme Court, Here's only 580 00:33:30,960 --> 00:33:35,280 Speaker 1: criminal cases. This explains why Hernandez appealed directly from the 581 00:33:35,360 --> 00:33:38,080 Speaker 1: c c A to the U. S. Supreme Court and 582 00:33:38,120 --> 00:33:41,320 Speaker 1: did not go to the Texas Supreme Court. Uh. And 583 00:33:41,360 --> 00:33:44,000 Speaker 1: then it follows with a plug for an episode idea 584 00:33:44,520 --> 00:33:47,360 Speaker 1: and then kerasas thanks for all you do, Kara, Thank 585 00:33:47,400 --> 00:33:50,400 Speaker 1: you so much. Kara. I am so glad that uh 586 00:33:50,480 --> 00:33:54,040 Speaker 1: that we had got this email, because I was actually 587 00:33:54,080 --> 00:33:58,880 Speaker 1: curious about why the case had gone from the Texas 588 00:33:58,960 --> 00:34:01,960 Speaker 1: Court of Criminal Appeal, which just by its name suggests 589 00:34:02,720 --> 00:34:05,040 Speaker 1: that it is an appeals court that would probably be 590 00:34:05,480 --> 00:34:08,680 Speaker 1: like a rung below a Supreme court. Um why I 591 00:34:08,719 --> 00:34:11,360 Speaker 1: had gone directly from that to the U. S. Supreme Court. 592 00:34:11,719 --> 00:34:14,839 Speaker 1: So I was very glad to learn that reason, which 593 00:34:14,880 --> 00:34:17,160 Speaker 1: is one of those like details that I did not 594 00:34:17,320 --> 00:34:19,200 Speaker 1: look up at the time because it was not completely 595 00:34:19,239 --> 00:34:20,759 Speaker 1: pertinent to what we're talking about. So thank you so 596 00:34:20,880 --> 00:34:24,560 Speaker 1: much Kieff for writing in. Also feel free to write 597 00:34:24,560 --> 00:34:28,520 Speaker 1: in just to say hello. We love those emails too. Yes, indeed, 598 00:34:29,080 --> 00:34:30,880 Speaker 1: if you would like to write to us about this 599 00:34:30,960 --> 00:34:33,520 Speaker 1: or any other podcast where History podcast at how stuff 600 00:34:33,520 --> 00:34:38,080 Speaker 1: works dot com. We're also on Facebook and uh, Twitter 601 00:34:38,600 --> 00:34:42,160 Speaker 1: and Pinterest and Instagram, all of those at Missed in 602 00:34:42,320 --> 00:34:45,080 Speaker 1: History is our name there, UH you can come to 603 00:34:45,120 --> 00:34:47,360 Speaker 1: our website, which is missed in History dot com and 604 00:34:47,400 --> 00:34:49,400 Speaker 1: you will find the show notes to all the episodes 605 00:34:49,480 --> 00:34:51,960 Speaker 1: that Holly and I have done together in a searchable 606 00:34:52,040 --> 00:34:54,719 Speaker 1: archive of all the episodes. Ever, so come and see 607 00:34:54,760 --> 00:35:01,840 Speaker 1: us at missed History dot com. For more on this 608 00:35:02,000 --> 00:35:13,360 Speaker 1: and thousands of other topics, visit how stop works dot com.