1 00:00:03,279 --> 00:00:12,600 Speaker 1: Welcome to Part Time Genius, the production of iHeartRadio. Guess what, Well, 2 00:00:12,760 --> 00:00:15,920 Speaker 1: what's that Mango? So this is something I certainly haven't 3 00:00:15,920 --> 00:00:19,000 Speaker 1: thought about that often, but it is much harder to 4 00:00:19,040 --> 00:00:21,720 Speaker 1: balance on a bike that isn't moving compared to one 5 00:00:21,720 --> 00:00:22,040 Speaker 1: that is. 6 00:00:22,280 --> 00:00:24,400 Speaker 2: I'm glad to know you haven't thought about it that often, 7 00:00:24,480 --> 00:00:26,760 Speaker 2: but it is actually strange when you think about it, 8 00:00:26,760 --> 00:00:28,680 Speaker 2: like you think it would be harder to balance on 9 00:00:28,760 --> 00:00:31,880 Speaker 2: something that's whipping along in like ten fifteen miles an hour. 10 00:00:31,760 --> 00:00:34,600 Speaker 1: Right exactly, And it turns out the difficulty is mostly 11 00:00:34,640 --> 00:00:36,480 Speaker 1: due to the fact that a bike only has two 12 00:00:36,520 --> 00:00:39,080 Speaker 1: points of contact with the ground, like the thin parts 13 00:00:39,080 --> 00:00:41,560 Speaker 1: of the front and back wheel, and typically you need 14 00:00:41,600 --> 00:00:43,639 Speaker 1: three contact points with the ground to create a good 15 00:00:43,640 --> 00:00:46,360 Speaker 1: base of support, and four is actually I deal with 16 00:00:46,400 --> 00:00:49,160 Speaker 1: like a table or a bed. But what bikes lack 17 00:00:49,240 --> 00:00:52,640 Speaker 1: and static stability, they actually make up for in dynamic stability, 18 00:00:52,760 --> 00:00:55,360 Speaker 1: which is the ability to remain stable while moving forward. 19 00:00:55,760 --> 00:00:58,200 Speaker 1: And it works because a rider can maneuver the bike's 20 00:00:58,200 --> 00:01:00,639 Speaker 1: points of support, or in other words, the rider can 21 00:01:00,680 --> 00:01:03,360 Speaker 1: reposition the wheels as needed to keep everything nice and 22 00:01:03,400 --> 00:01:06,039 Speaker 1: balanced from one moment to the next. And the best 23 00:01:06,040 --> 00:01:08,960 Speaker 1: part is riders usually steer like this without even realizing 24 00:01:09,040 --> 00:01:12,040 Speaker 1: what they're doing. Like, that's how subtle these micro adjustments are. 25 00:01:12,160 --> 00:01:14,080 Speaker 2: Yeah, I was actually going to say, I never feel 26 00:01:14,120 --> 00:01:17,200 Speaker 2: like I'm that focused on, you know, like the handlebars 27 00:01:17,200 --> 00:01:18,920 Speaker 2: when I'm out riding a bike. It's just one of 28 00:01:18,920 --> 00:01:22,000 Speaker 2: those things where your brain goes into autopilot and you 29 00:01:22,040 --> 00:01:24,080 Speaker 2: really just respond without thinking about it. 30 00:01:24,280 --> 00:01:25,920 Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, that's one thing I realized this week. 31 00:01:25,920 --> 00:01:27,640 Speaker 1: There are a lot of things about bikes we don't 32 00:01:27,680 --> 00:01:30,760 Speaker 1: really think about, from how we ride them, to where 33 00:01:30,760 --> 00:01:32,679 Speaker 1: they came from, to what they have to do with 34 00:01:32,800 --> 00:01:36,000 Speaker 1: horses deaths. So that's what I thought we could tackle today, 35 00:01:36,200 --> 00:01:39,039 Speaker 1: all the weird questions about bikes we never think to ask. 36 00:01:39,120 --> 00:01:41,160 Speaker 1: And this is usually where I suggest we dive right in. 37 00:01:41,240 --> 00:01:43,560 Speaker 1: But since today it's all about bikes, why don't we 38 00:01:43,600 --> 00:02:00,400 Speaker 1: put on our helmets and roll out instead. 39 00:02:07,200 --> 00:02:09,639 Speaker 2: Hey, their podcast listeners, Welcome to Part Time Genius. I'm 40 00:02:09,639 --> 00:02:12,000 Speaker 2: Will Pearson, and as always I'm joined by my good 41 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:14,400 Speaker 2: friend mangesh hot Ticketter on the other side of the 42 00:02:14,400 --> 00:02:17,080 Speaker 2: soundproof glass. He's been doing this all morning, and I 43 00:02:17,080 --> 00:02:18,760 Speaker 2: gotta be honest, it's pretty impressive. 44 00:02:18,840 --> 00:02:19,839 Speaker 1: He's saying there. 45 00:02:19,760 --> 00:02:24,480 Speaker 2: Popping yet another wheelie his office chair. That's the world's 46 00:02:24,520 --> 00:02:29,359 Speaker 2: most impressive producer on one of these wheelie chairs, Lowel Berlante. So, Mango, 47 00:02:29,720 --> 00:02:31,000 Speaker 2: are you much of a bike er? I don't think 48 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:32,720 Speaker 2: I've ever seen you ride a bike before. 49 00:02:33,000 --> 00:02:35,040 Speaker 1: I know. It's funny, you know what I was when 50 00:02:35,040 --> 00:02:36,440 Speaker 1: I was a kid, Like I used to have this 51 00:02:36,480 --> 00:02:39,200 Speaker 1: little BMX and I'd ride it around the neighborhood into 52 00:02:39,240 --> 00:02:41,320 Speaker 1: the country store we had in our town and to 53 00:02:41,360 --> 00:02:43,560 Speaker 1: get candy and whatever. But you know, when I hit 54 00:02:43,720 --> 00:02:46,639 Speaker 1: sixth or seventh grade, like my dad got super to 55 00:02:46,800 --> 00:02:49,480 Speaker 1: safety all of a sudden, and he put this long 56 00:02:49,720 --> 00:02:52,679 Speaker 1: plastic stick on the back of our bike that had 57 00:02:52,760 --> 00:02:54,920 Speaker 1: this orange flag at the top of it. Yeah, and 58 00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:57,120 Speaker 1: he made us wear helmets. And suddenly it was like, 59 00:02:57,560 --> 00:02:59,000 Speaker 1: I'm good, I think I can walk from here. 60 00:02:59,360 --> 00:02:59,880 Speaker 2: Yeah. 61 00:03:01,880 --> 00:03:03,040 Speaker 1: Did you ride around much? Oh? 62 00:03:03,080 --> 00:03:05,280 Speaker 2: I rode to school every single day. But yeah, I 63 00:03:05,400 --> 00:03:07,359 Speaker 2: was that kid. You know, we were the first generation 64 00:03:07,560 --> 00:03:11,000 Speaker 2: where some parents started making kids wear helmets, you know, 65 00:03:11,120 --> 00:03:12,920 Speaker 2: So I wore a helmet every day. But yeah, we 66 00:03:12,919 --> 00:03:15,639 Speaker 2: were definitely like these days kids don't think that much 67 00:03:15,680 --> 00:03:18,160 Speaker 2: about it. But but yeah, it was a little cooler. 68 00:03:18,240 --> 00:03:20,280 Speaker 2: They do a look cooler. Yeah, it's a very big 69 00:03:20,280 --> 00:03:22,880 Speaker 2: difference day. Some of them have those mohawk helmets, which 70 00:03:22,919 --> 00:03:24,000 Speaker 2: are just so jealous of. 71 00:03:24,160 --> 00:03:26,120 Speaker 1: Yeah, I know, the helmets really are so much cooler 72 00:03:26,120 --> 00:03:29,000 Speaker 1: with the mohawks. But let's get off my hesitation about 73 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:31,200 Speaker 1: bikes because I still don't really ride that much, and 74 00:03:31,280 --> 00:03:34,440 Speaker 1: talk about a different weird story that bikes were invented 75 00:03:34,480 --> 00:03:37,000 Speaker 1: because of volcano killed all the horses. 76 00:03:36,960 --> 00:03:40,080 Speaker 2: Right, of course. No, Actually, I think you're going to 77 00:03:40,120 --> 00:03:41,760 Speaker 2: have to explain this one because I have no idea 78 00:03:41,760 --> 00:03:42,600 Speaker 2: what you're talking about. 79 00:03:42,760 --> 00:03:44,960 Speaker 1: So today we tend to think of bikes mostly as 80 00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:48,120 Speaker 1: recreational items, but their invention was actually a matter of necessity, 81 00:03:48,200 --> 00:03:51,520 Speaker 1: so it was a weird, tragic necessity. Here's what happened. 82 00:03:51,520 --> 00:03:55,240 Speaker 1: In eighteen fifteen, a volcano named Mount Tambora erupted on 83 00:03:55,240 --> 00:03:58,880 Speaker 1: an island in Indonesia, and that eruption was and still is, 84 00:03:58,920 --> 00:04:01,960 Speaker 1: the largest eruption in recorded history. It was so bad 85 00:04:02,040 --> 00:04:04,800 Speaker 1: that the blast all but wiped out the island's inhabitants, 86 00:04:05,200 --> 00:04:07,560 Speaker 1: and to make matters worse, the neighboring islands became so 87 00:04:07,680 --> 00:04:09,960 Speaker 1: choked with ash and smoke that tens of thousands of 88 00:04:09,960 --> 00:04:12,760 Speaker 1: people died from famine and disease in the months that followed. 89 00:04:13,200 --> 00:04:16,120 Speaker 1: But here's the thing. The effects were even more widespread 90 00:04:16,160 --> 00:04:19,280 Speaker 1: than just that area. In fact, they were worldwide, and 91 00:04:19,640 --> 00:04:22,480 Speaker 1: such a massive amount of ash and sulfur dioxide had 92 00:04:22,480 --> 00:04:25,400 Speaker 1: been shot up into the atmosphere that actually blocked sunlight 93 00:04:25,480 --> 00:04:27,919 Speaker 1: and disrupted weather patterns all over the world for a 94 00:04:27,960 --> 00:04:28,760 Speaker 1: full three years. 95 00:04:28,880 --> 00:04:31,440 Speaker 2: Wow. So this was one of those massive eruptions. It 96 00:04:31,560 --> 00:04:34,760 Speaker 2: actually affected the Earth's climate, the whole Earth's climate. 97 00:04:35,080 --> 00:04:38,000 Speaker 1: Yeah, it did so. The average global temperature actually dropped 98 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:40,400 Speaker 1: almost a full degree after the blast, and while that 99 00:04:40,400 --> 00:04:42,800 Speaker 1: doesn't sound huge, it was enough to make eighteen sixteen 100 00:04:42,839 --> 00:04:45,640 Speaker 1: the coldest year on record since the fourteen hundreds. It 101 00:04:45,720 --> 00:04:48,680 Speaker 1: was so bad that historians now referred to eighteen sixteen 102 00:04:48,760 --> 00:04:50,160 Speaker 1: as the year without Summer. 103 00:04:50,400 --> 00:04:52,520 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a pretty depressing label for a year. But 104 00:04:53,040 --> 00:04:54,480 Speaker 2: all right, Well, what happened next? 105 00:04:54,640 --> 00:04:56,760 Speaker 1: I guess the temperature drop and the lack of sunlight 106 00:04:56,800 --> 00:05:00,880 Speaker 1: actually led to all kinds of global problems like versus froze, 107 00:05:01,240 --> 00:05:04,279 Speaker 1: crops failed, disease broke out, and lots and lots of 108 00:05:04,279 --> 00:05:06,920 Speaker 1: people and animals starved to death and In fact, there 109 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:09,440 Speaker 1: was so little food in Europe that the vast majority 110 00:05:09,480 --> 00:05:12,359 Speaker 1: of horses and draft animals wound up being slaughtered and 111 00:05:12,400 --> 00:05:15,440 Speaker 1: eaten by their owners who were themselves starving. And it 112 00:05:15,560 --> 00:05:18,760 Speaker 1: was bleak and tragic, obviously, But you know, if there's 113 00:05:18,760 --> 00:05:21,719 Speaker 1: any bright side to it, it's that two great creations 114 00:05:21,720 --> 00:05:25,839 Speaker 1: were inspired by this dreary atmosphere, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein novel 115 00:05:26,200 --> 00:05:29,200 Speaker 1: and Baron Carl von Dreys's early bicycle. 116 00:05:29,360 --> 00:05:32,320 Speaker 2: Ye know, I'm tempted. I've got a couple good frankensteinfachts 117 00:05:32,320 --> 00:05:34,080 Speaker 2: that I'm ready to share with you for some reason, 118 00:05:34,120 --> 00:05:37,760 Speaker 2: but I'm going to be disciplined. Let's stick to the 119 00:05:37,760 --> 00:05:39,080 Speaker 2: bike for today, I think. So. 120 00:05:39,279 --> 00:05:42,360 Speaker 1: In Germany, this guy Andres worked both as an inventor 121 00:05:42,480 --> 00:05:45,120 Speaker 1: and also as a forestry master for the government, and 122 00:05:45,279 --> 00:05:47,359 Speaker 1: this meant that he had to travel between the different 123 00:05:47,360 --> 00:05:49,080 Speaker 1: parts of the forest that he was in charge of, 124 00:05:49,440 --> 00:05:52,040 Speaker 1: which became pretty difficult once all the horses in the 125 00:05:52,080 --> 00:05:56,359 Speaker 1: region had been eaten. So basically Von Dreis needed this reliable, 126 00:05:56,480 --> 00:05:58,839 Speaker 1: horseless way to get around, and the solution he came 127 00:05:58,920 --> 00:06:02,400 Speaker 1: up with was this two wheeled running machine or lout machine, 128 00:06:02,400 --> 00:06:05,239 Speaker 1: as he called it. His device had no pedals, and 129 00:06:05,279 --> 00:06:07,360 Speaker 1: as the name implies, the riders would actually have to 130 00:06:07,440 --> 00:06:09,919 Speaker 1: run to propel it, kicking off the ground with their feet, 131 00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:12,160 Speaker 1: kind of like you might on a scooter. Aside from 132 00:06:12,160 --> 00:06:14,280 Speaker 1: the lack of pedals, though, the design looked pretty close 133 00:06:14,279 --> 00:06:16,400 Speaker 1: to what we're used to today. It's got kind of 134 00:06:16,440 --> 00:06:18,360 Speaker 1: like the two in line wheels, a seed, a pair 135 00:06:18,400 --> 00:06:20,279 Speaker 1: of handlebars, so fairly similar. 136 00:06:20,440 --> 00:06:22,200 Speaker 2: Yeah, but it almost makes me think of like those 137 00:06:22,240 --> 00:06:24,520 Speaker 2: little balanced bikes that toddlers use, right. 138 00:06:24,839 --> 00:06:27,080 Speaker 1: Totally, So it was exactly one of those kind of 139 00:06:27,080 --> 00:06:30,320 Speaker 1: this protobike and Andre's Pattens's design in eighteen eighteen, and 140 00:06:30,640 --> 00:06:33,280 Speaker 1: soon after that other manufacturers in England and France begin 141 00:06:33,360 --> 00:06:36,159 Speaker 1: putting their own spins on the invention. So France comes 142 00:06:36,200 --> 00:06:38,000 Speaker 1: up with a pretty cool name for the version, it's 143 00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:42,440 Speaker 1: called a velocipede. England goes the other way. They call 144 00:06:42,480 --> 00:06:44,440 Speaker 1: their bikes dandy horses. 145 00:06:44,160 --> 00:06:47,560 Speaker 2: Which, yeah, one name is definitely cooler than the other. 146 00:06:47,720 --> 00:06:51,600 Speaker 1: Yeah yeah, I mean, I guess it's a tribute to 147 00:06:51,640 --> 00:06:55,920 Speaker 1: their horses, which you know they'd eaten. But it wasn't 148 00:06:55,960 --> 00:06:58,800 Speaker 1: long before the pedalist bikes made their way straightside as well. 149 00:06:58,960 --> 00:07:00,880 Speaker 2: I mean, if you look at the timeline, one of 150 00:07:00,880 --> 00:07:03,480 Speaker 2: the things that's funny is that it takes about another 151 00:07:03,640 --> 00:07:06,359 Speaker 2: seventy years to go from these balanced bikes to the 152 00:07:06,480 --> 00:07:08,720 Speaker 2: you know, like the gear and chain models with pedals. 153 00:07:08,920 --> 00:07:10,960 Speaker 2: Why do you think that is well, I mean, I 154 00:07:11,000 --> 00:07:12,920 Speaker 2: think part of the delay was that people were not 155 00:07:13,080 --> 00:07:15,480 Speaker 2: at all convinced that it was possible to balance on 156 00:07:15,520 --> 00:07:18,080 Speaker 2: a two wheeled bike, you know, while pedaling, and not 157 00:07:18,280 --> 00:07:20,760 Speaker 2: just fall over. And so it's exactly what you were 158 00:07:20,760 --> 00:07:22,800 Speaker 2: talking about at the top of the show. But a 159 00:07:22,840 --> 00:07:26,240 Speaker 2: few decades of innovation eventually got us there. This was 160 00:07:26,280 --> 00:07:29,320 Speaker 2: by the eighteen nineties, and the truth is, the basic 161 00:07:29,400 --> 00:07:31,920 Speaker 2: form of the bike has stayed pretty much the same 162 00:07:32,120 --> 00:07:36,240 Speaker 2: ever since then. But even with better bikes and growing popularity, 163 00:07:36,320 --> 00:07:39,360 Speaker 2: the cyclist of the era still had a huge obstacle 164 00:07:39,440 --> 00:07:41,640 Speaker 2: ahead of them, the main one being that all the 165 00:07:41,720 --> 00:07:46,160 Speaker 2: roads pretty much everywhere were terrible. So they were unpaved, uneven, 166 00:07:46,680 --> 00:07:50,320 Speaker 2: littered with holes, and easily turned into mud. So, as 167 00:07:50,320 --> 00:07:53,120 Speaker 2: one New York Times article put it, the country roads 168 00:07:53,120 --> 00:07:57,240 Speaker 2: where a Martian spring a sahara in summer, frozen stiff 169 00:07:57,240 --> 00:07:59,960 Speaker 2: and later autumn, and a swamp wherever there was thought 170 00:08:00,200 --> 00:08:03,360 Speaker 2: in winter, and so the urban roads weren't really that 171 00:08:03,520 --> 00:08:05,760 Speaker 2: much better. I mean, they were often covered in wood 172 00:08:05,760 --> 00:08:08,680 Speaker 2: planks at least, which made riding a little bit smoother, 173 00:08:08,800 --> 00:08:11,960 Speaker 2: but still you'd sometimes have cyclists riding on the sidewalk 174 00:08:12,120 --> 00:08:14,600 Speaker 2: just to get a break from this rough ride, and 175 00:08:14,640 --> 00:08:17,880 Speaker 2: so this inevitably led to accidents where pedestrians would get 176 00:08:17,960 --> 00:08:20,640 Speaker 2: knocked over, and then people would complain that bikes should 177 00:08:20,680 --> 00:08:23,600 Speaker 2: be banned entirely. So it was a tough time to 178 00:08:23,640 --> 00:08:26,080 Speaker 2: be a bike fan or a wheelman as they were 179 00:08:26,120 --> 00:08:26,760 Speaker 2: called back then. 180 00:08:26,920 --> 00:08:28,520 Speaker 1: How did things get better for bikers then? 181 00:08:28,600 --> 00:08:31,800 Speaker 2: Well, instead of giving up, these cyclists formed advocacy groups, 182 00:08:31,840 --> 00:08:35,559 Speaker 2: including the League of American Wheelmen, and they began advocating 183 00:08:35,600 --> 00:08:38,280 Speaker 2: for paved roads throughout the country. There are more than 184 00:08:38,320 --> 00:08:41,120 Speaker 2: one hundred thousand of these people that joined the cause, 185 00:08:41,160 --> 00:08:43,880 Speaker 2: and due to the success of their grassroots efforts, the 186 00:08:44,040 --> 00:08:47,400 Speaker 2: nation got its first paved roads in eighteen ninety eight. 187 00:08:47,760 --> 00:08:49,680 Speaker 2: So it's really no stretch to say that the early 188 00:08:49,720 --> 00:08:52,719 Speaker 2: work of these cyclists literally paved the way for the 189 00:08:52,840 --> 00:08:55,880 Speaker 2: national highway system. I had been waiting so long to 190 00:08:55,920 --> 00:08:58,200 Speaker 2: be able to say that literally paved alay. 191 00:08:59,080 --> 00:09:01,800 Speaker 1: That's pretty odd. Incredible both the fact and you're punning. 192 00:09:01,840 --> 00:09:05,000 Speaker 1: But since we're giving the real men their due, let's 193 00:09:05,000 --> 00:09:06,559 Speaker 1: talk a little bit about the real women of the 194 00:09:06,640 --> 00:09:09,160 Speaker 1: day as well. Because as big as the bike craze 195 00:09:09,240 --> 00:09:12,040 Speaker 1: was in general, from a cultural perspective, it was probably 196 00:09:12,200 --> 00:09:14,920 Speaker 1: most significant to women. Before the bike came along in 197 00:09:14,960 --> 00:09:17,640 Speaker 1: the nineteenth century, women had been expected to travel either 198 00:09:17,679 --> 00:09:20,880 Speaker 1: on foot or on horseback or in a carriage. They 199 00:09:20,880 --> 00:09:23,280 Speaker 1: were usually accompanied by a chaperone of some kind, and 200 00:09:23,320 --> 00:09:25,560 Speaker 1: they rarely got to travel at speeds any faster than 201 00:09:25,600 --> 00:09:28,679 Speaker 1: a leisurely trot. The bike changed all of that by 202 00:09:28,679 --> 00:09:30,520 Speaker 1: giving women the chance to travel with a whole new 203 00:09:30,640 --> 00:09:33,520 Speaker 1: level of independence. It completely flipped the table on this 204 00:09:33,600 --> 00:09:36,280 Speaker 1: old fashioned view of women as the frails, slow going 205 00:09:36,400 --> 00:09:37,120 Speaker 1: gentler sex. 206 00:09:37,360 --> 00:09:39,320 Speaker 2: Yeah, and I feel like I can finish the story 207 00:09:39,320 --> 00:09:41,960 Speaker 2: because I would imagine that newfound freedom was met with 208 00:09:42,000 --> 00:09:46,120 Speaker 2: complete approval from the public and no backlash. Kind of 209 00:09:46,200 --> 00:09:47,920 Speaker 2: changed everything for the better forever. 210 00:09:48,000 --> 00:09:51,559 Speaker 1: Right of course, so you know, there had to be detractors, 211 00:09:51,640 --> 00:09:53,679 Speaker 1: and many of them were saying that being able to 212 00:09:53,720 --> 00:09:57,079 Speaker 1: travel free and unsupervised might somehow corrupt the women's morals. 213 00:09:57,600 --> 00:09:59,920 Speaker 1: In fact, that there was even a business that crop 214 00:10:00,200 --> 00:10:02,480 Speaker 1: up to help guard against this threat. It was called 215 00:10:02,480 --> 00:10:06,160 Speaker 1: the Cyclist Chaperone Association, and according to its ad the 216 00:10:06,280 --> 00:10:10,679 Speaker 1: company provided gentlewomen of good social position to conduct ladies 217 00:10:10,720 --> 00:10:13,800 Speaker 1: on bicycle excursions and tours so nervous husbands could be 218 00:10:13,840 --> 00:10:16,760 Speaker 1: put to ease. But you know, it wasn't just these 219 00:10:16,840 --> 00:10:19,240 Speaker 1: husbands who were worried. Newspaper columnists all over the country 220 00:10:19,280 --> 00:10:21,920 Speaker 1: were also baffled by the sudden appearance of wheelwomen. And 221 00:10:22,400 --> 00:10:25,640 Speaker 1: here's what the confused editors at the San Francisco Call 222 00:10:25,679 --> 00:10:29,160 Speaker 1: wrote in eighteen ninety five. Quote, it doesn't really matter 223 00:10:29,280 --> 00:10:32,040 Speaker 1: much where one individual young lady is going on her wheels. 224 00:10:32,240 --> 00:10:34,240 Speaker 1: It may be she's going to the park, or to 225 00:10:34,320 --> 00:10:37,200 Speaker 1: the store for a dozen hairpins, or to get a dollar, 226 00:10:37,559 --> 00:10:41,280 Speaker 1: or to get a doily pattern of somebody, or a 227 00:10:41,320 --> 00:10:44,800 Speaker 1: recipe for removing tens and freckles. Right right, of course, 228 00:10:44,960 --> 00:10:47,120 Speaker 1: let that be as it may. What the interested public 229 00:10:47,160 --> 00:10:49,560 Speaker 1: wishes to know is where are all the women on 230 00:10:49,600 --> 00:10:54,360 Speaker 1: wheels going? You know, just one woman on an aaron 231 00:10:54,480 --> 00:10:56,640 Speaker 1: for I guess a freckle cream is the type of 232 00:10:56,679 --> 00:10:59,480 Speaker 1: thing you can excuse. But dozens of them traveling without 233 00:10:59,520 --> 00:11:01,880 Speaker 1: knowing where the going is something to rail against. And 234 00:11:02,240 --> 00:11:05,520 Speaker 1: the truth is, the outcry against women riding bikes did 235 00:11:05,559 --> 00:11:09,280 Speaker 1: get pretty serious. So female cyclists were frequently harassed as 236 00:11:09,320 --> 00:11:12,439 Speaker 1: they rode. Men and women would both taunt the riders, 237 00:11:12,720 --> 00:11:15,719 Speaker 1: demanding they go home where they belong. Some women were 238 00:11:15,720 --> 00:11:19,679 Speaker 1: banned from public places where male cyclists were permitted, and 239 00:11:20,520 --> 00:11:23,199 Speaker 1: in the worst cases, the female cyclists were actually assaulted 240 00:11:23,240 --> 00:11:24,160 Speaker 1: with rocks and bricks. 241 00:11:24,240 --> 00:11:25,600 Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, it sounds like there's a lot more 242 00:11:25,600 --> 00:11:28,959 Speaker 2: at play here than just not wanting women to ride bikes, right. 243 00:11:28,960 --> 00:11:30,880 Speaker 1: Yeah, definitely, And I do want to talk a little 244 00:11:30,880 --> 00:11:34,199 Speaker 1: bit more about what exactly was fueling that outrage, including 245 00:11:34,200 --> 00:11:36,679 Speaker 1: the role bikes played in the women's suffrage movement. But 246 00:11:36,720 --> 00:11:38,640 Speaker 1: before we get into that, let's take a quick break. 247 00:11:52,559 --> 00:11:54,679 Speaker 2: You're listening to Part Time Genius and we're talking about 248 00:11:54,720 --> 00:11:59,000 Speaker 2: all the unexpected ways that bicycles changed the world. All right, mego, 249 00:11:59,080 --> 00:12:00,880 Speaker 2: So before the break, you were saying that all the 250 00:12:00,920 --> 00:12:04,480 Speaker 2: public outcry in the early twentieth century wasn't just about 251 00:12:04,559 --> 00:12:05,800 Speaker 2: the bike's women were. 252 00:12:05,800 --> 00:12:08,800 Speaker 1: Riding, right, Yeah, So the outrage was also partly about 253 00:12:08,840 --> 00:12:12,040 Speaker 1: what women wore while riding bikes, So long skirts and 254 00:12:12,120 --> 00:12:14,920 Speaker 1: dresses posed as a safety risk for female cyclists because 255 00:12:14,920 --> 00:12:17,760 Speaker 1: they could get caught in the bike chains and spokes. 256 00:12:17,960 --> 00:12:20,920 Speaker 1: And in light of this, the modest fashion of the 257 00:12:20,960 --> 00:12:23,840 Speaker 1: Victorian age, it all started to give way and all 258 00:12:23,840 --> 00:12:26,040 Speaker 1: of a sudden, women were, I guess, taking up the 259 00:12:26,080 --> 00:12:30,000 Speaker 1: scandalous practice of wearing ankle bearing bloomers in public. This 260 00:12:30,160 --> 00:12:32,760 Speaker 1: was an appalling development for some people, and in fact, 261 00:12:32,760 --> 00:12:37,000 Speaker 1: one US newspaper referred to the bloomers as a gateway garment. Man. 262 00:12:37,120 --> 00:12:39,600 Speaker 2: I mean it starts with wearing bloomers, but the next thing, 263 00:12:39,640 --> 00:12:41,680 Speaker 2: you know, like she's moved on to book learning, you 264 00:12:41,679 --> 00:12:42,079 Speaker 2: know what I mean. 265 00:12:42,160 --> 00:12:46,040 Speaker 1: It's just dangerous, I know. And when you think about it, 266 00:12:46,160 --> 00:12:48,679 Speaker 1: all that kind of criticism really just proved the level 267 00:12:48,720 --> 00:12:51,880 Speaker 1: of cultural impact the women's movement was having. And probably 268 00:12:51,920 --> 00:12:54,240 Speaker 1: the best example of that is the bicycle actually became 269 00:12:54,280 --> 00:12:57,120 Speaker 1: a symbol of women's rights. This was both with Susan B. 270 00:12:57,240 --> 00:13:02,120 Speaker 1: Anthony and Elizabeth Katie Stanton's credited as saying that women 271 00:13:02,200 --> 00:13:05,000 Speaker 1: were quote riding the suffrage on the bicycle. 272 00:13:05,480 --> 00:13:07,480 Speaker 2: I mean that was literally the case, though, right, I mean, 273 00:13:07,480 --> 00:13:10,440 Speaker 2: suffragettes relied on bikes when they were out campaigning for 274 00:13:10,480 --> 00:13:13,240 Speaker 2: the vote. They might not have won nearly as much 275 00:13:13,280 --> 00:13:16,160 Speaker 2: support as they did without bikes to help them reach 276 00:13:16,240 --> 00:13:16,920 Speaker 2: all these people. 277 00:13:17,200 --> 00:13:19,760 Speaker 1: Yeah, that's true. In fact, The Atlantic ran this great 278 00:13:19,840 --> 00:13:22,160 Speaker 1: article a few years ago about just how much of 279 00:13:22,160 --> 00:13:25,040 Speaker 1: a game changer bikes were for women. It closes on 280 00:13:25,080 --> 00:13:27,319 Speaker 1: this really beautiful sentiment that I wanted to share. It's 281 00:13:27,360 --> 00:13:31,240 Speaker 1: from the author, Adrian Lefrance, and this is what she writes. Quote, 282 00:13:31,480 --> 00:13:33,600 Speaker 1: Imagine what it must have felt like in an age 283 00:13:33,600 --> 00:13:36,079 Speaker 1: when American women were still decades from the right to 284 00:13:36,160 --> 00:13:39,560 Speaker 1: vote and inundated with men's opinions about their ankles for 285 00:13:39,600 --> 00:13:42,320 Speaker 1: a women to go outside, hop on her bicycle, and 286 00:13:42,400 --> 00:13:45,040 Speaker 1: ride as fast as she could wherever she wanted, leaving 287 00:13:45,040 --> 00:13:47,240 Speaker 1: the rest of the world wondering where she might go next. 288 00:13:47,360 --> 00:13:49,880 Speaker 2: Yeah. I mean, maybe she's out looking for freckle cream. 289 00:13:50,400 --> 00:13:53,760 Speaker 2: But maybe she's not. It's still really a mystery about it. 290 00:13:53,800 --> 00:13:56,640 Speaker 2: But all right, let's talk about another public good that 291 00:13:56,720 --> 00:13:59,640 Speaker 2: bikes are good for, which is they make perfect ambulances 292 00:13:59,679 --> 00:14:02,640 Speaker 2: for ingested cities. So one of the first people to 293 00:14:02,720 --> 00:14:05,720 Speaker 2: demonstrate just how effective a bike ambulance unit could be 294 00:14:05,840 --> 00:14:08,840 Speaker 2: was this guy named Tom Lynch. And so what's interesting 295 00:14:08,920 --> 00:14:12,040 Speaker 2: is that Lynch is a pro BMX rid turned London 296 00:14:12,160 --> 00:14:15,000 Speaker 2: Ambulance driver. This really isn't that long ago. This was 297 00:14:15,000 --> 00:14:17,520 Speaker 2: back in the eighties and nineties. Lynch was basically the 298 00:14:17,559 --> 00:14:20,520 Speaker 2: Tony Hawk of BMX, but as he got a little 299 00:14:20,520 --> 00:14:23,040 Speaker 2: bit older, he wanted what he considered, you know, a 300 00:14:23,120 --> 00:14:26,080 Speaker 2: normal job, and for Lynch that meant training with the 301 00:14:26,120 --> 00:14:29,720 Speaker 2: London Ambulance Service and becoming a licensed EMT, which he 302 00:14:29,760 --> 00:14:33,120 Speaker 2: did in nineteen ninety four. But the more time Tom 303 00:14:33,200 --> 00:14:35,400 Speaker 2: spent stuck in traffic on his way to a call, 304 00:14:35,520 --> 00:14:38,200 Speaker 2: the more frustrated he became. So he often told his 305 00:14:38,240 --> 00:14:40,920 Speaker 2: colleagues how much faster they'd be able to respond to 306 00:14:40,960 --> 00:14:44,240 Speaker 2: calls if only they could use bikes instead of vans. 307 00:14:44,880 --> 00:14:47,040 Speaker 2: No one else thought much of this idea, but Tom 308 00:14:47,160 --> 00:14:50,760 Speaker 2: kept pushing it until finally, in nineteen ninety nine, Tom 309 00:14:50,800 --> 00:14:54,080 Speaker 2: got permission to launch a trial version of the Ambulance 310 00:14:54,120 --> 00:14:57,800 Speaker 2: Cycle Responsive Unit or CRU, which is just a great idea. 311 00:14:58,120 --> 00:14:59,920 Speaker 1: Yeah, I love that. You finally just kind of wore 312 00:15:00,240 --> 00:15:02,440 Speaker 1: everyone down by talking about it all this time. 313 00:15:02,520 --> 00:15:04,880 Speaker 2: Yeah, so yeah. Anyway, Tom used his connections in the 314 00:15:04,880 --> 00:15:07,280 Speaker 2: bike industry to make sure all the top gear was 315 00:15:07,320 --> 00:15:10,040 Speaker 2: on hand for his big trial run and He loaded 316 00:15:10,080 --> 00:15:13,040 Speaker 2: up his bikes with all sorts of customized equipment, including 317 00:15:13,080 --> 00:15:16,480 Speaker 2: a siren, special medic bags, and there was this fifty 318 00:15:16,560 --> 00:15:20,119 Speaker 2: pound defibrillator, which are much lighter these days of course. 319 00:15:20,080 --> 00:15:22,360 Speaker 1: And so you know, he set up the system like 320 00:15:22,920 --> 00:15:25,280 Speaker 1: what are his metrics for success? Lay like, what's the 321 00:15:25,320 --> 00:15:26,240 Speaker 1: goal of this? Exactly? 322 00:15:26,560 --> 00:15:29,720 Speaker 2: Well, basically to be able to successfully answer nine to 323 00:15:29,800 --> 00:15:32,000 Speaker 2: nine to nine calls in the West of London. And 324 00:15:32,120 --> 00:15:34,600 Speaker 2: if you asked Tom, he says that he could tell 325 00:15:34,640 --> 00:15:37,720 Speaker 2: early on that the new approach was definitely going to work. 326 00:15:38,120 --> 00:15:40,720 Speaker 2: He told one interviewer, I was based around the West 327 00:15:40,800 --> 00:15:42,720 Speaker 2: End and the calls were coming in and I was 328 00:15:42,760 --> 00:15:45,640 Speaker 2: doing my best to ease pressure on the ambulance cruise. 329 00:15:46,120 --> 00:15:49,160 Speaker 2: I would race the incidents, flying past traffic, cycling where 330 00:15:49,160 --> 00:15:52,720 Speaker 2: motor vehicles couldn't go, and getting to patients quickly. I 331 00:15:52,800 --> 00:15:56,840 Speaker 2: went to five incidents within one hour. I treated patients, 332 00:15:56,960 --> 00:16:00,960 Speaker 2: canceled the ambulances and used other medical centers as opposed 333 00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:04,440 Speaker 2: to the accident and emergency. And that last part is 334 00:16:04,480 --> 00:16:06,440 Speaker 2: really the key in all of this, Like the bike 335 00:16:06,440 --> 00:16:09,520 Speaker 2: EMT's free up ambulances to respond to the calls that 336 00:16:09,720 --> 00:16:14,440 Speaker 2: actually require hospital treatment, not just the on site care. Yeah, 337 00:16:14,600 --> 00:16:17,480 Speaker 2: super interesting. And one group that benefits from this big 338 00:16:17,520 --> 00:16:20,880 Speaker 2: time is their heart attack victims, like where every second 339 00:16:20,960 --> 00:16:24,080 Speaker 2: you're not breathing counts so much and so it really 340 00:16:24,080 --> 00:16:25,200 Speaker 2: helped a ton on that front. 341 00:16:25,440 --> 00:16:28,160 Speaker 1: So where does this cycle crew operate? Is it mainly 342 00:16:28,200 --> 00:16:30,200 Speaker 1: like a London thing or has it expanded? 343 00:16:30,360 --> 00:16:32,560 Speaker 2: No, the unit Tom found that is now composed of 344 00:16:32,640 --> 00:16:35,440 Speaker 2: several teams that operate all over London. More than one 345 00:16:35,480 --> 00:16:39,800 Speaker 2: hundred paramedics and trained volunteers are involved. But other similar 346 00:16:39,800 --> 00:16:42,640 Speaker 2: teams have started popping up in major cities across Europe, 347 00:16:42,800 --> 00:16:46,040 Speaker 2: some of the US, even China and Japan. So each 348 00:16:46,080 --> 00:16:49,200 Speaker 2: of those cycle response teams now responds to thousands of 349 00:16:49,240 --> 00:16:51,720 Speaker 2: calls every year. And it's all because a big hearted 350 00:16:51,720 --> 00:16:54,920 Speaker 2: bmx or just couldn't stand being stuck in traffic. 351 00:16:55,560 --> 00:16:57,560 Speaker 1: I love that. Well. I know we wanted to circle 352 00:16:57,600 --> 00:17:00,320 Speaker 1: back and talk about the neuroscience behind biking, but that 353 00:17:00,440 --> 00:17:02,640 Speaker 1: was such a feel good story. I just want to 354 00:17:02,640 --> 00:17:04,200 Speaker 1: bask him the glow for a minute. Why don't we 355 00:17:04,200 --> 00:17:06,040 Speaker 1: take another quick break and then we can jump right 356 00:17:06,080 --> 00:17:22,120 Speaker 1: back in. Welcome back to part time Genius. Okay, Well, 357 00:17:22,160 --> 00:17:25,760 Speaker 1: so today's show is clearly all about bicycles. But nonetheless, 358 00:17:25,800 --> 00:17:27,800 Speaker 1: I have to tell you about something amazing I found 359 00:17:27,800 --> 00:17:30,760 Speaker 1: out about this week, and it's all about unicycles. 360 00:17:31,160 --> 00:17:33,920 Speaker 2: M you know, this is a bike episode, so I'm 361 00:17:33,960 --> 00:17:37,560 Speaker 2: not sure that's a little Frankenstein fack no unicycle and 362 00:17:37,680 --> 00:17:41,120 Speaker 2: Loell is definitely shaking his head. But I actually because 363 00:17:41,119 --> 00:17:43,359 Speaker 2: he's doing that, I kind of like breaking Loll's rules. 364 00:17:43,359 --> 00:17:46,840 Speaker 1: So if you insist, let's hear the story. Okay, So 365 00:17:46,920 --> 00:17:50,280 Speaker 1: here's my fact. Unicycles have basically become a cornerstone of 366 00:17:50,359 --> 00:17:52,200 Speaker 1: Japan's educational curriculum. 367 00:17:52,400 --> 00:17:54,760 Speaker 2: Is Japan like really into clowns or something? I've just 368 00:17:54,800 --> 00:17:56,800 Speaker 2: somehow never noticed this. How did that happen? 369 00:17:57,320 --> 00:17:58,920 Speaker 1: I don't know that there are any countries that are 370 00:17:58,960 --> 00:18:03,840 Speaker 1: still really into In Japan's case, the real apeeal is 371 00:18:03,880 --> 00:18:05,800 Speaker 1: that unicycling can be a good way to teach and 372 00:18:05,840 --> 00:18:09,439 Speaker 1: improve both motor skills and balance, and the idea to 373 00:18:09,560 --> 00:18:12,240 Speaker 1: use unicycles in schools with the result of a series 374 00:18:12,240 --> 00:18:14,679 Speaker 1: of studies done in Japan in the nineteen eighties, I 375 00:18:14,680 --> 00:18:17,119 Speaker 1: guess researchers found that children who learned to ride a 376 00:18:17,240 --> 00:18:19,920 Speaker 1: unicycle were more successful at school and in their home 377 00:18:19,960 --> 00:18:21,200 Speaker 1: lives than children who didn't. 378 00:18:21,320 --> 00:18:23,359 Speaker 2: It's pretty interesting. So did they figure out why that 379 00:18:23,400 --> 00:18:24,080 Speaker 2: would be the case? 380 00:18:24,200 --> 00:18:26,679 Speaker 1: I guess the leading theory is that it's because the 381 00:18:26,800 --> 00:18:29,760 Speaker 1: high level of concentration that it takes to ride a 382 00:18:29,840 --> 00:18:32,600 Speaker 1: unicycle like that kind of focus engages a different area 383 00:18:32,640 --> 00:18:35,719 Speaker 1: of the brain than other physical activities, including biking. 384 00:18:35,920 --> 00:18:38,680 Speaker 2: So, based on these findings, Japanese schools started teaching kids 385 00:18:38,720 --> 00:18:40,040 Speaker 2: to ride unicycles. 386 00:18:40,280 --> 00:18:43,879 Speaker 1: Yeah, I guess the Ministry of Education added unicycling to 387 00:18:43,960 --> 00:18:47,080 Speaker 1: the p curriculum in all of the country's elementary schools. 388 00:18:47,119 --> 00:18:50,000 Speaker 1: But Japan's schools aren't the only place you actually find this. Today, 389 00:18:50,000 --> 00:18:52,560 Speaker 1: there are unicycle programs in schools across the US, and 390 00:18:52,920 --> 00:18:55,440 Speaker 1: more and more educators are starting to see unicycles as 391 00:18:55,440 --> 00:18:58,480 Speaker 1: a tool not just for brain development, but for character development. 392 00:18:58,720 --> 00:19:01,680 Speaker 1: So you think about people like the psychologist and Angela 393 00:19:01,800 --> 00:19:05,080 Speaker 1: Duckworth who talks about like the most important metric for 394 00:19:05,080 --> 00:19:08,880 Speaker 1: a person's successes is grit, because that's kind of what 395 00:19:09,240 --> 00:19:11,560 Speaker 1: makes you keep trying when you fail instead of giving up. 396 00:19:11,600 --> 00:19:15,600 Speaker 1: So riding a unicycle is so unnatural and so awkward 397 00:19:15,600 --> 00:19:18,040 Speaker 1: and hard that the kids in these programs fall off 398 00:19:18,080 --> 00:19:20,159 Speaker 1: dozens of times before they finally start to get it, 399 00:19:20,200 --> 00:19:23,360 Speaker 1: and it's sort of like thought to reinforce that perseverance. 400 00:19:23,720 --> 00:19:26,200 Speaker 2: Yeah, it kind of reminds me of that famous Samuel 401 00:19:26,240 --> 00:19:28,800 Speaker 2: Beckett quote. I think it was try again, fail again, 402 00:19:29,080 --> 00:19:32,520 Speaker 2: fail better, but away. Speaking of well known phrases, you 403 00:19:32,560 --> 00:19:34,920 Speaker 2: know the old cliche about how once you've learned to 404 00:19:35,040 --> 00:19:38,080 Speaker 2: ride a bike, you never forget right. Sure, well, it 405 00:19:38,119 --> 00:19:40,520 Speaker 2: was always a strange saying to me because it seemed 406 00:19:40,520 --> 00:19:43,239 Speaker 2: to imply that riding a bike is super simple, like 407 00:19:43,280 --> 00:19:45,679 Speaker 2: you could pick it up anytime in life and just 408 00:19:45,760 --> 00:19:48,760 Speaker 2: nail it without practice. But the truth is that riding 409 00:19:48,760 --> 00:19:52,479 Speaker 2: a bike is incredibly complex as a task. So, according 410 00:19:52,520 --> 00:19:56,080 Speaker 2: to the author and world class endurance athlete Christopher Bergland, 411 00:19:56,560 --> 00:20:00,520 Speaker 2: riding a bike quote requires seamless coordination, dexter, and an 412 00:20:00,520 --> 00:20:04,840 Speaker 2: intuitive ability to subconsciously calculate algorithms that take into the 413 00:20:04,880 --> 00:20:08,760 Speaker 2: account the forces of gravity, velocity, and momentum. Makes me 414 00:20:08,800 --> 00:20:10,879 Speaker 2: feel so smart that it can ride a bike? No, 415 00:20:10,920 --> 00:20:12,040 Speaker 2: and then I'm doing all of this. 416 00:20:12,440 --> 00:20:14,240 Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, as we talked about at the top, 417 00:20:14,280 --> 00:20:15,920 Speaker 1: there's a lot that goes into it that we don't 418 00:20:15,960 --> 00:20:18,639 Speaker 1: even think about. So in that sense, it's not that 419 00:20:18,720 --> 00:20:20,760 Speaker 1: riding a bike is actually easy. It's more that our 420 00:20:20,760 --> 00:20:23,919 Speaker 1: brains process all this information so efficiently that riding a 421 00:20:23,960 --> 00:20:25,240 Speaker 1: bike seems easy to us. 422 00:20:25,359 --> 00:20:28,040 Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah, But here's the thing, like, despite all that 423 00:20:28,160 --> 00:20:30,320 Speaker 2: hard work from our brains, it turns out that we 424 00:20:30,400 --> 00:20:33,640 Speaker 2: can absolutely still forget how to ride a bicycle. 425 00:20:33,920 --> 00:20:37,320 Speaker 1: So not only is it cliche, it's also inaccurate. 426 00:20:37,520 --> 00:20:39,960 Speaker 2: It is definitely inaccurate. And we know that partly because 427 00:20:40,000 --> 00:20:43,000 Speaker 2: of this oddball experiment that a guy named Destin Sandlin 428 00:20:43,080 --> 00:20:44,919 Speaker 2: did a few years back. We of course worked with 429 00:20:45,000 --> 00:20:46,840 Speaker 2: Deston some when we were at Mental Flaws, But he 430 00:20:46,880 --> 00:20:49,399 Speaker 2: has this this show called Smarter every Day. It's a 431 00:20:49,480 --> 00:20:52,480 Speaker 2: channel on YouTube, super popular channel, and if you haven't 432 00:20:52,480 --> 00:20:56,560 Speaker 2: seen the video, it's called Backwards Brain Bicycle. And the 433 00:20:56,560 --> 00:20:58,639 Speaker 2: gist of it is that Deston took a bicycle and 434 00:20:58,720 --> 00:21:02,719 Speaker 2: basically inverted the steering direction of the handlebars, So if 435 00:21:02,760 --> 00:21:05,679 Speaker 2: you turn the handlebars right, the front wheel would go 436 00:21:05,840 --> 00:21:09,280 Speaker 2: left and vice versa. So in that scenario, all the 437 00:21:09,320 --> 00:21:12,320 Speaker 2: automatic motor skills that a person develops from years of 438 00:21:12,400 --> 00:21:15,760 Speaker 2: riding a regular bicycle, all of a sudden those are 439 00:21:15,960 --> 00:21:19,040 Speaker 2: just worthless. And the effect is that anyone who tries 440 00:21:19,080 --> 00:21:22,560 Speaker 2: to ride the backwards brain bike pretty much tips over 441 00:21:22,680 --> 00:21:25,760 Speaker 2: or falls off the bike before they've even gone two feet. 442 00:21:26,040 --> 00:21:26,280 Speaker 1: Yeah. 443 00:21:26,480 --> 00:21:30,159 Speaker 2: So Deston spent months riding only this backwards bike, and 444 00:21:30,240 --> 00:21:33,520 Speaker 2: little by little he slowly got used to the inverted 445 00:21:33,560 --> 00:21:34,360 Speaker 2: steering of it all. 446 00:21:34,440 --> 00:21:36,520 Speaker 1: It is one of those things like I actually saw 447 00:21:36,560 --> 00:21:38,680 Speaker 1: a clip of someone riding in and thinking like, oh yeah, 448 00:21:38,800 --> 00:21:40,720 Speaker 1: I could like think around that challenge. It doesn't seem 449 00:21:40,760 --> 00:21:44,840 Speaker 1: that difficult, but clearly it is. So it is confusing though. 450 00:21:44,960 --> 00:21:47,199 Speaker 1: It feels like this isn't so much about forgetting how 451 00:21:47,200 --> 00:21:49,960 Speaker 1: to ride a bike, it's more kind of learning how 452 00:21:49,960 --> 00:21:51,560 Speaker 1: to ride a different kind of bike. 453 00:21:52,040 --> 00:21:54,480 Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean that part is true, But that's where 454 00:21:54,520 --> 00:21:57,640 Speaker 2: this gets weird because when Deston tried to switch back 455 00:21:57,680 --> 00:22:01,000 Speaker 2: to riding a normal bicycle, he couldn't do it. Like, 456 00:22:01,040 --> 00:22:05,040 Speaker 2: he fell over again and again until finally something clicked 457 00:22:05,080 --> 00:22:07,080 Speaker 2: in his brain and he was able to ride his 458 00:22:07,119 --> 00:22:10,080 Speaker 2: bike again. So the takeaway is that you can indeed 459 00:22:10,160 --> 00:22:13,080 Speaker 2: forget how to ride a bicycle, but the good news 460 00:22:13,119 --> 00:22:15,720 Speaker 2: is that if you practice, you'll probably be able to 461 00:22:15,760 --> 00:22:18,960 Speaker 2: relearn the automatic motor skill pretty quickly the next time around. 462 00:22:19,119 --> 00:22:21,320 Speaker 1: All right, Well, since we're talking about the logistics, and 463 00:22:21,359 --> 00:22:23,639 Speaker 1: science of bicycling. I think it's only right that we 464 00:22:23,680 --> 00:22:25,879 Speaker 1: spend a minute on what's probably the biggest mystery in 465 00:22:25,920 --> 00:22:28,920 Speaker 1: the whole field, and that is, of course, how did 466 00:22:28,920 --> 00:22:31,400 Speaker 1: they get Kermit to ride a bike in the Muppet Movie? 467 00:22:31,440 --> 00:22:33,080 Speaker 2: Totally, that is the biggest mystery. 468 00:22:33,160 --> 00:22:36,439 Speaker 1: Yeah, for anyone listening. If you don't know, we'veeeing him 469 00:22:36,440 --> 00:22:39,280 Speaker 1: talking about pauses, go watch the Muppet movie, the entire 470 00:22:39,359 --> 00:22:40,600 Speaker 1: Muppet movie, and then come back. 471 00:22:40,680 --> 00:22:41,680 Speaker 2: I can watch the whole thing. 472 00:22:42,560 --> 00:22:46,000 Speaker 1: We'll wait. In the beginning of the flick, Kermit's riding 473 00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:48,200 Speaker 1: his bike across town, and in the context of the story, 474 00:22:48,240 --> 00:22:51,480 Speaker 1: it's this incredibly simple moment, right, But when you watch it, 475 00:22:51,480 --> 00:22:54,359 Speaker 1: it's pretty mind blowing, partially because they keep zooming in 476 00:22:54,400 --> 00:22:57,000 Speaker 1: on his feet, like you know on some level that 477 00:22:57,040 --> 00:22:59,119 Speaker 1: Kermit is a puppet and that he's being controlled by 478 00:22:59,160 --> 00:23:01,719 Speaker 1: Jim Henson or what I off the screen, but you 479 00:23:01,720 --> 00:23:04,199 Speaker 1: can see Kermit's whole body and you can see his 480 00:23:04,240 --> 00:23:07,120 Speaker 1: feet actually turning the pedals, and this blue audiences away. 481 00:23:07,119 --> 00:23:09,320 Speaker 1: When they first saw it back in the seventies, the 482 00:23:09,400 --> 00:23:12,240 Speaker 1: Muppets had actually never been seen in the real world 483 00:23:12,280 --> 00:23:14,080 Speaker 1: like this before. They had always been tethered to a 484 00:23:14,119 --> 00:23:17,359 Speaker 1: stage or studio. But what's interesting is the technology that 485 00:23:17,400 --> 00:23:22,280 Speaker 1: made it happen was also very simple. There's no audio, animatronics, 486 00:23:22,320 --> 00:23:25,760 Speaker 1: there's no green screen, none of that. Instead, the Kermit 487 00:23:25,800 --> 00:23:29,320 Speaker 1: in the scene is just a regular marionette with nearly 488 00:23:29,359 --> 00:23:31,920 Speaker 1: invisible strings attached to his body and limbs. The other 489 00:23:32,000 --> 00:23:34,119 Speaker 1: ends of the strings are connected to a camera crane 490 00:23:34,119 --> 00:23:37,119 Speaker 1: that's suspended above him out of shot, so as the 491 00:23:37,160 --> 00:23:39,359 Speaker 1: bike moved forward, the crane would move along with it, 492 00:23:39,440 --> 00:23:42,040 Speaker 1: and Kermit and his bike would stay upright and balanced, 493 00:23:42,080 --> 00:23:45,800 Speaker 1: which is super simple. But according to the puppeteer Dave Goles, 494 00:23:45,880 --> 00:23:48,600 Speaker 1: it wasn't the original approach. The crew had actually assembled 495 00:23:48,600 --> 00:23:52,280 Speaker 1: what he said quote was a very sophisticated bicycle rig 496 00:23:52,359 --> 00:23:55,080 Speaker 1: that was made from a little radio controlled car that 497 00:23:55,200 --> 00:23:58,040 Speaker 1: was mounted in the bike between the front and rear wheels, 498 00:23:58,280 --> 00:24:00,560 Speaker 1: but it actually broke before the shoe, so they ended 499 00:24:00,640 --> 00:24:03,200 Speaker 1: up rejiggering it with three strings from a camera crane. 500 00:24:03,480 --> 00:24:06,960 Speaker 1: It is also possibly Kermit's best line in the world, 501 00:24:07,040 --> 00:24:09,400 Speaker 1: or at least my favorite Kurmit line. And what's that 502 00:24:09,560 --> 00:24:12,240 Speaker 1: He almost gets to his accident with his giant construction 503 00:24:12,280 --> 00:24:15,600 Speaker 1: equipment and his bike gets demolished, and you'd think he's toast, 504 00:24:15,920 --> 00:24:17,680 Speaker 1: but then you realize he's jumped out of the way, 505 00:24:18,200 --> 00:24:21,560 Speaker 1: and he says, that's pretty dangerous building a road in 506 00:24:21,600 --> 00:24:24,560 Speaker 1: the middle of the street. If frogs couldn't hop, I'd 507 00:24:24,560 --> 00:24:28,640 Speaker 1: be gone with a shwin. A terrible fun but also 508 00:24:28,680 --> 00:24:29,440 Speaker 1: one of my favorites. 509 00:24:29,760 --> 00:24:31,760 Speaker 2: I could keep shaking my head for the rest of 510 00:24:31,800 --> 00:24:34,600 Speaker 2: the episode, but instead, why don't we jump straight into 511 00:24:34,640 --> 00:24:35,160 Speaker 2: the fact off? 512 00:24:44,640 --> 00:24:46,520 Speaker 1: So here's a quick one. I remember from an article 513 00:24:46,520 --> 00:24:49,320 Speaker 1: we did in Mental plus years ago. But apparently bikes 514 00:24:49,359 --> 00:24:54,760 Speaker 1: had a huge effect on romance and specifically long distance courtships. So, 515 00:24:54,960 --> 00:24:58,119 Speaker 1: according to Julie Winterbottom, when the prices on bikes dropped 516 00:24:58,119 --> 00:25:00,680 Speaker 1: in the eighteen nineties, suddenly it opened up this whole 517 00:25:00,680 --> 00:25:03,320 Speaker 1: new world of dating, like people could finally date outside 518 00:25:03,359 --> 00:25:06,720 Speaker 1: their family's friend circles or their churches or parishes. And 519 00:25:07,160 --> 00:25:08,679 Speaker 1: it was the first time this has kind of happened. 520 00:25:09,240 --> 00:25:12,919 Speaker 1: And according to British geneticist Steve Jones, this widening of 521 00:25:12,960 --> 00:25:16,200 Speaker 1: the gene pool had a huge impact on humanity. In fact, 522 00:25:16,200 --> 00:25:19,040 Speaker 1: he calls the bicycle quote the most important event in 523 00:25:19,119 --> 00:25:20,320 Speaker 1: recent human evolution. 524 00:25:20,640 --> 00:25:23,640 Speaker 2: Wow, that's a big claim. All right, well, I've found 525 00:25:23,680 --> 00:25:26,639 Speaker 2: this amazing NPR interview with a guy named Daniel Kish 526 00:25:26,760 --> 00:25:29,439 Speaker 2: who is blind but not only rides a bike, he 527 00:25:29,560 --> 00:25:34,600 Speaker 2: rides it through traffic. So basically he uses echolocation, which 528 00:25:34,640 --> 00:25:37,600 Speaker 2: we've talked about several times in previous episodes. So he 529 00:25:37,720 --> 00:25:41,960 Speaker 2: clicks his tongue and uses the reverberations to create spatial 530 00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:46,080 Speaker 2: awareness of buildings and vehicles and other things around him. 531 00:25:46,119 --> 00:25:48,960 Speaker 2: I mean, it's pretty remarkable, but he doesn't really see 532 00:25:49,000 --> 00:25:51,679 Speaker 2: it that way, as he told reporters. Quote, when a 533 00:25:51,720 --> 00:25:54,800 Speaker 2: sighted child gets hurt, we consider it to be unfortunate, 534 00:25:54,920 --> 00:25:58,000 Speaker 2: Kish says, when a blind child gets hurt, we consider 535 00:25:58,040 --> 00:26:01,720 Speaker 2: it to be tragic. It's a double standard that disadvantages 536 00:26:02,119 --> 00:26:04,200 Speaker 2: a blind child, he says, which you know, I guess 537 00:26:04,200 --> 00:26:04,840 Speaker 2: that makes sense. 538 00:26:04,960 --> 00:26:08,119 Speaker 1: So here's one about an Italian cyclist named Alfredo Binda. 539 00:26:08,640 --> 00:26:10,000 Speaker 1: Have you ever heard of this guy? I have not. 540 00:26:10,160 --> 00:26:13,000 Speaker 1: So apparently he was just dominant in the sport and 541 00:26:13,080 --> 00:26:16,160 Speaker 1: at winning the Giro, which I guess is the tour 542 00:26:16,200 --> 00:26:18,719 Speaker 1: of Italy that they have. He won it over and 543 00:26:18,760 --> 00:26:22,160 Speaker 1: over in nineteen twenty five, nineteen twenty seven, twenty eight, 544 00:26:22,280 --> 00:26:25,080 Speaker 1: twenty nine. And so this is like Italy's version of 545 00:26:25,119 --> 00:26:27,840 Speaker 1: the Tour de France, and it was good for the 546 00:26:27,880 --> 00:26:32,000 Speaker 1: newspaper business initially, right, like he's this like underdog, his hero. 547 00:26:32,560 --> 00:26:36,000 Speaker 1: Then he keeps winning, and his wins become bigger and 548 00:26:36,040 --> 00:26:39,680 Speaker 1: bigger and so regular that the paper's sales start declining. 549 00:26:40,040 --> 00:26:42,680 Speaker 1: So the organizers actually offered to pay him the equivalent 550 00:26:42,680 --> 00:26:44,639 Speaker 1: of the winning sum not to race. 551 00:26:45,440 --> 00:26:46,520 Speaker 2: So did he accept it? 552 00:26:46,840 --> 00:26:49,880 Speaker 1: He did, I guess he quickly calculated that he could 553 00:26:49,880 --> 00:26:52,560 Speaker 1: buy two more houses with the winnings, so he took 554 00:26:52,640 --> 00:26:55,159 Speaker 1: the money and used it for this great investment. But 555 00:26:55,240 --> 00:26:56,960 Speaker 1: he did come back to win the race again a 556 00:26:56,960 --> 00:26:57,600 Speaker 1: few years later. 557 00:26:57,680 --> 00:27:00,280 Speaker 2: Oh that's pretty cool. Yeah, it's funny that you brought 558 00:27:00,359 --> 00:27:03,480 Speaker 2: up Italian cyclists, because I've got another Italian I wanted 559 00:27:03,520 --> 00:27:06,280 Speaker 2: to talk about. This is Gino Bartali, who won the 560 00:27:06,320 --> 00:27:09,400 Speaker 2: twur Defrance in nineteen thirty eight. But then he made 561 00:27:09,400 --> 00:27:14,280 Speaker 2: the surprising move of not dedicating his win to Mussolini. Instead, 562 00:27:14,359 --> 00:27:17,280 Speaker 2: he decided to work for the resistance, so he helped 563 00:27:17,320 --> 00:27:21,160 Speaker 2: Jews escape the country by stuffing counterfeit identity papers into 564 00:27:21,160 --> 00:27:24,880 Speaker 2: his handlebars and his bike frame. Basically, he would fill 565 00:27:25,000 --> 00:27:27,760 Speaker 2: up the insides of his bike with papers and then 566 00:27:27,800 --> 00:27:30,920 Speaker 2: go on these long training runs in order to deliver them. 567 00:27:31,160 --> 00:27:33,119 Speaker 2: And if he was ever stopped for a police search, 568 00:27:33,160 --> 00:27:35,320 Speaker 2: he was famous enough that he'd ask the cops not 569 00:27:35,440 --> 00:27:38,520 Speaker 2: to mess with his perfectly calibrated bicycle. I mean, it 570 00:27:38,560 --> 00:27:41,480 Speaker 2: was the perfect cover. It's just brilliant. According to an 571 00:27:41,520 --> 00:27:43,960 Speaker 2: article in Mental Flaws, by the time he eventually went 572 00:27:44,040 --> 00:27:47,399 Speaker 2: into hiding, quote, he had cycled thousands of miles to 573 00:27:47,480 --> 00:27:48,719 Speaker 2: help hundreds escape. 574 00:27:49,080 --> 00:27:51,199 Speaker 1: That is a great story and I think you just 575 00:27:51,240 --> 00:27:54,800 Speaker 1: earned yourself the trophy with that one. Although I might 576 00:27:54,880 --> 00:27:56,520 Speaker 1: pay you not to compete the next time a round. 577 00:27:56,880 --> 00:27:59,080 Speaker 2: Well, I'll consider it if I can buy a house. 578 00:27:59,160 --> 00:28:01,840 Speaker 2: But all right, well, thank you to the bicycle for 579 00:28:01,880 --> 00:28:05,520 Speaker 2: givings better dating options, freedom for women, and the greatest 580 00:28:05,560 --> 00:28:08,040 Speaker 2: joke the Muppets ever told. That's going to do it 581 00:28:08,080 --> 00:28:11,320 Speaker 2: for today's Part Time Genius for myself, Mango, Gabe, and Lowell. 582 00:28:11,400 --> 00:28:13,399 Speaker 2: Thanks so much for listening. We'll be back soon with 583 00:28:13,440 --> 00:28:30,800 Speaker 2: another episode. Part Time Genius is a production of iHeartRadio. 584 00:28:31,080 --> 00:28:34,959 Speaker 2: For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 585 00:28:35,040 --> 00:28:36,680 Speaker 2: or wherever you listen to your favorite show.