WEBVTT - 9 Weird and Incredible Rule Changes

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<v Speaker 1>Guess what, mango, what's that? Well, all right, so we're

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<v Speaker 1>both big fans of basketball, and so I gotta kick

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<v Speaker 1>out of the story I read the other day. I

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<v Speaker 1>don't know if you've seen this. Do you know that

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<v Speaker 1>North Korea actually plays basketball completely differently than we do

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<v Speaker 1>here in the States. So I knew Kim Jong un

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<v Speaker 1>was a fan of basketball, but how's the game different

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<v Speaker 1>over there? I guess he personally changed the rules of

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<v Speaker 1>the sport because he wanted the game to be more exciting.

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<v Speaker 1>And also, I don't know if you've noticed, but he's

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<v Speaker 1>a dictator, so you could just change the rules for

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<v Speaker 1>whatever he wants. But all right, So here are a

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<v Speaker 1>few of the rule changes for North Korean basketball. A

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<v Speaker 1>slam dunk is three points. If you switch a traditional

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<v Speaker 1>three pointer, it becomes a four pointer. But if you

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<v Speaker 1>miss a free throw, you lose a point. Now, this

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<v Speaker 1>would be highly problematic for players like Shack. I don't

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<v Speaker 1>think he would do so well in the North Korean

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<v Speaker 1>Basketball Association. But and then the last one here is

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<v Speaker 1>in the final three minutes of a game, every two

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<v Speaker 1>pointer becomes an eight pointer. That's so crazy, I feel

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<v Speaker 1>like it honestly sounds like my five year old just

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<v Speaker 1>changing the rules as you play, just this arbitrary wielding

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<v Speaker 1>of power, but an eight pointer Also, like, how good

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<v Speaker 1>would the Warriors be in that system with Steph carry

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<v Speaker 1>Just draining eight pointers at the end of a game,

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<v Speaker 1>kid would be fair at all. But anyway we're reading

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<v Speaker 1>those rules made me wonder about strange rules and sports

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<v Speaker 1>and what are the rule changes we might not know about.

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<v Speaker 1>So that's what today's nine Things is all about. Let's

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<v Speaker 1>dive in. Hey, their podcast listeners, Welcome to Part Time Genius.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm Will Pearson and as always I'm joined by my

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<v Speaker 1>good friend man Guess show Ticketer and sitting behind the

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<v Speaker 1>soundproof glass, trying to devise an improved tick tik toe

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<v Speaker 1>game with those plastic amphibious Yeah, and he's calling it. Oh,

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<v Speaker 1>I get it. He's calling tic tac toad. I say,

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<v Speaker 1>I get it, but I do get to is an amphibian.

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<v Speaker 1>But that's our good friend and producer Tristan McNeil. He

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<v Speaker 1>is always up to something interesting, all right. So today's

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<v Speaker 1>show is all about rules and rule changes in games.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm curious, do you have any house rules or improved

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<v Speaker 1>rules for any games that you've played over the years. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>so I was thinking about this a little. I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>we had minor variations on games, like we we turned

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<v Speaker 1>croquet into extreme croquet, and we'd uh we played in

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<v Speaker 1>snow and ice over like five or six backyards as

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<v Speaker 1>a kid. Or we used to play basketball in the

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<v Speaker 1>strange indoor outdoor gym that was walled in on three

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<v Speaker 1>sides and it had no out of bounds so you

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<v Speaker 1>could like make these amazing bounced passes to yourself off

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<v Speaker 1>the wall and trick shots off these like beames. It was.

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<v Speaker 1>It was just super fun. But you know, I can't

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<v Speaker 1>say we thought of anything super creative. Um, you know what.

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<v Speaker 1>One variation to me that's so much better than the

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<v Speaker 1>original game, though, is Team Sorry. Have you ever played this?

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<v Speaker 1>I don't think so. Is it like the game Sorry? Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>it's it's exactly like the game Sorry, except you played

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<v Speaker 1>on teams and and our friend Jeff Rubin introduced me

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<v Speaker 1>to it. He you know, he does that wonderful Jeff

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<v Speaker 1>Reuben Jeff Ruben podcast which everyone should listen to. But

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<v Speaker 1>what's amazing is that, like you team up with the

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<v Speaker 1>person who's sitting across from you, and you play with

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<v Speaker 1>both your pieces, and it just makes the game so

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<v Speaker 1>much more fun, Like everyone's invested, plus in the rules.

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<v Speaker 1>At the end of the game, whoever wins or loses,

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<v Speaker 1>you have to end with a four way high five.

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<v Speaker 1>So that honestly makes everyone so happy at the end

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<v Speaker 1>of the game. It's really great. I have a feeling.

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<v Speaker 1>Really that's the main reason that you love the game.

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<v Speaker 1>We'll have to try that in the office sometimes because

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<v Speaker 1>it does sound fun. All right, So what's your first

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<v Speaker 1>factor the day? So how about wartime rules for golf?

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<v Speaker 1>I am not a golfer, but I found this on

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<v Speaker 1>lists of note and I love that people were so

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<v Speaker 1>dedicated to golf that they came up with a list

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<v Speaker 1>of wartime rules for it. So like they're actually playing

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<v Speaker 1>during a war. Yeah, it's it's amazing. So here are

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<v Speaker 1>a few ways to play during the war. Players are

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<v Speaker 1>asked to collect bomb and shrapnel splinters to save causing

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<v Speaker 1>damage to the moing machines, which I guess sounds fine.

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<v Speaker 1>You should pick them up as you play in competitions.

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<v Speaker 1>During gunfire or while bombs are falling, players may take

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<v Speaker 1>cover without penalty for ceasing play. Oh my gosh, how

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<v Speaker 1>kind of them Let them avoid being bombed or shot,

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<v Speaker 1>and a player who stroke is affected by the simultaneous

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<v Speaker 1>explosion of a bomb may play another ball from the

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<v Speaker 1>same place penalty one stroke. I like that they have

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<v Speaker 1>rules for this. I know, just the idea that, like,

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<v Speaker 1>if a bomb goes off as you play, but you

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<v Speaker 1>still want to keep playing, you can take your shot

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<v Speaker 1>over again, but you still a stroke. It makes sense

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<v Speaker 1>because that just just makes perfect sense. That is banana.

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<v Speaker 1>So what's your next fact? All right, Well, I was

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<v Speaker 1>gonna do something on kickball, but I think I'm gonna

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<v Speaker 1>save that one for a little bit later because I

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<v Speaker 1>also found some old golf rules that that you might like.

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<v Speaker 1>Sur friend Nick Green did a great story on old

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<v Speaker 1>golf rules that no longer exist, and there were a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of them on here that I didn't know. Like

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<v Speaker 1>instead of a t box, the original rule is that

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<v Speaker 1>you would put your ball one stick length from the

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<v Speaker 1>whole and then you'd start the next hole. So once

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<v Speaker 1>you finished the hole, you just put one stick link

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<v Speaker 1>and then you'd start right from there, which I am

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<v Speaker 1>guessing you know, would cause some traffic jams on the

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<v Speaker 1>golf course of people trying to finish out each hole.

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<v Speaker 1>Also when you dropped a ball on the course, you

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<v Speaker 1>were supposed to quote stand erect face the whole, and

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<v Speaker 1>then drop the ball over your shoulder. Very specific. I

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<v Speaker 1>don't really, I guess so I'm not sure why it

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<v Speaker 1>had to be behind your back, but maybe that's so

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<v Speaker 1>you didn't get some sort of unfair advantage. But I

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<v Speaker 1>think my favorite old timey rule that's been changed since

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<v Speaker 1>you know this is from the Rules of Golf is

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<v Speaker 1>played by the Society of St. Andrew's Golfers from eighteen twelve.

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<v Speaker 1>It reads, quote, if the player's ball strikes his adversary

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<v Speaker 1>or his caddy, the adversary loses the whole. If it

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<v Speaker 1>strikes his own caddy, the player loses the hole, Which

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<v Speaker 1>means you could technically aim for the other player and

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<v Speaker 1>if you hit him or his caddy, I guess you

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<v Speaker 1>win the hole, which does add like maybe a little

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<v Speaker 1>bit of excite you've been to the game, but also

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<v Speaker 1>kind of sounds awful. But you know that said, the

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<v Speaker 1>rule does clarify that it has to be with the ball,

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<v Speaker 1>like if you strike an opposing player with your club,

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<v Speaker 1>then you lose the I'm glad they everyone. Yeah, I

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<v Speaker 1>do feel like if that's how golf was still played.

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<v Speaker 1>You get a lot more people watching it on TV,

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<v Speaker 1>for sure. I think the ratings will go through the roof. Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>so what's your next fact? So this isn't exactly a

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<v Speaker 1>rule change, but it is a big change to a

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<v Speaker 1>board game I loved as a kid, which is Clue.

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<v Speaker 1>So you know, plenty of board games have been altered

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<v Speaker 1>over the years. Scrabble allows words like yo and za

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<v Speaker 1>which is short for pizza. Um it really it allows

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<v Speaker 1>both those words. Now, Yeah, it's crazy. My grandmom would

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<v Speaker 1>be incensed. Monopoly got rid of the iron and the thimble.

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<v Speaker 1>Thimble was actually my favorite piece, but they've replaced it

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<v Speaker 1>for like a cat and a rubber ducky and I

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<v Speaker 1>think there's even a penguin in the mix for some reason.

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<v Speaker 1>But one of the things I only just learned about

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<v Speaker 1>was that Clue killed off Mrs White, who was the

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<v Speaker 1>housekeeper slash cook character, and so who they replace her with?

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<v Speaker 1>So they're play her with Dr Orchid, who's this PhD

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<v Speaker 1>in plant toxicology. And initially, you know, when I read this,

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<v Speaker 1>I was just like stomping about and her rumping about,

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<v Speaker 1>like why do games have to change? Or whatever, so angry,

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<v Speaker 1>But then I read orchids backstory and I kind of

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<v Speaker 1>love it. So apparently she's the adopted daughter of the

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<v Speaker 1>mentions owner, and she was expelled from a fancy Swiss

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<v Speaker 1>boarding school after a quote a near fatal daffodil poisoning

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<v Speaker 1>insult here, which is already hilarious. And and then she

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<v Speaker 1>was homeschooled by Mrs White, the woman she suspiciously replaces.

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<v Speaker 1>She's also Asian, which Slate points out makes her the

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<v Speaker 1>only recognizable person of color in the game, but Hasbro's

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<v Speaker 1>statement about it is really the best they wrote. Quote,

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<v Speaker 1>it was a difficult decision to say goodbye to Mrs White,

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<v Speaker 1>but after seventy years of suspicious activity, we decided that

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<v Speaker 1>one of the characters had to go. But it does

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<v Speaker 1>seem like a reasonable replacement. Well, here's something I've always

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<v Speaker 1>wondered as a fan of the show Jeopardy, and that is,

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<v Speaker 1>why is it that only the winner gets to keep

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<v Speaker 1>the cash? You know, and Wheel of Fortune or other

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<v Speaker 1>games shows, if you win some money along the way,

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<v Speaker 1>you actually do get to keep. But Jeopardy wasn't always

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<v Speaker 1>this way. So in the original version of the show,

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<v Speaker 1>this aired way Back in the sixties, the second and

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<v Speaker 1>third place would get to keep their winnings. But in

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen sixties seven there was a contestant who ruined it

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<v Speaker 1>for everyone. So he appeared on Jeopardy with the sole

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<v Speaker 1>intent of winning enough money to buy an engagement ring,

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<v Speaker 1>which seems honest enough. Midway through the game, when he'd

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<v Speaker 1>amassed enough winnings, he just shut his mouth and stopped playing.

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<v Speaker 1>Get it So like, he got to a certain amount

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<v Speaker 1>of money and knew if that was it, and you know,

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<v Speaker 1>he thought if he answered any questions wrong, he might

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<v Speaker 1>lose that money. And so this exposed a real flaw

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<v Speaker 1>in the system this TV exactly. So when the show

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<v Speaker 1>returned for primetime, the show runners wanted to make sure

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<v Speaker 1>that didn't happen again. After all, I mean, like, it

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<v Speaker 1>could be disastrous if all three players decided halfway through

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<v Speaker 1>the game to stop and just say, like, okay, we've

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<v Speaker 1>won enough money. So they changed the rules so that

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<v Speaker 1>only the winner would take home the cash, and it

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<v Speaker 1>turned into a horse race to you know, to Final Jeopardy,

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<v Speaker 1>which is a great story. But what about the guy, Like,

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<v Speaker 1>do you know anything more about him? I was reading

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<v Speaker 1>on a Jeopardy blog, and he actually spent that money

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<v Speaker 1>in the right place. According to a book written on

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<v Speaker 1>Jeopardy twenty three years later, when the game show checked

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<v Speaker 1>in on him, he was actually still married to that woman.

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<v Speaker 1>So it is kind of a nice story. I do

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<v Speaker 1>like that. Well, here's something I didn't realize. Did you

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<v Speaker 1>know that up until seven not all ice hockey players

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<v Speaker 1>have to wear helmets when they played? Oh god, it

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<v Speaker 1>seems a wholeful, I know, and in the nineties, but

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<v Speaker 1>you know, I'm obviously not a huge hockey fan. I'll

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<v Speaker 1>get into the Olympics, and you know, I used to

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<v Speaker 1>play like floor hockey and jim but it's not a

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<v Speaker 1>sport I pretend to watch. But you know, it really

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<v Speaker 1>does seem unimaginable to me that all the way up

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<v Speaker 1>until ninety seven, you can still play the game without

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<v Speaker 1>a helmet. But it's for an interesting reason. So apparently,

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<v Speaker 1>the NHL has mandated headgear since nineteen seventy nine season

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<v Speaker 1>in particular, but according to The New York Times, players

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<v Speaker 1>were then allowed to decide for themselves whether they wanted

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<v Speaker 1>to wear a helmet, although if they didn't, they were

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<v Speaker 1>required to sign a waiver. So this one player, Craig McTavish.

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<v Speaker 1>He was grandfathered in during his rookie season and he

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<v Speaker 1>played helmetless for sixteen years until the seven season. And

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<v Speaker 1>at the time he said he was really lucky too

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<v Speaker 1>and grateful to have left the game without any serious

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<v Speaker 1>head injuries. So, you know, reporters asked him, why didn't

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<v Speaker 1>you just wear the thing? And he just shrugged and

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<v Speaker 1>said it was a comfort thing. Wow, I kind of

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<v Speaker 1>want to see a brain study on this guy. That

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<v Speaker 1>that's pretty well all. Well, here's a quick one for

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<v Speaker 1>you that you you might have heard before, But there's

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<v Speaker 1>this old fact that baseball umpires used to call games

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<v Speaker 1>from padded rocking chairs, which you know kind of sounds

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<v Speaker 1>a little bit lazy. Yeah, I mean that fact always

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<v Speaker 1>reminded me of that Seinfeld where George gets a security

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<v Speaker 1>guard a chair because he wants them to be able

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<v Speaker 1>to take a load off. But then the debate what

0:10:51.080 --> 0:10:53.880
<v Speaker 1>type of chairs is comfortable but not too comfortable? You know,

0:10:54.600 --> 0:10:57.040
<v Speaker 1>and of course in that case it's disastrous. But back

0:10:57.080 --> 0:11:00.680
<v Speaker 1>to baseball, So the rocking chair bits seems it suspect

0:11:00.760 --> 0:11:03.360
<v Speaker 1>and maybe that happened once or twice, but I couldn't

0:11:03.360 --> 0:11:06.960
<v Speaker 1>really find any credible evidence of it. But what is

0:11:06.960 --> 0:11:09.720
<v Speaker 1>true is that umpiring was a totally different thing in

0:11:09.720 --> 0:11:13.000
<v Speaker 1>the early days of baseball. At the time, baseball was

0:11:13.080 --> 0:11:17.800
<v Speaker 1>this gentleman's pastime, and umpires were always volunteers. In fact,

0:11:17.800 --> 0:11:20.280
<v Speaker 1>it was considered an honor to be asked to umpire game,

0:11:20.320 --> 0:11:22.640
<v Speaker 1>because it meant you were a person of some standing,

0:11:22.720 --> 0:11:25.079
<v Speaker 1>and you know that you were known for your fairness,

0:11:25.480 --> 0:11:28.240
<v Speaker 1>and their clothing kind of showed this. So I found

0:11:28.240 --> 0:11:31.160
<v Speaker 1>this in the Society for American Baseball Research, but in

0:11:31.240 --> 0:11:35.360
<v Speaker 1>early woodcuts of baseball games quote, the idealized stereotype of

0:11:35.360 --> 0:11:38.800
<v Speaker 1>an umpire was a distinguished looking fellow, often attired in

0:11:38.840 --> 0:11:41.680
<v Speaker 1>a top hat Prince Albert coat and Caine, who stood

0:11:42.080 --> 0:11:44.920
<v Speaker 1>neeled or sat on a stool a respectable distance from

0:11:44.920 --> 0:11:47.600
<v Speaker 1>home plate along the first baseline. I kind of wish

0:11:47.679 --> 0:11:51.200
<v Speaker 1>this was still the case, the top of everything, exactly.

0:11:51.440 --> 0:11:53.800
<v Speaker 1>And of course this the game became more competitive, and

0:11:53.880 --> 0:11:56.720
<v Speaker 1>umpiring felt less like an honor and more like a hassle.

0:11:56.800 --> 0:11:59.400
<v Speaker 1>These umpires got paid, and they put on these new

0:11:59.520 --> 0:12:02.040
<v Speaker 1>uniform arms and move them closer into the plate to

0:12:02.120 --> 0:12:04.320
<v Speaker 1>make better calls and and all of that. But it's

0:12:04.360 --> 0:12:07.400
<v Speaker 1>it's interesting to read that history. Well, I I do

0:12:07.480 --> 0:12:09.120
<v Speaker 1>know we've got two more facts to go, So why

0:12:09.120 --> 0:12:11.000
<v Speaker 1>don't we go to a little break first and then

0:12:11.040 --> 0:12:27.480
<v Speaker 1>get back to this. Welcome back to parts and genius.

0:12:27.520 --> 0:12:30.600
<v Speaker 1>We we're talking rules and changes in sports, all right, Mango,

0:12:30.720 --> 0:12:33.000
<v Speaker 1>we got one last fact each. What's your last one

0:12:33.000 --> 0:12:35.400
<v Speaker 1>going to be? So one of the things I'm always

0:12:35.400 --> 0:12:38.480
<v Speaker 1>fascinated by is how sports often changed their rules based

0:12:38.520 --> 0:12:42.160
<v Speaker 1>on like one player's dominance. And uh, you think about

0:12:42.160 --> 0:12:44.560
<v Speaker 1>how like there was no dunking college basketball for number

0:12:44.559 --> 0:12:46.560
<v Speaker 1>of years because of lou L Cinder, who you know

0:12:46.679 --> 0:12:49.480
<v Speaker 1>changed his name to Koreem abdul Jabbar and was just

0:12:49.640 --> 0:12:52.200
<v Speaker 1>unstoppable in college. And then the same was true for

0:12:52.240 --> 0:12:54.520
<v Speaker 1>Wilt Chamberlain, who I guess used to lob up his

0:12:54.640 --> 0:12:56.800
<v Speaker 1>free throws and then jump in the lane and dunk them,

0:12:56.840 --> 0:12:59.080
<v Speaker 1>which is why players can't cross the plane of the

0:12:59.120 --> 0:13:01.480
<v Speaker 1>free throw line, you know while shooting. Oh I didn't

0:13:01.480 --> 0:13:03.480
<v Speaker 1>know that. Yeah, And and there are lots of stories

0:13:03.520 --> 0:13:06.280
<v Speaker 1>like that. But do you know that when Darren Sprowles

0:13:06.360 --> 0:13:09.280
<v Speaker 1>was a tiny kid and played football, his league instituted

0:13:09.280 --> 0:13:11.440
<v Speaker 1>a rule that he wasn't allowed to run any sweeps

0:13:11.480 --> 0:13:13.880
<v Speaker 1>because he scored every single time he was handed the ball,

0:13:13.880 --> 0:13:17.240
<v Speaker 1>and random you were just so dominant in this like

0:13:17.400 --> 0:13:19.599
<v Speaker 1>peewee league that they banned him from running it and

0:13:19.640 --> 0:13:21.440
<v Speaker 1>they changed the rules just for him. And he was

0:13:21.520 --> 0:13:23.920
<v Speaker 1>super fast. I could see that happening. I've not heard that,

0:13:24.640 --> 0:13:26.880
<v Speaker 1>and and terrifying he was that good at such a

0:13:26.920 --> 0:13:30.160
<v Speaker 1>young age. So how are you going to close this

0:13:30.200 --> 0:13:32.320
<v Speaker 1>one out? All? Right? I think I want to go

0:13:32.440 --> 0:13:34.680
<v Speaker 1>with a fact about kickball, as I mentioned earlier, So

0:13:34.679 --> 0:13:37.200
<v Speaker 1>did you know that in the original rules for kickball,

0:13:37.280 --> 0:13:40.000
<v Speaker 1>and this from the nineteen twenties, was that there was

0:13:40.040 --> 0:13:43.880
<v Speaker 1>actually no picture. So apparently teams were supposed to have

0:13:43.960 --> 0:13:46.600
<v Speaker 1>fifteen people on each side and you just placed the

0:13:46.600 --> 0:13:49.040
<v Speaker 1>ball on home plate and then you just ran up

0:13:49.040 --> 0:13:51.800
<v Speaker 1>and kicked it. Also, kids had to stand twenty feet

0:13:51.840 --> 0:13:54.200
<v Speaker 1>away from you, and if the ball didn't go that far,

0:13:54.360 --> 0:13:57.600
<v Speaker 1>it was an automatic out, which I guess sounds fine.

0:13:57.640 --> 0:14:00.280
<v Speaker 1>But the strangest thing about the original rules is that

0:14:00.320 --> 0:14:03.080
<v Speaker 1>there were only two bases and you didn't have to

0:14:03.160 --> 0:14:06.560
<v Speaker 1>advance the basis when someone kicked the ball, So I

0:14:06.559 --> 0:14:10.240
<v Speaker 1>guess technically fourteen kids could be standing on that base

0:14:10.280 --> 0:14:12.640
<v Speaker 1>when the last kicker was at and then they would

0:14:12.679 --> 0:14:16.280
<v Speaker 1>all run home at one time, which just sounds bananas.

0:14:16.400 --> 0:14:18.960
<v Speaker 1>I know, it sounds like chaos. I am glad they

0:14:19.040 --> 0:14:21.560
<v Speaker 1>changed the rules, but I also kind of want to

0:14:21.600 --> 0:14:24.240
<v Speaker 1>see like an old timey kickball league like show up

0:14:24.240 --> 0:14:27.320
<v Speaker 1>on you know, on playgrounds somewhere or in ESPN three

0:14:27.440 --> 0:14:29.960
<v Speaker 1>some weekend. So I do think you win the fact

0:14:29.960 --> 0:14:32.160
<v Speaker 1>off with that fact. All right, Well, thanks so much

0:14:32.200 --> 0:14:34.000
<v Speaker 1>and thank you guys for listening. We'll be back with

0:14:34.040 --> 0:14:35.400
<v Speaker 1>a full length episode tomorrow