1 00:00:00,520 --> 00:00:27,680 Speaker 1: Ridiculous History is a production of I Heart Radio. Welcome 2 00:00:27,720 --> 00:00:31,080 Speaker 1: back to the show Ridiculous Historians. As always, thank you 3 00:00:31,240 --> 00:00:36,360 Speaker 1: so much for tuning in today. Uh. This this is 4 00:00:36,560 --> 00:00:39,200 Speaker 1: a weird one and it's it's gonna go a lot 5 00:00:39,240 --> 00:00:43,160 Speaker 1: of places. No, but it's gonna start with fun fact. 6 00:00:43,240 --> 00:00:46,680 Speaker 1: One of the very few animals on this planet that 7 00:00:46,800 --> 00:00:49,040 Speaker 1: I actually don't care for. You know, I'm a real 8 00:00:49,400 --> 00:00:51,720 Speaker 1: I'm a real softy when it comes to animals in general. 9 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:53,920 Speaker 1: I know you're a real animal lover band and my 10 00:00:54,000 --> 00:00:56,680 Speaker 1: name is Nol and I'm a I'm an animal liker. 11 00:00:57,200 --> 00:00:58,640 Speaker 1: I don't have a lover and I know that in 12 00:00:58,680 --> 00:01:01,240 Speaker 1: your book that would probably make me something of a sociopath. 13 00:01:01,480 --> 00:01:04,240 Speaker 1: But I promise I'm a nice person. I do like animals. 14 00:01:04,240 --> 00:01:07,119 Speaker 1: I just you know, there's something I could take her leave. Well, 15 00:01:07,560 --> 00:01:11,160 Speaker 1: you know, we can agree on the subject of today's 16 00:01:11,280 --> 00:01:15,119 Speaker 1: episode for sure, I mean the best of us. Uh. 17 00:01:15,200 --> 00:01:21,920 Speaker 1: Super producer Casey Pegram probably doesn't even like these animals. 18 00:01:22,400 --> 00:01:25,199 Speaker 1: He's on Adventures, so he might not have a comment today. 19 00:01:25,200 --> 00:01:27,560 Speaker 1: But I think it's safe for us to say that 20 00:01:28,440 --> 00:01:33,280 Speaker 1: all three of us are fairly anti fleet. The three Yeah, yeah, 21 00:01:33,440 --> 00:01:37,520 Speaker 1: the three of us, me, you, and super producer Casey Pegram. 22 00:01:37,560 --> 00:01:42,120 Speaker 1: That's right. But but to bury the lead here, we 23 00:01:42,160 --> 00:01:45,760 Speaker 1: have a fourth today. Well, actually it's it's a it's 24 00:01:45,760 --> 00:01:48,520 Speaker 1: a third because case he's on adventures. So, uh, we've 25 00:01:48,520 --> 00:01:52,320 Speaker 1: been teasing this for an age, but we're finally making 26 00:01:52,360 --> 00:01:55,840 Speaker 1: good on our promise to bring back to ridiculous history. 27 00:01:56,120 --> 00:02:05,720 Speaker 1: I present to you. Oh hey, thanks guys, very very nice. 28 00:02:05,760 --> 00:02:08,440 Speaker 1: Welcome back. I feel I feel good to be here. 29 00:02:08,600 --> 00:02:11,640 Speaker 1: I know last time we we chatted about cats for 30 00:02:11,680 --> 00:02:15,320 Speaker 1: a good long while, so it's only fitting I think that, uh, 31 00:02:15,440 --> 00:02:18,720 Speaker 1: we talked about another kind of animal often associated with 32 00:02:18,760 --> 00:02:21,640 Speaker 1: cats today. Oh that's right. It didn't even occur to me. 33 00:02:21,680 --> 00:02:24,760 Speaker 1: I mean, it couldn't be a more like polar opposite 34 00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:27,320 Speaker 1: in terms of I don't know, maybe there's similarities. Uh, 35 00:02:27,560 --> 00:02:30,680 Speaker 1: you know, cats can be a little aloof and perhaps 36 00:02:30,800 --> 00:02:34,000 Speaker 1: there's some aloof fleas out there. I don't know. Man, 37 00:02:34,240 --> 00:02:39,160 Speaker 1: fleas are pretty extroverted. They're like they're they're all about it. Uh. 38 00:02:39,200 --> 00:02:43,440 Speaker 1: I hate them, but I'm fascinated by their abilities. If 39 00:02:43,440 --> 00:02:46,920 Speaker 1: they were person size, and you know, the environment was such, 40 00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:49,480 Speaker 1: the animals with their kind of carapists could survive at 41 00:02:49,480 --> 00:02:52,360 Speaker 1: that size, they would be a world ending threat. And 42 00:02:52,400 --> 00:02:54,200 Speaker 1: how do they hop like that? How do they hop? 43 00:02:54,720 --> 00:02:57,919 Speaker 1: It's those legs, man, it's those uh, those powerful back legs. 44 00:02:57,960 --> 00:03:00,960 Speaker 1: But I think they're so tiny, look little they look 45 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:03,600 Speaker 1: so I mean again, not that I've ever actually examined 46 00:03:03,600 --> 00:03:07,280 Speaker 1: a flee up close. Um, they really just look like 47 00:03:07,320 --> 00:03:09,360 Speaker 1: little specs when you look at them with the naked eye. 48 00:03:09,600 --> 00:03:14,600 Speaker 1: But contained within those little black specs are multitudes. This 49 00:03:14,639 --> 00:03:17,280 Speaker 1: is interesting. So gave one approach I thought would be 50 00:03:17,560 --> 00:03:22,280 Speaker 1: illuminating today. Uh, would be for maybe you to tell 51 00:03:22,360 --> 00:03:25,480 Speaker 1: us a little bit about what inspired you to go 52 00:03:25,600 --> 00:03:27,760 Speaker 1: down this let's not call the rabbit hole, Let's call 53 00:03:27,840 --> 00:03:31,000 Speaker 1: it this, this flee hole. What what brought you into 54 00:03:31,080 --> 00:03:36,000 Speaker 1: this uh strange circus of obscure research. Yeah, that's actually 55 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:41,080 Speaker 1: an easy answer. It is Jurassic Park. Um. That's uh 56 00:03:41,200 --> 00:03:44,560 Speaker 1: the first movie I actually have any memory of watching 57 00:03:44,680 --> 00:03:47,560 Speaker 1: as a kid, and I returned to it pretty frequently 58 00:03:47,600 --> 00:03:50,080 Speaker 1: because it's a great movie and um, one of the 59 00:03:50,120 --> 00:03:52,240 Speaker 1: scenes that always stuck with me it was my you know, 60 00:03:52,280 --> 00:03:54,240 Speaker 1: that movie was my first introduction to a lot of 61 00:03:54,240 --> 00:03:59,960 Speaker 1: things dinosaurs, theme parks, uh, shirtless Jeff Goldbloom and also 62 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:03,040 Speaker 1: flee circuses. Um, if you recalled, there's that scene towards 63 00:04:03,040 --> 00:04:05,840 Speaker 1: the end of the movie where John Hammond, the creator 64 00:04:05,880 --> 00:04:09,680 Speaker 1: of Jurassic Park Wax, is philosophical about one of his 65 00:04:09,760 --> 00:04:14,080 Speaker 1: older careers how he started out in the entertainment business. Uh, 66 00:04:14,120 --> 00:04:16,080 Speaker 1: And it was with a flee circus, and that was 67 00:04:16,120 --> 00:04:18,360 Speaker 1: the first time I had ever heard of such a thing. 68 00:04:18,880 --> 00:04:21,280 Speaker 1: They really colored the way I looked at it. From 69 00:04:21,320 --> 00:04:24,719 Speaker 1: then on, I assumed, like if you'll remember, his circus 70 00:04:24,800 --> 00:04:27,520 Speaker 1: was a mechanical one, right, Like all of the attractions 71 00:04:28,160 --> 00:04:30,880 Speaker 1: were run by gears and switches and that kind of thing. 72 00:04:30,880 --> 00:04:34,520 Speaker 1: And there were actually no fleas featured. That colored my 73 00:04:34,600 --> 00:04:37,919 Speaker 1: way of looking at flee circuses. Uh pretty much up 74 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:41,160 Speaker 1: until about a week ago, I guess. Um, I assumed 75 00:04:41,200 --> 00:04:44,680 Speaker 1: they were all fake and I gotta do it. Though. 76 00:04:44,800 --> 00:04:53,720 Speaker 1: As John Hammond would have say, was we flease on trapeze, Yes, exactly, 77 00:04:54,200 --> 00:04:57,880 Speaker 1: that's exactly right. We flease on trapeze so good. He 78 00:04:58,040 --> 00:05:01,760 Speaker 1: really nailed it, that cadence I of his lilting delivery. 79 00:05:01,800 --> 00:05:04,400 Speaker 1: But fun fact, I didn't know this until recently. And 80 00:05:04,440 --> 00:05:07,440 Speaker 1: I'm sure many people are gonna just say, like donel uh, 81 00:05:07,480 --> 00:05:12,520 Speaker 1: the actor that played John Hammond is David Attenborough's brother. Yeah, 82 00:05:12,560 --> 00:05:15,320 Speaker 1: that's right. I actually I included a link in our 83 00:05:15,360 --> 00:05:19,400 Speaker 1: our research doc about with Um atton Borough talking about 84 00:05:19,400 --> 00:05:21,560 Speaker 1: flee circuses. He's he's got one in front of him. 85 00:05:21,960 --> 00:05:26,000 Speaker 1: So I always thought when when I thought of flee circuses, 86 00:05:26,200 --> 00:05:32,719 Speaker 1: I perhaps unfairly, well definitely unfairly relegated them to the 87 00:05:32,720 --> 00:05:37,280 Speaker 1: world of of novelty tents in the circus, you know, 88 00:05:37,360 --> 00:05:43,320 Speaker 1: the stuff on the periphery, like Okay, sorry, Johnny, we 89 00:05:43,600 --> 00:05:45,919 Speaker 1: uh we got here too late to see the lion 90 00:05:46,000 --> 00:05:50,000 Speaker 1: tamer and the elephants. But there I can technically tell 91 00:05:50,080 --> 00:05:52,480 Speaker 1: your mother that I did take you to see some animals. 92 00:05:52,520 --> 00:05:55,120 Speaker 1: Come with me to the little tent. Yeah. It's like 93 00:05:55,120 --> 00:05:59,560 Speaker 1: a C tier attraction, right and yeah, um yeah, that's 94 00:05:59,600 --> 00:06:01,679 Speaker 1: kind of how I looked at it too, especially since 95 00:06:01,760 --> 00:06:03,640 Speaker 1: you know, in my mind it was all fake. But 96 00:06:04,920 --> 00:06:08,159 Speaker 1: what I found out in researching for this episode is 97 00:06:08,200 --> 00:06:11,720 Speaker 1: that it wasn't always like that. Back in the original 98 00:06:11,800 --> 00:06:16,560 Speaker 1: days of flea circuses, there were actual, real live fleas 99 00:06:16,640 --> 00:06:21,400 Speaker 1: um performing. There was no mechanical allusion to it, so 100 00:06:21,480 --> 00:06:29,599 Speaker 1: fleas can be trained. Was that what you're saying, Uh, yeah, 101 00:06:29,640 --> 00:06:33,560 Speaker 1: all right, okay, so so some some hucksterism involved on 102 00:06:33,680 --> 00:06:38,080 Speaker 1: in both genre definitely. Yeah. Well, one thing that was 103 00:06:38,240 --> 00:06:41,760 Speaker 1: interesting to me, uh that was fascinated to find out 104 00:06:42,200 --> 00:06:46,680 Speaker 1: was that leading up to their career in the circus, 105 00:06:47,080 --> 00:06:52,400 Speaker 1: fleas actually had had another job in entertainment. They were 106 00:06:52,480 --> 00:06:54,960 Speaker 1: kind of like a Vana White or kind of like 107 00:06:55,040 --> 00:06:59,320 Speaker 1: those models that you know, lounge on exotic sports cars 108 00:06:59,360 --> 00:07:03,760 Speaker 1: it convence ins. Uh this was I mean, cars weren't 109 00:07:03,760 --> 00:07:06,360 Speaker 1: invented at this time, but they were. They were like 110 00:07:06,560 --> 00:07:13,600 Speaker 1: a an add on piece of advertising for watchmakers. Right, Yeah, 111 00:07:13,640 --> 00:07:16,600 Speaker 1: that's right. It's a very disturbing image you've painted of 112 00:07:17,120 --> 00:07:20,520 Speaker 1: giant fleas lounging on cars, but uh yeah, it's it's 113 00:07:20,560 --> 00:07:25,200 Speaker 1: accurate more or less because the origins of flea based entertainment, 114 00:07:25,240 --> 00:07:27,480 Speaker 1: I guess we can call it goes all the way 115 00:07:27,480 --> 00:07:30,840 Speaker 1: back to the fifteen hundreds with watchmakers, as you mentioned 116 00:07:30,840 --> 00:07:32,560 Speaker 1: in Jewelers too. I guess I don't want to leave 117 00:07:32,600 --> 00:07:35,680 Speaker 1: them out, but uh yeah, the first the first guy 118 00:07:35,720 --> 00:07:38,840 Speaker 1: to do this on record was this London watchmaker named 119 00:07:39,040 --> 00:07:44,760 Speaker 1: Mark Scaliot. I think, what do you guys think, Scalio Scott, 120 00:07:44,760 --> 00:07:46,160 Speaker 1: We're going with that. It wouldn't be an episode of 121 00:07:46,200 --> 00:07:49,240 Speaker 1: ridiculous history. We didn't like waffle struggling for a pronunciation, 122 00:07:49,320 --> 00:07:51,560 Speaker 1: So thank you for keeping the spirit of the show ALIVEE. 123 00:07:52,200 --> 00:07:56,480 Speaker 1: And he he's from He's from London, so Scaliat is 124 00:07:56,840 --> 00:07:59,720 Speaker 1: probably pretty close. We'd be in deeper water if he 125 00:07:59,760 --> 00:08:03,280 Speaker 1: would to you know, Eastern European. Then it's anybody's game. 126 00:08:03,840 --> 00:08:09,160 Speaker 1: Who even knows where that is? Um? But yeah, so 127 00:08:09,200 --> 00:08:12,040 Speaker 1: this guy Mark Scaliott, which is definitely how you say 128 00:08:12,080 --> 00:08:15,000 Speaker 1: his name, he's credited with having made uh let's let 129 00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:17,840 Speaker 1: me find the good description here. Uh So he made 130 00:08:17,840 --> 00:08:21,720 Speaker 1: a lock which consisted of eleven pieces of iron, steel, 131 00:08:21,840 --> 00:08:25,560 Speaker 1: and brass, all of which um together, you know, made 132 00:08:25,560 --> 00:08:27,560 Speaker 1: this little lock which had a key to it. And 133 00:08:27,560 --> 00:08:29,720 Speaker 1: if you added all that stuff up, it was so 134 00:08:29,840 --> 00:08:33,840 Speaker 1: small It only weighed the equivalent of one grain of gold. 135 00:08:34,120 --> 00:08:37,280 Speaker 1: So this was super super tiny stuff. But he didn't 136 00:08:37,360 --> 00:08:39,960 Speaker 1: just make this lock and key system. He also made 137 00:08:40,080 --> 00:08:43,040 Speaker 1: other very tiny objects and the idea was to kind 138 00:08:43,040 --> 00:08:47,360 Speaker 1: of flout his craftsmanship, right, he could work um with 139 00:08:47,400 --> 00:08:51,240 Speaker 1: these you know, very intricate tiny details, um, like the 140 00:08:51,240 --> 00:08:53,720 Speaker 1: inner workings of a watch or you know, the clasp 141 00:08:53,760 --> 00:08:55,840 Speaker 1: of a necklace or whatever. So to kind of show 142 00:08:55,880 --> 00:08:59,080 Speaker 1: off his skills as a watchmaker, he would make these 143 00:08:59,240 --> 00:09:02,640 Speaker 1: very tiny little objects that still functioned like the lock 144 00:09:02,679 --> 00:09:05,559 Speaker 1: and key system. But he didn't stop there. He also 145 00:09:05,640 --> 00:09:09,120 Speaker 1: made a chain of gold that consisted of forty three links, 146 00:09:09,480 --> 00:09:12,600 Speaker 1: and once he had that made, he would actually attach 147 00:09:12,679 --> 00:09:16,240 Speaker 1: it to the neck of a flee. What flee, flossy? 148 00:09:16,840 --> 00:09:19,000 Speaker 1: Did he have something going on with that flee? Was 149 00:09:19,040 --> 00:09:21,560 Speaker 1: that like his side flee? Unclear? But he did not 150 00:09:21,640 --> 00:09:23,920 Speaker 1: want to let it out of his sight. He actually 151 00:09:24,080 --> 00:09:27,520 Speaker 1: yoked this little guy with this kind of golden leash 152 00:09:27,559 --> 00:09:30,120 Speaker 1: that he made. And this was a way again of 153 00:09:30,200 --> 00:09:33,360 Speaker 1: kind of advertising his services. I assume he was doing this, 154 00:09:33,400 --> 00:09:36,800 Speaker 1: you know, maybe in the his shop window or you know, 155 00:09:36,920 --> 00:09:40,400 Speaker 1: just outside of his shop in the street. And um, 156 00:09:40,559 --> 00:09:42,720 Speaker 1: the idea was, you know, see what fine work I 157 00:09:42,760 --> 00:09:46,040 Speaker 1: can do on this tiny level. You know, if I 158 00:09:46,080 --> 00:09:48,240 Speaker 1: can do this with a flee, if I can leash 159 00:09:48,280 --> 00:09:51,319 Speaker 1: a flee, then surely I can handle you know, gears 160 00:09:51,400 --> 00:09:53,920 Speaker 1: and and springs and stuff inside of watch We've all 161 00:09:53,960 --> 00:09:55,719 Speaker 1: been there, you know what I mean, We've all had 162 00:09:55,720 --> 00:10:02,480 Speaker 1: that thought process, right, Yeah, only watchmaker in the crowd. Well, 163 00:10:02,520 --> 00:10:04,760 Speaker 1: I'm fascinated by it. It It just seems like a lot 164 00:10:04,800 --> 00:10:06,439 Speaker 1: of work and a lot of tiny parts that I 165 00:10:06,480 --> 00:10:09,160 Speaker 1: would likely lose very quickly, and then you know, you 166 00:10:09,280 --> 00:10:12,280 Speaker 1: lose one little gear and your whole watches shot. So 167 00:10:12,320 --> 00:10:14,800 Speaker 1: I leave that to the professionals. Yeah, I think that's 168 00:10:14,840 --> 00:10:17,040 Speaker 1: a good call. Yeah, I should point out the watches 169 00:10:17,120 --> 00:10:20,160 Speaker 1: I make are are huge, because otherwise I would instantly 170 00:10:20,200 --> 00:10:22,760 Speaker 1: lose all kinds of stuff. That's what we used for 171 00:10:22,760 --> 00:10:25,640 Speaker 1: the timer and the quister segment. That's true, But be 172 00:10:25,720 --> 00:10:27,840 Speaker 1: careful with that Wendel. We've been getting away with it 173 00:10:27,920 --> 00:10:31,880 Speaker 1: for so long. I think what you guys are describing 174 00:10:31,880 --> 00:10:38,640 Speaker 1: as a clock, right, okay guy, but alright, Dr Professor 175 00:10:38,720 --> 00:10:41,400 Speaker 1: over here, I found out up your brakes on those degrees. 176 00:10:47,880 --> 00:10:50,679 Speaker 1: But you're describing something that I think is going to 177 00:10:50,800 --> 00:10:54,000 Speaker 1: give a lot of folks in the crowd today. Uh 178 00:10:54,080 --> 00:10:56,840 Speaker 1: an immediate question, and I think it's a question will 179 00:10:56,840 --> 00:11:01,000 Speaker 1: come up multiple times in this episode. Fleas are just 180 00:11:01,120 --> 00:11:05,080 Speaker 1: so so very small. I feel like the casual passer 181 00:11:05,200 --> 00:11:09,600 Speaker 1: by would just be able to see the chain right 182 00:11:09,720 --> 00:11:12,679 Speaker 1: unless they were very close, or there was a magnifying glass, 183 00:11:12,840 --> 00:11:15,640 Speaker 1: or maybe there's oh you know what, maybe it is 184 00:11:16,280 --> 00:11:19,520 Speaker 1: It's not a lot of people could afford watches in 185 00:11:19,559 --> 00:11:23,480 Speaker 1: the first place, so he's probably presenting these maybe right 186 00:11:23,559 --> 00:11:28,440 Speaker 1: to his limited customer base. Yeah, well, I'm not so 187 00:11:28,440 --> 00:11:30,920 Speaker 1: sure about all of the details, but I do know 188 00:11:31,000 --> 00:11:34,080 Speaker 1: that he wasn't relying on people's eyesight, right, He wasn't. 189 00:11:34,280 --> 00:11:36,520 Speaker 1: He wasn't taking the flee for a walk on this 190 00:11:36,559 --> 00:11:41,200 Speaker 1: little golden leash by himself. Instead, he made another very tiny, 191 00:11:41,240 --> 00:11:45,520 Speaker 1: you know, handmade object, a chariot. And once you got 192 00:11:45,600 --> 00:11:48,280 Speaker 1: the chariot and you have your harness and you have 193 00:11:48,320 --> 00:11:50,599 Speaker 1: a little tiny flea to pull it, I mean, you 194 00:11:50,679 --> 00:11:53,880 Speaker 1: got yourself a street show, right, Like that's gonna that's 195 00:11:53,880 --> 00:11:57,440 Speaker 1: gonna catch some eyes. How is this chariot moving right? Right? 196 00:11:58,960 --> 00:12:02,040 Speaker 1: I think the word you're looking for his parade. Parade 197 00:12:02,200 --> 00:12:04,559 Speaker 1: is what it is. What they call that. Sorry, I'm 198 00:12:04,600 --> 00:12:06,719 Speaker 1: just I'm just being pedantic back at you, So I 199 00:12:06,760 --> 00:12:10,760 Speaker 1: appreciate that. But no, I mean this really was though. 200 00:12:10,800 --> 00:12:13,400 Speaker 1: This was how these guys would advertise. It started in 201 00:12:13,440 --> 00:12:15,920 Speaker 1: the late fifteen hundreds, but they were doing this all 202 00:12:16,040 --> 00:12:18,720 Speaker 1: through the seventeen hundreds. Like this took off. It's not 203 00:12:18,760 --> 00:12:22,600 Speaker 1: an isolated thing. We can question why, you know it 204 00:12:22,679 --> 00:12:26,320 Speaker 1: was a different era, but for whatever reason, people were 205 00:12:26,320 --> 00:12:29,400 Speaker 1: really drawn in by this. So the really interesting thing 206 00:12:29,400 --> 00:12:32,280 Speaker 1: about this time to me is that the fleas weren't 207 00:12:32,360 --> 00:12:36,400 Speaker 1: really the star of these watchmakers and jewelry uh and 208 00:12:36,440 --> 00:12:40,160 Speaker 1: these jewelers shows. It was really the miniature objects that 209 00:12:40,200 --> 00:12:43,400 Speaker 1: were that they were making. Those were the stars, um, 210 00:12:43,480 --> 00:12:46,720 Speaker 1: the little chariot, the little lock and key, the little 211 00:12:46,800 --> 00:12:50,200 Speaker 1: tiny harness, and that seems, you know, kind of strange. 212 00:12:50,360 --> 00:12:53,839 Speaker 1: But at the time, again, we're in like the seventeen hundreds. Now, 213 00:12:54,200 --> 00:12:57,040 Speaker 1: people in northern Europe, you know, countries like Germany and 214 00:12:57,080 --> 00:13:00,160 Speaker 1: Holland and England, they were like way into many at 215 00:13:00,200 --> 00:13:04,839 Speaker 1: your houses or cabinet houses as they called them. I mean, 216 00:13:04,880 --> 00:13:06,880 Speaker 1: we would just call them doll houses, but these were 217 00:13:07,080 --> 00:13:10,040 Speaker 1: adult doll houses. They weren't really four kids, and they 218 00:13:10,040 --> 00:13:13,880 Speaker 1: often didn't even have dolls in them. It was it 219 00:13:13,960 --> 00:13:16,920 Speaker 1: was kind of like the feminine counterpart to the cabinet 220 00:13:16,960 --> 00:13:22,160 Speaker 1: of curiosities. So, you know, the husband would gather all 221 00:13:22,200 --> 00:13:25,840 Speaker 1: of these kind of you know, eccentric, eclectic, exotic objects 222 00:13:25,920 --> 00:13:29,040 Speaker 1: from his travels and store them in this cabinet and 223 00:13:29,080 --> 00:13:31,840 Speaker 1: show them off to visitors who would come over. But 224 00:13:32,280 --> 00:13:34,200 Speaker 1: women of the era didn't get out of the house 225 00:13:34,280 --> 00:13:37,160 Speaker 1: so much. So what they would do instead was they 226 00:13:37,200 --> 00:13:39,880 Speaker 1: would build a miniature house in a cabinet and they 227 00:13:39,920 --> 00:13:44,440 Speaker 1: would have these, you know, super detailed tiny pieces of 228 00:13:44,480 --> 00:13:48,200 Speaker 1: furniture and utensils and other household objects, and they would 229 00:13:48,240 --> 00:13:50,800 Speaker 1: just go to town decorating this thing. And when they 230 00:13:50,800 --> 00:13:53,280 Speaker 1: had visitors over, they would walk them through each of 231 00:13:53,280 --> 00:13:59,079 Speaker 1: the little miniature rooms these witnessed. Indeed, it's funny. There 232 00:13:59,160 --> 00:14:02,439 Speaker 1: was a bit of a moment not terribly long ago, 233 00:14:02,559 --> 00:14:04,360 Speaker 1: or maybe a few years ago, where there were really 234 00:14:04,400 --> 00:14:07,440 Speaker 1: popular YouTube videos of uh, this thing that was big 235 00:14:07,440 --> 00:14:12,599 Speaker 1: in Japan of like cooking tiny food with right, I 236 00:14:12,679 --> 00:14:14,240 Speaker 1: gain it was never not, I don't. I mean, it 237 00:14:14,240 --> 00:14:15,720 Speaker 1: could certainly could have been, but the ones I saw 238 00:14:15,720 --> 00:14:17,880 Speaker 1: were just for the pure pleasure of it. But they 239 00:14:17,880 --> 00:14:20,120 Speaker 1: would be like on a tiny stove where you'd put 240 00:14:20,120 --> 00:14:22,080 Speaker 1: a little one of those like uh what we call 241 00:14:22,120 --> 00:14:25,160 Speaker 1: those candles, t tea light candles like inside this tiny 242 00:14:25,200 --> 00:14:27,480 Speaker 1: stove and then put a tiny thing and they scramble 243 00:14:27,520 --> 00:14:29,360 Speaker 1: a tiny egg or just a little bit of egg 244 00:14:29,400 --> 00:14:31,880 Speaker 1: and make a tiny omelet and plate it and then 245 00:14:31,920 --> 00:14:34,720 Speaker 1: have Chinese chopsticks on. It was a whole phenomenon. It 246 00:14:34,720 --> 00:14:37,080 Speaker 1: seems to have gone away, but clearly uh you know, 247 00:14:37,280 --> 00:14:40,640 Speaker 1: similar vibes there. Oh yeah, it's still yeah, it's still there. 248 00:14:40,720 --> 00:14:43,640 Speaker 1: What's interesting about that is that in this case it 249 00:14:43,680 --> 00:14:47,920 Speaker 1: seems that those hamsters or rodents were themselves and sillery 250 00:14:47,920 --> 00:14:52,440 Speaker 1: to the larger conceit of building the or cooking very 251 00:14:52,480 --> 00:14:56,040 Speaker 1: tiny food, just like the fleas were kind of just 252 00:14:56,320 --> 00:14:59,680 Speaker 1: a new like a little action figure to put in 253 00:14:59,720 --> 00:15:04,360 Speaker 1: your vultron of whatever cool toy you were showing off. 254 00:15:04,520 --> 00:15:07,320 Speaker 1: And then you know, that way, maybe when you had 255 00:15:07,360 --> 00:15:10,320 Speaker 1: people over, they would be more likely to visit because 256 00:15:10,360 --> 00:15:13,560 Speaker 1: they would be like, I cannot go to Wilhelms again. 257 00:15:13,880 --> 00:15:17,440 Speaker 1: All he does is show us those miniatures. And then 258 00:15:17,480 --> 00:15:20,640 Speaker 1: someone says, no, he's got he's got uh you know, 259 00:15:21,240 --> 00:15:24,400 Speaker 1: it's active now and he's got fleets and and how 260 00:15:24,480 --> 00:15:27,480 Speaker 1: dare you call it a toy? This is this is 261 00:15:27,880 --> 00:15:32,920 Speaker 1: an artifact. This is an artifact. That's yeah, no, that's 262 00:15:32,920 --> 00:15:36,800 Speaker 1: exactly right. There's a strange long history of of kind 263 00:15:36,800 --> 00:15:40,160 Speaker 1: of miniatures being paired with with showmanship and and being 264 00:15:40,160 --> 00:15:42,640 Speaker 1: made into some kind of an attraction, whether it was 265 00:15:42,720 --> 00:15:46,720 Speaker 1: just walking your visitors, you're forcing your visitors to appreciate 266 00:15:46,840 --> 00:15:50,400 Speaker 1: your tiny little house, or making a little chariot and 267 00:15:50,440 --> 00:15:53,240 Speaker 1: harnessing a fleet. It was all about the small object 268 00:15:53,360 --> 00:15:57,480 Speaker 1: at first. Um, but that started to change because of 269 00:15:57,640 --> 00:16:04,160 Speaker 1: one man from Italy, acclaimed showman known as Here we Go. 270 00:16:04,240 --> 00:16:08,480 Speaker 1: This one's gonna be a little harder. Let's say, Louis Burdetti, 271 00:16:12,040 --> 00:16:15,440 Speaker 1: There we go, Bert Lotto. Yeah, that's I think between 272 00:16:15,480 --> 00:16:17,760 Speaker 1: the three of us, our powers combined, we have a 273 00:16:17,800 --> 00:16:22,680 Speaker 1: halfway decent pronunciation. I hear. The key is to is 274 00:16:22,720 --> 00:16:25,040 Speaker 1: to move your hands when you say it, sort of 275 00:16:25,080 --> 00:16:27,960 Speaker 1: throw your hands up when you hit that. Uh that 276 00:16:28,400 --> 00:16:31,880 Speaker 1: l Okay, I got it. I think I got it. 277 00:16:32,320 --> 00:16:36,640 Speaker 1: Oh boy, keep digging this hole. But but yeah, this 278 00:16:36,640 --> 00:16:40,320 Speaker 1: this guy is already a showman, right. He's not having 279 00:16:40,400 --> 00:16:43,920 Speaker 1: one of those moments where he's working as a as 280 00:16:43,960 --> 00:16:47,320 Speaker 1: a clerk or something and and takes a hard pivot 281 00:16:47,720 --> 00:16:52,240 Speaker 1: in his life. He is. He's in the eighteen hundreds though, 282 00:16:52,320 --> 00:16:56,600 Speaker 1: right some time after the Watchmaker craze. Yeah, I'm my 283 00:16:56,680 --> 00:16:59,720 Speaker 1: understanding is, you know the Watchmaker. Things started in fifteen 284 00:16:59,760 --> 00:17:02,080 Speaker 1: seven to eight with that guy we mentioned, that went 285 00:17:02,160 --> 00:17:06,080 Speaker 1: pretty much all through the seventeen hundreds with still this 286 00:17:06,200 --> 00:17:10,120 Speaker 1: only kind of being used to advertise watches and jewelry 287 00:17:10,160 --> 00:17:12,320 Speaker 1: and that kind of thing. Um. And it was in 288 00:17:12,359 --> 00:17:15,440 Speaker 1: the eighteen hundreds, so a little while later, um where 289 00:17:15,600 --> 00:17:18,439 Speaker 1: the focus kind of shifted and the fleas became the 290 00:17:18,520 --> 00:17:21,960 Speaker 1: star of the show, um instead of the miniature set pieces. 291 00:17:22,480 --> 00:17:25,320 Speaker 1: And we have this paradigm shift thanks to this Italian 292 00:17:25,320 --> 00:17:30,919 Speaker 1: impressario we mentioned Louis Bertelatto who made his living in 293 00:17:31,040 --> 00:17:36,280 Speaker 1: London and decided to put the fleas to work. Basically, yeah, yeah, 294 00:17:36,440 --> 00:17:40,080 Speaker 1: so he he saw an opportunity and we know that 295 00:17:40,119 --> 00:17:42,879 Speaker 1: he would have been aware of this context, right, he 296 00:17:42,920 --> 00:17:46,800 Speaker 1: would have. He was not the first person think of this. Uh, 297 00:17:46,840 --> 00:17:50,800 Speaker 1: but at the time, what I what I get the 298 00:17:50,880 --> 00:17:54,520 Speaker 1: sense of from some of the research you dove into, 299 00:17:55,040 --> 00:18:00,720 Speaker 1: is that it's not like maybe he was particularly financially desperate, 300 00:18:01,080 --> 00:18:05,199 Speaker 1: but he hadn't really made it to the upper echelons 301 00:18:05,240 --> 00:18:09,120 Speaker 1: of being an impresario. So this this is something that's 302 00:18:09,160 --> 00:18:13,640 Speaker 1: maybe new to his area. It has that tinge of otherness, 303 00:18:13,680 --> 00:18:18,520 Speaker 1: and then it's also original because at this point where 304 00:18:18,560 --> 00:18:21,400 Speaker 1: he's at in Italy, nobody is gonna blow it up 305 00:18:21,440 --> 00:18:25,240 Speaker 1: as much as he is. He's he's the he's like 306 00:18:25,280 --> 00:18:29,240 Speaker 1: the guy who said, let's make the flee the star 307 00:18:29,359 --> 00:18:33,800 Speaker 1: of the show. And and economically it makes sense because look, 308 00:18:33,840 --> 00:18:36,480 Speaker 1: we're very careful not to dunk on the past here 309 00:18:36,520 --> 00:18:39,679 Speaker 1: on ridiculous history, but some observations are true, and one 310 00:18:39,680 --> 00:18:42,600 Speaker 1: of those observations is, uh, there were a lot of 311 00:18:42,720 --> 00:18:45,480 Speaker 1: fleas in Europe at the time. It was it was 312 00:18:45,600 --> 00:18:48,240 Speaker 1: very it was not expensive to get them the way 313 00:18:48,240 --> 00:18:52,240 Speaker 1: it would be to like get a tiger or Yeah, 314 00:18:52,400 --> 00:18:55,880 Speaker 1: that's that's absolutely true. It made economic sense. I mean, 315 00:18:56,080 --> 00:18:58,040 Speaker 1: I think this guy was a bit of a self 316 00:18:58,119 --> 00:19:02,120 Speaker 1: proclaimed impresario. Like I don't think anyone at the top 317 00:19:02,240 --> 00:19:04,040 Speaker 1: of their game is like, I know what I'm gonna 318 00:19:04,080 --> 00:19:07,159 Speaker 1: do now, the next natural step is a flea circus. 319 00:19:07,200 --> 00:19:11,080 Speaker 1: But he had entrepreneur in his Facebook. Yeah, yeah, top 320 00:19:11,080 --> 00:19:14,320 Speaker 1: of his game. But no, Yeah, he saw these watchmakers 321 00:19:14,359 --> 00:19:17,040 Speaker 1: and jewelers doing this kind of thing, and he was like, well, okay, 322 00:19:17,119 --> 00:19:19,040 Speaker 1: I don't know how to make a tiny chariot or 323 00:19:19,080 --> 00:19:21,520 Speaker 1: anything like that, and I'm not interested in selling watches, 324 00:19:21,600 --> 00:19:25,000 Speaker 1: but like, you guys have been burying the lead here right, Like, 325 00:19:25,080 --> 00:19:28,080 Speaker 1: these fleas are pulling chariots, and like, what else can 326 00:19:28,119 --> 00:19:30,840 Speaker 1: we get them to do? So he rounded up a 327 00:19:30,880 --> 00:19:33,880 Speaker 1: bunch of them and he started, you know, um either 328 00:19:34,040 --> 00:19:35,919 Speaker 1: I'm not sure if he built the sets himself or 329 00:19:35,920 --> 00:19:38,640 Speaker 1: if he commissioned them, but one way or the other, 330 00:19:38,640 --> 00:19:41,600 Speaker 1: he put together a little circus um and he had 331 00:19:41,840 --> 00:19:44,840 Speaker 1: he had the old favorites, right like his fleas pulled 332 00:19:44,840 --> 00:19:48,320 Speaker 1: tiny carriages and chariots just like the other guys. But 333 00:19:48,400 --> 00:19:51,879 Speaker 1: he also had dancing fleas, and the music they danced 334 00:19:51,880 --> 00:19:54,960 Speaker 1: to was provided by an orchestra which was also composed 335 00:19:54,960 --> 00:19:58,199 Speaker 1: of fleas playing tiny little instruments. And so that was 336 00:19:58,240 --> 00:20:01,280 Speaker 1: something like beyond with the jewel ers and watchmakers had 337 00:20:01,280 --> 00:20:06,120 Speaker 1: done before. But Bertolucto took things even further than that 338 00:20:06,440 --> 00:20:10,160 Speaker 1: because he actually had his fleas like reenact the Battle 339 00:20:10,200 --> 00:20:14,320 Speaker 1: of Waterloo. That was his big act. And remember this 340 00:20:14,440 --> 00:20:17,240 Speaker 1: was in the eighteen thirties, so it had only been 341 00:20:17,320 --> 00:20:21,280 Speaker 1: like fifteen years since that battle, like it wasn't that 342 00:20:21,359 --> 00:20:25,199 Speaker 1: long ago. Which is that? That's my question? Is that 343 00:20:25,280 --> 00:20:31,240 Speaker 1: im poor taste? Like if fifteen years after um an 344 00:20:31,240 --> 00:20:35,200 Speaker 1: intense conflict in Vietnam, I don't think people would want 345 00:20:35,240 --> 00:20:37,520 Speaker 1: to see that re enacted by animals. I don't know, 346 00:20:37,640 --> 00:20:40,280 Speaker 1: Maybe I'm putting human judgment on too much of a 347 00:20:40,359 --> 00:20:43,800 Speaker 1: high horse. Well, I think you know, history has shown 348 00:20:43,880 --> 00:20:47,040 Speaker 1: us that people very much wanted to see this. They 349 00:20:48,720 --> 00:20:51,359 Speaker 1: this guy rounded up four hundred and thirty five fleas 350 00:20:51,400 --> 00:20:54,280 Speaker 1: for this performance. He dressed them all in little outfits. 351 00:20:54,320 --> 00:20:58,359 Speaker 1: He put them in golden saddles, um on these chariots, 352 00:20:58,359 --> 00:21:01,880 Speaker 1: carrying tiny little swords, and he held these mock battles 353 00:21:01,920 --> 00:21:04,159 Speaker 1: and that was kind of, you know, the main attraction 354 00:21:04,200 --> 00:21:07,640 Speaker 1: of his circus. And people ate it up like he 355 00:21:07,800 --> 00:21:11,520 Speaker 1: was incredibly successful. He actually took this thing on tour 356 00:21:11,800 --> 00:21:15,720 Speaker 1: for over fifty years. Um, so for half a century 357 00:21:15,800 --> 00:21:18,560 Speaker 1: he was making a living off of this, this flee circus. 358 00:21:18,840 --> 00:21:23,520 Speaker 1: Oh wow. Uh. And it wasn't always the same cast, 359 00:21:23,640 --> 00:21:27,639 Speaker 1: I imagine, unless I am incredibly wrong about the lifespan 360 00:21:27,720 --> 00:21:30,960 Speaker 1: of fleas. No, yeah, you got that part right. That's 361 00:21:31,080 --> 00:21:33,960 Speaker 1: uh one of the downsides to the businesses. There's a 362 00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:42,040 Speaker 1: lot of turnover. Yeah. I gotta ask, like, what would 363 00:21:42,040 --> 00:21:44,640 Speaker 1: I see visually? I don't understand how would he even 364 00:21:44,680 --> 00:21:47,040 Speaker 1: do this like a flee. Maybe I'm not I'm not 365 00:21:47,080 --> 00:21:49,879 Speaker 1: a flee expert, but it seems so small, Like what 366 00:21:50,119 --> 00:21:52,359 Speaker 1: does an outfit look like for a fleet? How do 367 00:21:52,400 --> 00:21:55,720 Speaker 1: you even get a sword? And a fleas hand claw. 368 00:21:56,000 --> 00:21:59,440 Speaker 1: I don't understand the logistics of this escaped me. Yeah, 369 00:21:59,480 --> 00:22:02,399 Speaker 1: it ain't he but I mean that's the question, right 370 00:22:02,440 --> 00:22:04,240 Speaker 1: you have you I think you were kind of hinting 371 00:22:04,280 --> 00:22:07,080 Speaker 1: at it earlier. Why was anyone doing this? Why put 372 00:22:07,080 --> 00:22:10,359 Speaker 1: fleas in a circus? Like? Why fleas? Right? And I 373 00:22:10,400 --> 00:22:13,600 Speaker 1: think Ben you already mentioned these things were really prevalent, 374 00:22:13,720 --> 00:22:16,159 Speaker 1: especially at the time, like way more so in the 375 00:22:16,200 --> 00:22:19,239 Speaker 1: eighteen hundreds than we would find today. And they were 376 00:22:19,240 --> 00:22:22,359 Speaker 1: also quick to reproduce. And you know, they drank human 377 00:22:22,359 --> 00:22:25,080 Speaker 1: blood so they were easy to feed, right, didn't they 378 00:22:25,080 --> 00:22:30,879 Speaker 1: also spread plague well, diseases in general, you know? Yeah, 379 00:22:31,000 --> 00:22:35,879 Speaker 1: So this is one important clarification. These weren't dog fleas, 380 00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:38,600 Speaker 1: they weren't cat fleas. There weren't rat fleas. There were 381 00:22:38,600 --> 00:22:41,760 Speaker 1: over two thousand, apparently different god species of fleas in 382 00:22:41,760 --> 00:22:45,080 Speaker 1: the world. And uh, these were human fleas um, which 383 00:22:45,119 --> 00:22:48,199 Speaker 1: we don't see or interact with too much now, but 384 00:22:48,320 --> 00:22:50,879 Speaker 1: of course they're still out there. It's still a thing. Uh. 385 00:22:50,920 --> 00:22:53,119 Speaker 1: They're also you'll find them on pigs a lot, not 386 00:22:53,200 --> 00:22:56,959 Speaker 1: just humans. Um. These human fleas were everywhere. People had 387 00:22:57,000 --> 00:23:00,360 Speaker 1: them in their beds. It was a worldwide pest um. 388 00:23:00,440 --> 00:23:02,480 Speaker 1: So one thing about these human fleas is they were 389 00:23:02,480 --> 00:23:06,440 Speaker 1: a little bigger than your average flee. Okay, yeah, so 390 00:23:07,160 --> 00:23:09,119 Speaker 1: you know, a dog flee might be like two and 391 00:23:09,200 --> 00:23:13,359 Speaker 1: a half millimeters. These guys were four so big boys. 392 00:23:14,119 --> 00:23:16,480 Speaker 1: Would this would this be sort of akin to what 393 00:23:16,560 --> 00:23:19,240 Speaker 1: we think of as bedbugs today or is that something different? 394 00:23:19,880 --> 00:23:22,560 Speaker 1: That's where people would would encounter them the most under 395 00:23:22,600 --> 00:23:24,760 Speaker 1: their bed covers and you would get race itchy, like 396 00:23:24,960 --> 00:23:28,520 Speaker 1: there's actually there's a Laurel and Hardy And to Charlie 397 00:23:28,600 --> 00:23:31,600 Speaker 1: Chaplin films where these human fleas are like a big 398 00:23:31,640 --> 00:23:34,920 Speaker 1: part of the plot, it was it was a thing. 399 00:23:35,600 --> 00:23:39,800 Speaker 1: I'm sure, I'm sure high jinks commenced. And so this 400 00:23:39,920 --> 00:23:44,440 Speaker 1: is uh, this is interesting because since he has embarked 401 00:23:44,480 --> 00:23:49,919 Speaker 1: upon this quite successful multidecade career, uh, Bertolato is getting 402 00:23:49,960 --> 00:23:55,679 Speaker 1: around and he kind of spreads this uh he he 403 00:23:55,760 --> 00:24:00,720 Speaker 1: spreads this novelty act to places that have probably I 404 00:24:01,000 --> 00:24:03,720 Speaker 1: don't know, maybe never heard of it before or never 405 00:24:03,760 --> 00:24:06,520 Speaker 1: seen it or have been familiar. Like if you're the 406 00:24:06,600 --> 00:24:10,840 Speaker 1: average person in say North America, when he's at the 407 00:24:10,840 --> 00:24:15,080 Speaker 1: height of his career, would would you have heard of 408 00:24:15,119 --> 00:24:18,040 Speaker 1: the concept of flee circuses or would you have heard 409 00:24:18,080 --> 00:24:21,359 Speaker 1: of the concept of Bertolatto's flee circus. I think you 410 00:24:21,400 --> 00:24:23,719 Speaker 1: would have heard of it and and not seen it, 411 00:24:23,760 --> 00:24:27,120 Speaker 1: and had been very curious to see it. So maybe 412 00:24:27,119 --> 00:24:28,720 Speaker 1: you read a report on it. Maybe there was a 413 00:24:28,760 --> 00:24:31,239 Speaker 1: friend who you know, visited Europe and came back and 414 00:24:31,240 --> 00:24:34,320 Speaker 1: told you there's this crazy thing over there. They got fleas, 415 00:24:34,400 --> 00:24:37,560 Speaker 1: moving chariots. They're putting these guys to work. Why aren't 416 00:24:37,560 --> 00:24:40,960 Speaker 1: we doing that here? Um? And at least one guy 417 00:24:41,000 --> 00:24:44,200 Speaker 1: agreed In the early nineteen hundreds, an American named William 418 00:24:44,280 --> 00:24:47,720 Speaker 1: Heckler was one of the first guys to kind of 419 00:24:47,760 --> 00:24:50,240 Speaker 1: take this idea and run with it in North America. 420 00:24:50,520 --> 00:24:55,240 Speaker 1: Also the inventor of the Heckel Right yeah, of course, right, um, 421 00:24:55,280 --> 00:24:59,040 Speaker 1: he heckled his own circus, but uh yeah, and it 422 00:24:59,080 --> 00:25:01,919 Speaker 1: took off here too. Like his circus could bring in 423 00:25:01,960 --> 00:25:05,000 Speaker 1: more than two hundred and fifty dollars in admittance fees, 424 00:25:05,560 --> 00:25:07,560 Speaker 1: you know, for a single showing, which is you know, 425 00:25:07,600 --> 00:25:11,560 Speaker 1: well over three grand in today's money, So not bad, right, 426 00:25:12,160 --> 00:25:15,480 Speaker 1: not bad at all? Um. And you know other copycats 427 00:25:15,520 --> 00:25:18,720 Speaker 1: came along too in North America and in Europe. Everybody 428 00:25:18,800 --> 00:25:21,200 Speaker 1: kind of got in on this. They started taking these 429 00:25:21,200 --> 00:25:23,760 Speaker 1: flea circuses on the road, going from town to town, 430 00:25:23,840 --> 00:25:28,040 Speaker 1: like you know, medicine road shows, and over time, flee 431 00:25:28,080 --> 00:25:31,600 Speaker 1: circuses just became linked with those, uh, you know, carnival 432 00:25:31,680 --> 00:25:33,639 Speaker 1: side shows that we're all used to seeing at the 433 00:25:33,680 --> 00:25:37,440 Speaker 1: circus or county fairs. People. It just became an expected 434 00:25:37,640 --> 00:25:42,000 Speaker 1: form of entertainment. Okay, so you know why fleas You've 435 00:25:42,040 --> 00:25:45,520 Speaker 1: definitely answered one these particular fleas, um, because they were 436 00:25:45,560 --> 00:25:49,040 Speaker 1: a little bigger and prevalent, they were available, they were 437 00:25:49,600 --> 00:25:52,159 Speaker 1: easily reproducible. They in fact, they did it themselves. They 438 00:25:52,160 --> 00:25:56,080 Speaker 1: were just everywhere. Um. We talked a little bit earlier 439 00:25:56,119 --> 00:26:01,840 Speaker 1: about their fantastic jumping abilities, which that's to me, the 440 00:26:01,880 --> 00:26:05,840 Speaker 1: coolest at least disgusting feature of the flea, and I 441 00:26:05,880 --> 00:26:08,160 Speaker 1: think this played into it a little bit as well 442 00:26:08,200 --> 00:26:11,560 Speaker 1: as to why fleas. Yeah, yeah, that's absolutely true. I 443 00:26:11,600 --> 00:26:14,680 Speaker 1: mean fleas are you know, the best jumpers that the 444 00:26:14,760 --> 00:26:18,720 Speaker 1: natural world has to offer, don't tell kangaroos and human 445 00:26:18,760 --> 00:26:23,320 Speaker 1: fleas in particular have really strong back legs, like stronger 446 00:26:23,359 --> 00:26:25,439 Speaker 1: than than the fleas you'd find on a cat or 447 00:26:25,480 --> 00:26:28,359 Speaker 1: a dog. So they're kind of well suited for the 448 00:26:28,480 --> 00:26:31,320 Speaker 1: kinds of tricks that these guys we're having them do 449 00:26:31,400 --> 00:26:34,199 Speaker 1: in their circuses. And again, the other thing that we 450 00:26:34,280 --> 00:26:36,520 Speaker 1: mentioned is they were really easy to care for, right 451 00:26:36,560 --> 00:26:40,119 Speaker 1: you just roll up your sleeve and uh, you know, 452 00:26:40,240 --> 00:26:43,280 Speaker 1: let them have a taste. And you know, under conditions 453 00:26:43,320 --> 00:26:47,120 Speaker 1: like that, these fleas could live for up to a year. 454 00:26:48,520 --> 00:26:51,119 Speaker 1: Most of them wouldn't make it past like three months 455 00:26:51,240 --> 00:26:53,520 Speaker 1: or so, so you you still run into that problem 456 00:26:53,560 --> 00:26:56,080 Speaker 1: of kind of having to start over with a new 457 00:26:56,119 --> 00:26:59,720 Speaker 1: cast every so often. But if you're really doated on them, 458 00:27:00,000 --> 00:27:02,480 Speaker 1: if you nurse them, you could you know, they could 459 00:27:02,560 --> 00:27:05,480 Speaker 1: run out the calendar year. You are of my blood, 460 00:27:05,920 --> 00:27:11,959 Speaker 1: go forth on your tiny chariot, show waterloo to the people. Um. Seriously, 461 00:27:12,000 --> 00:27:14,439 Speaker 1: they were like like like the Interview of the Vampire style, 462 00:27:14,480 --> 00:27:16,600 Speaker 1: like roll up the old sleeve and give them a taste. 463 00:27:17,080 --> 00:27:20,360 Speaker 1: That's very strange. They could have taken this in so 464 00:27:20,400 --> 00:27:24,159 Speaker 1: many directions. You know, you've got one that lives, uh, 465 00:27:24,400 --> 00:27:27,200 Speaker 1: like you were saying, up to a year. Just let 466 00:27:27,280 --> 00:27:31,640 Speaker 1: that that old that old flee be in its own 467 00:27:31,640 --> 00:27:35,919 Speaker 1: display and call it the Methuselah flee. Add some zeros 468 00:27:36,080 --> 00:27:39,840 Speaker 1: to the end of that one. Year, no one send 469 00:27:39,880 --> 00:27:44,440 Speaker 1: them to the Flee stud farm exactly exactly. So at 470 00:27:44,480 --> 00:27:47,600 Speaker 1: this point, you know, the thing about fleas is and 471 00:27:47,600 --> 00:27:50,760 Speaker 1: I've been pretty openly anti flee in this episode, so 472 00:27:50,800 --> 00:27:52,879 Speaker 1: I hope I don't. I hope I don't poison the 473 00:27:52,920 --> 00:27:55,199 Speaker 1: well here too much. But the thing about this is 474 00:27:55,240 --> 00:28:00,760 Speaker 1: that the closer you drill into their physical capabilities old like, 475 00:28:00,760 --> 00:28:04,720 Speaker 1: like you said, the jumping ability alone, you see these amazing, 476 00:28:04,920 --> 00:28:10,320 Speaker 1: somewhat terrifying powers. But there's a question that we haven't 477 00:28:10,520 --> 00:28:15,240 Speaker 1: answered yet, and that is that's a question we we 478 00:28:15,240 --> 00:28:17,960 Speaker 1: we kind of Flee jumped around a little in the beginning, 479 00:28:18,640 --> 00:28:23,639 Speaker 1: which is were they actually being trained? Can flee? Do 480 00:28:23,960 --> 00:28:28,639 Speaker 1: fleas actually have the capacity to learn and retain and 481 00:28:28,680 --> 00:28:32,960 Speaker 1: then apply information. This gets into the art of how 482 00:28:33,080 --> 00:28:38,080 Speaker 1: flee circuses work. Uh, and maybe why not all flee 483 00:28:38,160 --> 00:28:44,040 Speaker 1: circuses are created equally. But gentlemen, I propose that is 484 00:28:44,160 --> 00:28:46,480 Speaker 1: a part two of this episode. What do you guys think? 485 00:28:46,840 --> 00:28:49,920 Speaker 1: I second that. Yeah, there's a lot more to say. 486 00:28:50,120 --> 00:28:52,600 Speaker 1: And you know how much we love a planned to partner, 487 00:28:52,920 --> 00:28:55,440 Speaker 1: so good good, good on us, And yeah, plenty of 488 00:28:56,080 --> 00:28:59,480 Speaker 1: juicy flee uh facts and and and and uh and 489 00:28:59,560 --> 00:29:03,920 Speaker 1: trivia to come. That's right, we did it, Gabe. Thank 490 00:29:04,000 --> 00:29:07,200 Speaker 1: you so much for coming on part one of the show. 491 00:29:07,720 --> 00:29:11,920 Speaker 1: Due to the uh contract you signed in blood before 492 00:29:11,920 --> 00:29:14,720 Speaker 1: we started rolling, you are obligated to be here for 493 00:29:14,840 --> 00:29:17,400 Speaker 1: part two, but I I know I think you would 494 00:29:17,400 --> 00:29:19,520 Speaker 1: have come along for part two anyway. What do you think? Yeah, 495 00:29:19,560 --> 00:29:23,120 Speaker 1: I think the blood oath was was a little extra, 496 00:29:23,240 --> 00:29:25,840 Speaker 1: but you know, we gotta we gotta cover our bases. 497 00:29:26,360 --> 00:29:31,680 Speaker 1: We'll never know legal is uh legal is really into 498 00:29:31,720 --> 00:29:35,120 Speaker 1: those lately, which we should probably look into at some point, 499 00:29:35,200 --> 00:29:39,680 Speaker 1: but uh. In the meantime, we hope that you found 500 00:29:39,840 --> 00:29:43,560 Speaker 1: this as bizarre a story as we have joined us 501 00:29:43,560 --> 00:29:48,000 Speaker 1: for part two, when we explore how the flea Circus 502 00:29:48,040 --> 00:29:55,320 Speaker 1: sausage gets actually made sausage Very well, the United Nations 503 00:29:55,360 --> 00:29:58,520 Speaker 1: has a pretty strong argument for the importance of like 504 00:29:58,600 --> 00:30:03,120 Speaker 1: the possibilities of consuming insects is protein. Hopefully I don't 505 00:30:03,120 --> 00:30:05,080 Speaker 1: think fleas are on the list. How many fleas would 506 00:30:05,120 --> 00:30:08,840 Speaker 1: it take just to make like one sausage path? Tune 507 00:30:08,880 --> 00:30:11,880 Speaker 1: in next time to find out that sounds like the 508 00:30:11,960 --> 00:30:14,600 Speaker 1: set up for a corny joke, which is very on 509 00:30:14,760 --> 00:30:17,560 Speaker 1: brand for predict How many fleas does it take to 510 00:30:17,600 --> 00:30:20,720 Speaker 1: make an omelet like a fleet of flee omelet. You 511 00:30:20,720 --> 00:30:23,000 Speaker 1: you want to make an you've gotta break a few 512 00:30:23,080 --> 00:30:27,800 Speaker 1: fleet Okay, Well anyway, that's uh, that's that's gonna be 513 00:30:27,800 --> 00:30:30,200 Speaker 1: our show as always. Thank you so much to our 514 00:30:30,520 --> 00:30:35,240 Speaker 1: super producer Casey Pegram, Thanks as always to Alex Williams 515 00:30:35,240 --> 00:30:40,160 Speaker 1: who composed this amazing track, and Gabe. Thanks to you man, Hey, 516 00:30:40,200 --> 00:30:45,080 Speaker 1: you're welcome. Huge, thanks huge, thanks to Christopher haciots here 517 00:30:45,120 --> 00:30:48,560 Speaker 1: and Spirit who will be joining us in corporeal podcast 518 00:30:48,600 --> 00:30:52,280 Speaker 1: form in the near future. Uh. Just like Gabe, he's 519 00:30:52,320 --> 00:30:54,800 Speaker 1: a real person too. We promised we did a really 520 00:30:54,840 --> 00:30:59,000 Speaker 1: fun episode with him, uh years ago about cover songs 521 00:30:59,400 --> 00:31:02,360 Speaker 1: like weird cover songs. That's that was a fun one. Um. 522 00:31:02,360 --> 00:31:05,120 Speaker 1: I wonder what he has in store for his next appearance. 523 00:31:05,320 --> 00:31:08,280 Speaker 1: You'll have to wait and find out. Thanks to Eve's 524 00:31:08,360 --> 00:31:11,840 Speaker 1: Jeff Coates check out her show This Day in History 525 00:31:11,880 --> 00:31:15,880 Speaker 1: Class and Jay dot Ill, the podcast featuring the marvelous 526 00:31:15,920 --> 00:31:19,560 Speaker 1: and uh and talented Jill Scott. Uh. And thanks to you, Ben, 527 00:31:19,800 --> 00:31:22,640 Speaker 1: thanks for for for being my fleapal Oh Hey, thanks 528 00:31:22,640 --> 00:31:32,360 Speaker 1: to you Noel. For more podcasts for my heart Radio, 529 00:31:32,440 --> 00:31:35,040 Speaker 1: visit the I Heart Radio app Apple podcast or wherever 530 00:31:35,200 --> 00:31:36,760 Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.