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 --> 00:00:13,720 Speaker 1: dot com. Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh Clark, 3 00:00:13,800 --> 00:00:16,760 Speaker 1: and there's Charles W. Chuck Bryan, there's Casper the Ghost 4 00:00:16,840 --> 00:00:23,240 Speaker 1: or your producer. Hi Casper. Yeah, Jerry's on vacation. Guest 5 00:00:23,280 --> 00:00:26,759 Speaker 1: producer Tristan came in and tapped the record button with 6 00:00:26,800 --> 00:00:30,440 Speaker 1: his nose as his per tradition, and then he left. 7 00:00:31,400 --> 00:00:34,640 Speaker 1: Here we are. That's the new tradition. People just come 8 00:00:34,680 --> 00:00:36,760 Speaker 1: in and be like, yeah, here you go. See remember 9 00:00:36,800 --> 00:00:38,640 Speaker 1: the old days when guest producers would claim her to 10 00:00:38,680 --> 00:00:41,559 Speaker 1: get in here and witness the magic. I remember, I 11 00:00:41,600 --> 00:00:44,680 Speaker 1: can remember. Now they draw lots and just go all right. 12 00:00:44,760 --> 00:00:46,960 Speaker 1: I guess I'll go hit record and leave. I'd like 13 00:00:47,080 --> 00:00:50,240 Speaker 1: to think it's because they're all overworked. That's why it's 14 00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:53,800 Speaker 1: not like, you know, we're past a No, it could 15 00:00:53,800 --> 00:00:56,600 Speaker 1: be both, though. I guess how you doing. I'm doing 16 00:00:56,600 --> 00:00:59,640 Speaker 1: good man. I'm excited about this one. It's nice to 17 00:00:59,680 --> 00:01:04,280 Speaker 1: have something that doesn't, you know, have that much weight 18 00:01:04,319 --> 00:01:08,560 Speaker 1: to it. Yeah, I needed a little lighter break. Uh 19 00:01:08,560 --> 00:01:12,039 Speaker 1: and big thanks by the way to Denver, Colorado. Just 20 00:01:12,240 --> 00:01:15,280 Speaker 1: came back from Denver for two sold out shows. Two 21 00:01:15,360 --> 00:01:18,080 Speaker 1: great shows. Yeah, and it was. It was a lot 22 00:01:18,120 --> 00:01:21,399 Speaker 1: of fun. I had fun as well. It was a 23 00:01:21,400 --> 00:01:23,680 Speaker 1: good show. I think that second one, for my money, 24 00:01:23,760 --> 00:01:27,000 Speaker 1: is the one we should release, as are the version 25 00:01:27,040 --> 00:01:29,360 Speaker 1: of that show. Which live shows have we released? I 26 00:01:29,400 --> 00:01:35,119 Speaker 1: know Chicago was Pinto's pr PRR toes was Atlantic because 27 00:01:35,120 --> 00:01:37,720 Speaker 1: that was the benefit show? And what about dB Cooper 28 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:41,600 Speaker 1: dB Cooper with Seattle I believe, and then Grave Robbing 29 00:01:41,640 --> 00:01:43,440 Speaker 1: was somewhere in the UK, I would imagine. I think 30 00:01:43,480 --> 00:01:45,360 Speaker 1: I think it was London, all right. So we have 31 00:01:45,440 --> 00:01:48,960 Speaker 1: not released a Denver show. No, we definitely haven't. We 32 00:01:49,040 --> 00:01:51,920 Speaker 1: have not, so this could be the one. If you 33 00:01:51,920 --> 00:01:55,840 Speaker 1: ask me, it was just on and popping well money, 34 00:01:55,920 --> 00:01:57,720 Speaker 1: You know me, I don't like to overthink these things, 35 00:01:57,720 --> 00:02:00,160 Speaker 1: so I'm generally just prone to say it's good enough 36 00:02:00,160 --> 00:02:02,120 Speaker 1: for you, it's good enough for me. That's very nice 37 00:02:02,160 --> 00:02:07,000 Speaker 1: of you. Let's me get away with a lot. That's right. Um, 38 00:02:07,040 --> 00:02:13,200 Speaker 1: all right, well chuck, um hmm. I'm prepared now, are you? Yes? Well, 39 00:02:13,200 --> 00:02:17,280 Speaker 1: then let us speak in talking about jobs that just 40 00:02:17,320 --> 00:02:21,200 Speaker 1: aren't around anymore, the old stuff you should know. Top ten, 41 00:02:21,400 --> 00:02:24,600 Speaker 1: which means we'll do what eight maybe if we feel 42 00:02:24,639 --> 00:02:28,480 Speaker 1: like it certainly not ten. I'll tell you that I agree. 43 00:02:29,040 --> 00:02:31,840 Speaker 1: So there's actually this article I thought started out pretty 44 00:02:31,840 --> 00:02:35,640 Speaker 1: cleverly talking about some jobs that are probably going to 45 00:02:35,680 --> 00:02:38,440 Speaker 1: be extinct in the near future, at least as far 46 00:02:38,480 --> 00:02:41,880 Speaker 1: as the US Bureau of Labor Statistics is concerned. I 47 00:02:41,880 --> 00:02:44,680 Speaker 1: didn't even look at that part. So so there's a 48 00:02:44,720 --> 00:02:49,320 Speaker 1: few coming up word processors and typists. Not not a 49 00:02:49,320 --> 00:02:52,600 Speaker 1: lot of time left on that profession. Door to door 50 00:02:52,680 --> 00:02:57,799 Speaker 1: sales workers, which I took issue with because I can 51 00:02:57,880 --> 00:03:00,840 Speaker 1: see people wanting that personal touch of being bothered and 52 00:03:00,880 --> 00:03:05,280 Speaker 1: harassed by a salesperson. You know happened, Yeah, I think 53 00:03:05,360 --> 00:03:07,480 Speaker 1: now it mostly happens like didn't you want to sign 54 00:03:07,520 --> 00:03:10,800 Speaker 1: this this um petition or something like that, especially the 55 00:03:10,840 --> 00:03:13,360 Speaker 1: door to door thing, not like here's a vacuum cleaner 56 00:03:13,440 --> 00:03:16,240 Speaker 1: or set of Encyclopedia Britannicas. I do you know how 57 00:03:16,400 --> 00:03:18,640 Speaker 1: just blown away you would be if somebody came up 58 00:03:18,639 --> 00:03:20,680 Speaker 1: to your door and tried to sell you a vacuum cleaner. 59 00:03:20,680 --> 00:03:22,240 Speaker 1: You'd be like, what's your angle? Are you case in 60 00:03:22,280 --> 00:03:25,680 Speaker 1: my house or Encyclopedia's I mean, that's even moral fashion. 61 00:03:25,680 --> 00:03:28,160 Speaker 1: At least you still use vacuum cleaners. Yeah, for sure, 62 00:03:28,200 --> 00:03:31,840 Speaker 1: that's true. The last one on this list was mail carriers, 63 00:03:31,919 --> 00:03:35,600 Speaker 1: which will I don't know, man, I could see, I 64 00:03:35,640 --> 00:03:38,000 Speaker 1: could see there's always going to be a need for 65 00:03:38,120 --> 00:03:42,160 Speaker 1: physical correspondence, or there will be for a very long time. 66 00:03:42,160 --> 00:03:44,400 Speaker 1: I don't know about that one. But the upshot of 67 00:03:44,400 --> 00:03:47,360 Speaker 1: all this is is this, Chuck, there's this guy who 68 00:03:47,400 --> 00:03:50,280 Speaker 1: you boat you and I know, uh named John Maynard Keynes, 69 00:03:51,160 --> 00:03:55,000 Speaker 1: and he is an economist. He was an economist liberal economist, 70 00:03:55,480 --> 00:03:59,800 Speaker 1: and he will wrote back in an essay called Economic 71 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:03,400 Speaker 1: Stabilities of our Grandchildren, and it's actually like a quick 72 00:04:03,400 --> 00:04:06,960 Speaker 1: easy read. But then he basically said a hundred years 73 00:04:06,960 --> 00:04:10,480 Speaker 1: hence so by we will have done away with work, 74 00:04:10,600 --> 00:04:14,280 Speaker 1: will have automated basically every process you can think of, 75 00:04:14,360 --> 00:04:16,880 Speaker 1: and humans will be totally out of work. And he 76 00:04:16,920 --> 00:04:20,000 Speaker 1: said that will be a really good thing, because we 77 00:04:20,080 --> 00:04:23,359 Speaker 1: will still be generating wealth, but we just won't have 78 00:04:23,400 --> 00:04:26,680 Speaker 1: to work. So people will start writing bad poetry and 79 00:04:26,880 --> 00:04:30,200 Speaker 1: painting terrible paintings, and eventually we'll get better and better, 80 00:04:30,240 --> 00:04:32,719 Speaker 1: and there'll be like a big blooming of the arts 81 00:04:32,760 --> 00:04:35,919 Speaker 1: and of like interpersonal relationships and things like that, and 82 00:04:35,960 --> 00:04:39,240 Speaker 1: we'll just be able to hang out and chill, and 83 00:04:39,279 --> 00:04:41,479 Speaker 1: we've come close to that. But there's a lot of 84 00:04:42,040 --> 00:04:46,200 Speaker 1: a lot of holes in Keynes's argument, whereas like if 85 00:04:46,240 --> 00:04:47,960 Speaker 1: you if you're gonna do this, you kind of have 86 00:04:48,040 --> 00:04:50,279 Speaker 1: to figure out a way to distribute the wealth evenly, 87 00:04:50,480 --> 00:04:52,840 Speaker 1: or else you just end up with the people who 88 00:04:52,960 --> 00:04:54,960 Speaker 1: own the machines are the ones who get wealthy, and 89 00:04:55,000 --> 00:04:57,280 Speaker 1: everybody else is just out of work. But setting all 90 00:04:57,320 --> 00:05:01,360 Speaker 1: of that aside, there is a silverlyinging to the idea 91 00:05:01,720 --> 00:05:05,040 Speaker 1: that jobs can be extinct. And these this list of 92 00:05:05,120 --> 00:05:07,960 Speaker 1: jobs to me kind of shows like, Okay, you know, 93 00:05:08,200 --> 00:05:11,160 Speaker 1: we move on without this kind of stuff. Yes, it's 94 00:05:11,240 --> 00:05:14,080 Speaker 1: rough for the people who had that job, but you 95 00:05:14,120 --> 00:05:17,159 Speaker 1: can get new training and learn another job, which for 96 00:05:17,279 --> 00:05:20,000 Speaker 1: my money is part and parcel with getting rid of 97 00:05:20,040 --> 00:05:23,000 Speaker 1: one job. You need to train somebody for another job 98 00:05:23,080 --> 00:05:26,880 Speaker 1: as long as we humans can work. Yeah, And it's uh, 99 00:05:26,920 --> 00:05:29,520 Speaker 1: I think with most jobs it's not like I mean, 100 00:05:29,560 --> 00:05:33,560 Speaker 1: in some cases the thing just no longer exists, but 101 00:05:33,960 --> 00:05:37,520 Speaker 1: if it's replaced by a better or newer technology or both, 102 00:05:38,160 --> 00:05:41,240 Speaker 1: then then that becomes the job. So I've never bought 103 00:05:41,240 --> 00:05:44,279 Speaker 1: into this whole, like, you know, we need to protect 104 00:05:44,400 --> 00:05:51,240 Speaker 1: these jobs that are surely antiquated just to keep these 105 00:05:51,279 --> 00:05:53,440 Speaker 1: people in work. It's like, no, man, you've got to 106 00:05:53,640 --> 00:05:55,960 Speaker 1: roll at the times you do. But I think that 107 00:05:56,000 --> 00:05:58,919 Speaker 1: one of the rules of like government or even industry 108 00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:03,960 Speaker 1: is to to provide training to keep up with those times. 109 00:06:04,120 --> 00:06:07,800 Speaker 1: Sure if if so, someone so chooses for sure. Sure. Yeah. Now, 110 00:06:07,839 --> 00:06:10,240 Speaker 1: if it's all robots doing everything all the time, then 111 00:06:10,279 --> 00:06:11,760 Speaker 1: we should be able to choose not to and you 112 00:06:11,800 --> 00:06:15,440 Speaker 1: should have a nice universal basic income. But someone has 113 00:06:15,480 --> 00:06:18,640 Speaker 1: to build and fix those robots, and well you build 114 00:06:18,640 --> 00:06:22,000 Speaker 1: other robots to do that, all the materials and at 115 00:06:22,040 --> 00:06:24,159 Speaker 1: some point, I just I don't think I agree with 116 00:06:24,240 --> 00:06:27,000 Speaker 1: him fully that nobody will be working at some point 117 00:06:28,200 --> 00:06:32,520 Speaker 1: you disagree with Can's all right, let's get to it. 118 00:06:32,800 --> 00:06:35,200 Speaker 1: Because first, the first job on this list, I don't 119 00:06:35,240 --> 00:06:37,400 Speaker 1: think anybody was really sad to see go, although that's 120 00:06:37,400 --> 00:06:40,520 Speaker 1: not necessarily true. There were fans well, and I know 121 00:06:40,600 --> 00:06:44,000 Speaker 1: one person in particular it was probably pretty sad. Oh well, 122 00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:50,000 Speaker 1: we'll get to him, okay. Chariot racing, Yeah, that's an 123 00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:53,440 Speaker 1: extinct job. You cannot anywhere in the world find a 124 00:06:53,440 --> 00:06:56,400 Speaker 1: professional chariot racer as far as we know. Yeah, but 125 00:06:56,520 --> 00:06:59,440 Speaker 1: this was one that was a very very big sport 126 00:07:00,160 --> 00:07:05,480 Speaker 1: back in the day and was literally like NASCAR was today, 127 00:07:05,600 --> 00:07:08,000 Speaker 1: very much so. Yeah, I mean they had, uh, if 128 00:07:08,040 --> 00:07:10,360 Speaker 1: you if you look at let's say they called this 129 00:07:10,640 --> 00:07:14,120 Speaker 1: the tracks circuses, if you look at Circus Maximus in 130 00:07:14,160 --> 00:07:17,280 Speaker 1: ancient Rome, this thing, I mean, these things started out 131 00:07:17,320 --> 00:07:19,040 Speaker 1: where people could just like sit on the hillside and 132 00:07:19,040 --> 00:07:22,840 Speaker 1: watch races, but it evolved into Circus Maximus, which held 133 00:07:23,240 --> 00:07:26,600 Speaker 1: a hundred and fifty thousand spectators. I saw two hundred 134 00:07:26,640 --> 00:07:30,559 Speaker 1: and fifty really. Yeah, well, let's just say it's somewhere 135 00:07:30,560 --> 00:07:33,880 Speaker 1: between that then, right between those two numbers. Either way, 136 00:07:33,960 --> 00:07:37,120 Speaker 1: it's super impressive, agreed. Yeah, And of course, if you 137 00:07:37,120 --> 00:07:39,640 Speaker 1: don't know what a chariot races, it's very simple. It's 138 00:07:39,680 --> 00:07:43,720 Speaker 1: just a race where a horse pulls a man in 139 00:07:43,760 --> 00:07:47,840 Speaker 1: a in a little two wheeled vehicle called a chariot. Yeah. 140 00:07:47,880 --> 00:07:50,760 Speaker 1: Everyone's seen a chariot, and the depictions I've always seen 141 00:07:50,800 --> 00:07:54,960 Speaker 1: from cartoons to movies actually apparently were very um accurate. 142 00:07:55,440 --> 00:07:57,680 Speaker 1: It's like closed off in the front and then kind 143 00:07:57,680 --> 00:07:59,480 Speaker 1: of tapered down the sides and open in the back. 144 00:07:59,720 --> 00:08:02,120 Speaker 1: There was one axle with two wheels and it was 145 00:08:02,160 --> 00:08:06,040 Speaker 1: connected to a team of horses. Usually about four horses, 146 00:08:06,080 --> 00:08:09,880 Speaker 1: maybe two maybe six um and it went really really 147 00:08:09,920 --> 00:08:12,920 Speaker 1: fast and it was really really flimsy. So if you 148 00:08:13,000 --> 00:08:15,280 Speaker 1: collided with another chariot, there was a pretty good chance 149 00:08:15,320 --> 00:08:17,160 Speaker 1: your chariot was going to disintegrate and you were going 150 00:08:17,240 --> 00:08:19,480 Speaker 1: to be in trouble. Yeah, I mean just sort of 151 00:08:19,520 --> 00:08:23,160 Speaker 1: like modern race cars. The chariots they designed for military battle, 152 00:08:23,640 --> 00:08:26,360 Speaker 1: we're not like this. They were very sturdy, often had 153 00:08:26,400 --> 00:08:29,000 Speaker 1: a lot of metal and reinforcements. But if you were 154 00:08:29,040 --> 00:08:31,160 Speaker 1: out there racing, you know, you wanted to win, so 155 00:08:31,200 --> 00:08:34,280 Speaker 1: your chariot was super light, probably just made of wood. 156 00:08:34,880 --> 00:08:37,120 Speaker 1: You were probably standing on that axle. It's not like 157 00:08:37,160 --> 00:08:39,400 Speaker 1: they you know, you were sitting on some big throne 158 00:08:39,440 --> 00:08:42,640 Speaker 1: in the center of your chariot. And uh, it was 159 00:08:42,679 --> 00:08:44,439 Speaker 1: sort of like horse racing. They would you would draw 160 00:08:44,559 --> 00:08:48,960 Speaker 1: lots for position, they would drop the white cloth, uh, 161 00:08:49,000 --> 00:08:51,840 Speaker 1: and then up to twelve racers at a time, you know, 162 00:08:51,880 --> 00:08:54,760 Speaker 1: the gates would open and you were off. Yeah, and 163 00:08:54,840 --> 00:08:57,839 Speaker 1: there were the height of the Roman Empire. There were 164 00:08:57,880 --> 00:09:00,360 Speaker 1: four and then later on six teams. It was a 165 00:09:00,400 --> 00:09:02,280 Speaker 1: red team, a white team, a blue team, and a 166 00:09:02,280 --> 00:09:06,120 Speaker 1: green team originally, then they added purple and gold and 167 00:09:06,280 --> 00:09:08,760 Speaker 1: like you said, this is like NASCAR. Are people devoted 168 00:09:08,800 --> 00:09:11,400 Speaker 1: to these teams like they're devoted to racers today, or 169 00:09:11,440 --> 00:09:16,520 Speaker 1: like to football or soccer today? Um? Just fanatics. There 170 00:09:16,559 --> 00:09:18,800 Speaker 1: was a story that Pliny wrote of a guy who 171 00:09:18,920 --> 00:09:21,400 Speaker 1: is a fan of the Red team and when one 172 00:09:21,400 --> 00:09:24,960 Speaker 1: of the Red team racers died, the fan threw himself 173 00:09:25,000 --> 00:09:29,360 Speaker 1: onto his funeral pyre killed himself out of grief. Wow, 174 00:09:30,080 --> 00:09:35,520 Speaker 1: which you know that happens weekly in NASCAR, you know, Uh, 175 00:09:35,640 --> 00:09:42,800 Speaker 1: except they throw themselves on their their turkey friar. I 176 00:09:42,880 --> 00:09:45,360 Speaker 1: don't know why I think that. I think that's probably 177 00:09:45,400 --> 00:09:47,320 Speaker 1: pretty accurate, man. I bet there's a lot of turkey 178 00:09:47,320 --> 00:09:50,360 Speaker 1: friars or maybe their barbecue pit, how about that? Sure? 179 00:09:51,080 --> 00:09:53,480 Speaker 1: So the dude I mentioned that was probably pretty sad 180 00:09:53,520 --> 00:09:55,920 Speaker 1: to see it go, although he did finish his career, 181 00:09:56,720 --> 00:09:59,520 Speaker 1: it's not like the sport went away. His name was 182 00:09:59,559 --> 00:10:03,280 Speaker 1: Gaius Diocles. I haven't heard of this cat. He was 183 00:10:03,320 --> 00:10:07,120 Speaker 1: someone who was likely one of the most rich people 184 00:10:07,280 --> 00:10:11,480 Speaker 1: in ancient Rome that was not a member of you know, 185 00:10:11,559 --> 00:10:15,400 Speaker 1: royalty or whatever. He raced from the eighteen to the 186 00:10:15,400 --> 00:10:19,960 Speaker 1: age of forty two, close to races, and I was 187 00:10:19,960 --> 00:10:23,760 Speaker 1: trying to find out some sort of some kind of 188 00:10:23,920 --> 00:10:28,640 Speaker 1: ballpark conversion of their money compared to our money today, 189 00:10:28,800 --> 00:10:31,560 Speaker 1: and most everyone with a brain on the internet and 190 00:10:31,760 --> 00:10:35,880 Speaker 1: internet said no, don't even bother, although some people were like, 191 00:10:36,080 --> 00:10:39,679 Speaker 1: it's really just like a one to one ratio, So 192 00:10:39,760 --> 00:10:43,160 Speaker 1: I don't buy that. But supposedly he amassed a wealth 193 00:10:43,200 --> 00:10:47,360 Speaker 1: of thirty six million whatever you however, you pronounced that 194 00:10:47,480 --> 00:10:51,680 Speaker 1: sesster cs. I haven't seen that word before. Ever, that 195 00:10:51,760 --> 00:10:53,400 Speaker 1: was their money. I don't know s E S T 196 00:10:53,520 --> 00:10:56,640 Speaker 1: E r c E s. Yeah, I've never seen that. 197 00:10:57,000 --> 00:10:59,600 Speaker 1: So I mean, let's say it is a dollar then 198 00:11:00,200 --> 00:11:02,960 Speaker 1: about thirty six million bucks, which made him one of 199 00:11:02,960 --> 00:11:08,120 Speaker 1: the richest people. Yeah, it is. It is impossible that 200 00:11:08,200 --> 00:11:11,720 Speaker 1: the ratio or the conversion is a dollar to like 201 00:11:11,800 --> 00:11:14,000 Speaker 1: one to one, I would think, so right, Yeah, that's 202 00:11:14,000 --> 00:11:18,200 Speaker 1: totally impossible. Yeah, that was just some dummy on answer 203 00:11:18,280 --> 00:11:20,520 Speaker 1: this dot com or something. Yeah, I'm tired of thinking 204 00:11:20,520 --> 00:11:22,240 Speaker 1: about this. Just say it's wonder why. I think it 205 00:11:22,320 --> 00:11:24,920 Speaker 1: was from the webs website take a stab at it 206 00:11:25,000 --> 00:11:28,840 Speaker 1: dot com. But that guy raised from eight to two 207 00:11:28,960 --> 00:11:31,600 Speaker 1: huh eighteen years old, and apparently he not only was 208 00:11:31,600 --> 00:11:34,360 Speaker 1: super rich, but he kept a lot of records of 209 00:11:34,520 --> 00:11:36,480 Speaker 1: his races. So he's one of the only people we 210 00:11:36,520 --> 00:11:39,000 Speaker 1: can look back on and say, you know, he raced this. 211 00:11:39,080 --> 00:11:40,400 Speaker 1: I mean he only one about a third of his 212 00:11:40,480 --> 00:11:42,640 Speaker 1: races to it looked like so. But even still just 213 00:11:42,679 --> 00:11:46,360 Speaker 1: surviving that many races as boggling, like this is really dangerous. 214 00:11:46,400 --> 00:11:50,559 Speaker 1: You know, like if you're if your chariot basically exploded, 215 00:11:51,000 --> 00:11:53,920 Speaker 1: you had lashed the reins to your horses around your 216 00:11:53,920 --> 00:11:57,840 Speaker 1: waist to stabilize yourself better, and you were still connected 217 00:11:57,880 --> 00:12:00,000 Speaker 1: to your horses by your waist and now they were dry. 218 00:12:00,000 --> 00:12:03,080 Speaker 1: I give you possibly to death. So most most most 219 00:12:03,559 --> 00:12:06,559 Speaker 1: racers carried a knife on them to cut themselves loose 220 00:12:06,559 --> 00:12:10,520 Speaker 1: in case they weren't always quick enough with it. Yeah, 221 00:12:10,559 --> 00:12:12,800 Speaker 1: and then you had to get your knife out while 222 00:12:12,840 --> 00:12:16,600 Speaker 1: you're being drug at however many miles an hour or 223 00:12:16,600 --> 00:12:20,880 Speaker 1: whatever they used to distinguish speed. Plus there's always like 224 00:12:20,920 --> 00:12:23,280 Speaker 1: a bad guy villain like in the ban Her race, 225 00:12:23,320 --> 00:12:25,640 Speaker 1: who was trying to like chop up your chariot and 226 00:12:25,960 --> 00:12:28,120 Speaker 1: whip you. Yeah. I didn't see rules as far as 227 00:12:28,160 --> 00:12:31,160 Speaker 1: that went, is like were they clean races or was 228 00:12:31,200 --> 00:12:34,960 Speaker 1: it you could you know, stick a a staff through 229 00:12:34,960 --> 00:12:37,600 Speaker 1: somebody's wheel and flip them over. I did not see. 230 00:12:38,760 --> 00:12:41,640 Speaker 1: I thought there was a range of activities. Yeah, that'd 231 00:12:41,679 --> 00:12:45,280 Speaker 1: be my guess. You want to take a break. We 232 00:12:45,360 --> 00:12:48,880 Speaker 1: already I mean that chariot race took up a lot 233 00:12:48,880 --> 00:12:50,319 Speaker 1: more time than I thought. This is gonna be like 234 00:12:50,360 --> 00:12:53,920 Speaker 1: a three hour episode. Uh, yeah, let's take a break 235 00:12:53,960 --> 00:12:57,079 Speaker 1: and we'll do what four more? Yes, didn't take another break? 236 00:12:57,320 --> 00:13:23,400 Speaker 1: Sounds good. Alright, we're back Chuck with another old job 237 00:13:23,480 --> 00:13:29,559 Speaker 1: that's not around anymore. This one's armorer, Yes, which is 238 00:13:29,600 --> 00:13:32,800 Speaker 1: hard to say. It really strains the back necks, the 239 00:13:32,880 --> 00:13:35,280 Speaker 1: back neck muscles. Yeah, I mean, there is a modern 240 00:13:35,360 --> 00:13:39,680 Speaker 1: job called an armorer, but we're talking about the dudes 241 00:13:39,679 --> 00:13:42,080 Speaker 1: in the Middle Ages who would build your body armor, 242 00:13:43,280 --> 00:13:47,760 Speaker 1: which was I mean extraordinarily skilled craft like you couldn't 243 00:13:47,760 --> 00:13:50,040 Speaker 1: go to school to learn how to be an armorer. 244 00:13:50,080 --> 00:13:52,040 Speaker 1: You basically had to be born the son of an 245 00:13:52,120 --> 00:13:57,040 Speaker 1: armorer because the skill was passed along from father to son, 246 00:13:57,120 --> 00:14:00,600 Speaker 1: and secrets of how to make these these suits of 247 00:14:00,679 --> 00:14:06,040 Speaker 1: armor were kept very closely secret by um by the 248 00:14:06,360 --> 00:14:08,200 Speaker 1: people who knew what they were doing, because they had 249 00:14:08,200 --> 00:14:13,080 Speaker 1: a lot of competition, and so as a result, historians 250 00:14:13,679 --> 00:14:18,120 Speaker 1: and I guess armor specialists of today still have questions 251 00:14:18,160 --> 00:14:20,640 Speaker 1: about how some of these guys made some of these 252 00:14:20,640 --> 00:14:23,720 Speaker 1: amazing suits of armor because they didn't leave any evidence 253 00:14:23,720 --> 00:14:26,520 Speaker 1: of exactly how they did it. Yeah. I mean the 254 00:14:26,560 --> 00:14:30,320 Speaker 1: process would start as just like a we are the 255 00:14:30,320 --> 00:14:36,000 Speaker 1: people that make suits, uh Taylor Taylor, like a tailor 256 00:14:36,080 --> 00:14:39,160 Speaker 1: might today. So you would lumber up, you would uh, 257 00:14:39,400 --> 00:14:44,000 Speaker 1: you would strip down to your linen's and they would 258 00:14:44,520 --> 00:14:48,320 Speaker 1: take your measurements and then make a replica of your body, 259 00:14:49,360 --> 00:14:51,480 Speaker 1: uh if they so had the time out of wood 260 00:14:51,520 --> 00:14:54,600 Speaker 1: or something. Because it would take a long time, Like 261 00:14:54,680 --> 00:14:57,360 Speaker 1: you couldn't if you wanted a quality suit of armor, 262 00:14:57,440 --> 00:14:59,400 Speaker 1: you couldn't go in there and say turn it around 263 00:14:59,440 --> 00:15:01,720 Speaker 1: in a week, like sometimes it would take months and 264 00:15:01,760 --> 00:15:04,120 Speaker 1: even more than a year. Yeah, I saw years in 265 00:15:04,160 --> 00:15:06,680 Speaker 1: some cases. Yeah, because if you want the good stuff, 266 00:15:06,680 --> 00:15:09,040 Speaker 1: you gotta go. And these people made a lot of money. 267 00:15:09,080 --> 00:15:11,720 Speaker 1: They they were like a subset of the smithies, like 268 00:15:11,760 --> 00:15:14,840 Speaker 1: you said, like it was not something that everyone was 269 00:15:14,920 --> 00:15:18,280 Speaker 1: good at. So they would spend a lot of time 270 00:15:18,320 --> 00:15:21,000 Speaker 1: with wealthy people. They made a lot of money themselves, 271 00:15:21,080 --> 00:15:23,560 Speaker 1: and so they had kind of a much higher standing 272 00:15:24,520 --> 00:15:27,400 Speaker 1: as opposed to like a regular smithy might yeah, and 273 00:15:27,400 --> 00:15:30,520 Speaker 1: and the suits of armor that we see today, um, 274 00:15:30,800 --> 00:15:33,680 Speaker 1: the ones you think of usually like a British night 275 00:15:33,800 --> 00:15:36,400 Speaker 1: or something like that wearing it, those were made of 276 00:15:36,440 --> 00:15:39,840 Speaker 1: like high quality steel. But steal back then this is 277 00:15:39,880 --> 00:15:44,160 Speaker 1: like fairly fairly early after we really figured out how 278 00:15:44,200 --> 00:15:48,280 Speaker 1: to make steal reliably. And um, it was a real 279 00:15:48,600 --> 00:15:51,200 Speaker 1: bear to work with because you would have to you'd 280 00:15:51,240 --> 00:15:53,280 Speaker 1: hammer it and then you'd have to heat it up 281 00:15:53,320 --> 00:15:55,240 Speaker 1: again and hammer it some more, and it would cool 282 00:15:55,400 --> 00:15:57,160 Speaker 1: as you were hammering it and you have to heat 283 00:15:57,200 --> 00:15:59,520 Speaker 1: it up again. So it was really tough to work with, 284 00:15:59,800 --> 00:16:03,120 Speaker 1: but it was pretty strong. Um. The thing is, because 285 00:16:03,160 --> 00:16:07,720 Speaker 1: steel was rare, it was also very expensive to work with. 286 00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:10,120 Speaker 1: And so the suits of armor we see today, like 287 00:16:10,160 --> 00:16:13,240 Speaker 1: in museums and things, usually come from the sixteenth century. 288 00:16:13,600 --> 00:16:15,920 Speaker 1: And even though they were making suits of armor similar 289 00:16:15,960 --> 00:16:18,200 Speaker 1: to that and as far back as like the fourteenth 290 00:16:18,240 --> 00:16:22,280 Speaker 1: and fifteenth centuries, you don't see those because they reused 291 00:16:22,280 --> 00:16:24,600 Speaker 1: that old steel from the old suits of armor into 292 00:16:24,600 --> 00:16:27,600 Speaker 1: the new ones. And then they finally ended in the 293 00:16:27,640 --> 00:16:30,320 Speaker 1: sixteenth century when they stopped making suits of armor. But 294 00:16:30,320 --> 00:16:33,960 Speaker 1: that's why you only see almost exclusively sixteenth century suits 295 00:16:34,000 --> 00:16:37,320 Speaker 1: of armor that makes sense. Also saw that, um they 296 00:16:37,360 --> 00:16:41,640 Speaker 1: tried to set up shop near the materials, so instead 297 00:16:41,640 --> 00:16:44,920 Speaker 1: of having the transport stuff long distances and and it 298 00:16:44,920 --> 00:16:47,480 Speaker 1: sounds like it was in pretty high demand if like 299 00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:51,000 Speaker 1: you know, let's say someone died in battle and then 300 00:16:51,040 --> 00:16:52,960 Speaker 1: they would say they wouldn't just leave that stuff out there. 301 00:16:53,000 --> 00:16:56,480 Speaker 1: Somebody would go and gather up all this stuff. UM. 302 00:16:56,560 --> 00:16:59,280 Speaker 1: So I think just living near the product or the 303 00:16:59,320 --> 00:17:04,159 Speaker 1: base materials was a big advantage if you were an armorer. Yeah, 304 00:17:04,160 --> 00:17:08,399 Speaker 1: and armors kept up their trade. I mean eventually the 305 00:17:08,400 --> 00:17:14,320 Speaker 1: the so muskets came along well. At first it made 306 00:17:14,400 --> 00:17:17,320 Speaker 1: armor even better. It like pushed the development of armor 307 00:17:17,400 --> 00:17:22,160 Speaker 1: plating along even further. But then it outpaced musket development, 308 00:17:22,160 --> 00:17:24,439 Speaker 1: outpaced armor development, and then there was no reason to 309 00:17:24,480 --> 00:17:27,639 Speaker 1: have um armor any longer because you could just shoot 310 00:17:27,720 --> 00:17:30,600 Speaker 1: right through it. But but up to that point, the 311 00:17:30,720 --> 00:17:33,359 Speaker 1: armor plating got better, but then people stopped wearing as 312 00:17:33,440 --> 00:17:35,440 Speaker 1: much of it, until you basically had a chess plate 313 00:17:35,480 --> 00:17:38,560 Speaker 1: in a backplate and you would see people battling still. 314 00:17:38,920 --> 00:17:44,560 Speaker 1: I think even uh Napoleon's troops wore chest and backplate 315 00:17:44,720 --> 00:17:47,359 Speaker 1: armor and in the American Civil War and that's it, 316 00:17:47,520 --> 00:17:54,360 Speaker 1: they were naked right, like, it's so cool, but the well, 317 00:17:54,440 --> 00:17:56,560 Speaker 1: no one more thing. In the American Civil War, there 318 00:17:56,560 --> 00:18:00,760 Speaker 1: were people who sold chess plates. Yeah, and I think 319 00:18:00,800 --> 00:18:03,400 Speaker 1: that was about as as late as it went, late 320 00:18:03,480 --> 00:18:06,920 Speaker 1: nineteenth early twentieth century, you could still find an army 321 00:18:06,960 --> 00:18:09,879 Speaker 1: here they're wearing a breastplate. Maybe. Yeah. I imagine that 322 00:18:09,960 --> 00:18:14,879 Speaker 1: even later on with the advent of muskets, uh, something 323 00:18:14,920 --> 00:18:21,080 Speaker 1: that could stop an arrow or or a sword, like, 324 00:18:21,240 --> 00:18:23,400 Speaker 1: you would probably still feel pretty good about wearing that. 325 00:18:24,040 --> 00:18:26,199 Speaker 1: It wasn't too heavy. One thing I saw that I 326 00:18:26,200 --> 00:18:29,119 Speaker 1: thought was pretty ridiculous was that one of the reasons 327 00:18:29,560 --> 00:18:33,560 Speaker 1: soldiers didn't didn't wear a more widespread in the Civil 328 00:18:33,560 --> 00:18:36,520 Speaker 1: War in America was one it was tough to to 329 00:18:36,680 --> 00:18:39,720 Speaker 1: lug around. They got heavy, so when you're on the march, 330 00:18:39,880 --> 00:18:42,560 Speaker 1: I don't really want to carry that. But then secondly, 331 00:18:42,640 --> 00:18:45,520 Speaker 1: like they would be chided as cowards by their by 332 00:18:45,560 --> 00:18:49,199 Speaker 1: their fellow soldiers, which is like, are you a coward 333 00:18:49,280 --> 00:18:52,800 Speaker 1: just for taking an extra step of protection and extra 334 00:18:52,840 --> 00:18:55,520 Speaker 1: measure of protection when you're out there on the battlefield. 335 00:18:55,840 --> 00:18:59,520 Speaker 1: I'm wondering if I'm missing something. I don't know. I mean, 336 00:18:59,520 --> 00:19:01,720 Speaker 1: maybe back then it was just getting that time where 337 00:19:01,760 --> 00:19:06,080 Speaker 1: they were like old Sally backplate over there, right, he 338 00:19:06,119 --> 00:19:08,480 Speaker 1: didn't want to take an arrow to the back. Or 339 00:19:08,520 --> 00:19:10,560 Speaker 1: if you were richie rich, because you could afford a 340 00:19:10,600 --> 00:19:12,879 Speaker 1: breastplate and everybody else couldn't. So they just kind of 341 00:19:12,920 --> 00:19:16,679 Speaker 1: peer pressured you into dying along with them. Maybe maybe 342 00:19:18,200 --> 00:19:23,919 Speaker 1: peer pressure you into dying pressure. It's pretty bad. You 343 00:19:23,920 --> 00:19:26,479 Speaker 1: don't want to succumb to that peer pressure. So in 344 00:19:26,520 --> 00:19:28,800 Speaker 1: this case, the armorer, and we didn't say in the 345 00:19:28,880 --> 00:19:31,240 Speaker 1: last one, the chariot racers went away with the fall 346 00:19:31,280 --> 00:19:35,359 Speaker 1: of the Roman Empire. This job armor went away basically 347 00:19:35,440 --> 00:19:40,280 Speaker 1: when when muskets became capable of piercing steel. Yeah, and 348 00:19:40,359 --> 00:19:43,080 Speaker 1: after that, like I said, it may help with the 349 00:19:43,600 --> 00:19:48,399 Speaker 1: odd arrow or knife thrust, but maybe a throwing star, 350 00:19:50,000 --> 00:19:53,440 Speaker 1: the famous throwing stars of the Civil War. Uh, shall 351 00:19:53,480 --> 00:19:56,760 Speaker 1: we move on? Yeah, man, moving along, We're gonna stick around. 352 00:19:56,760 --> 00:19:58,760 Speaker 1: In the Middle Ages, it just kind of head on 353 00:19:58,880 --> 00:20:02,280 Speaker 1: over to the court jester. Yeah. I think this is 354 00:20:02,320 --> 00:20:08,119 Speaker 1: one where there's a lot of misconceptions because while in 355 00:20:08,119 --> 00:20:11,480 Speaker 1: the Middle Ages there were court jesters who would dance 356 00:20:11,560 --> 00:20:16,280 Speaker 1: around with the colored cloths and the and the little 357 00:20:16,320 --> 00:20:19,280 Speaker 1: hat with the bells on it and stuff like that 358 00:20:19,280 --> 00:20:23,120 Speaker 1: that did occur, but from what I gathered, the general 359 00:20:23,160 --> 00:20:28,600 Speaker 1: court jester didn't really wear that that often. No. And 360 00:20:28,720 --> 00:20:31,399 Speaker 1: I think one of the other misconceptions too, is that 361 00:20:31,440 --> 00:20:36,320 Speaker 1: they were kind of lunkheads or dummies or just simpletons 362 00:20:36,359 --> 00:20:38,800 Speaker 1: who knows, however you want to put it, when actually 363 00:20:38,840 --> 00:20:44,000 Speaker 1: they were extraordinarily stu usually among the highest educated people 364 00:20:44,600 --> 00:20:48,760 Speaker 1: in in any given country, certainly in a court. Um. 365 00:20:48,800 --> 00:20:54,919 Speaker 1: And that they were less fools and more satirists. Yeah, alright, 366 00:20:54,960 --> 00:20:56,800 Speaker 1: so let's let's break this down. There were a few 367 00:20:56,800 --> 00:21:00,760 Speaker 1: different types. The type you're talking about is the the 368 00:21:00,880 --> 00:21:05,520 Speaker 1: legit court jester who would generally perform at the behest 369 00:21:05,680 --> 00:21:08,840 Speaker 1: of the court. Uh. And those are the ones that 370 00:21:08,880 --> 00:21:11,000 Speaker 1: were sometimes some of the only people who could speak 371 00:21:11,000 --> 00:21:15,400 Speaker 1: ill of the king or queen as a satirist. Uh. 372 00:21:15,440 --> 00:21:17,399 Speaker 1: You know, but you still would run a risk, you know, 373 00:21:17,440 --> 00:21:19,640 Speaker 1: if you took it too far. Imagine there was more 374 00:21:19,640 --> 00:21:22,000 Speaker 1: than one court jester who found their their head on 375 00:21:22,040 --> 00:21:24,280 Speaker 1: a stake at some point, for sure. Actually, I think 376 00:21:24,320 --> 00:21:27,560 Speaker 1: the last one known to have lived, um Dicky Pierce, 377 00:21:27,560 --> 00:21:30,160 Speaker 1: who was the fool to the Earl of Earl of Suffolk, 378 00:21:30,640 --> 00:21:34,040 Speaker 1: fell to his death from a pulpit and they think 379 00:21:34,280 --> 00:21:38,840 Speaker 1: they The official line is that he slipped, but um, 380 00:21:38,960 --> 00:21:42,280 Speaker 1: somebody thinks that he may have actually been pushed by 381 00:21:42,320 --> 00:21:46,000 Speaker 1: somebody who didn't like his little shove his stick. Yeah. 382 00:21:46,119 --> 00:21:48,800 Speaker 1: So uh, it says in this one article, I found 383 00:21:48,800 --> 00:21:51,320 Speaker 1: that three types of fool emerged, and that one was 384 00:21:51,359 --> 00:21:55,080 Speaker 1: the official court jester. Uh. A lot of times they 385 00:21:55,080 --> 00:21:58,719 Speaker 1: would just wear normal clothes rather than that little outfit 386 00:21:58,800 --> 00:22:01,520 Speaker 1: that we all know is the court ester. But then 387 00:22:01,560 --> 00:22:05,760 Speaker 1: there were definitely noble families and wealthy people who would 388 00:22:05,760 --> 00:22:09,719 Speaker 1: adopt men and women who had mental illness or some 389 00:22:09,760 --> 00:22:12,439 Speaker 1: sort of physical deformity, and they were a little more 390 00:22:12,560 --> 00:22:15,720 Speaker 1: They called them innocent fools, and they weren't paid. They 391 00:22:15,720 --> 00:22:20,720 Speaker 1: were just kept around, almost like amusing pets, like wild 392 00:22:20,760 --> 00:22:24,920 Speaker 1: Peter from the Feral episode the Fear of Feareral Children episode. Yeah, 393 00:22:24,920 --> 00:22:26,919 Speaker 1: and they would get like food and clothes and lodging 394 00:22:26,960 --> 00:22:30,320 Speaker 1: and stuff like that, which I think was saying quite 395 00:22:30,320 --> 00:22:36,080 Speaker 1: a bit, yeah, because that was that value, you know. Uh. 396 00:22:36,160 --> 00:22:38,560 Speaker 1: And then they said the third class was were people 397 00:22:38,680 --> 00:22:42,440 Speaker 1: of the members of the fool societies that were big 398 00:22:42,480 --> 00:22:44,520 Speaker 1: in France. And I think these were more of like 399 00:22:44,880 --> 00:22:48,360 Speaker 1: what we would consider now like a rin fair performing yea, 400 00:22:49,400 --> 00:22:52,000 Speaker 1: and they would definitely wear those outfits and really played up. 401 00:22:53,400 --> 00:22:58,200 Speaker 1: So um the the type of fool that that belonged 402 00:22:58,200 --> 00:23:01,520 Speaker 1: to a court that um they actually had like a 403 00:23:01,640 --> 00:23:06,440 Speaker 1: really important position in the kingdom because like you said, 404 00:23:06,440 --> 00:23:10,000 Speaker 1: they were satirists, um, and they could satirize at their 405 00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:13,040 Speaker 1: own peril. But they were also capable I think of 406 00:23:13,080 --> 00:23:15,240 Speaker 1: surviving by bringing it right up to the line, by 407 00:23:15,240 --> 00:23:18,400 Speaker 1: knowing just how how far you could press the king 408 00:23:18,480 --> 00:23:21,760 Speaker 1: or the queen um or the court. But in doing 409 00:23:21,800 --> 00:23:25,040 Speaker 1: this you could you could you you provided a service 410 00:23:25,040 --> 00:23:27,840 Speaker 1: to your fellow countrymen, and that you could keep the 411 00:23:27,920 --> 00:23:30,760 Speaker 1: king from getting bored and maybe going off to war 412 00:23:31,440 --> 00:23:36,440 Speaker 1: um uh inadvisable, or coming up with some terrible new laws. 413 00:23:36,720 --> 00:23:39,440 Speaker 1: Or if there were some terrible new laws, the gesture 414 00:23:39,600 --> 00:23:42,920 Speaker 1: was in a position to make fun of them satirically 415 00:23:43,240 --> 00:23:46,000 Speaker 1: and maybe make the king rethink these policies, to help 416 00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:48,280 Speaker 1: out your fellow your fellow people. So it was a 417 00:23:48,359 --> 00:23:51,879 Speaker 1: very important position because you were basically the only person 418 00:23:52,240 --> 00:23:56,359 Speaker 1: in the entire court who had the ability to speak freely. 419 00:23:56,359 --> 00:23:58,760 Speaker 1: And again it was at your own peril to an extent, 420 00:23:58,880 --> 00:24:01,040 Speaker 1: but for the most part it was accepted that you 421 00:24:01,080 --> 00:24:03,000 Speaker 1: could poke fun at the king and the court and 422 00:24:03,280 --> 00:24:06,320 Speaker 1: policy and the state of affairs. Imagine it was a 423 00:24:06,320 --> 00:24:09,639 Speaker 1: bit of a nerve wracking job. You would also do 424 00:24:09,720 --> 00:24:13,240 Speaker 1: other things. Sometimes you would have other jobs like keeper 425 00:24:13,280 --> 00:24:16,280 Speaker 1: of the hounds. Sometimes they would buy the livestock for 426 00:24:16,320 --> 00:24:19,199 Speaker 1: the family. Uh. And then during times of war they 427 00:24:19,240 --> 00:24:23,400 Speaker 1: would actually function, um almost as like a us O might. 428 00:24:23,840 --> 00:24:26,360 Speaker 1: Like they would be brought to the front lines to entertain, 429 00:24:27,440 --> 00:24:29,920 Speaker 1: uh well to to to do two things. They would 430 00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:32,280 Speaker 1: entertain their own troops to kind of try and ease 431 00:24:32,359 --> 00:24:35,760 Speaker 1: them before battle, or they would mock the other side 432 00:24:36,119 --> 00:24:39,280 Speaker 1: uh and try and like try and actually thwart their 433 00:24:39,280 --> 00:24:41,120 Speaker 1: plan because they would get so mad at the jester 434 00:24:41,280 --> 00:24:44,159 Speaker 1: they would not be thinking clearly and like make some 435 00:24:44,240 --> 00:24:47,560 Speaker 1: kind of mistake because the haunting. Yeah, because the jester 436 00:24:47,800 --> 00:24:51,840 Speaker 1: farted in their general direction. Well, it's funny you mentioned that, 437 00:24:51,880 --> 00:24:54,160 Speaker 1: because I did see a lot of times they would 438 00:24:54,160 --> 00:24:56,440 Speaker 1: be rewarded with land at the end of their tenure. 439 00:24:57,200 --> 00:25:00,520 Speaker 1: And King Henry the Second gave his jest your thirty 440 00:25:00,520 --> 00:25:03,080 Speaker 1: acres upon retirement as long as he came back every 441 00:25:03,119 --> 00:25:08,000 Speaker 1: Christmas to leap, whistle and fart. That's it. He's like 442 00:25:08,080 --> 00:25:10,840 Speaker 1: you get one leap, one whistle, and one far and 443 00:25:10,880 --> 00:25:13,560 Speaker 1: if your fart sounds like a whistle, then he just 444 00:25:13,640 --> 00:25:17,280 Speaker 1: knocked out two birds of once. Nice. So this with 445 00:25:17,320 --> 00:25:20,119 Speaker 1: this job, I'm not entirely sure why it went away. 446 00:25:20,160 --> 00:25:22,679 Speaker 1: I think we need gestures more than ever. Um. But 447 00:25:22,840 --> 00:25:25,360 Speaker 1: the last one, like I said, was Dickie Pierce, who 448 00:25:25,440 --> 00:25:27,600 Speaker 1: was full to the Earl of Suffolk, and he died 449 00:25:27,640 --> 00:25:32,720 Speaker 1: in seventy of misadventure. Really well, yeah, he felt that 450 00:25:33,640 --> 00:25:37,320 Speaker 1: maybe shoved. Yeah, possible homicide. I guess the closest thing 451 00:25:37,320 --> 00:25:41,640 Speaker 1: we have now are either political cartoonists or the White 452 00:25:41,640 --> 00:25:46,600 Speaker 1: House correspondence dinner or the Onion or the onion. Who. Man, 453 00:25:46,760 --> 00:25:50,760 Speaker 1: they've just been killing it since day one. Still, after 454 00:25:50,840 --> 00:25:54,280 Speaker 1: all this time and an evolution, the onion is still 455 00:25:54,320 --> 00:25:59,199 Speaker 1: just doing great stuff. Agreed. Um, Moving on. Yeah, So 456 00:25:59,240 --> 00:26:03,240 Speaker 1: we're gonna advanced forward a little bit. Lulu new to 457 00:26:03,680 --> 00:26:08,439 Speaker 1: the Victorian England to the late nineteenth century. And I 458 00:26:08,480 --> 00:26:11,320 Speaker 1: had never heard of this job before. You no, but 459 00:26:11,400 --> 00:26:13,280 Speaker 1: we have talked a lot in the past about the 460 00:26:13,440 --> 00:26:18,520 Speaker 1: sheer build up of horse manure before cars weren't invented. 461 00:26:18,560 --> 00:26:20,680 Speaker 1: I can't remember the stat in New York City but 462 00:26:20,800 --> 00:26:23,639 Speaker 1: it's astounding. I found one in London that there were 463 00:26:23,680 --> 00:26:29,000 Speaker 1: a thousand tons of horsepoop generated a day in London streets, 464 00:26:29,040 --> 00:26:31,480 Speaker 1: a thousand tons, and like this stuff would just be 465 00:26:32,280 --> 00:26:34,159 Speaker 1: right there in the middle of the street. There was 466 00:26:34,200 --> 00:26:36,919 Speaker 1: also trash, there was also human waste. There was just 467 00:26:37,000 --> 00:26:41,600 Speaker 1: all sorts of stuff, terrible stuff everywhere. And part of 468 00:26:41,640 --> 00:26:44,800 Speaker 1: the problem was that the Victorian era was really big 469 00:26:44,800 --> 00:26:50,040 Speaker 1: on pomp and overdoing fashion. Um. There were long trains, addresses, 470 00:26:50,119 --> 00:26:53,080 Speaker 1: lots of skirts over skirts and all this stuff. So 471 00:26:53,280 --> 00:26:56,480 Speaker 1: the idea of walking through horsepoop was not not very 472 00:26:56,480 --> 00:27:01,080 Speaker 1: pleasing to the upper echelons of English society at the time. No, 473 00:27:01,240 --> 00:27:04,920 Speaker 1: they would mean one of their many employees would have 474 00:27:04,960 --> 00:27:09,199 Speaker 1: to clean that up later, exactly right. But apparently they 475 00:27:09,240 --> 00:27:11,880 Speaker 1: were very big with um appearances, so they didn't want 476 00:27:11,920 --> 00:27:14,280 Speaker 1: to even go a second without with getting like any 477 00:27:14,320 --> 00:27:17,600 Speaker 1: horsepooper or any trash or anything on them. So thus 478 00:27:17,640 --> 00:27:23,520 Speaker 1: evolved a job from this, uh this era called crossing sweepers. Yeah, 479 00:27:23,600 --> 00:27:26,359 Speaker 1: and this I saw a lot of different reactions to 480 00:27:26,440 --> 00:27:30,080 Speaker 1: this from various historical websites that I went into. Some 481 00:27:30,119 --> 00:27:33,479 Speaker 1: people saw this as a pretty valuable job, um, and 482 00:27:33,520 --> 00:27:36,680 Speaker 1: then most people I saw found it a bit of 483 00:27:36,720 --> 00:27:40,480 Speaker 1: an annoyance in that it was if you had any 484 00:27:40,520 --> 00:27:43,720 Speaker 1: skill or were physically able, you would not be a 485 00:27:43,760 --> 00:27:47,240 Speaker 1: crossing sweeper. It was what they called a last chance job. 486 00:27:48,560 --> 00:27:50,880 Speaker 1: I saw, I saw both, I saw a combination of those. 487 00:27:51,240 --> 00:27:53,480 Speaker 1: Read an article by a woman named Jerry Walton, who 488 00:27:53,480 --> 00:27:57,080 Speaker 1: I think did pretty good um his historical research on it, 489 00:27:57,119 --> 00:27:58,879 Speaker 1: and she seemed to come up with the idea that 490 00:27:59,440 --> 00:28:02,680 Speaker 1: you're right on both counts. There were some people who 491 00:28:02,760 --> 00:28:06,520 Speaker 1: had who dedicated themselves to this. They were regular crossing sweepers, 492 00:28:06,920 --> 00:28:09,439 Speaker 1: and they had like posts like there, They had a 493 00:28:09,480 --> 00:28:12,680 Speaker 1: corner that was their corner, and over time they became 494 00:28:12,880 --> 00:28:16,280 Speaker 1: kind of a fixture of the neighborhood, maybe the eyes 495 00:28:16,320 --> 00:28:19,199 Speaker 1: and ears in the neighborhood. I read of one um 496 00:28:19,359 --> 00:28:22,680 Speaker 1: crossing sweeper who actually helped apprehend a murderer by by 497 00:28:22,720 --> 00:28:25,120 Speaker 1: going to the cops and telling him what telling them 498 00:28:25,119 --> 00:28:28,880 Speaker 1: what he saw. UM. But I also saw that there 499 00:28:28,880 --> 00:28:32,800 Speaker 1: were that this was basically the the last stop before Baker, 500 00:28:33,920 --> 00:28:37,040 Speaker 1: but but much more respectable than just being an outright beggar. 501 00:28:37,080 --> 00:28:39,760 Speaker 1: At least you were providing a service. You could also 502 00:28:39,920 --> 00:28:42,960 Speaker 1: very easily become a nuisance though too if you held 503 00:28:42,960 --> 00:28:45,120 Speaker 1: your hand out afterward, or pestred people who are just 504 00:28:45,160 --> 00:28:47,840 Speaker 1: trying to cross the street. Yeah, I mean they like 505 00:28:47,920 --> 00:28:51,000 Speaker 1: in it in this article maybe a little insensitively to 506 00:28:52,040 --> 00:28:56,280 Speaker 1: people who will clean your windshield at a stoplight today. Uh. 507 00:28:56,320 --> 00:28:59,640 Speaker 1: But again even with that have seen a range of 508 00:29:00,200 --> 00:29:05,160 Speaker 1: window cleaning services that range from like nice work, here's 509 00:29:05,200 --> 00:29:07,680 Speaker 1: a good tip, to like, let me spit on your 510 00:29:07,680 --> 00:29:10,280 Speaker 1: wind shield and rub it with my sleeve. And I 511 00:29:10,280 --> 00:29:13,760 Speaker 1: think it was kind of probably similar back then. Sometimes 512 00:29:13,800 --> 00:29:16,320 Speaker 1: there were little kids who would do it, or super 513 00:29:16,560 --> 00:29:19,680 Speaker 1: old people, or you might be disabled and that is 514 00:29:19,720 --> 00:29:22,720 Speaker 1: your last chance to make money. Uh. And people like 515 00:29:22,800 --> 00:29:24,920 Speaker 1: you said I had had one of two attitudes. Either 516 00:29:25,280 --> 00:29:26,880 Speaker 1: you're doing it right and this is a good service, 517 00:29:27,000 --> 00:29:30,880 Speaker 1: or this is sort of a glorified begging. Yeah. And 518 00:29:30,920 --> 00:29:33,160 Speaker 1: I saw that for the most part it was kids. 519 00:29:33,320 --> 00:29:38,360 Speaker 1: The proclaimed king of the crossing sweeps was eleven years 520 00:29:38,400 --> 00:29:41,040 Speaker 1: old and eleven year old boy, and that they would 521 00:29:41,080 --> 00:29:43,880 Speaker 1: also add some acrobatics in on the side to really 522 00:29:44,360 --> 00:29:46,520 Speaker 1: to really drive home just how great what they were 523 00:29:46,560 --> 00:29:49,520 Speaker 1: doing was. Well, it's like what like little flips and 524 00:29:49,560 --> 00:29:52,800 Speaker 1: like probably probably what we would call parkour here there 525 00:29:52,840 --> 00:29:56,200 Speaker 1: today something like that. But you know this little nimble 526 00:29:56,440 --> 00:30:01,040 Speaker 1: like kids who were able to just hop around, do 527 00:30:01,200 --> 00:30:04,480 Speaker 1: some some quick acrobatics and then probably hold their cap 528 00:30:04,520 --> 00:30:08,560 Speaker 1: out and say thanks, have a good day, what time? Yeah? 529 00:30:08,920 --> 00:30:12,479 Speaker 1: So um. One thing though, that was good about this 530 00:30:12,560 --> 00:30:16,000 Speaker 1: is that it was something that anybody could start as 531 00:30:16,000 --> 00:30:19,240 Speaker 1: a business and take seriously with just the investment of 532 00:30:19,240 --> 00:30:21,760 Speaker 1: a broom. That's all you needed. Low barrier to entry 533 00:30:21,840 --> 00:30:24,880 Speaker 1: is what they call that, exactly right. And then eventually 534 00:30:24,920 --> 00:30:30,240 Speaker 1: it's like sanitation improved and fashions change. The crossing sweeper 535 00:30:30,400 --> 00:30:34,120 Speaker 1: was less and less necessary, and they evolved into the 536 00:30:34,120 --> 00:30:41,800 Speaker 1: grocery store bagger. You were playing them that one. It 537 00:30:41,920 --> 00:30:44,880 Speaker 1: just rolled off on my tongue. Yeah, alright, good And 538 00:30:44,920 --> 00:30:46,360 Speaker 1: as I was saying, I was like, man, this is 539 00:30:46,360 --> 00:30:49,240 Speaker 1: gonna offend the baggers, and I don't mean it like that. 540 00:30:49,240 --> 00:30:54,280 Speaker 1: That's right, all right, especially public baggers who bagged delicious 541 00:30:54,280 --> 00:30:57,240 Speaker 1: cake all the time. Thank you for what you do. 542 00:30:58,160 --> 00:31:01,080 Speaker 1: Should we break now or do the last for or 543 00:31:01,160 --> 00:31:04,200 Speaker 1: do one and then three? Let's do one and then three. 544 00:31:04,320 --> 00:31:07,200 Speaker 1: I'm I'm I'm feeling good about things all right. Well 545 00:31:07,200 --> 00:31:09,600 Speaker 1: we'll move on to the lamplighters. No way, I changed 546 00:31:09,680 --> 00:31:12,800 Speaker 1: my mind. Okay, well we're gonna take a break. Okay, 547 00:31:12,880 --> 00:31:37,840 Speaker 1: we'll get too lamp lighters right after this. Okay, okay, Chuck, 548 00:31:37,840 --> 00:31:40,560 Speaker 1: thanks for rolling with me on that one. So you 549 00:31:40,560 --> 00:31:42,880 Speaker 1: said lamplighters were doing next. I mean, I guess we're 550 00:31:42,880 --> 00:31:46,320 Speaker 1: doing all this chronologically, right, Well, that sort of is 551 00:31:46,440 --> 00:31:48,920 Speaker 1: in a way, yeah, because we started with cheritots and 552 00:31:48,920 --> 00:31:52,640 Speaker 1: now we're up we're still in the late nineteenth century. Yeah, 553 00:31:52,720 --> 00:31:56,200 Speaker 1: and this is, man, this is something. I had a 554 00:31:56,240 --> 00:31:59,360 Speaker 1: gas lamp growing up at my house, and I really, 555 00:31:59,400 --> 00:32:02,360 Speaker 1: really I would like to get a gas lamp put 556 00:32:02,360 --> 00:32:04,760 Speaker 1: in on the front porch of my house. You know 557 00:32:04,920 --> 00:32:07,200 Speaker 1: that can happen. Yeah, I mean you just gotta run 558 00:32:07,240 --> 00:32:10,000 Speaker 1: gas to it, right, Yeah, that's it, and then come 559 00:32:10,080 --> 00:32:12,560 Speaker 1: and pay a lamp lighter to come lighted every every 560 00:32:12,600 --> 00:32:16,440 Speaker 1: evening and cut it off every every morning. Yeah. I 561 00:32:16,520 --> 00:32:18,720 Speaker 1: just love to look like there's a few in our neighborhood, 562 00:32:18,760 --> 00:32:21,400 Speaker 1: and every time I see one, I pine for it. 563 00:32:22,600 --> 00:32:25,800 Speaker 1: I think you should treat yourself to a gas lamp. Yeah. 564 00:32:26,840 --> 00:32:28,960 Speaker 1: It really says a lot, you know, it does. It 565 00:32:29,040 --> 00:32:33,200 Speaker 1: says I have conquered fossil fuels in my very own house. 566 00:32:33,640 --> 00:32:38,720 Speaker 1: I wonder how wasteful that is compared to electricity. I 567 00:32:38,760 --> 00:32:42,480 Speaker 1: don't know, I really don't know. Yeah, I think you 568 00:32:42,480 --> 00:32:44,600 Speaker 1: should find out and just do it. I think you 569 00:32:44,600 --> 00:32:47,000 Speaker 1: should do it and report back on Okay, I can 570 00:32:47,040 --> 00:32:51,600 Speaker 1: always buy carbon offsets, right, totally, alright, So lamp lighters, 571 00:32:51,640 --> 00:32:54,560 Speaker 1: like we said, in the days in the nineteenth century 572 00:32:54,600 --> 00:32:58,960 Speaker 1: of gas lamps lighting up all of of let's say London. Again, 573 00:33:00,360 --> 00:33:03,440 Speaker 1: someone had to light these and there were a lot 574 00:33:03,520 --> 00:33:05,800 Speaker 1: of them. So it's not like I mean this was 575 00:33:05,840 --> 00:33:08,360 Speaker 1: there were a lot of people doing this job. Yeah, 576 00:33:08,480 --> 00:33:11,360 Speaker 1: usually you would have something like under a hundred, but 577 00:33:11,480 --> 00:33:15,840 Speaker 1: over fifty lamps I saw, um, at least for Lowell, Massachusetts. 578 00:33:15,880 --> 00:33:20,640 Speaker 1: But um, I think Lowe was a midsize city at 579 00:33:20,640 --> 00:33:23,520 Speaker 1: the time, said seventy thousand people in the like I 580 00:33:23,560 --> 00:33:26,880 Speaker 1: think eighteen eighty census, So that's decent size for the 581 00:33:26,960 --> 00:33:30,120 Speaker 1: nineteenth century, you know. Um, but it's certainly nothing like 582 00:33:30,160 --> 00:33:32,280 Speaker 1: what London had at the time. They had tens of 583 00:33:32,320 --> 00:33:35,320 Speaker 1: thousands of lamps, right, right, But I imagine that that 584 00:33:35,400 --> 00:33:38,840 Speaker 1: they probably didn't overtax their lamp lighters more than say 585 00:33:38,920 --> 00:33:41,960 Speaker 1: low did, so say, say somewhere around seventy to eighty 586 00:33:42,040 --> 00:33:45,080 Speaker 1: lamps um is what one lamp lighter would be responsible for. 587 00:33:45,120 --> 00:33:47,960 Speaker 1: They'd have a beat. Yeah, I mean that's a I 588 00:33:47,960 --> 00:33:50,920 Speaker 1: don't know how far apart their position, but that's a 589 00:33:51,040 --> 00:33:54,560 Speaker 1: that's a full day's work. I would imagine her full evening. Well, yeah, 590 00:33:54,640 --> 00:33:57,520 Speaker 1: it could. It lasted for a while, and I didn't 591 00:33:57,720 --> 00:34:00,120 Speaker 1: get the impression of what you do in between, but 592 00:34:00,320 --> 00:34:03,800 Speaker 1: you would wait around until dusk came, and then you 593 00:34:03,800 --> 00:34:07,000 Speaker 1: would start your your route and start lighting the lamps. 594 00:34:07,480 --> 00:34:11,960 Speaker 1: And then after any respectable person was asleep, you would 595 00:34:12,000 --> 00:34:15,800 Speaker 1: go out and extinguish them, or before daybreaker, around daybreak 596 00:34:15,840 --> 00:34:18,880 Speaker 1: you go extinguish them, and then you would eat your breakfast, 597 00:34:18,880 --> 00:34:22,359 Speaker 1: and then you set about repairing the lamps, refilling them 598 00:34:22,360 --> 00:34:24,600 Speaker 1: as need be, and like getting it rid of any 599 00:34:24,640 --> 00:34:27,600 Speaker 1: soot and smudge, and maybe if the lamp got knocked over, 600 00:34:27,719 --> 00:34:29,680 Speaker 1: you'd have to set it back up again. So it 601 00:34:29,760 --> 00:34:32,240 Speaker 1: sounded like it was, you know, there's a decent amount 602 00:34:32,280 --> 00:34:34,200 Speaker 1: of work to it, but supposed it was a very 603 00:34:34,200 --> 00:34:37,560 Speaker 1: safe job from whatever. And yeah, I mean they do 604 00:34:37,760 --> 00:34:41,000 Speaker 1: mention ladders in here, but I also saw that many 605 00:34:41,040 --> 00:34:44,400 Speaker 1: of them were uh lit from below with a long 606 00:34:45,600 --> 00:34:49,040 Speaker 1: lighter or and extinguisher that was all kind of in 607 00:34:49,120 --> 00:34:52,160 Speaker 1: on one pole. Very ingenious. Yes, I don't know that 608 00:34:52,200 --> 00:34:55,200 Speaker 1: they were climbing ladders all over town. No, you could 609 00:34:55,239 --> 00:34:57,080 Speaker 1: just raise it up. It would be easier to walk 610 00:34:57,120 --> 00:34:59,640 Speaker 1: with just that long staff than to walk with the 611 00:34:59,760 --> 00:35:03,080 Speaker 1: lad her. So yeah, because you could also stab somebody 612 00:35:03,080 --> 00:35:05,680 Speaker 1: in the eye with it, right any master comes at you, 613 00:35:05,760 --> 00:35:09,920 Speaker 1: bam Bamuh. Mainly men held these job, but there were 614 00:35:09,960 --> 00:35:12,839 Speaker 1: some women apparently in London that did so. And like 615 00:35:12,840 --> 00:35:17,000 Speaker 1: you said, it was pretty safe. It's not like these 616 00:35:17,000 --> 00:35:21,240 Speaker 1: things weren't running on gasoline, you know, like whale blubber. 617 00:35:21,280 --> 00:35:26,120 Speaker 1: I don't think is the most combustible thing in the world. No, um. 618 00:35:26,200 --> 00:35:29,399 Speaker 1: And then I think there were there was also natural guests. 619 00:35:29,440 --> 00:35:32,279 Speaker 1: They eventually laid gas lines to these things too, so 620 00:35:32,320 --> 00:35:33,920 Speaker 1: all you had to do is walk around with a 621 00:35:34,960 --> 00:35:37,799 Speaker 1: like a whale probably whale blubber torch on the end 622 00:35:37,880 --> 00:35:40,760 Speaker 1: of your staff and just touch touch the lamp wick 623 00:35:40,880 --> 00:35:43,839 Speaker 1: and there you go. And then I think they made 624 00:35:43,880 --> 00:35:45,919 Speaker 1: something like two dollars a day for this, at least 625 00:35:45,920 --> 00:35:52,680 Speaker 1: in Lowell, mass It's not bad King's ransom. I did 626 00:35:52,719 --> 00:35:54,960 Speaker 1: see that there are still some people that do this today. 627 00:35:55,680 --> 00:35:58,600 Speaker 1: There are certain parts of England where they still light 628 00:35:58,640 --> 00:36:00,960 Speaker 1: the lamps, and I'm sure it's a bit of a novelty. 629 00:36:01,800 --> 00:36:06,400 Speaker 1: But um, I don't know that it's necessarily like like 630 00:36:06,480 --> 00:36:09,680 Speaker 1: Colonial Williamsburg or anything. I think it's not like it 631 00:36:09,719 --> 00:36:14,439 Speaker 1: has to be an old relic themed town, just one 632 00:36:14,520 --> 00:36:19,480 Speaker 1: that's involved in being charming. Yea, yeah, lamplighter and if 633 00:36:19,520 --> 00:36:21,960 Speaker 1: you see a lamplighter, give him a little how do 634 00:36:22,000 --> 00:36:26,200 Speaker 1: you do? Yeah? Off your cap? Yeah, So it's not extinct. 635 00:36:26,239 --> 00:36:28,520 Speaker 1: It really doesn't belong on this list at all, though. 636 00:36:28,560 --> 00:36:34,000 Speaker 1: A couple of pints their ways, their ways Tuppins. Remember 637 00:36:34,040 --> 00:36:37,360 Speaker 1: that song from Mary Poppins so depressing. No, but I 638 00:36:37,400 --> 00:36:40,640 Speaker 1: have high hopes for that reboot. Oh, I hadn't heard 639 00:36:40,640 --> 00:36:43,400 Speaker 1: anything about that. Please do tell well there's a new 640 00:36:43,400 --> 00:36:47,319 Speaker 1: movie coming out they're redoing, uh, Mary Poppins, and and 641 00:36:47,440 --> 00:36:50,720 Speaker 1: Emily Blunt is Mary Poppins, which I think it's fine casting. 642 00:36:51,640 --> 00:36:54,560 Speaker 1: And I think what's his name? Lynn? Manuel Miranda himself 643 00:36:54,640 --> 00:36:58,360 Speaker 1: is in the ABU say the Dick Cabitt part. But 644 00:36:58,400 --> 00:37:03,280 Speaker 1: that wasn't Dick van van Dyke, the chimney sweep Dick Abbott. 645 00:37:03,320 --> 00:37:07,880 Speaker 1: That would have been a much different role. Yeah, tell me, Mary, 646 00:37:07,920 --> 00:37:09,920 Speaker 1: tell me about your life. Shall we move on to 647 00:37:10,000 --> 00:37:14,160 Speaker 1: ice cutting? Yeah? This one I love. It's fascinating. You 648 00:37:14,200 --> 00:37:18,400 Speaker 1: know my grandmother Bryant said, ice box. Yeah, yeah, I 649 00:37:18,400 --> 00:37:22,040 Speaker 1: would imagine that that was like part of her jam, right, 650 00:37:22,120 --> 00:37:25,279 Speaker 1: like an actual like something you would point to and say, 651 00:37:25,280 --> 00:37:27,719 Speaker 1: that's a refrigerator. But no, no, no, friend, there's no 652 00:37:27,760 --> 00:37:31,760 Speaker 1: refrigeration going on whatsoever. It's just an insulated wooden box 653 00:37:31,800 --> 00:37:33,879 Speaker 1: that you jam a block of ice into the top 654 00:37:33,960 --> 00:37:36,319 Speaker 1: of and let it cool the rest of it down. Yeah. 655 00:37:36,360 --> 00:37:38,280 Speaker 1: I mean if she she loved to be a hundred 656 00:37:38,760 --> 00:37:42,480 Speaker 1: and she passed away probably I don't know, like eight 657 00:37:42,560 --> 00:37:46,319 Speaker 1: or ten years ago, so she was definitely rocking the 658 00:37:46,360 --> 00:37:48,919 Speaker 1: ice box when she was a kid for sure, and 659 00:37:48,960 --> 00:37:52,200 Speaker 1: into her probably like um married life, I would guess, 660 00:37:52,239 --> 00:37:54,759 Speaker 1: the early married life. Yeah, I mean, she told me 661 00:37:54,800 --> 00:37:58,760 Speaker 1: a story one time about when she was like twelve 662 00:37:58,840 --> 00:38:02,320 Speaker 1: or thirteen, she and her two friends stole the uh, 663 00:38:02,360 --> 00:38:04,799 Speaker 1: the horse and carriage that delivered the mail and rode 664 00:38:04,840 --> 00:38:09,120 Speaker 1: it around town for a joy ride. That sounds awesome, 665 00:38:09,280 --> 00:38:12,960 Speaker 1: so that she was definitely a link to the past. 666 00:38:13,800 --> 00:38:16,959 Speaker 1: It was great hearing those stories. The male horse hats 667 00:38:16,960 --> 00:38:19,720 Speaker 1: off to you. Granny Bryant. Yeah, hats off Granny Bryant. 668 00:38:20,760 --> 00:38:23,839 Speaker 1: So she had an ice box. I just described an 669 00:38:23,880 --> 00:38:27,560 Speaker 1: ice box. But the question is this, chuck, Let's say, 670 00:38:27,600 --> 00:38:30,680 Speaker 1: where was Granny Bryant born and raised? I didn't know 671 00:38:30,719 --> 00:38:32,640 Speaker 1: where she was born, but she generally lived in most 672 00:38:32,640 --> 00:38:35,680 Speaker 1: of her life in Tennessee. Okay, in Tennessee. So it's 673 00:38:35,719 --> 00:38:38,920 Speaker 1: the middle of the summer and it's super hot, but 674 00:38:39,080 --> 00:38:41,080 Speaker 1: you have an ice box. What are you gonna do 675 00:38:41,160 --> 00:38:45,839 Speaker 1: for ice? Well, Fortunately, the good folks up in Illinois 676 00:38:46,000 --> 00:38:51,200 Speaker 1: and Wisconsin and Minnesota spent the winter harvesting ice. And 677 00:38:51,280 --> 00:38:53,640 Speaker 1: that was a job you could have, was an ice harvester, 678 00:38:53,920 --> 00:38:56,959 Speaker 1: because before there was the advent of making mechanical ice 679 00:38:56,960 --> 00:39:01,560 Speaker 1: and mechanical refrigeration, we got ice by literally harvesting it 680 00:39:01,640 --> 00:39:05,080 Speaker 1: from frozen ponds and lakes and rivers during the winter, 681 00:39:05,600 --> 00:39:08,840 Speaker 1: packing it away just so, and then come summertime it 682 00:39:08,840 --> 00:39:12,440 Speaker 1: would be distributed throughout the country and delivered two homes 683 00:39:12,600 --> 00:39:16,080 Speaker 1: by again horse and carriage like the mail. Apparently amazing. 684 00:39:16,680 --> 00:39:19,120 Speaker 1: So here's how it would work. You would uh, sometimes 685 00:39:19,120 --> 00:39:22,680 Speaker 1: they could use a pond, but generally very slow moving 686 00:39:22,680 --> 00:39:26,680 Speaker 1: water was best because it formed really good clear ice. 687 00:39:27,560 --> 00:39:31,120 Speaker 1: I saw something about ponds weren't great because the ice 688 00:39:31,160 --> 00:39:36,480 Speaker 1: could become kind of stagnant and not not super great. Gross. Yeah, 689 00:39:36,520 --> 00:39:40,400 Speaker 1: so maybe a very slow moving uh river would be great. 690 00:39:41,160 --> 00:39:43,480 Speaker 1: And the first thing that you want to do is 691 00:39:43,480 --> 00:39:46,719 Speaker 1: is probably use a horse drawn plow because you don't 692 00:39:46,719 --> 00:39:49,160 Speaker 1: want that thing packed up with snow on top of it. No, 693 00:39:49,239 --> 00:39:52,520 Speaker 1: because the snow actually keeps the ice from freezing as 694 00:39:52,760 --> 00:39:54,920 Speaker 1: as well, because you want cold wind on it, not 695 00:39:55,040 --> 00:39:58,560 Speaker 1: cold snow. Right, right, So you got the horse keeping 696 00:39:58,600 --> 00:40:02,759 Speaker 1: the the snow clear. That's one, one step one and 697 00:40:02,800 --> 00:40:06,000 Speaker 1: that's what they would call these ice farms. And like 698 00:40:06,080 --> 00:40:08,440 Speaker 1: you would have an ice farm, like if somebody came 699 00:40:08,480 --> 00:40:10,960 Speaker 1: and tried to poach your ice, you had a legal 700 00:40:11,080 --> 00:40:13,560 Speaker 1: dispute going on, like this is a big deal. And 701 00:40:13,640 --> 00:40:16,600 Speaker 1: during the summer it was just like a river or 702 00:40:16,719 --> 00:40:20,000 Speaker 1: a an aer raided pond or something like that. But 703 00:40:20,239 --> 00:40:23,520 Speaker 1: come come wintertime it became like big business. You'd have 704 00:40:23,680 --> 00:40:27,160 Speaker 1: whole crewise and operations going on. Right, So you've got 705 00:40:27,200 --> 00:40:29,800 Speaker 1: this the horses clearing the snow, and every once in 706 00:40:29,800 --> 00:40:33,319 Speaker 1: a while a horse would fall through the ice. It 707 00:40:33,440 --> 00:40:35,600 Speaker 1: is sad and you would think, well, so long horse, 708 00:40:35,640 --> 00:40:38,560 Speaker 1: But Apparently somebody figured out that you could strap a 709 00:40:38,640 --> 00:40:41,840 Speaker 1: rope around a horse's neck and it would be struggling 710 00:40:41,920 --> 00:40:44,560 Speaker 1: under the water, and if you pulled the neck tight, 711 00:40:44,640 --> 00:40:46,359 Speaker 1: I guess you kind of cut off its air enough 712 00:40:46,400 --> 00:40:50,000 Speaker 1: to get it to quit struggling. It does and then 713 00:40:50,120 --> 00:40:52,640 Speaker 1: other horses would pull that horse out of the water 714 00:40:53,120 --> 00:40:55,799 Speaker 1: and giving it a fighting chance to survive. So that 715 00:40:55,920 --> 00:40:58,120 Speaker 1: was a big hazard, not just for horses, but for 716 00:40:58,160 --> 00:41:01,160 Speaker 1: the people working there too, and they would wear special 717 00:41:01,440 --> 00:41:05,000 Speaker 1: horse shoes that would prevent them from slipping and breaking 718 00:41:05,000 --> 00:41:08,320 Speaker 1: through as much as possible. But yeah, I would imagine 719 00:41:08,840 --> 00:41:12,240 Speaker 1: a horse drawn plow on ice is just an accident 720 00:41:12,239 --> 00:41:15,719 Speaker 1: waiting to happen. I remember growing up in Toledo, we 721 00:41:15,960 --> 00:41:18,000 Speaker 1: were allowed to ice skate on some of the ponds 722 00:41:18,000 --> 00:41:20,839 Speaker 1: on the golf course, like across the street from US 723 00:41:21,640 --> 00:41:25,560 Speaker 1: and UM, but not until Dad went out with his 724 00:41:25,600 --> 00:41:29,560 Speaker 1: work boots on stomped around the pond to make sure 725 00:41:29,600 --> 00:41:32,640 Speaker 1: that it didn't crack. And it was like, that was 726 00:41:32,719 --> 00:41:34,440 Speaker 1: really great that he was doing that for uce, but 727 00:41:34,480 --> 00:41:37,879 Speaker 1: it was also not the best technique you could think of, 728 00:41:38,520 --> 00:41:40,840 Speaker 1: although it's the only technique I can think of, really, 729 00:41:41,280 --> 00:41:44,600 Speaker 1: But hats off to Dad. Too, for stomping on the 730 00:41:44,640 --> 00:41:46,799 Speaker 1: pond ice for us to make sure we didn't fall through. 731 00:41:47,080 --> 00:41:49,440 Speaker 1: Your dad would do that, Oh yeah, every every winter, 732 00:41:49,719 --> 00:41:52,080 Speaker 1: some sometimes a couple of times in winter, depending on 733 00:41:52,120 --> 00:41:54,799 Speaker 1: whether the ice had started all or not. Yeah, I've 734 00:41:54,840 --> 00:41:58,799 Speaker 1: seen too many movies that just scares me. Yeah, yeah, 735 00:41:58,960 --> 00:42:01,560 Speaker 1: I guess. Uh, well I didn't. You don't really think 736 00:42:01,640 --> 00:42:04,279 Speaker 1: much about your mortality as a youngster, you know, no 737 00:42:04,800 --> 00:42:08,360 Speaker 1: kind of invincible. Uh So, all right, so they're clearing 738 00:42:08,360 --> 00:42:11,840 Speaker 1: the snow, but it gets super frozen when there's no snow, 739 00:42:12,560 --> 00:42:16,200 Speaker 1: like really frozen, and then you would come in and 740 00:42:16,239 --> 00:42:19,879 Speaker 1: score the ice because just cutting it is is too 741 00:42:19,880 --> 00:42:23,240 Speaker 1: tough by that point, so you score it by cutting 742 00:42:23,239 --> 00:42:25,960 Speaker 1: into it I guess a few inches and getting it 743 00:42:26,000 --> 00:42:30,319 Speaker 1: going depending on your operation, dependent on the kind of 744 00:42:30,360 --> 00:42:33,439 Speaker 1: size of an ice block you want. But they said 745 00:42:33,440 --> 00:42:36,160 Speaker 1: in our article maybe two ft by six ft was 746 00:42:36,200 --> 00:42:40,080 Speaker 1: pretty standard. And then you would cut it all the 747 00:42:40,120 --> 00:42:44,160 Speaker 1: way through with another horse drawn device, a horse drawn saw, 748 00:42:45,440 --> 00:42:48,960 Speaker 1: I think, almost all the way through, and then humans 749 00:42:48,960 --> 00:42:50,600 Speaker 1: would saw it the rest of the way, and then 750 00:42:50,600 --> 00:42:53,200 Speaker 1: you've got like a floating two ft by six ft 751 00:42:53,239 --> 00:42:55,960 Speaker 1: by However thick the ice was chunk of ice, right, 752 00:42:56,960 --> 00:43:00,520 Speaker 1: and that's heavy. That's a very heavy thing. So you 753 00:43:00,560 --> 00:43:03,400 Speaker 1: would kind of push it with sticks through a channel 754 00:43:03,480 --> 00:43:07,760 Speaker 1: that you had to carve out to the shoreline, and um, 755 00:43:07,840 --> 00:43:09,480 Speaker 1: then you had to figure out a way to raise 756 00:43:09,520 --> 00:43:12,160 Speaker 1: it out of the water onto like a cart or 757 00:43:12,200 --> 00:43:14,840 Speaker 1: something like that, and then take it to the ice house, 758 00:43:15,200 --> 00:43:19,080 Speaker 1: which was a probably a cement like cinder block building 759 00:43:19,760 --> 00:43:23,400 Speaker 1: that um you would pack with sawdust so that this 760 00:43:23,480 --> 00:43:26,399 Speaker 1: ice wouldn't melt onto one another or melt at all 761 00:43:26,520 --> 00:43:28,799 Speaker 1: during the summer, and then just wait for summer to 762 00:43:28,840 --> 00:43:32,239 Speaker 1: come and then bam, start charge of people money, yep I. 763 00:43:32,280 --> 00:43:35,160 Speaker 1: And this was a job through like the nineteen thirties 764 00:43:36,400 --> 00:43:41,400 Speaker 1: until you know, refrigeration became a thing, and then people 765 00:43:41,440 --> 00:43:44,520 Speaker 1: like my grandmother, they couldn't You couldn't stop saying ice 766 00:43:44,560 --> 00:43:49,560 Speaker 1: box or tinfoil, Yeah, tin foil. I hadn't thought about that. 767 00:43:49,640 --> 00:43:53,200 Speaker 1: I mean, I'd still say tinfoils. Seat and olio she 768 00:43:53,239 --> 00:43:57,200 Speaker 1: said olio instead of butter. That's that's growdy. How could 769 00:43:57,239 --> 00:43:59,200 Speaker 1: you eat that if you call it olio? You know, 770 00:44:00,160 --> 00:44:01,719 Speaker 1: I don't know she never I don't know why she 771 00:44:01,760 --> 00:44:03,600 Speaker 1: said that because she didn't use butter. She used the 772 00:44:04,400 --> 00:44:07,880 Speaker 1: big bell jar bacon grease that she collected sitting on 773 00:44:07,880 --> 00:44:10,920 Speaker 1: the stove, like even on bread. No, no, no no, just 774 00:44:10,920 --> 00:44:13,399 Speaker 1: for cooking. I got you. But she was old school man. 775 00:44:14,480 --> 00:44:15,719 Speaker 1: It's kind of neat when you have a link to 776 00:44:15,719 --> 00:44:21,000 Speaker 1: the past like that. One more thing about ice cutting. Um, 777 00:44:21,200 --> 00:44:23,960 Speaker 1: one of the best three stooges ever was called an 778 00:44:23,960 --> 00:44:26,759 Speaker 1: Ache and every Steak, and they were ice delivery men. 779 00:44:26,960 --> 00:44:28,960 Speaker 1: I think I remember that. Yeah. They had a lot 780 00:44:28,960 --> 00:44:32,120 Speaker 1: of trouble with it, as as you can expect. There 781 00:44:32,120 --> 00:44:34,680 Speaker 1: were probably some tongs placed in the wrong area at 782 00:44:34,719 --> 00:44:39,120 Speaker 1: one point where Mo yeah and Curly Yeah. I think 783 00:44:39,120 --> 00:44:41,799 Speaker 1: they both got it. Probably Curly did it first accidentally 784 00:44:41,840 --> 00:44:45,719 Speaker 1: to Mo, and then Mo retaliated on purpose, I remember correctly. 785 00:44:46,160 --> 00:44:49,399 Speaker 1: All Right, two more to go. Yeah, we really are 786 00:44:49,440 --> 00:44:52,239 Speaker 1: doing eight this time? Huh. I think so so, Chuck. 787 00:44:52,320 --> 00:44:56,719 Speaker 1: When you go to a bowling alley, right um, and 788 00:44:56,800 --> 00:44:59,080 Speaker 1: you roll the ball, I'm gonna go ahead and give 789 00:44:59,120 --> 00:45:01,280 Speaker 1: you the benefit of the out. You would hit a strike, 790 00:45:01,719 --> 00:45:06,120 Speaker 1: Thank you, Steve ruck In the how you say, I 791 00:45:06,120 --> 00:45:09,600 Speaker 1: don't think so. Um, When you knock all his pins 792 00:45:09,600 --> 00:45:13,480 Speaker 1: down an awesome machine comes down, well, there wouldn't be 793 00:45:13,520 --> 00:45:15,799 Speaker 1: any pins left. But if there was one standing, a 794 00:45:15,840 --> 00:45:18,160 Speaker 1: machine would come down, grab it, raise it, and then 795 00:45:18,200 --> 00:45:20,640 Speaker 1: a sweeper would come and push all of the knockdown 796 00:45:20,719 --> 00:45:24,359 Speaker 1: pins that you hit, which are called deadwood by the way, 797 00:45:24,719 --> 00:45:28,200 Speaker 1: back into a little pit, and then a new set 798 00:45:28,239 --> 00:45:31,239 Speaker 1: would come down and reset and your ball would shoot out. 799 00:45:31,239 --> 00:45:35,400 Speaker 1: And the whole thing is a marvel of mechanical engineering. 800 00:45:35,440 --> 00:45:39,040 Speaker 1: It's all mechanical. But there was a time where if 801 00:45:39,120 --> 00:45:42,680 Speaker 1: you went bowling, there were little boys back there who 802 00:45:42,760 --> 00:45:45,719 Speaker 1: did all the jobs that I just said that machine did. 803 00:45:45,719 --> 00:45:48,640 Speaker 1: They were known as pin setters. That's right, and we 804 00:45:48,719 --> 00:45:54,839 Speaker 1: have Mr Gottfried Freddie Schmidt to thank for the automatic 805 00:45:55,000 --> 00:45:59,440 Speaker 1: pin spotter, where he debuted this thing at the American 806 00:45:59,480 --> 00:46:03,239 Speaker 1: Bowling con Grits Tournament. But like you said, previous to that, 807 00:46:03,239 --> 00:46:07,040 Speaker 1: they had little pin boys who would for about what 808 00:46:07,440 --> 00:46:10,480 Speaker 1: ten cents per game, per bowl or per games. So 809 00:46:10,520 --> 00:46:13,360 Speaker 1: if you had like six bowlers bowling in a in 810 00:46:13,400 --> 00:46:16,239 Speaker 1: a game, you would you'd make sixty cents a game. Technically. 811 00:46:16,360 --> 00:46:18,560 Speaker 1: Oh really, Hi, Yeah, you could make some dough if 812 00:46:18,560 --> 00:46:21,640 Speaker 1: you really hustled. Wow. That's not bad for a ten 813 00:46:21,719 --> 00:46:24,080 Speaker 1: year old at the time, not at all. But here's 814 00:46:24,080 --> 00:46:26,040 Speaker 1: the thing too, I mean, I guess it's the great 815 00:46:26,040 --> 00:46:27,880 Speaker 1: way to the best way to pay them for a 816 00:46:27,920 --> 00:46:30,719 Speaker 1: bowling alley. But because you don't want to pay them 817 00:46:31,000 --> 00:46:33,759 Speaker 1: while there's no one bowling. No, no, it's like per 818 00:46:33,800 --> 00:46:36,360 Speaker 1: bowl or per per game. So yeah, if you're just 819 00:46:36,400 --> 00:46:40,200 Speaker 1: standing around, you're not making any money. Yeah, So they 820 00:46:40,239 --> 00:46:43,920 Speaker 1: would they would set the pins up. They would uh, 821 00:46:44,200 --> 00:46:48,040 Speaker 1: they would wipe the pins away by means of carrying them. 822 00:46:48,320 --> 00:46:51,440 Speaker 1: And they actually had pinbars that they would step on 823 00:46:51,520 --> 00:46:54,040 Speaker 1: to raise these little metal spikes and that's how they 824 00:46:54,040 --> 00:46:57,040 Speaker 1: would align the pins. They just didn't eyeball it right. 825 00:46:57,840 --> 00:47:00,399 Speaker 1: And I read an account by a former or pin 826 00:47:00,640 --> 00:47:04,640 Speaker 1: pin setter. Um, and so you're hanging out there where 827 00:47:04,719 --> 00:47:07,479 Speaker 1: people are throwing the bowling ball where it hits the back, 828 00:47:07,600 --> 00:47:10,200 Speaker 1: like you're hanging out back there. So there's a couple 829 00:47:10,239 --> 00:47:13,480 Speaker 1: of things going on. Um. Apparently teenagers would love to 830 00:47:13,520 --> 00:47:17,319 Speaker 1: take aim, sometimes drunken adults, so you had to watch 831 00:47:17,320 --> 00:47:20,960 Speaker 1: out for people bowling at you. Pins sometimes would get 832 00:47:21,000 --> 00:47:22,560 Speaker 1: knocked to the back and hit you in the shin 833 00:47:22,760 --> 00:47:25,360 Speaker 1: or the head or something like that. But this account 834 00:47:25,440 --> 00:47:27,840 Speaker 1: that I read was, Um, this guy, this kid was 835 00:47:27,880 --> 00:47:30,280 Speaker 1: saying like there was no better way to like secretly 836 00:47:30,440 --> 00:47:32,920 Speaker 1: enter the world of adults than to be a pin setter, 837 00:47:33,320 --> 00:47:35,759 Speaker 1: because adults would go bowl and get drunk and you 838 00:47:35,800 --> 00:47:38,560 Speaker 1: were in the back basically invisible, but you're hearing everything. 839 00:47:38,600 --> 00:47:41,879 Speaker 1: You're seeing everything. You could hear something from way down there. Yeah, 840 00:47:42,000 --> 00:47:44,560 Speaker 1: from way back there. From what this guy said, at 841 00:47:44,600 --> 00:47:47,080 Speaker 1: the very least you can watch their their physical behavior 842 00:47:47,200 --> 00:47:49,919 Speaker 1: or whatever. But um, yeah, he said he learned quite 843 00:47:49,920 --> 00:47:52,600 Speaker 1: a bit about human nature by being a pin setter. Yeah. 844 00:47:52,680 --> 00:47:56,120 Speaker 1: I guess the the equivalent of trying to throw your 845 00:47:56,120 --> 00:47:58,920 Speaker 1: ball at the pin setter is when you go to 846 00:47:58,960 --> 00:48:02,200 Speaker 1: a golf driving range. Slightly dude comes out in the 847 00:48:02,320 --> 00:48:07,320 Speaker 1: in the sixty Volkswagen Beetle with a ball trough on 848 00:48:07,360 --> 00:48:10,600 Speaker 1: the front of it, and everybody on that driving range 849 00:48:10,640 --> 00:48:15,400 Speaker 1: tries to hit that car. In Unison, it's just I 850 00:48:15,440 --> 00:48:17,000 Speaker 1: think one of the things you do. I haven't been 851 00:48:17,040 --> 00:48:19,200 Speaker 1: to a driving range and forever, but when that car 852 00:48:19,239 --> 00:48:22,839 Speaker 1: comes out, there's one objective, see if you can hit it, 853 00:48:23,080 --> 00:48:25,800 Speaker 1: and then that guy driving or the girl driving to 854 00:48:25,960 --> 00:48:29,120 Speaker 1: screams at the top of their lug stop stop. I'm 855 00:48:29,120 --> 00:48:31,640 Speaker 1: a human being. Well, and for the for people who 856 00:48:31,719 --> 00:48:35,440 Speaker 1: don't understand these these old cars are heavily caged, so 857 00:48:35,520 --> 00:48:38,000 Speaker 1: it's not like you're gonna hit anybody or breakthrough a 858 00:48:38,040 --> 00:48:40,640 Speaker 1: window or anything like that. Sure you're not. But they 859 00:48:40,760 --> 00:48:44,000 Speaker 1: also electrify the cage so that the person can't get out. 860 00:48:46,160 --> 00:48:48,080 Speaker 1: It's pretty fun. I've always wanted to drive one of those. 861 00:48:48,880 --> 00:48:50,840 Speaker 1: I've never seen a beetle. I've always seen like some 862 00:48:50,920 --> 00:48:53,359 Speaker 1: sort of like a lawn tractor or something like that 863 00:48:53,400 --> 00:48:56,320 Speaker 1: with a pokemobile top on it. Oh see back, I 864 00:48:56,360 --> 00:48:58,520 Speaker 1: don't know. I've been by golfing a long time, but 865 00:48:59,000 --> 00:49:02,200 Speaker 1: all the courses I went to you had just old gelopes. Yeah, 866 00:49:02,200 --> 00:49:04,279 Speaker 1: it sounds like the people running the courses you went 867 00:49:04,320 --> 00:49:08,719 Speaker 1: to were smoking grass, growing grass and smoking grass. Right, 868 00:49:09,680 --> 00:49:15,400 Speaker 1: Uh so what else about these people? Basically overnight they vanished. 869 00:49:16,200 --> 00:49:19,719 Speaker 1: The first moment those automatic pin setters came about. That 870 00:49:19,880 --> 00:49:22,720 Speaker 1: was that was that? But the that kid whose account 871 00:49:22,719 --> 00:49:25,399 Speaker 1: I read or the man whose account I read as 872 00:49:25,440 --> 00:49:27,880 Speaker 1: a kid, No, that still doesn't work, you know what 873 00:49:27,880 --> 00:49:31,400 Speaker 1: I'm saying. Yeah, I'm not gonna say it a third way. Um. 874 00:49:31,440 --> 00:49:33,360 Speaker 1: He said that it took him about two months to 875 00:49:33,400 --> 00:49:38,200 Speaker 1: realize that you set set the pins and then you 876 00:49:38,280 --> 00:49:40,160 Speaker 1: roll the ball back to give yourself time to get 877 00:49:40,200 --> 00:49:42,040 Speaker 1: out of the way. If you roll the ball back 878 00:49:42,040 --> 00:49:44,480 Speaker 1: and set the pins. By that time the person's got 879 00:49:44,520 --> 00:49:49,240 Speaker 1: their ball ready and they take aim for you. Jerks. Jerks, indeed, 880 00:49:49,560 --> 00:49:55,640 Speaker 1: bowler's notorious jerks. Hmm some of them, sure, Like John Leguizamo, No, 881 00:49:55,840 --> 00:50:01,959 Speaker 1: John Toturo, Oh, Jeseus. Yeah, like Tsus you did huh well, 882 00:50:02,000 --> 00:50:04,920 Speaker 1: except for the fact that he was a petterist. He 883 00:50:05,040 --> 00:50:06,560 Speaker 1: was a bit of a jerk too. Yeah, he was 884 00:50:06,600 --> 00:50:11,600 Speaker 1: a better and I forgot about that part. Uh. Yeah, okay, 885 00:50:11,800 --> 00:50:16,680 Speaker 1: so pin setters, Uh, the last one. This is my 886 00:50:16,719 --> 00:50:20,799 Speaker 1: favorite of all time. Yeah. Party line operator. Not to 887 00:50:20,880 --> 00:50:23,880 Speaker 1: be confused with the party line operators from the party 888 00:50:23,920 --> 00:50:26,399 Speaker 1: lines of the eighties and nineties. These are the much 889 00:50:26,400 --> 00:50:30,719 Speaker 1: more innocent party lines of the early twentieth century. Yeah. So, 890 00:50:30,800 --> 00:50:33,680 Speaker 1: here's how telephoning used to work back in the old days. 891 00:50:34,160 --> 00:50:37,880 Speaker 1: If you lived out in the sticks, uh, and imagine 892 00:50:37,880 --> 00:50:39,960 Speaker 1: even in certain city blocks, but if you lived out 893 00:50:40,000 --> 00:50:43,640 Speaker 1: in the rural areas, you would have a shared telephone 894 00:50:43,680 --> 00:50:49,600 Speaker 1: line between sometimes ten or twenty houses. Uh, and you 895 00:50:49,640 --> 00:50:53,600 Speaker 1: would have your own special ring that you would be 896 00:50:53,640 --> 00:50:59,280 Speaker 1: able to recognize. And when someone calls all twenty houses, 897 00:51:00,120 --> 00:51:02,000 Speaker 1: the phone rings and you have to know your ring 898 00:51:02,920 --> 00:51:06,720 Speaker 1: to answer, or you're gonna pick up and be listening 899 00:51:06,719 --> 00:51:09,640 Speaker 1: to your neighbor's conversation, which which happened a lot. Yeah, 900 00:51:09,640 --> 00:51:12,760 Speaker 1: apparently that was called rubbering. You have no idea why, 901 00:51:12,760 --> 00:51:15,600 Speaker 1: but it's what you were doing, your eaves dropping on 902 00:51:15,680 --> 00:51:18,839 Speaker 1: your neighbor. And it's called a party line. Yeah, and 903 00:51:18,920 --> 00:51:22,560 Speaker 1: so the party line. Um, they they had party lines 904 00:51:22,680 --> 00:51:25,799 Speaker 1: because this is at a time when running telephone line 905 00:51:25,800 --> 00:51:28,919 Speaker 1: and operating and maintaining it was very, very expensive because 906 00:51:28,920 --> 00:51:33,680 Speaker 1: it was early in the telephones infancy. Right, So you 907 00:51:34,360 --> 00:51:37,520 Speaker 1: rural Nebraskan should just thank your lucky stars that you 908 00:51:37,560 --> 00:51:41,080 Speaker 1: even have a telephone. Don't don't try to get all 909 00:51:41,120 --> 00:51:43,399 Speaker 1: fancy and ask for just your own line. That would 910 00:51:43,440 --> 00:51:46,880 Speaker 1: come later. But um, when you had this party line, 911 00:51:47,320 --> 00:51:50,520 Speaker 1: you you could ring your own neighbor on the same 912 00:51:50,560 --> 00:51:53,719 Speaker 1: party line if you knew their ring. Like when you 913 00:51:53,760 --> 00:51:56,680 Speaker 1: look at the old telephones where you have the receiver 914 00:51:56,760 --> 00:51:58,000 Speaker 1: that you hold up to your ear and you speak 915 00:51:58,000 --> 00:52:02,440 Speaker 1: into the mouthpiece, you see people crank it. Sometimes what 916 00:52:02,480 --> 00:52:05,000 Speaker 1: they're doing is they're actually turning a magnet inside a 917 00:52:05,040 --> 00:52:10,680 Speaker 1: spool of copper coil um. So that and there's they're 918 00:52:10,680 --> 00:52:13,560 Speaker 1: turning it in a way that it's mimicking the ring 919 00:52:14,040 --> 00:52:16,400 Speaker 1: of the family on their party line they're trying to reach. 920 00:52:16,440 --> 00:52:19,279 Speaker 1: So if the family's ring is a long, short long, 921 00:52:19,360 --> 00:52:23,600 Speaker 1: they're like ring, ring, ring, that's how they're they're spinning. 922 00:52:23,640 --> 00:52:28,000 Speaker 1: The magnet creates a current which translates into the ring 923 00:52:28,080 --> 00:52:30,520 Speaker 1: on all of the other phones in the party line. 924 00:52:30,719 --> 00:52:32,560 Speaker 1: So you could call people yourself, but if you wanted 925 00:52:32,600 --> 00:52:34,920 Speaker 1: to call outside of your party line, you had to 926 00:52:34,920 --> 00:52:38,919 Speaker 1: dial the operator, yes, which was a long ring. Uh. 927 00:52:38,960 --> 00:52:40,960 Speaker 1: And you would call central what they called Central, which 928 00:52:41,000 --> 00:52:43,520 Speaker 1: is where the switch board was, and they were you know, 929 00:52:43,560 --> 00:52:46,640 Speaker 1: someone was there twenty four hours a day, lived there. Yeah, 930 00:52:46,680 --> 00:52:48,920 Speaker 1: and like in their little apartment that they would they 931 00:52:48,960 --> 00:52:51,719 Speaker 1: would have set up for them. And uh, if you 932 00:52:51,880 --> 00:52:54,359 Speaker 1: if you needed an emergency, it was generally agreed upon 933 00:52:54,480 --> 00:52:59,759 Speaker 1: that the longest ring possible was an emergency. So if 934 00:52:59,800 --> 00:53:01,840 Speaker 1: you're on a party line of like let's say fifteen 935 00:53:01,880 --> 00:53:05,799 Speaker 1: houses and there's a tornado coming through, you're the first 936 00:53:05,800 --> 00:53:07,640 Speaker 1: one to see it. You would do a long, long, long, 937 00:53:07,640 --> 00:53:10,759 Speaker 1: long ring, and everybody on that party line would either 938 00:53:10,840 --> 00:53:12,640 Speaker 1: just know that's a warning or they would know to 939 00:53:12,680 --> 00:53:15,239 Speaker 1: pick up all, everyone could pick up the phone at 940 00:53:15,280 --> 00:53:18,120 Speaker 1: once and Elmer could say we got a tornado come in, 941 00:53:20,000 --> 00:53:25,479 Speaker 1: and then it was like the origins of pretty much. Yeah. Yeah, 942 00:53:25,520 --> 00:53:28,120 Speaker 1: it was a good way to communicate quickly with your neighbors. 943 00:53:28,120 --> 00:53:31,120 Speaker 1: It was. It was a lifesaver. Yeah, another reason you 944 00:53:31,120 --> 00:53:33,239 Speaker 1: should just be happy to have any kind of phone line, 945 00:53:33,280 --> 00:53:37,480 Speaker 1: you hay seed. So this rubbering thing was was like 946 00:53:37,520 --> 00:53:40,160 Speaker 1: you said, it was quite a as you can imagine, 947 00:53:40,520 --> 00:53:43,239 Speaker 1: since there have been neighbors, there have been neighbors trying 948 00:53:43,280 --> 00:53:47,840 Speaker 1: to get another neighbor's business, So, uh, it was. It 949 00:53:47,960 --> 00:53:50,120 Speaker 1: was a big deal. Like sometimes they even said in 950 00:53:50,160 --> 00:53:53,560 Speaker 1: here you could kind of fashion a speaker phone if 951 00:53:53,560 --> 00:53:55,360 Speaker 1: you just wanted to listen in but not stay in 952 00:53:55,400 --> 00:53:58,239 Speaker 1: there by just letting the earpiece drop into like a 953 00:53:58,280 --> 00:54:01,640 Speaker 1: bucket or something ooops, and it would just you know, 954 00:54:01,760 --> 00:54:04,120 Speaker 1: to amplify the sound and you could go about cleaning 955 00:54:04,160 --> 00:54:06,759 Speaker 1: your house and listening in on your neighbor's conversation. Yeah. 956 00:54:06,800 --> 00:54:09,800 Speaker 1: And something Granny Bryant knew but took to her grave 957 00:54:09,840 --> 00:54:12,080 Speaker 1: and never share with anybody is that if you hung it, 958 00:54:12,200 --> 00:54:15,600 Speaker 1: dangled it into a croc a bacon fat, it would 959 00:54:15,600 --> 00:54:21,640 Speaker 1: really amplify it. That's I'm sure she had a party line. 960 00:54:21,640 --> 00:54:24,920 Speaker 1: There's no way she lived in Tennessee. Starting in the 961 00:54:25,040 --> 00:54:28,880 Speaker 1: nineteen d and part yeah for sure. And this actually, 962 00:54:28,880 --> 00:54:31,560 Speaker 1: I mean party lines went on for a while, as 963 00:54:31,960 --> 00:54:35,360 Speaker 1: you know, in the city, um where you know, people 964 00:54:36,360 --> 00:54:40,160 Speaker 1: demanded respect from phone companies. You you got your own 965 00:54:40,200 --> 00:54:42,680 Speaker 1: line sooner than later. But out in the rural areas 966 00:54:42,680 --> 00:54:45,120 Speaker 1: they continued on quite a while. And there's actually a 967 00:54:45,120 --> 00:54:48,440 Speaker 1: movie called Pillow Talk starring Doris Day and Rock Hudson. 968 00:54:48,680 --> 00:54:51,960 Speaker 1: Pretty great, cute little romcom from the late fifties, but 969 00:54:52,000 --> 00:54:54,600 Speaker 1: it was from nineteen fifty nine and the whole basis 970 00:54:54,680 --> 00:54:57,680 Speaker 1: of the plot revolved around a party line. Oh yeah, 971 00:54:57,800 --> 00:55:01,080 Speaker 1: like a mix up and it tensional mix of he 972 00:55:01,280 --> 00:55:05,120 Speaker 1: toyed with her a little bit. Yeah, yeah, that's a 973 00:55:05,120 --> 00:55:09,680 Speaker 1: good one. I like it. Well that's it man. Oh yeah, 974 00:55:09,719 --> 00:55:12,400 Speaker 1: party line operators they went the way of the dinosaur 975 00:55:12,440 --> 00:55:16,080 Speaker 1: when everybody started getting their own line and you didn't 976 00:55:16,080 --> 00:55:19,759 Speaker 1: need the party line operator. Nope, So long, get out 977 00:55:19,760 --> 00:55:21,839 Speaker 1: of get out of this office that you live in. 978 00:55:22,160 --> 00:55:25,480 Speaker 1: And now we've evolved to the point where everyone has 979 00:55:25,520 --> 00:55:29,400 Speaker 1: their own WiFi that's locked down by password and nobody 980 00:55:29,400 --> 00:55:32,040 Speaker 1: couldn't use it. Yeah, think about it. Do you remember 981 00:55:32,080 --> 00:55:37,040 Speaker 1: the times when you would call a number and you 982 00:55:37,040 --> 00:55:39,680 Speaker 1: you you could get any one of a number of 983 00:55:39,719 --> 00:55:43,360 Speaker 1: family members at the same number. And now it's like 984 00:55:43,440 --> 00:55:46,960 Speaker 1: you call somebody and you're calling that person. Everyone has 985 00:55:46,960 --> 00:55:50,080 Speaker 1: a phone number. It's like the next evolution from a 986 00:55:50,120 --> 00:55:53,520 Speaker 1: party from party lines to individual household lines. And now 987 00:55:53,560 --> 00:55:57,360 Speaker 1: individual people have lines. Because you would call and say, 988 00:55:57,680 --> 00:56:00,520 Speaker 1: can I speak to Josh, and then Mom would say, 989 00:56:00,640 --> 00:56:03,439 Speaker 1: Josh phone, and then after a couple of minutes, you'd 990 00:56:03,520 --> 00:56:09,239 Speaker 1: hear Mom hang up, stop rubbering, and then Mom would 991 00:56:09,280 --> 00:56:11,279 Speaker 1: fake it because she needed to know about all your 992 00:56:12,480 --> 00:56:16,920 Speaker 1: AH cigarette activities. Yeah, that's right. She'd be like, I 993 00:56:16,960 --> 00:56:22,160 Speaker 1: didn't know he switched to men thal. That's it, all right, 994 00:56:22,200 --> 00:56:25,760 Speaker 1: I got nothing else? All right? Extinct jobs? Will yours 995 00:56:25,800 --> 00:56:30,200 Speaker 1: be next? We'll find out in ten years. If you 996 00:56:30,200 --> 00:56:32,759 Speaker 1: want to know more about extinct jobs, there's a there's 997 00:56:32,760 --> 00:56:34,640 Speaker 1: an article we didn't cover two of them on the 998 00:56:34,680 --> 00:56:36,440 Speaker 1: site at how stuff works dot com. And since I 999 00:56:36,480 --> 00:56:41,240 Speaker 1: said that, it's time for a listener, mayo, I'm gonna 1000 00:56:41,239 --> 00:56:46,080 Speaker 1: call this uh Christiania m follow up. We heard from 1001 00:56:46,120 --> 00:56:48,880 Speaker 1: quite a few people that have been to this little 1002 00:56:48,880 --> 00:56:53,839 Speaker 1: idyllic or is it a dyllic village in uh near 1003 00:56:53,880 --> 00:57:00,200 Speaker 1: Copenhagen in Denmark? Yeah, Denmark, which is where Copenhagen is, right. Hey, 1004 00:57:00,160 --> 00:57:02,600 Speaker 1: I's been an Abod listener for about five years. I 1005 00:57:02,640 --> 00:57:07,640 Speaker 1: do not live in Christiania. Is that it's pronounced Christie? 1006 00:57:07,840 --> 00:57:10,840 Speaker 1: I think Christianna. All right, you may have misspelled it, 1007 00:57:11,680 --> 00:57:13,720 Speaker 1: but I did visit about five years ago. My cousin 1008 00:57:13,760 --> 00:57:17,040 Speaker 1: lives in Copenhagen. I live in Ireland, and he took 1009 00:57:17,120 --> 00:57:20,040 Speaker 1: me on a trip there after dark, in the middle 1010 00:57:20,040 --> 00:57:22,920 Speaker 1: of winter. It is a beautiful place, filled with arts, 1011 00:57:23,000 --> 00:57:26,000 Speaker 1: crafts in striking architecture. When we first entered, my cousin 1012 00:57:26,040 --> 00:57:28,439 Speaker 1: was quick to point out the sign that said have fun, 1013 00:57:28,760 --> 00:57:31,960 Speaker 1: don't run no photos. Asked him why, and he said, 1014 00:57:32,000 --> 00:57:34,280 Speaker 1: due to the nature of the site, like the sale 1015 00:57:34,320 --> 00:57:37,840 Speaker 1: of cannabis and other soft drugs that are otherwise illegal. Uh. 1016 00:57:37,880 --> 00:57:40,600 Speaker 1: And in fact, I'm adding this part myself, they're illegal 1017 00:57:40,640 --> 00:57:43,880 Speaker 1: there as well. Um. Because apparently other people said the 1018 00:57:43,920 --> 00:57:46,760 Speaker 1: cops will rate it sometimes uh. And in fact she 1019 00:57:46,760 --> 00:57:49,480 Speaker 1: says occasionally it is rated by police and running is 1020 00:57:49,520 --> 00:57:52,800 Speaker 1: seen as a threat of danger and as his photography 1021 00:57:52,840 --> 00:57:57,600 Speaker 1: for the same reasons. So apparently you don't run there, brother, No, 1022 00:57:57,880 --> 00:58:01,480 Speaker 1: you just chill. Yeah, just take its low man. At 1023 00:58:01,520 --> 00:58:03,800 Speaker 1: just nineteen, I was pretty intimidated. But why what I 1024 00:58:03,840 --> 00:58:06,920 Speaker 1: saw is lawlessness? Until my cousin mentioned we go for 1025 00:58:07,000 --> 00:58:09,280 Speaker 1: dinner there. He took me up a stairway covered in 1026 00:58:09,280 --> 00:58:13,280 Speaker 1: graffiti and artwork, only two open heavy doors into what 1027 00:58:13,440 --> 00:58:16,360 Speaker 1: remained my favorite restaurant of all time. Yeah, this sounds 1028 00:58:16,400 --> 00:58:19,760 Speaker 1: pretty amazing. Low wooden beam ceilings, white table cloths, and 1029 00:58:19,800 --> 00:58:23,080 Speaker 1: a simple, gorgeous, entirely in Danish menu that my cousin 1030 00:58:23,160 --> 00:58:26,160 Speaker 1: kindly translated. What followed was the most beautiful and memorable 1031 00:58:26,160 --> 00:58:28,480 Speaker 1: meal I've ever had, and it changed my idea that 1032 00:58:28,560 --> 00:58:31,640 Speaker 1: this place was lawless and scary. Since then, I've urged 1033 00:58:31,640 --> 00:58:34,400 Speaker 1: any friends to visit Denmark to stop by. Next time 1034 00:58:34,400 --> 00:58:36,040 Speaker 1: I visit my cousin, I'll be sure to go during 1035 00:58:36,080 --> 00:58:38,520 Speaker 1: the day and taking the beautiful murals in the sun 1036 00:58:39,560 --> 00:58:42,200 Speaker 1: between you guys and the mcelroys. Hope to never run 1037 00:58:42,240 --> 00:58:46,080 Speaker 1: out of informative and entertaining podcasts. You never will. Lots 1038 00:58:46,120 --> 00:58:49,640 Speaker 1: of love your Irish Pal. Thanks a lot, Irish Pal. 1039 00:58:49,680 --> 00:58:52,360 Speaker 1: That was a great story man. The idea of going 1040 00:58:52,400 --> 00:58:54,920 Speaker 1: to the best restaurant you've ever been to in an 1041 00:58:54,920 --> 00:58:59,560 Speaker 1: anarchist project in Denmark is pretty awesome. Yeah, and other 1042 00:58:59,560 --> 00:59:01,480 Speaker 1: people's you I should point out just that went during 1043 00:59:01,480 --> 00:59:04,720 Speaker 1: the day talked about how just insane some of these 1044 00:59:05,520 --> 00:59:07,720 Speaker 1: houses were because at one point, I think there was 1045 00:59:07,800 --> 00:59:12,000 Speaker 1: a a contest or something and all of these houses 1046 00:59:12,080 --> 00:59:13,800 Speaker 1: or a lot of these houses were built during that 1047 00:59:13,880 --> 00:59:16,760 Speaker 1: time frame, and you know, they just range from these 1048 00:59:16,800 --> 00:59:21,560 Speaker 1: crazy art looking homes to just very modest things. But 1049 00:59:21,640 --> 00:59:24,200 Speaker 1: it just sounds like some people did send a few 1050 00:59:24,200 --> 00:59:27,960 Speaker 1: pictures like decorating your cubicle around a holiday or something, 1051 00:59:28,560 --> 00:59:34,120 Speaker 1: which no either do you know. So if you want 1052 00:59:34,120 --> 00:59:35,720 Speaker 1: to get in touch with me and Chuck, you can 1053 00:59:35,760 --> 00:59:38,040 Speaker 1: follow us on social you can go to stuff you 1054 00:59:38,040 --> 00:59:40,320 Speaker 1: Should Know dot com and all of our links are there. 1055 00:59:40,480 --> 00:59:43,600 Speaker 1: You're gonna love it, And you can also send us 1056 00:59:43,600 --> 00:59:46,840 Speaker 1: an email, right, Chuck, that's right. Send it to stuff 1057 00:59:47,080 --> 00:59:55,120 Speaker 1: podcast at how stuff works dot com for more on 1058 00:59:55,200 --> 00:59:57,680 Speaker 1: this and thousands of other topics. Is it how stuff 1059 00:59:57,680 --> 01:00:05,840 Speaker 1: works dot com.