1 00:00:01,120 --> 00:00:04,560 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you Should Know from How Stuff Works 2 00:00:04,600 --> 00:00:13,680 Speaker 1: dot Com. Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh Clark, 3 00:00:13,720 --> 00:00:17,400 Speaker 1: and there's Charles w Chuck Bryant, there's Ramsey over there 4 00:00:17,520 --> 00:00:21,000 Speaker 1: the husu, which means it's time for Stuff you Should 5 00:00:21,040 --> 00:00:28,320 Speaker 1: Know Nostalgia Edition Colon t s hodgment. Yeah, we've done 6 00:00:28,360 --> 00:00:36,400 Speaker 1: a few toys. Um plato, Uh, slinkys right, what else? 7 00:00:37,520 --> 00:00:41,479 Speaker 1: Well does a boomerang count as a toy? Uh, it's 8 00:00:41,479 --> 00:00:46,440 Speaker 1: away alive, mate. Um, we've done tons. We did silly putty, 9 00:00:46,520 --> 00:00:51,040 Speaker 1: silly putty, we did um uh, you know a bunch 10 00:00:51,280 --> 00:00:56,640 Speaker 1: that The balls, Yeah, the balls the balls episode How 11 00:00:56,720 --> 00:00:59,800 Speaker 1: Balls Work. They round and they bounced. We said balls 12 00:00:59,840 --> 00:01:02,800 Speaker 1: like a million times in that episode. Uh. Yeah, this 13 00:01:02,840 --> 00:01:05,440 Speaker 1: one's kind of cool though. The easy bake oven, which 14 00:01:05,480 --> 00:01:07,120 Speaker 1: I never had one. Did you ever have one in 15 00:01:07,160 --> 00:01:09,840 Speaker 1: your home? I don't think so. No. I don't think 16 00:01:09,840 --> 00:01:12,320 Speaker 1: my sister had one either, although I was a pretty 17 00:01:12,360 --> 00:01:14,880 Speaker 1: tubby kid, so it's possible that my mom was like, 18 00:01:15,080 --> 00:01:17,119 Speaker 1: make sure your brother doesn't know you have one of those, 19 00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:20,720 Speaker 1: Do not feed your brother or anything from there. But 20 00:01:20,800 --> 00:01:24,560 Speaker 1: it's interesting that this is one where uh sort of 21 00:01:24,600 --> 00:01:28,240 Speaker 1: a very simple idea and you never can tell what's 22 00:01:28,240 --> 00:01:32,520 Speaker 1: gonna hit toy wise, nothing super complex about this other 23 00:01:32,560 --> 00:01:37,080 Speaker 1: than you could literally bake food and sort of pretend 24 00:01:37,160 --> 00:01:39,280 Speaker 1: to be an adult in the kitchen. That's that was 25 00:01:39,280 --> 00:01:42,520 Speaker 1: the basis of it. Being an adult. That was kind 26 00:01:42,520 --> 00:01:46,920 Speaker 1: of Kenner's thing. And Kenner, the people who made Star 27 00:01:46,959 --> 00:01:51,000 Speaker 1: Wars toys, were the ones behind this, and they were 28 00:01:51,120 --> 00:01:55,440 Speaker 1: very much into um toys that like let kids pretend 29 00:01:55,520 --> 00:01:58,400 Speaker 1: they were growing ups. Yeah, that was their bag. Yeah, 30 00:01:58,440 --> 00:02:03,240 Speaker 1: I have a new neighbor. Actually, shout out to Rick Kathy. Hey, guys, 31 00:02:03,360 --> 00:02:06,760 Speaker 1: where they really got into your skin? Huh what? Rick 32 00:02:06,800 --> 00:02:08,960 Speaker 1: and Cathy got a shout out on the podcast and 33 00:02:08,960 --> 00:02:12,440 Speaker 1: their new neighbors. Jeez. Yeah, because he worked for I 34 00:02:12,480 --> 00:02:14,440 Speaker 1: was talking to him and I was like, he seems 35 00:02:14,440 --> 00:02:15,639 Speaker 1: like a good guy. He was like, what you know, 36 00:02:15,680 --> 00:02:17,520 Speaker 1: what do you do? Ricky's retired? Now, what did you do? 37 00:02:17,919 --> 00:02:20,680 Speaker 1: And He's like, I was a toy and action figure 38 00:02:20,720 --> 00:02:24,040 Speaker 1: designer for Kenner And I was like, whoa what? Years? 39 00:02:24,520 --> 00:02:27,480 Speaker 1: He came on after his first The first thing he 40 00:02:27,480 --> 00:02:31,280 Speaker 1: worked on was the Tim Burton Batman movies. And he 41 00:02:31,320 --> 00:02:33,200 Speaker 1: stayed on for a long time, like his whole career, 42 00:02:33,440 --> 00:02:36,280 Speaker 1: Like after they were sold and everything pretty neat. That 43 00:02:36,440 --> 00:02:40,040 Speaker 1: is very cool. Yeah, good for him. Yeah, so he 44 00:02:40,200 --> 00:02:45,399 Speaker 1: still does wonderful uh sculpture. So just go after Rick 45 00:02:45,480 --> 00:02:49,400 Speaker 1: Watkins art online and then check it out. I'm going 46 00:02:49,480 --> 00:02:51,440 Speaker 1: to check it out. But I mean, Kenneda is such 47 00:02:51,440 --> 00:02:54,320 Speaker 1: a big deal to like two people, our age and 48 00:02:54,440 --> 00:02:58,560 Speaker 1: of many ages. But I didn't realize that they didn't 49 00:02:58,560 --> 00:03:01,880 Speaker 1: realize their origin as a company. Remember that we talked. 50 00:03:01,960 --> 00:03:05,560 Speaker 1: We did a whole Action Figures episode, remember, and we 51 00:03:05,639 --> 00:03:07,720 Speaker 1: talked a lot about Kenner. Was that a two part 52 00:03:07,760 --> 00:03:09,440 Speaker 1: episode or was it just like an hour and a 53 00:03:09,480 --> 00:03:11,640 Speaker 1: half long? I feel like it was just long. It 54 00:03:11,720 --> 00:03:16,000 Speaker 1: was very long. But um, Kenner almost didn't do the 55 00:03:16,040 --> 00:03:19,200 Speaker 1: Star Wars ones if I remember. But for us at least, 56 00:03:19,600 --> 00:03:22,000 Speaker 1: that put Kenna on the map. What I didn't realize 57 00:03:22,040 --> 00:03:24,079 Speaker 1: is that Kenner was already on the map as far 58 00:03:24,120 --> 00:03:26,359 Speaker 1: as toys go. And one of the ways that they 59 00:03:26,400 --> 00:03:29,520 Speaker 1: got there was from the Easy Bake Oven, which debuted 60 00:03:29,520 --> 00:03:32,959 Speaker 1: in November of nineteen, right around the time that John 61 00:03:33,040 --> 00:03:36,760 Speaker 1: Kennedy was shot. Yeah, but Kenner had been around since 62 00:03:36,760 --> 00:03:40,800 Speaker 1: the nineteen forties. Um Albert Philip and Joseph Steiner Um 63 00:03:40,880 --> 00:03:45,480 Speaker 1: formed the company after, as legend goes, one of them, 64 00:03:45,560 --> 00:03:49,600 Speaker 1: I saw a bubble you know maker bubble wand or 65 00:03:49,600 --> 00:03:52,560 Speaker 1: whatever you call him, and it was like, hey, if 66 00:03:52,600 --> 00:03:54,920 Speaker 1: I could do a gun that shoots bubbles, we might 67 00:03:54,960 --> 00:03:56,880 Speaker 1: be onto something. And that was our very first product, 68 00:03:57,240 --> 00:04:01,040 Speaker 1: is the bubble Mattic gun, and then whatever lesson twenty 69 00:04:01,120 --> 00:04:04,280 Speaker 1: years later, the easy Bake oven. Even though as we 70 00:04:04,400 --> 00:04:08,360 Speaker 1: learned today and yesterday, there had been toy ovens since 71 00:04:08,360 --> 00:04:12,720 Speaker 1: like the Victorian days, yes, like really really dangerous one 72 00:04:13,240 --> 00:04:18,039 Speaker 1: like real real little ovens like wood burning, pellet solid 73 00:04:18,080 --> 00:04:21,440 Speaker 1: fuel stoves made of cast iron that were sized down 74 00:04:21,480 --> 00:04:24,560 Speaker 1: for little kids to you. Yeah, basically like here's the 75 00:04:24,560 --> 00:04:27,520 Speaker 1: oven that can kill your parents. We'll just make a 76 00:04:27,520 --> 00:04:31,560 Speaker 1: smaller one they can kill you. Yeah. Um yeah. So 77 00:04:32,560 --> 00:04:39,480 Speaker 1: the children's play oven functioning play oven um history very 78 00:04:39,560 --> 00:04:42,640 Speaker 1: kind of closely treks the real oven history, right. Yeah, 79 00:04:42,760 --> 00:04:46,360 Speaker 1: Like when there were cast iron wood burning ovens, there 80 00:04:46,360 --> 00:04:49,200 Speaker 1: were kids versions of them. As they as real ovens 81 00:04:49,240 --> 00:04:54,200 Speaker 1: moved into electric ovens, there were kids versions of them apparently. 82 00:04:54,360 --> 00:04:58,200 Speaker 1: Um Lionel the train the model trainmakers, they made some 83 00:04:58,279 --> 00:05:00,960 Speaker 1: in the thirties. Also, we want to give a shout 84 00:05:00,960 --> 00:05:03,640 Speaker 1: out to Lisa Hicks and the people at Collectors Weekly 85 00:05:04,080 --> 00:05:07,800 Speaker 1: for a great article we also used for this episode two. 86 00:05:08,160 --> 00:05:12,520 Speaker 1: But um, in the thirties there were electric ovens. By 87 00:05:12,560 --> 00:05:18,280 Speaker 1: the forties or fifties, I think there were fiberglass insulated ovens. 88 00:05:18,360 --> 00:05:21,400 Speaker 1: Electric ovens. It was just like a small oven for kids, 89 00:05:22,080 --> 00:05:27,840 Speaker 1: but they were ovens. They were extremely dangerous. And um, 90 00:05:28,040 --> 00:05:31,240 Speaker 1: Kenner had this really great idea. And the reason that 91 00:05:31,279 --> 00:05:34,080 Speaker 1: this idea came about at Kenna to begin with. So 92 00:05:34,080 --> 00:05:38,880 Speaker 1: apparently Kenner was really big on having like ideas could 93 00:05:38,880 --> 00:05:41,960 Speaker 1: come from anywhere. Anybody in the company flowed an idea 94 00:05:42,320 --> 00:05:44,839 Speaker 1: and people would listen, and they had like regular meetings 95 00:05:44,880 --> 00:05:48,599 Speaker 1: where you know, there were bull sessions. Maybe they ordered 96 00:05:48,640 --> 00:05:51,320 Speaker 1: some like chowel Maine or something like that. Everyone rolled 97 00:05:51,400 --> 00:05:54,520 Speaker 1: up their sleeves and relaxed and and spat out ideas. 98 00:05:54,920 --> 00:05:58,120 Speaker 1: And one of the salesman from Kenner came back in 99 00:05:58,160 --> 00:06:00,520 Speaker 1: from the field and said, you know what, I saw something. 100 00:06:00,920 --> 00:06:04,279 Speaker 1: I saw some pretzel vendors keeping their pretzels warm on 101 00:06:04,320 --> 00:06:08,080 Speaker 1: the street using a lightbulb. What if we used a 102 00:06:08,200 --> 00:06:11,880 Speaker 1: lightbulb to heat up an oven for the little kiddies. 103 00:06:12,720 --> 00:06:17,599 Speaker 1: And somebody, I think Charles House Ralph House, well, Norman 104 00:06:17,600 --> 00:06:21,960 Speaker 1: Shapiro was that gentleman, and then Ronald House. Ronald was 105 00:06:22,080 --> 00:06:26,920 Speaker 1: the big time inventor for Kinner, who had a couple 106 00:06:26,920 --> 00:06:30,240 Speaker 1: of like really big products under his belt, and he 107 00:06:30,320 --> 00:06:34,120 Speaker 1: was like that that's an ace's idea. That's exactly how 108 00:06:34,160 --> 00:06:38,000 Speaker 1: he talked. Probably everyone hated him for it, but he 109 00:06:38,040 --> 00:06:39,880 Speaker 1: was really good at inventing toy so they had to 110 00:06:39,880 --> 00:06:41,839 Speaker 1: put up with that. Yeah, but Kinner's deal, like you 111 00:06:41,839 --> 00:06:45,320 Speaker 1: were saying, was find things that mimic adult things. And 112 00:06:45,360 --> 00:06:47,520 Speaker 1: that's like kind of I bet like kids are gonna 113 00:06:47,520 --> 00:06:50,240 Speaker 1: dig that stuff, and they did from like and kids 114 00:06:50,279 --> 00:06:55,640 Speaker 1: still do little toy lawnmowers and toy bulldozers. And I 115 00:06:55,640 --> 00:06:57,960 Speaker 1: mean Ruby's got a little cleaning set with like a 116 00:06:58,040 --> 00:07:01,800 Speaker 1: duster and a dust pan and a mop. Been shed 117 00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:04,240 Speaker 1: she o c D no, But I mean all the 118 00:07:04,279 --> 00:07:07,400 Speaker 1: time she will say, you know, come on, daddy, let's clean, 119 00:07:07,520 --> 00:07:09,120 Speaker 1: and she'll hand me him up. That's a little low 120 00:07:09,200 --> 00:07:11,680 Speaker 1: c D. Well, No, that's good. Then, Yeah, I like 121 00:07:11,720 --> 00:07:13,520 Speaker 1: where she said it. Did you have one of those 122 00:07:13,600 --> 00:07:16,520 Speaker 1: um plastic safety razors so you could shave next to 123 00:07:16,560 --> 00:07:19,440 Speaker 1: your dad? No? I did, but I was I think 124 00:07:19,480 --> 00:07:21,960 Speaker 1: a lot of boys are pretty obsessed with shaving before 125 00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:25,840 Speaker 1: they have whiskers, and I think I heard that they 126 00:07:25,840 --> 00:07:28,520 Speaker 1: would actually stimulate hair growth. And I was about to say, 127 00:07:28,560 --> 00:07:31,960 Speaker 1: I remember being worried about that, Yeah, because I didn't 128 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:34,480 Speaker 1: have I had a pretty I mean, looking at me now, 129 00:07:34,480 --> 00:07:36,640 Speaker 1: you would never know, but I didn't have a lot 130 00:07:36,680 --> 00:07:39,640 Speaker 1: of facial hair going on until well into college. Was 131 00:07:39,640 --> 00:07:42,720 Speaker 1: it like lacking or did it come in patchy just 132 00:07:42,800 --> 00:07:44,720 Speaker 1: a little bit, sort of like my brother is now. 133 00:07:44,760 --> 00:07:47,960 Speaker 1: He just stayed in that phase where your brother's got 134 00:07:47,960 --> 00:07:51,280 Speaker 1: a perfect chiseled face. Well, I know that's because he 135 00:07:51,280 --> 00:07:54,480 Speaker 1: doesn't have a beard, but um Scott can grow a 136 00:07:54,600 --> 00:07:57,280 Speaker 1: pretty decent gotee now, but I don't. I don't think 137 00:07:57,280 --> 00:07:59,440 Speaker 1: he could grow the full beard, but his his was. 138 00:08:00,080 --> 00:08:02,720 Speaker 1: We were both spotty, like a little bit above the lip, 139 00:08:03,480 --> 00:08:05,760 Speaker 1: a little bit on the chin, the one part just 140 00:08:05,840 --> 00:08:09,160 Speaker 1: kind of traced to line up to your eye from 141 00:08:09,160 --> 00:08:11,320 Speaker 1: around from under your nose. Yeah, but I mean it 142 00:08:11,400 --> 00:08:13,200 Speaker 1: was sort of a family thing. We're not harry dudes. 143 00:08:13,200 --> 00:08:15,520 Speaker 1: We don't have very hairy legs or it is odd 144 00:08:15,520 --> 00:08:17,240 Speaker 1: that you have such a full beard, like I don't 145 00:08:17,280 --> 00:08:20,560 Speaker 1: have hairy arms or anything like that. Your your beast. 146 00:08:21,200 --> 00:08:23,560 Speaker 1: I don't know if beasts is the right word, but yes, 147 00:08:23,600 --> 00:08:26,160 Speaker 1: I'm a little Harry. You're a Harry guy. My chest 148 00:08:26,200 --> 00:08:29,320 Speaker 1: hair definitely plucks out from under my shirt. Have you 149 00:08:29,320 --> 00:08:31,320 Speaker 1: ever done any like a laser or anything like that? 150 00:08:33,200 --> 00:08:35,599 Speaker 1: Good for you? No, I'm just I'm Harry. No, I 151 00:08:35,600 --> 00:08:38,840 Speaker 1: mean you're normal. It's not like you're Robin Williams. He 152 00:08:38,960 --> 00:08:41,960 Speaker 1: was hairy. Yes, he was, God rest his soul. Yes, indeed. 153 00:08:42,400 --> 00:08:46,240 Speaker 1: So back to the ovens. So, um, the idea has 154 00:08:46,280 --> 00:08:50,200 Speaker 1: been put out there now by Norman Shapiro, Yes, yeah, okay, so, 155 00:08:50,320 --> 00:08:53,959 Speaker 1: and it was taken up by Ronald House and this 156 00:08:54,000 --> 00:08:56,719 Speaker 1: was this was huge and groundbreaking because again there were 157 00:08:56,760 --> 00:09:00,199 Speaker 1: safe there were um unsafe ovens for kids that have 158 00:09:00,280 --> 00:09:03,120 Speaker 1: been around since the nineteenth century. What these guys had 159 00:09:03,160 --> 00:09:07,000 Speaker 1: just happened upon was the way to make another unsafe 160 00:09:07,040 --> 00:09:11,679 Speaker 1: oven seems safe to parents. That was That was it. 161 00:09:11,760 --> 00:09:14,160 Speaker 1: That was the genius of this idea. That is what 162 00:09:14,360 --> 00:09:17,800 Speaker 1: made easy bake ovens take off. What they had figured 163 00:09:17,840 --> 00:09:20,520 Speaker 1: out was that if they used a light bulb as 164 00:09:20,520 --> 00:09:23,520 Speaker 1: the heating element, and believe me, a lightbulb can can 165 00:09:23,600 --> 00:09:28,600 Speaker 1: heat up an oven. Um, yeah, up to three fifty, 166 00:09:28,679 --> 00:09:32,400 Speaker 1: which is a common baking temp. Yes, from a light bulb, 167 00:09:32,760 --> 00:09:34,600 Speaker 1: and actually at first as we'll see a pair of 168 00:09:34,679 --> 00:09:38,040 Speaker 1: light bulbs, but the fact is they're light bulbs and 169 00:09:38,160 --> 00:09:40,920 Speaker 1: parents are familiar with light bulbs. They don't seem weird 170 00:09:41,040 --> 00:09:43,400 Speaker 1: or scary. It's not a wood pellet. And the fact 171 00:09:43,400 --> 00:09:45,120 Speaker 1: that it's not like a heating element like in an 172 00:09:45,160 --> 00:09:48,040 Speaker 1: actual oven, it's just a light bulb. That is what 173 00:09:48,080 --> 00:09:50,320 Speaker 1: they used to convince parents that this was a safe 174 00:09:50,360 --> 00:09:52,520 Speaker 1: product that they could buy for their kids. It was 175 00:09:52,559 --> 00:09:55,719 Speaker 1: a genius idea, it really was. And like you t 176 00:09:55,920 --> 00:10:00,520 Speaker 1: s a second ago, the very first model, and if 177 00:10:00,520 --> 00:10:02,360 Speaker 1: you look at the very first one, it doesn't really 178 00:10:02,400 --> 00:10:04,520 Speaker 1: even look like an oven. Well certainly the new one 179 00:10:04,559 --> 00:10:08,160 Speaker 1: doesn't either. NOA, I did go online. I was like, 180 00:10:08,160 --> 00:10:10,240 Speaker 1: maybe I should get one of those. But they're ugly 181 00:10:10,280 --> 00:10:14,120 Speaker 1: now they I'm sorry to the person who designed them. Yes, 182 00:10:14,280 --> 00:10:17,240 Speaker 1: I'm glad you said it. They're ugly little ovens. Yeah, 183 00:10:17,240 --> 00:10:19,400 Speaker 1: they should kind of go back to looking more classic. 184 00:10:19,440 --> 00:10:22,920 Speaker 1: I think it would be my advice. Um, But they 185 00:10:23,000 --> 00:10:28,720 Speaker 1: used to one incandescent bulbs at first, one over the 186 00:10:28,760 --> 00:10:32,160 Speaker 1: top and another under the bottom. Obviously they were trying 187 00:10:32,200 --> 00:10:34,680 Speaker 1: to get an even heat because you're baking things right, 188 00:10:34,760 --> 00:10:38,480 Speaker 1: And they very wisely designed this thing um so that 189 00:10:39,160 --> 00:10:43,280 Speaker 1: the actual oven part was basically inaccessible to the kid 190 00:10:44,160 --> 00:10:49,280 Speaker 1: on either side. So just imagine a box. Um okay. 191 00:10:49,520 --> 00:10:53,319 Speaker 1: Oh man, here's the very It's my favorite thing when 192 00:10:53,320 --> 00:10:55,760 Speaker 1: you try to describe something. Let me see if if 193 00:10:55,800 --> 00:10:59,880 Speaker 1: I close my eyes, it works. Uh. Imagine a box okay, 194 00:11:00,080 --> 00:11:02,080 Speaker 1: and then coming out from either side of the box 195 00:11:02,200 --> 00:11:07,280 Speaker 1: or a couple of little little arms. But the arms 196 00:11:07,280 --> 00:11:11,880 Speaker 1: are half arms, and they're rectangular and hollow, and they're 197 00:11:11,880 --> 00:11:17,040 Speaker 1: actually openings. One opening. You slide in the uncooked thing 198 00:11:17,120 --> 00:11:19,880 Speaker 1: that you want to bake into the heating area of 199 00:11:19,920 --> 00:11:22,760 Speaker 1: the oven, let it bake, and you push it through 200 00:11:22,800 --> 00:11:26,240 Speaker 1: the other the other side, the cooling chamber, and then 201 00:11:26,280 --> 00:11:29,120 Speaker 1: it comes out the other arm. Everyone Josh has had 202 00:11:29,120 --> 00:11:31,600 Speaker 1: his eyes close that entire time, and it worked. I 203 00:11:31,720 --> 00:11:34,719 Speaker 1: really painted a great picture in your mind's eye. M 204 00:11:34,880 --> 00:11:38,080 Speaker 1: hm yes, uh yeah, So that's what's what's going on. 205 00:11:38,160 --> 00:11:41,600 Speaker 1: You had the two bulbs, um. And in fact, let's 206 00:11:41,600 --> 00:11:44,520 Speaker 1: go ahead and take a break there, Okay, nice litl cliffhanger. 207 00:11:44,760 --> 00:11:48,200 Speaker 1: When we come back, I'll redescribe the easy bake oven again. 208 00:11:48,240 --> 00:12:10,040 Speaker 1: It sounds good. Alright, we were at one bulb, right, yeah, 209 00:12:10,080 --> 00:12:13,040 Speaker 1: I'm sorry, No, we were at two bulbs so long ago, 210 00:12:13,080 --> 00:12:15,840 Speaker 1: I couldn't remember. I know there was a full add 211 00:12:15,880 --> 00:12:19,040 Speaker 1: a go. But then what they did was they figured 212 00:12:19,080 --> 00:12:22,319 Speaker 1: if they just engineered this thing to distribute heat and 213 00:12:22,360 --> 00:12:26,040 Speaker 1: whole heat a little better, almost like a convection of him. Yeah, exactly, 214 00:12:26,080 --> 00:12:28,080 Speaker 1: like a convection of him, that they could go down 215 00:12:28,120 --> 00:12:33,400 Speaker 1: to one bulb. Yeah. There was a dude named Charles 216 00:12:34,200 --> 00:12:37,120 Speaker 1: hold On I really wanted, Yeah, Charles Cummings, Charles one 217 00:12:37,160 --> 00:12:40,480 Speaker 1: bulb Cummings. Yeah, that's what he was known as. Charles 218 00:12:40,520 --> 00:12:45,040 Speaker 1: Cummings was a designer at Kenner, and I think in 219 00:12:45,080 --> 00:12:48,360 Speaker 1: the late seventies he designed the interior of the oven 220 00:12:48,400 --> 00:12:52,920 Speaker 1: so that the bulb one bulb created confection current, so 221 00:12:52,920 --> 00:12:54,719 Speaker 1: it cooked just as well as two bold but you 222 00:12:54,840 --> 00:12:59,800 Speaker 1: just needed one um And he owns the patent to that. 223 00:13:00,080 --> 00:13:02,800 Speaker 1: Oh really, which that's the way it should be. Yeah, 224 00:13:03,000 --> 00:13:05,079 Speaker 1: he was the desire. He came up with this pretty 225 00:13:05,120 --> 00:13:06,920 Speaker 1: rare too, I think kind of course, I'm sure had 226 00:13:06,920 --> 00:13:09,440 Speaker 1: an exclusive license to it, but I'm sure he got 227 00:13:09,480 --> 00:13:12,280 Speaker 1: like a decent amount of money from that license. Agreement 228 00:13:12,760 --> 00:13:15,440 Speaker 1: that is the way it should be. He also created 229 00:13:15,480 --> 00:13:18,199 Speaker 1: the patent um or he held the patent for the 230 00:13:18,280 --> 00:13:21,599 Speaker 1: add on popcorn maker that you could put onto the 231 00:13:21,679 --> 00:13:24,360 Speaker 1: easy bake oven. Too good for him, good for you, 232 00:13:24,480 --> 00:13:27,400 Speaker 1: Charles Cummings, Charles one bulb Cummings. He probably lives on 233 00:13:27,520 --> 00:13:31,880 Speaker 1: top of the mountain somewhere. It's on a mountain of money. 234 00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:34,640 Speaker 1: Uh so, all right, you're down to one bulb thanks 235 00:13:34,679 --> 00:13:38,560 Speaker 1: to Charlie Cummings. They initially wanted to call this in 236 00:13:38,640 --> 00:13:42,440 Speaker 1: nine when it was two bulbs with a debut. Yeah, 237 00:13:42,520 --> 00:13:43,679 Speaker 1: right out of the gate. They wanted to call it 238 00:13:43,679 --> 00:13:46,559 Speaker 1: in November of sixty three the Safety bake Oven, because 239 00:13:46,559 --> 00:13:49,040 Speaker 1: they really wanted to drive this home was that it 240 00:13:49,040 --> 00:13:53,920 Speaker 1: was super safe, and the regulatory bodies were like, you can't. 241 00:13:54,040 --> 00:13:56,040 Speaker 1: You haven't even sold one yet, Like, we don't. We're 242 00:13:56,080 --> 00:13:58,000 Speaker 1: not sure if this is going to kill kids. You 243 00:13:58,240 --> 00:14:01,800 Speaker 1: burned a dozen monkeys during the product testing trial. Oh 244 00:14:01,840 --> 00:14:04,320 Speaker 1: that's so awful, um, but you can't call it that 245 00:14:04,440 --> 00:14:06,679 Speaker 1: yet because we don't know yet whether it's truly safe. 246 00:14:06,720 --> 00:14:09,360 Speaker 1: Go ahead and sell them, but just don't still call 247 00:14:09,400 --> 00:14:11,959 Speaker 1: it safe the safety bake And so they're like, well, 248 00:14:11,960 --> 00:14:14,600 Speaker 1: what about easy and they're like, are we still talking 249 00:14:14,640 --> 00:14:17,439 Speaker 1: about this? We're done with you, go away and um 250 00:14:17,480 --> 00:14:19,160 Speaker 1: they so they were like, okay, fine, we'll call it 251 00:14:19,160 --> 00:14:21,600 Speaker 1: the Easy Bake Oven. Then, and they sold it as 252 00:14:21,640 --> 00:14:25,440 Speaker 1: the Easy Bake Oven and it sold out immediately. They 253 00:14:25,480 --> 00:14:28,960 Speaker 1: sold it. So November is right before the Christmas season, 254 00:14:29,240 --> 00:14:31,920 Speaker 1: actually in the Christmas season, I think even back then, 255 00:14:32,520 --> 00:14:35,200 Speaker 1: and they made a little more than half a million 256 00:14:35,280 --> 00:14:38,000 Speaker 1: units and sold them all like before Christmas. Yeah, for 257 00:14:39,240 --> 00:14:42,080 Speaker 1: which is expensive. That would be about a d thirty 258 00:14:42,080 --> 00:14:45,640 Speaker 1: dollars today. No, yeah, that's a that's an expensive toy. Wow. 259 00:14:45,680 --> 00:14:47,240 Speaker 1: And if you look at the thing. I saw a 260 00:14:47,240 --> 00:14:51,120 Speaker 1: picture of one that's for sale on eBay for really cheap. 261 00:14:51,160 --> 00:14:53,280 Speaker 1: I think it was like thirty bucks or something. Really 262 00:14:53,400 --> 00:14:56,400 Speaker 1: it was unused in the box, still needed to be assembled. 263 00:14:56,960 --> 00:14:58,400 Speaker 1: But if you look at it, you're like, that thing 264 00:14:58,400 --> 00:15:00,440 Speaker 1: looks like a death trap. It looks like the four 265 00:15:00,600 --> 00:15:03,840 Speaker 1: pinto of children's toys from the sixties, you know, like 266 00:15:03,880 --> 00:15:06,960 Speaker 1: the sharp metal edges. Yeah, you're like, like, that's what 267 00:15:07,040 --> 00:15:09,440 Speaker 1: it looks like, like like the baby strollers we were 268 00:15:09,440 --> 00:15:13,120 Speaker 1: pushed around. Yeah, remember that that Dana Kroyd snls get 269 00:15:13,160 --> 00:15:15,800 Speaker 1: from years ago. With the dangerous Christmas toys, and there 270 00:15:15,840 --> 00:15:21,480 Speaker 1: was one called the Bag of Glass, so great. Uh, 271 00:15:21,520 --> 00:15:23,520 Speaker 1: and that's all it was just a bag of shards 272 00:15:23,520 --> 00:15:26,200 Speaker 1: of glass. So yeah, they sold a half a million 273 00:15:27,000 --> 00:15:29,360 Speaker 1: and then they're like, we gotta make a lot more 274 00:15:29,360 --> 00:15:31,400 Speaker 1: of these for next year. Yeah, because this is back 275 00:15:31,400 --> 00:15:34,320 Speaker 1: at a time when toys didn't do that very often. 276 00:15:34,440 --> 00:15:37,120 Speaker 1: You know, it's like every Christmas now people are like, well, 277 00:15:37,120 --> 00:15:39,560 Speaker 1: what's the toy we should go fight other parents for? 278 00:15:40,840 --> 00:15:42,960 Speaker 1: Tell us? Yeah, because I'm training in the ring. This 279 00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:45,280 Speaker 1: is when it right. This is when it happened organically, 280 00:15:45,480 --> 00:15:47,920 Speaker 1: when you put out a toy and if it became 281 00:15:47,960 --> 00:15:50,480 Speaker 1: like the fight worthy toy, that was a few and 282 00:15:50,520 --> 00:15:52,880 Speaker 1: far between. Think the easy Bake oven was the fight 283 00:15:52,880 --> 00:15:55,040 Speaker 1: worthy toy right out of the gate. Yeah. So in 284 00:15:55,160 --> 00:15:58,120 Speaker 1: year two, I think they made about one point five 285 00:15:58,200 --> 00:16:02,320 Speaker 1: million sold all those And here was here's the little 286 00:16:02,320 --> 00:16:06,320 Speaker 1: bit of genius from Kenner is Uh, anytime you can 287 00:16:06,360 --> 00:16:10,000 Speaker 1: sell a supplementary product to the big thing, then you're 288 00:16:10,040 --> 00:16:14,920 Speaker 1: really cooking with Gasically Gilette Razor model, I think it 289 00:16:14,960 --> 00:16:17,440 Speaker 1: was King Gilette who came up with that. Yeah. So 290 00:16:17,600 --> 00:16:20,920 Speaker 1: what they did was they sold uh mixes you know, 291 00:16:20,960 --> 00:16:23,080 Speaker 1: these little instant mixes that you would pour and it 292 00:16:23,080 --> 00:16:25,520 Speaker 1: would make a little creddit cake. And they had twenty 293 00:16:25,520 --> 00:16:28,640 Speaker 1: five of these at first, and we're selling those like 294 00:16:28,960 --> 00:16:33,360 Speaker 1: crazy because if you're a kid, If if you're a kid, 295 00:16:33,400 --> 00:16:35,920 Speaker 1: you want all those, you're like, well, I haven't tried 296 00:16:35,960 --> 00:16:39,680 Speaker 1: the strawberry cake yet. Plus also, it's not like you're 297 00:16:39,680 --> 00:16:42,680 Speaker 1: putting this in like a book like some baseball cars 298 00:16:42,720 --> 00:16:43,920 Speaker 1: and you're like, well, I've got this one out and 299 00:16:45,080 --> 00:16:47,440 Speaker 1: you eat that thing and you need another thing to 300 00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:50,160 Speaker 1: it and you poop it out. Yeah, and you're not 301 00:16:50,200 --> 00:16:53,040 Speaker 1: gonna eat the poop again. You're going to go buy 302 00:16:53,040 --> 00:16:56,040 Speaker 1: another one. And that was the genius of the other 303 00:16:56,280 --> 00:16:59,000 Speaker 1: genius idea of this whole thing. There was a third 304 00:16:59,040 --> 00:17:03,400 Speaker 1: genius idea to Kenneth did this so right? Not just 305 00:17:03,520 --> 00:17:08,680 Speaker 1: no the advertising so remember this is kids emulating grown ups. 306 00:17:08,760 --> 00:17:14,199 Speaker 1: That was their thing, um it. They advertised not just 307 00:17:14,280 --> 00:17:18,560 Speaker 1: two kids through like Archies comics, but they advertised directly 308 00:17:18,600 --> 00:17:22,000 Speaker 1: to their parents too. There were ads for the Easy 309 00:17:22,000 --> 00:17:25,119 Speaker 1: Bake Oven, on I Love Lucy and on Hogan's Heroes. 310 00:17:25,160 --> 00:17:29,360 Speaker 1: According to This Collector's Weekly article, and in these ads, 311 00:17:29,560 --> 00:17:31,200 Speaker 1: if you look at a lot of old ads and 312 00:17:31,240 --> 00:17:33,400 Speaker 1: even some of the newer ads too. For easy bake 313 00:17:33,480 --> 00:17:37,800 Speaker 1: oven it's a mom and a daughter and the parent 314 00:17:37,960 --> 00:17:39,879 Speaker 1: is like, oh, this is something we can do together. 315 00:17:40,119 --> 00:17:43,840 Speaker 1: I love baking. It's basically my whole life I live in, 316 00:17:44,960 --> 00:17:47,120 Speaker 1: and I'm a woman, so I would love to share 317 00:17:47,160 --> 00:17:49,399 Speaker 1: that with my daughter. Maybe she's old enough to have 318 00:17:49,440 --> 00:17:52,920 Speaker 1: an easy bake oven herself. And that definitely helped propel 319 00:17:53,800 --> 00:17:56,480 Speaker 1: sales for sure, because it's not just kids going on 320 00:17:56,600 --> 00:17:59,280 Speaker 1: an easy bake oven, it's the parents going that'd be 321 00:17:59,320 --> 00:18:01,600 Speaker 1: a great thing to do with my kid. Yeah. And 322 00:18:01,640 --> 00:18:05,000 Speaker 1: of course, as people evolved and people became more woke 323 00:18:05,119 --> 00:18:08,800 Speaker 1: over time, even though that word wasn't used um enlightened, 324 00:18:08,880 --> 00:18:11,520 Speaker 1: maybe it became a bit of a problem with gender 325 00:18:11,600 --> 00:18:14,680 Speaker 1: roles and like this is for moms and daughters their 326 00:18:14,720 --> 00:18:17,560 Speaker 1: pink and that's what you're supposed to do is be 327 00:18:17,640 --> 00:18:20,640 Speaker 1: in the kitchen baking for the men. Yeah, I mean 328 00:18:20,760 --> 00:18:23,679 Speaker 1: very famously, the easy bake ovens always ended with the 329 00:18:23,720 --> 00:18:27,240 Speaker 1: disclaimer like this toy is not for boys. Yeah it 330 00:18:27,320 --> 00:18:30,439 Speaker 1: didn't really, but essentially it was like that was this 331 00:18:30,680 --> 00:18:33,000 Speaker 1: that was what was coming through. And the weird thing 332 00:18:33,119 --> 00:18:36,760 Speaker 1: is is far as as like legendary and iconic a 333 00:18:36,880 --> 00:18:40,800 Speaker 1: toy as the easy bake oven was as gender roles 334 00:18:41,560 --> 00:18:46,040 Speaker 1: and um, yeah, as gender roles evolved, I mean this 335 00:18:46,119 --> 00:18:48,360 Speaker 1: was we're talking like the early seventies when this really 336 00:18:48,359 --> 00:18:50,720 Speaker 1: started to become like a thing. Yeah, the easy bake 337 00:18:50,760 --> 00:18:54,080 Speaker 1: oven did not evolve with it right, as we will see. 338 00:18:54,119 --> 00:18:57,479 Speaker 1: It wasn't until the like early two thousand's that they 339 00:18:57,520 --> 00:18:59,880 Speaker 1: started to like respond to that kind of thing. And 340 00:19:00,080 --> 00:19:02,560 Speaker 1: I saw an ad for two thousand fourteen not a 341 00:19:02,600 --> 00:19:08,200 Speaker 1: boy in sight, all girls and um it just dancing 342 00:19:08,200 --> 00:19:12,240 Speaker 1: around like the girliest easy bake oven you could possibly imagine. 343 00:19:12,440 --> 00:19:15,920 Speaker 1: They actually got more girly as time went on and 344 00:19:16,000 --> 00:19:20,480 Speaker 1: more girl focused. Um as gender roles went on, which 345 00:19:20,480 --> 00:19:24,280 Speaker 1: is really weird to me. Not just non responsive but 346 00:19:25,320 --> 00:19:28,040 Speaker 1: almost like no, we're going the opposite way. Yeah. And 347 00:19:28,040 --> 00:19:31,080 Speaker 1: in early two thousands Hasbro who uh you know, they 348 00:19:31,080 --> 00:19:34,440 Speaker 1: bought out Kenner, eventually makers of the classic snoopy snow 349 00:19:34,440 --> 00:19:36,840 Speaker 1: comb machine. I never had one of those. You have 350 00:19:36,880 --> 00:19:40,639 Speaker 1: one of those? No neighbor did, okay, Um, but you 351 00:19:40,680 --> 00:19:43,520 Speaker 1: got to eat some of that sweet, sweet sugar ice. 352 00:19:43,680 --> 00:19:47,159 Speaker 1: There was nothing like the taste of I think the 353 00:19:47,280 --> 00:19:49,840 Speaker 1: cherry one. I can't remember, but it was just the 354 00:19:50,320 --> 00:19:52,760 Speaker 1: greatest snow cone you could possibly have. And that's until 355 00:19:52,800 --> 00:19:54,400 Speaker 1: you had a shave dice later and you're like, oh, 356 00:19:54,760 --> 00:19:57,000 Speaker 1: this is a lot better still. Number one reigning champ 357 00:19:57,119 --> 00:20:00,960 Speaker 1: really Number two is blue raspberry slush put. Yeah. See, 358 00:20:00,960 --> 00:20:03,560 Speaker 1: what I would always do was um slurp that sweet 359 00:20:03,560 --> 00:20:05,879 Speaker 1: liquid and that would be left with just some faintly 360 00:20:05,920 --> 00:20:09,080 Speaker 1: colored kind of just ice. Oh yeah, no, I know. 361 00:20:09,160 --> 00:20:11,960 Speaker 1: It was the problem with it for sure, But if 362 00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:14,240 Speaker 1: you did it right and you just kind of let 363 00:20:14,240 --> 00:20:17,679 Speaker 1: it settle, you got, you know, through the nasty stuff first, 364 00:20:18,640 --> 00:20:20,359 Speaker 1: when you got to the bottom, then you got to 365 00:20:20,440 --> 00:20:24,560 Speaker 1: the true, like hyper hyper dense snow cone experience. Yeah. 366 00:20:24,600 --> 00:20:26,879 Speaker 1: I could never do that. I'd still have problems regulating 367 00:20:26,880 --> 00:20:30,120 Speaker 1: my like hot fudged to ice cream ratio when eating 368 00:20:30,119 --> 00:20:32,359 Speaker 1: a Sunday. I just won't even do it anymore. So 369 00:20:32,520 --> 00:20:34,199 Speaker 1: you do all the hot fudge first, and then you're 370 00:20:34,240 --> 00:20:37,840 Speaker 1: left to some crutty ice cream. That's I mean, that's standard, 371 00:20:37,880 --> 00:20:42,520 Speaker 1: cretty delicious ice cream, right, This ice cream that some 372 00:20:42,560 --> 00:20:45,359 Speaker 1: people around the world would kill for his cy. It 373 00:20:45,400 --> 00:20:48,679 Speaker 1: doesn't have any more fudge. Dude, I've been on a 374 00:20:48,680 --> 00:20:51,720 Speaker 1: fifteen year campaign to convince Emily that vanilla ice cream 375 00:20:51,800 --> 00:20:55,040 Speaker 1: is like a legit flavor. I think she's she still 376 00:20:55,080 --> 00:20:58,159 Speaker 1: thinks that vanilla ice cream is just like unflavored ice mill. Yes, 377 00:20:58,200 --> 00:21:01,119 Speaker 1: it's like it's the one without the flavor added. Right now, 378 00:21:01,280 --> 00:21:04,600 Speaker 1: vanilla is it really delicious? It is? It is. It's 379 00:21:04,640 --> 00:21:09,200 Speaker 1: subtle vanilla bean ice cream like a true flex so good. 380 00:21:10,200 --> 00:21:13,160 Speaker 1: So in early two thousand, they finally, like you said, 381 00:21:13,200 --> 00:21:16,000 Speaker 1: tried in a very ham fisted way to get boys 382 00:21:16,040 --> 00:21:20,720 Speaker 1: involved with the the que you easy bake queasy bake 383 00:21:21,760 --> 00:21:23,399 Speaker 1: Is that what it is? Took me a second to 384 00:21:23,640 --> 00:21:28,040 Speaker 1: because Q uses separate word. So okay, now, so the 385 00:21:28,119 --> 00:21:31,560 Speaker 1: queasy bake oven and the mixer rader for you boys 386 00:21:32,119 --> 00:21:34,560 Speaker 1: you can make mud and crud cakes and the lar 387 00:21:34,680 --> 00:21:39,239 Speaker 1: delicious cocoon cookies and you know, not like, hey, just 388 00:21:39,359 --> 00:21:43,120 Speaker 1: bake something good because anyone can bake. Yeah, anyone can bake. 389 00:21:44,560 --> 00:21:47,920 Speaker 1: And they didn't like the girls don't don't use that one. Yeah, 390 00:21:47,920 --> 00:21:50,000 Speaker 1: it was it was only boys that showed up in 391 00:21:50,040 --> 00:21:52,719 Speaker 1: these ads. They're like, we really need to get boys involved. 392 00:21:52,720 --> 00:21:55,840 Speaker 1: How can we do that? Oh, we'll make one specifically 393 00:21:55,840 --> 00:21:58,600 Speaker 1: four boys. That's like they're making cruddy cakes. I mean, 394 00:21:58,640 --> 00:22:01,280 Speaker 1: I know they're just trying to sell stuff, but when 395 00:22:01,320 --> 00:22:03,480 Speaker 1: in these meetings, in these marketing meetings that you just 396 00:22:03,520 --> 00:22:05,840 Speaker 1: can't help but think they're it's like a bunch of 397 00:22:05,840 --> 00:22:09,400 Speaker 1: like eight five year old men. It's our it's our Senate. Yeah, 398 00:22:09,560 --> 00:22:12,520 Speaker 1: it's in there right there, like screaming and pounding and 399 00:22:12,600 --> 00:22:15,880 Speaker 1: yelling at each other about the idea of like selling 400 00:22:15,880 --> 00:22:19,359 Speaker 1: this to boys. Oh man, Well, after that, I feel 401 00:22:19,359 --> 00:22:21,080 Speaker 1: like we should probably take a Yeah, we'll go to 402 00:22:21,080 --> 00:22:43,320 Speaker 1: our Senate chambers and regroup right after this. Alright, So 403 00:22:43,359 --> 00:22:46,000 Speaker 1: in seven, the Easy Bake up in a selling like 404 00:22:46,680 --> 00:22:52,119 Speaker 1: uh hot cakes literally General Mills bis Kenner uh, And 405 00:22:52,240 --> 00:22:56,040 Speaker 1: they did a couple of genius things. They they partnered 406 00:22:56,119 --> 00:22:58,840 Speaker 1: because they were General Mills. They had no problem because 407 00:22:58,880 --> 00:23:02,639 Speaker 1: they owned Betty Crocker, well I assume um launching Betty 408 00:23:02,680 --> 00:23:05,720 Speaker 1: Crocker branded mixes. And then later on they got into 409 00:23:05,720 --> 00:23:09,760 Speaker 1: licensing deals with McDonald's and Pizza Hut because here's the thing. 410 00:23:09,920 --> 00:23:12,600 Speaker 1: You can bake anything in an easy week oven because 411 00:23:12,600 --> 00:23:14,840 Speaker 1: it's just a little oven. Yeah, you can make pizza, 412 00:23:14,960 --> 00:23:17,280 Speaker 1: and you can make you don't have to buy these mixes. 413 00:23:17,840 --> 00:23:21,680 Speaker 1: You can just bake cookies that you made from scratch. Yeah, 414 00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:26,640 Speaker 1: there's like a lot of recipes online easy bake oven recipes. 415 00:23:26,680 --> 00:23:29,760 Speaker 1: Yeah that actually don't taste like garbage, right, so um. Yeah. 416 00:23:29,840 --> 00:23:31,960 Speaker 1: They did have a huge line of mixes though, and 417 00:23:32,000 --> 00:23:34,080 Speaker 1: they sold more than a hundred million of them over 418 00:23:34,119 --> 00:23:37,199 Speaker 1: the over the years. That's how they get you. But 419 00:23:37,320 --> 00:23:40,560 Speaker 1: I mean they there there were recipes for mixes for 420 00:23:40,640 --> 00:23:47,800 Speaker 1: candy bars, pecanan brittle, popcorn, bubblegum. You can bake your 421 00:23:47,800 --> 00:23:50,840 Speaker 1: own bubblegum. Interesting, it is interesting. I would have tried 422 00:23:50,880 --> 00:23:53,040 Speaker 1: that for sure. I want to see bubblegum come out 423 00:23:53,080 --> 00:23:55,439 Speaker 1: in like a brownie pan. Yeah, I'd be like, I 424 00:23:55,520 --> 00:23:58,679 Speaker 1: want some of that bubbleguming. Had a cotton candy machine, 425 00:23:59,240 --> 00:24:02,359 Speaker 1: now that I remember what. It would just spin sugar 426 00:24:02,400 --> 00:24:04,040 Speaker 1: and you would, oh, I know what they do. Yeah, 427 00:24:04,240 --> 00:24:07,280 Speaker 1: I wanted one. That thing was probably dangerous. It was 428 00:24:07,320 --> 00:24:11,000 Speaker 1: probably like a nuclear centerfuge. What what was interesting about 429 00:24:11,040 --> 00:24:16,000 Speaker 1: those are fascinating to me was like the cotton candy. Um, 430 00:24:16,840 --> 00:24:20,359 Speaker 1: oh it's not called it's like not the web sugar 431 00:24:20,480 --> 00:24:23,120 Speaker 1: or something like that. Um. Yeah, I want to say web, 432 00:24:23,119 --> 00:24:25,960 Speaker 1: but that's not either. You it's not really visible in 433 00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:29,440 Speaker 1: the machine. Yeah, but when you stick in the little cone, 434 00:24:29,760 --> 00:24:31,960 Speaker 1: it just builds up on it like it's like it's 435 00:24:31,960 --> 00:24:34,919 Speaker 1: just coming out of another dimension into this one, like 436 00:24:34,960 --> 00:24:37,760 Speaker 1: coming out of a spider's But it's awesome to see 437 00:24:38,000 --> 00:24:41,639 Speaker 1: a pink and pink and blue spiders. But man, I 438 00:24:41,680 --> 00:24:46,000 Speaker 1: had to go out yesterday two. Uh. I still have 439 00:24:46,080 --> 00:24:47,960 Speaker 1: my pickup truck then, because I just kept it because 440 00:24:47,960 --> 00:24:50,000 Speaker 1: it was paid for, and I still moved and hall 441 00:24:50,040 --> 00:24:52,960 Speaker 1: stuff occasionally had to move. Something justified to me. I 442 00:24:53,000 --> 00:24:56,359 Speaker 1: had to move something yesterday and I went out and 443 00:24:56,400 --> 00:24:59,439 Speaker 1: that was the most beautiful, huge spider web from a 444 00:24:59,480 --> 00:25:02,399 Speaker 1: tree down attached to the rear tailgate of my truck, 445 00:25:02,720 --> 00:25:05,200 Speaker 1: like chuck with this big spider right in the middle. 446 00:25:05,240 --> 00:25:08,520 Speaker 1: And I was like, oh, man, I just felt so bad. 447 00:25:08,600 --> 00:25:10,640 Speaker 1: I didn't know what to do. So you just put 448 00:25:10,680 --> 00:25:13,399 Speaker 1: in reverse and pretending nothing you didn't see anything. Now. 449 00:25:13,440 --> 00:25:15,280 Speaker 1: I actually plucked it off a little by little because 450 00:25:15,320 --> 00:25:19,040 Speaker 1: I want to ensure his safety. And the web just 451 00:25:19,080 --> 00:25:23,160 Speaker 1: goes crumbling down into a long, you know, skinny string, 452 00:25:23,200 --> 00:25:24,919 Speaker 1: and he climbs right up to the tree and I 453 00:25:24,960 --> 00:25:26,919 Speaker 1: was just like, I'm really sorry. He's like, oh, I'm 454 00:25:26,960 --> 00:25:29,359 Speaker 1: sure you are to see you and he tried to 455 00:25:29,440 --> 00:25:32,760 Speaker 1: spit venom into my eyeball, Like what do you what 456 00:25:32,800 --> 00:25:34,320 Speaker 1: do you need your truck for? And you're like, I 457 00:25:34,400 --> 00:25:37,960 Speaker 1: gotta go get peanut butter. He's like, oh, good, thank 458 00:25:38,000 --> 00:25:40,760 Speaker 1: you for ruining thirty hours of my work a giant 459 00:25:40,840 --> 00:25:45,160 Speaker 1: vat of peanut butter that would only fit in my truck. Um, 460 00:25:45,160 --> 00:25:49,080 Speaker 1: all right, so let's let's fash forward here too, Uh, 461 00:25:49,160 --> 00:25:53,280 Speaker 1: the modern times in two thousand seven, the Energy Independence 462 00:25:53,320 --> 00:25:56,399 Speaker 1: and Security Act, when the government said by two thousand 463 00:25:56,440 --> 00:26:00,359 Speaker 1: twelve lightbulbs have to increase their efficiency by twenty five percent, 464 00:26:01,000 --> 00:26:05,040 Speaker 1: So bye bye incandescent bulb. Yeah, so let me just 465 00:26:05,080 --> 00:26:08,119 Speaker 1: say something. Let me set that up to over the years, 466 00:26:08,119 --> 00:26:10,520 Speaker 1: the easy Bake oven and just remained a steady sellar 467 00:26:11,040 --> 00:26:14,119 Speaker 1: for Kenner and then has Bro, and the design had 468 00:26:14,160 --> 00:26:16,480 Speaker 1: been basically the same and went from two bulbs to 469 00:26:16,560 --> 00:26:19,600 Speaker 1: one bulb. But it was this closed box where the 470 00:26:19,640 --> 00:26:22,840 Speaker 1: heating element was, where there was a slot on the side. 471 00:26:22,920 --> 00:26:24,960 Speaker 1: Remember I went through the whole thing, pushed it in 472 00:26:25,000 --> 00:26:28,120 Speaker 1: and it came out the cooling chamber on the other side. Um. 473 00:26:28,160 --> 00:26:30,760 Speaker 1: But really the design was the same. The outward look changed, 474 00:26:30,800 --> 00:26:33,119 Speaker 1: like it went from the weird its own thing to 475 00:26:33,560 --> 00:26:35,719 Speaker 1: the late seventies and early ages and started to resemble 476 00:26:35,720 --> 00:26:40,879 Speaker 1: a microwave. And then in in response to this change 477 00:26:40,960 --> 00:26:44,960 Speaker 1: in light bulb requirements, Easy Baked did a redesign in 478 00:26:44,960 --> 00:26:47,879 Speaker 1: two thousand and six, and for the first time ever, 479 00:26:48,320 --> 00:26:51,800 Speaker 1: the Easy Bake Oven actually looked like an oven, like 480 00:26:51,840 --> 00:26:55,399 Speaker 1: a stove, had little like fake burners on the top, 481 00:26:55,760 --> 00:26:57,639 Speaker 1: it looked like a stub, and it was actually a 482 00:26:57,640 --> 00:27:02,040 Speaker 1: front loader to where there was a like a slot 483 00:27:02,119 --> 00:27:04,200 Speaker 1: in the front of the Easy Bake oven and that's 484 00:27:04,200 --> 00:27:05,879 Speaker 1: where you put the thing in, and that's what you 485 00:27:05,920 --> 00:27:08,520 Speaker 1: actually pulled it out from, too, and it went right 486 00:27:08,560 --> 00:27:12,800 Speaker 1: into the heating element um And they replaced the light 487 00:27:12,840 --> 00:27:16,879 Speaker 1: bulb because again so long light bulb because of the 488 00:27:17,000 --> 00:27:21,480 Speaker 1: energy act um. With an actual heating element, a ceramic 489 00:27:21,520 --> 00:27:24,760 Speaker 1: heating element like an oven, it was an oven. So 490 00:27:25,040 --> 00:27:27,639 Speaker 1: they made an oven. But then when they made the oven, 491 00:27:27,760 --> 00:27:30,760 Speaker 1: they redesigned this thing so that you could put your 492 00:27:30,800 --> 00:27:33,840 Speaker 1: fingers right into the oven while it was baking at 493 00:27:33,880 --> 00:27:38,119 Speaker 1: its hottest temperature. And of course kids immediately started doing that. 494 00:27:38,200 --> 00:27:41,280 Speaker 1: How did they How did that one slip past? No idea? 495 00:27:41,480 --> 00:27:43,240 Speaker 1: I mean, that just doesn't make any sense at all. 496 00:27:43,800 --> 00:27:45,480 Speaker 1: So in the end, I think, what what close to 497 00:27:45,480 --> 00:27:49,040 Speaker 1: two kids ended up with like second third degree burns, 498 00:27:50,160 --> 00:27:53,520 Speaker 1: one partial amputation of a finger. Yeah, because kids would 499 00:27:53,520 --> 00:27:56,520 Speaker 1: get their fingers stuck in it, right, and it's just 500 00:27:56,880 --> 00:27:58,840 Speaker 1: and then some kids got their fingers stuck in it 501 00:27:58,920 --> 00:28:03,560 Speaker 1: while it was hot, and yes, they were getting huge burns. 502 00:28:03,560 --> 00:28:06,880 Speaker 1: So um, Hasbro was like, well, we'll do a recall, 503 00:28:06,920 --> 00:28:12,520 Speaker 1: and they recalled five thousand, I think ultimately a million 504 00:28:12,560 --> 00:28:15,080 Speaker 1: of these things. They recalled. First they tried to say, 505 00:28:15,240 --> 00:28:18,160 Speaker 1: here's a little fixed Yeah, here's a retrofitted piece. It's 506 00:28:18,160 --> 00:28:20,360 Speaker 1: really easy to snap it on, and I'll solve them everything. 507 00:28:20,359 --> 00:28:22,560 Speaker 1: And apparently it did solve everything. They're like, why didn't 508 00:28:22,560 --> 00:28:24,199 Speaker 1: you make it that way to begin with, right, But 509 00:28:24,320 --> 00:28:27,960 Speaker 1: most parents were not, Like they didn't have their ears 510 00:28:27,960 --> 00:28:29,680 Speaker 1: out that there was a recall of their easy bake 511 00:28:29,760 --> 00:28:32,919 Speaker 1: oven and so their kids the kids kept getting burned 512 00:28:33,359 --> 00:28:36,359 Speaker 1: and and finally Hasbro was like, just bring them back. 513 00:28:36,800 --> 00:28:39,400 Speaker 1: So there's a recall of a million Easy bake ovens 514 00:28:39,640 --> 00:28:43,200 Speaker 1: from that two thousand and six redesigns for them, Like 515 00:28:43,480 --> 00:28:45,960 Speaker 1: if that would have ruined the easy bake oven, that 516 00:28:45,960 --> 00:28:48,040 Speaker 1: would have been a big, big, deal. So what they 517 00:28:48,080 --> 00:28:51,479 Speaker 1: did was they temporarily went back to an old design 518 00:28:51,800 --> 00:28:55,440 Speaker 1: featuring a light bulb too, while they redesigned it to 519 00:28:55,560 --> 00:28:58,840 Speaker 1: the new version. So uh, then they came out in 520 00:28:58,840 --> 00:29:02,720 Speaker 1: two thousand and eleven with that that really ugly designed 521 00:29:02,960 --> 00:29:05,800 Speaker 1: what's called the Easy Bake Ultimate Oven. I'm looking at 522 00:29:05,800 --> 00:29:07,880 Speaker 1: it now. That things. Yeah it does. It looks terrible. 523 00:29:07,960 --> 00:29:10,080 Speaker 1: It's horrible. It's super It looks like it's on the 524 00:29:10,120 --> 00:29:13,959 Speaker 1: go or something like that. I don't like it. It 525 00:29:13,960 --> 00:29:16,800 Speaker 1: looks like a weird toaster of it. Yeah, but it's 526 00:29:16,800 --> 00:29:19,280 Speaker 1: sort of. It looks like it's trying to look futuristic 527 00:29:19,320 --> 00:29:21,560 Speaker 1: and modern, which never ends up looking like that. No, 528 00:29:21,680 --> 00:29:24,920 Speaker 1: it doesn't. But they also made it pink and purple, 529 00:29:25,880 --> 00:29:29,520 Speaker 1: super girly that ads were girl targeted. Yet there's flowers 530 00:29:29,560 --> 00:29:32,920 Speaker 1: on it. Again they were like, nope, this is for girls. 531 00:29:32,960 --> 00:29:38,000 Speaker 1: Boys don't play with this. So in two thousand, I 532 00:29:38,040 --> 00:29:43,720 Speaker 1: think two thousand thirteen, there was a girl named um 533 00:29:43,920 --> 00:29:50,920 Speaker 1: McKenna Pope who is just a hero of heroes. She's amazing. 534 00:29:50,960 --> 00:29:54,120 Speaker 1: I saw an interview with her on CNN. She's just 535 00:29:54,240 --> 00:29:58,680 Speaker 1: so like self possessed and intelligent and like well spoken, 536 00:29:58,720 --> 00:30:00,560 Speaker 1: but also like a kid now where she's a kid. 537 00:30:00,600 --> 00:30:05,440 Speaker 1: She's just amazing, one of those clearly reincarnated um. And 538 00:30:05,560 --> 00:30:09,840 Speaker 1: she went on she started a petition to get Hasbro 539 00:30:10,080 --> 00:30:12,560 Speaker 1: to make a gender neutral version of It's Easy Bake 540 00:30:12,600 --> 00:30:16,120 Speaker 1: Oven because her little brother UM like to bake, but 541 00:30:17,600 --> 00:30:20,880 Speaker 1: realized that the Easy Bake Oven was for girls. She 542 00:30:20,920 --> 00:30:23,240 Speaker 1: wanted him to be able to bake, so she said, Hasbro, 543 00:30:23,280 --> 00:30:25,480 Speaker 1: why don't you make one this gender neutral? And got 544 00:30:25,520 --> 00:30:28,920 Speaker 1: something like fifty thousand signatures for her petition, and Hasbro 545 00:30:29,080 --> 00:30:31,640 Speaker 1: came out with a new version of the Easy Bake 546 00:30:31,720 --> 00:30:34,440 Speaker 1: Ultimate Oven, which was just a black version of it, 547 00:30:34,520 --> 00:30:36,840 Speaker 1: black and I think silver. I'm surprised it wasn't like 548 00:30:37,200 --> 00:30:41,640 Speaker 1: our brush stainless model to emulate, you know kitchens. Yeah, 549 00:30:41,680 --> 00:30:44,400 Speaker 1: she's she's probably almost twenty years old now. Yeah. One 550 00:30:44,400 --> 00:30:46,240 Speaker 1: of what she's doing, mckinnipope or are you out there, 551 00:30:46,520 --> 00:30:49,360 Speaker 1: she's some sort of like consumer protection lawyer all that 552 00:30:49,640 --> 00:30:53,760 Speaker 1: probably so, I hope. So, uh, two thousand six they 553 00:30:53,800 --> 00:30:56,600 Speaker 1: go into the National Toy Hall of Fame the same 554 00:30:56,680 --> 00:31:01,600 Speaker 1: year that disastrous redesign. Yeah, they they got in just 555 00:31:01,720 --> 00:31:06,000 Speaker 1: under the wire. Can't take it back. I'm trying to 556 00:31:06,000 --> 00:31:08,120 Speaker 1: look here and they're from their very on website some 557 00:31:08,160 --> 00:31:11,640 Speaker 1: of the landmark years. Uh, and it is kind of 558 00:31:11,640 --> 00:31:14,560 Speaker 1: funny that emulated the styles of the time, unless they 559 00:31:14,600 --> 00:31:17,160 Speaker 1: were just doing pink. Like in sixty nine they premiered 560 00:31:17,200 --> 00:31:20,520 Speaker 1: the avocado Green. The very next year was Harvest Gold. 561 00:31:21,040 --> 00:31:24,600 Speaker 1: It's very good metallic p You say that a lot 562 00:31:24,600 --> 00:31:29,280 Speaker 1: in our else. Um. Oh, they had a potato chip maker. 563 00:31:29,360 --> 00:31:32,720 Speaker 1: Do we mention that No? V? Three, the easy Baked 564 00:31:32,760 --> 00:31:37,440 Speaker 1: Potato chip Maker And um. Then in seventy eight they 565 00:31:37,440 --> 00:31:41,760 Speaker 1: finally started putting a fake digital clock on it that 566 00:31:42,120 --> 00:31:47,080 Speaker 1: always read twelve thirty, not for twenty. You see that 567 00:31:47,120 --> 00:31:51,560 Speaker 1: a lot in as a joke and like the pothead joke. Yeah, 568 00:31:51,600 --> 00:31:55,480 Speaker 1: but like you'll see an alarm clock ad and like, uh, 569 00:31:55,720 --> 00:31:58,320 Speaker 1: skymall or something, and I'll say four twenty because the 570 00:31:58,360 --> 00:32:02,000 Speaker 1: publishers paying attention, they get it, doesn't know or they 571 00:32:02,040 --> 00:32:06,560 Speaker 1: don't care. Sure. I remember years ago when we used 572 00:32:06,560 --> 00:32:09,120 Speaker 1: to have a lot of illustrations on how stuff works 573 00:32:09,120 --> 00:32:11,480 Speaker 1: and had two in house illustrators that I won't name, 574 00:32:11,920 --> 00:32:14,960 Speaker 1: and remember one of them drew a like a park 575 00:32:15,040 --> 00:32:17,760 Speaker 1: scene for me, and the tree clearly had a marijuana 576 00:32:17,840 --> 00:32:21,160 Speaker 1: leaf like embedded in it and I was like, hey, man, 577 00:32:21,280 --> 00:32:22,680 Speaker 1: you can't do that, and he was like, oh, I 578 00:32:22,760 --> 00:32:26,400 Speaker 1: was completely an accident. I was like, man, I wasn't 579 00:32:26,400 --> 00:32:29,880 Speaker 1: born yesterday. I've seen a pot leaf before. I mean 580 00:32:29,880 --> 00:32:32,720 Speaker 1: I thought it was funny, but like, you know, yeah, 581 00:32:32,760 --> 00:32:35,480 Speaker 1: I couldn't do that. Do you got anything else? I 582 00:32:35,520 --> 00:32:39,560 Speaker 1: don't think so. Easy bake oven, mac and cheese you 583 00:32:39,600 --> 00:32:43,880 Speaker 1: can bake. Oh. In two thousand three they they introduced 584 00:32:43,920 --> 00:32:46,960 Speaker 1: the real meal oven and you could That's when you 585 00:32:46,960 --> 00:32:49,080 Speaker 1: could do like French fries and pizza and mac and 586 00:32:49,120 --> 00:32:51,360 Speaker 1: cheese and stuff. I think that was the predecessor to 587 00:32:51,400 --> 00:32:55,960 Speaker 1: the ceramic heating element that they eventually the easy bacon 588 00:32:56,040 --> 00:33:00,840 Speaker 1: in two thousands six. Good stuff, good stuff. If you 589 00:33:00,880 --> 00:33:02,960 Speaker 1: want a nice blast from the past, just type in 590 00:33:03,000 --> 00:33:06,720 Speaker 1: like easy bake oven commercials. There's one from that was 591 00:33:06,760 --> 00:33:10,960 Speaker 1: just perfect. Was it rad? No? It was pretty rad? Okay, 592 00:33:11,080 --> 00:33:14,320 Speaker 1: it was like Carpenter's era Gotcha, which is not rad 593 00:33:14,360 --> 00:33:17,640 Speaker 1: but still lovely. Yes. I love the Carpenters, me too. 594 00:33:18,600 --> 00:33:21,160 Speaker 1: Um Well, if you want to know more about easy 595 00:33:21,160 --> 00:33:24,120 Speaker 1: bake ovens or the Carpenters or the Snoopy snowcomb machine, 596 00:33:24,240 --> 00:33:26,560 Speaker 1: just go onto the internet. It's a vast repository of 597 00:33:26,560 --> 00:33:28,880 Speaker 1: stuff like that. And since I said that, it's time 598 00:33:28,880 --> 00:33:33,840 Speaker 1: for listening to mail. Hey guys, UM a freelance writer 599 00:33:33,880 --> 00:33:36,400 Speaker 1: who works remotely. So I've been writing and traveling the 600 00:33:36,400 --> 00:33:38,240 Speaker 1: world for the past year and a half. It's been wild. 601 00:33:38,680 --> 00:33:40,920 Speaker 1: Since I've been traveling alone, it can get lonely, But 602 00:33:41,040 --> 00:33:44,320 Speaker 1: from Mexico City the Bali to Tokyo, you guys have 603 00:33:44,360 --> 00:33:46,760 Speaker 1: been with me, keeping me company, making me laugh, teach 604 00:33:46,800 --> 00:33:49,320 Speaker 1: me all kinds of cool facts. As a content writer, 605 00:33:49,360 --> 00:33:52,280 Speaker 1: also feel a connection to y'all. We both have to 606 00:33:52,320 --> 00:33:57,040 Speaker 1: research seemingly mundane topics sometimes and discovered the cool interesting 607 00:33:57,040 --> 00:33:59,840 Speaker 1: things about them, present them in a palatable way of 608 00:34:00,000 --> 00:34:02,240 Speaker 1: People sometimes laugh when I'm telling that I'm writing something 609 00:34:02,280 --> 00:34:04,520 Speaker 1: like the history of the egg McMuffin or the best 610 00:34:04,720 --> 00:34:08,279 Speaker 1: month to buy a mattress. But I just point to 611 00:34:08,320 --> 00:34:10,759 Speaker 1: your podcast as a sterling example of how gems and 612 00:34:10,800 --> 00:34:14,839 Speaker 1: surprises lie within even the most unassuming topics. Thank you, Yeah, 613 00:34:15,000 --> 00:34:17,200 Speaker 1: I agree. Have you guys ever considered doing a show 614 00:34:17,200 --> 00:34:21,279 Speaker 1: on digital nomatting. I know it's becoming increasingly popular as 615 00:34:21,320 --> 00:34:28,280 Speaker 1: more companies embrace remote working. I'm in a cafe and medellin, Medaine, 616 00:34:28,480 --> 00:34:32,560 Speaker 1: Columbia right now, and there are five digital nomads tapping 617 00:34:32,560 --> 00:34:35,200 Speaker 1: away in their laptops as we speak. They would beat 618 00:34:35,239 --> 00:34:37,040 Speaker 1: me up if they knew I just refer to them 619 00:34:37,040 --> 00:34:40,640 Speaker 1: as digital nomad. The future is location independent. I say, 620 00:34:40,680 --> 00:34:43,200 Speaker 1: thanks again for being so awesome. It's a short term 621 00:34:43,239 --> 00:34:45,240 Speaker 1: dream of mine to digital nomad over to a country 622 00:34:45,239 --> 00:34:47,480 Speaker 1: where you're doing a live show by you guys a drink. 623 00:34:48,480 --> 00:34:50,080 Speaker 1: If you do read this on the air, please give 624 00:34:50,080 --> 00:34:52,600 Speaker 1: a shout out to Mark Alexander, who insisted that I 625 00:34:52,680 --> 00:34:54,759 Speaker 1: keep listening to you guys, even even after I was 626 00:34:54,800 --> 00:34:58,000 Speaker 1: initially slightly turned off by all of your sides and 627 00:34:58,080 --> 00:35:00,399 Speaker 1: off tracking happens to a lot of people, And that's 628 00:35:00,400 --> 00:35:02,160 Speaker 1: funny because we had a lot of those today. You 629 00:35:02,200 --> 00:35:07,960 Speaker 1: know that reminds me of a totally unrelated story. Uh 630 00:35:07,960 --> 00:35:10,520 Speaker 1: he she says, now, I very much learned to appreciate those. 631 00:35:11,000 --> 00:35:13,080 Speaker 1: He would burst into tears and I would too, So 632 00:35:13,120 --> 00:35:16,560 Speaker 1: thank you, Mark Alexander for turning on your friend. Maria 633 00:35:16,680 --> 00:35:22,000 Speaker 1: Christina Ladonde, thanks a lot, beautiful name. Yeah, I'm sorry 634 00:35:22,080 --> 00:35:28,719 Speaker 1: laalone day leon da Maria Christina Laonde, um, and I 635 00:35:28,760 --> 00:35:31,520 Speaker 1: hope that your buddy did just burst out into tears. 636 00:35:31,560 --> 00:35:34,920 Speaker 1: That'd be amazing, pretty neat. Thanks for that email. If 637 00:35:34,960 --> 00:35:37,600 Speaker 1: you want to get in touch with this, you can 638 00:35:37,840 --> 00:35:39,480 Speaker 1: find us on the web but Stuff you Should Know 639 00:35:39,520 --> 00:35:42,640 Speaker 1: dot com. Check out our social links there, and if 640 00:35:42,640 --> 00:35:45,120 Speaker 1: you like, send an email to Stuff podcast at how 641 00:35:45,200 --> 00:35:52,520 Speaker 1: stuff works dot com for more on this and thousands 642 00:35:52,560 --> 00:36:02,200 Speaker 1: of other topics. Is it how stuff works dot com 643 00:36:00,120 --> 00:36:00,200 Speaker 1: Ye