1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:27,320 Speaker 1: Ridiculous History is a production of I Heart Radio. Welcome 2 00:00:27,360 --> 00:00:30,640 Speaker 1: back to the show Ridiculous Historians. Thank you, as always 3 00:00:30,680 --> 00:00:32,920 Speaker 1: so much for tuning in. Let's hear it for a 4 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:37,760 Speaker 1: one and only super producer, Mr Max Williams. They called 5 00:00:37,800 --> 00:00:41,480 Speaker 1: me ben No, No, it's the end of the nub 6 00:00:41,520 --> 00:00:43,600 Speaker 1: as we know it. Wait, it's the nub of the 7 00:00:43,680 --> 00:00:47,519 Speaker 1: year as we know it. Nubbings, what's a nub? I 8 00:00:47,560 --> 00:00:49,600 Speaker 1: like a nub? I like the I like the expression 9 00:00:49,680 --> 00:00:53,279 Speaker 1: whittled down to a nub in referring to someone just 10 00:00:53,360 --> 00:00:56,880 Speaker 1: like being insufferable and just like beating you down and 11 00:00:56,920 --> 00:01:00,520 Speaker 1: your resolve until there's nothing left of you. Um, that's 12 00:01:00,560 --> 00:01:02,520 Speaker 1: uh yeah, it's kind of heavy actually if we think 13 00:01:02,560 --> 00:01:05,959 Speaker 1: about it. But also Nubbins that that's that sounds like 14 00:01:05,959 --> 00:01:07,959 Speaker 1: a cute little like a gummy of some sort, like 15 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:11,480 Speaker 1: a gum drop maybe because like a Pixar squirrel that 16 00:01:11,600 --> 00:01:14,320 Speaker 1: gives you good advice and has a weird thing about 17 00:01:14,360 --> 00:01:17,679 Speaker 1: acorns from a tree. I don't know. Yeah, I always 18 00:01:17,720 --> 00:01:21,160 Speaker 1: thought for some reason, some some words just hit us 19 00:01:21,319 --> 00:01:24,920 Speaker 1: on these levels that are difficult to articulate, Like everybody 20 00:01:24,959 --> 00:01:27,040 Speaker 1: hates the word moist. I used to ask people what 21 00:01:27,080 --> 00:01:29,080 Speaker 1: their least favorite word is and a lot of people 22 00:01:29,120 --> 00:01:32,240 Speaker 1: don't like the word moist. For me, nub is kind 23 00:01:32,240 --> 00:01:35,160 Speaker 1: of like a boundary crossing word when it shows up 24 00:01:35,160 --> 00:01:39,440 Speaker 1: in conversation, even even correctly applied, I'm just like, whoa, 25 00:01:39,600 --> 00:01:43,720 Speaker 1: this is a there's a nub conversation. Now we're at work, dude, 26 00:01:44,280 --> 00:01:46,640 Speaker 1: kind of like, how you know you've seen it before, nol. 27 00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:49,200 Speaker 1: I have a hard time not giggling when we're in 28 00:01:49,240 --> 00:01:53,400 Speaker 1: conversations and someone references dongle, and I'm like, Okay, get 29 00:01:53,440 --> 00:01:55,880 Speaker 1: the dongle. We've got to make sure we're ready to record. 30 00:01:56,320 --> 00:02:01,040 Speaker 1: That's just that's a me problem. But I think that's 31 00:02:01,080 --> 00:02:03,400 Speaker 1: a societal problem then, because I'm just I don't know 32 00:02:03,480 --> 00:02:05,880 Speaker 1: who came up with the word dongle if they did, 33 00:02:05,920 --> 00:02:08,079 Speaker 1: because they thought it was inherently funny and they were 34 00:02:08,080 --> 00:02:12,639 Speaker 1: hoping to evoke giggles from across the land. Um for that, 35 00:02:12,680 --> 00:02:15,680 Speaker 1: we thank you, kind sir or madam whomever came up 36 00:02:15,680 --> 00:02:18,600 Speaker 1: with this term, but it is inherently absurd. Nub by 37 00:02:18,600 --> 00:02:23,200 Speaker 1: the way is defined by Webster's Oxford English Dictionary as 38 00:02:23,200 --> 00:02:26,320 Speaker 1: the crux or central point of a matter. The nub 39 00:02:26,360 --> 00:02:30,000 Speaker 1: of the problem lies elsewhere that use of it. Yeah, 40 00:02:30,120 --> 00:02:32,519 Speaker 1: two means what's the what's the second meaning? I think 41 00:02:32,560 --> 00:02:34,880 Speaker 1: this is what most people in the US mean. Yeah, 42 00:02:34,880 --> 00:02:36,240 Speaker 1: this is the second one. And this is the one 43 00:02:36,280 --> 00:02:40,480 Speaker 1: that is uh apropos for today's episode. A small lump 44 00:02:40,760 --> 00:02:44,880 Speaker 1: or protuberance he pressed down on the two nubs on 45 00:02:45,040 --> 00:02:49,160 Speaker 1: top of the phone. Okay, but also it can refer 46 00:02:49,320 --> 00:02:53,680 Speaker 1: to the stump of a severed body part, which also 47 00:02:53,760 --> 00:02:58,040 Speaker 1: could be seen as a small lump or protuberance. Yeah, 48 00:02:58,120 --> 00:03:01,079 Speaker 1: that's where we're going today. Well on, my friends, So 49 00:03:01,720 --> 00:03:04,480 Speaker 1: we have heard this story. We don't know about your 50 00:03:04,560 --> 00:03:07,960 Speaker 1: neck of the Global Woods, folks, but every every region 51 00:03:08,240 --> 00:03:13,120 Speaker 1: of the US has some kind of bizarre small town story. 52 00:03:13,320 --> 00:03:17,480 Speaker 1: And today's story is about a place called nub City, 53 00:03:17,600 --> 00:03:20,799 Speaker 1: which is gonna be familiar to fans of documentaries. It's 54 00:03:20,800 --> 00:03:24,040 Speaker 1: gonna be familiar to people who have gone on Southeastern 55 00:03:24,120 --> 00:03:28,160 Speaker 1: road trips, and it's gonna be infamous to people living 56 00:03:28,360 --> 00:03:33,440 Speaker 1: near a town called Vernon, Florida, because Vernon, Florida has 57 00:03:33,520 --> 00:03:39,400 Speaker 1: the street name nub City. Why is it called nub City. 58 00:03:39,560 --> 00:03:43,080 Speaker 1: That's what today's episode is about. Warning folks, there is 59 00:03:43,160 --> 00:03:47,880 Speaker 1: there is possibly some graphic descriptions of bodily injury here. Yes, 60 00:03:47,960 --> 00:03:54,040 Speaker 1: and also um uh, let's say abhorrant human behavior. What's 61 00:03:54,040 --> 00:03:59,480 Speaker 1: another word for that? Uh, that's the word. Yeah. And 62 00:03:59,520 --> 00:04:02,600 Speaker 1: you mentioned been that every region of the country, of 63 00:04:02,640 --> 00:04:06,520 Speaker 1: the world perhaps has its own strange and bizarre stories, 64 00:04:06,880 --> 00:04:09,760 Speaker 1: none more so than the region what we call Florida, 65 00:04:10,120 --> 00:04:13,320 Speaker 1: specifically the Panhandle. It feels like that is just rife 66 00:04:13,720 --> 00:04:18,520 Speaker 1: with odd behavior and tales of debauchery and just just 67 00:04:18,640 --> 00:04:23,080 Speaker 1: general strangeness. In the nineteen fifties and sixties, Vernon was 68 00:04:23,640 --> 00:04:25,920 Speaker 1: what you call a company town, you know, or or 69 00:04:25,960 --> 00:04:29,520 Speaker 1: a mono industry town, right. We talked about that recently 70 00:04:29,520 --> 00:04:31,120 Speaker 1: on stuff they don't want you to know. In terms 71 00:04:31,160 --> 00:04:35,040 Speaker 1: of the manufacture of asbestos, a lot of towns in 72 00:04:35,120 --> 00:04:39,479 Speaker 1: Russia and around the United States were entirely tied to 73 00:04:39,640 --> 00:04:43,560 Speaker 1: the industry, the one industry that that town was built around. 74 00:04:43,920 --> 00:04:47,039 Speaker 1: In this case, in Vernon, it was a sawmill. Uh. 75 00:04:47,080 --> 00:04:50,359 Speaker 1: And like many places that rely so much on one industry, 76 00:04:50,560 --> 00:04:54,960 Speaker 1: and more specifically one you know, physical mill or factory, 77 00:04:55,480 --> 00:04:59,240 Speaker 1: Vernon became depressed, not like got the sads, but like 78 00:04:59,320 --> 00:05:03,279 Speaker 1: you know, financially depressed in terms of its economy because 79 00:05:03,320 --> 00:05:06,719 Speaker 1: the sawmill closed. Uh. In that town only had a 80 00:05:06,760 --> 00:05:10,400 Speaker 1: population between five hundred and eight hundred people who were 81 00:05:10,440 --> 00:05:12,200 Speaker 1: all out of the job. And you know a lot 82 00:05:12,240 --> 00:05:14,960 Speaker 1: of times when things like this happened, people just move on. 83 00:05:15,560 --> 00:05:18,800 Speaker 1: But the folks of Vernon, Florida had a little bit 84 00:05:18,800 --> 00:05:22,400 Speaker 1: more pluck to them than the average Oh yes they did. 85 00:05:22,600 --> 00:05:27,120 Speaker 1: And I suggest we hold just one moment on on 86 00:05:27,279 --> 00:05:31,560 Speaker 1: the big reveal here, but keep this name in your head, folks, 87 00:05:31,880 --> 00:05:35,360 Speaker 1: nub City. Uh. And you guys might if I jump 88 00:05:35,440 --> 00:05:37,920 Speaker 1: in here is this is reminded me of an episode 89 00:05:37,960 --> 00:05:39,680 Speaker 1: we did earlier this year. I cannot remember the name 90 00:05:39,720 --> 00:05:41,560 Speaker 1: of the town, but we did that episode about the 91 00:05:41,600 --> 00:05:45,520 Speaker 1: Bowl Weevil, Yes, saving a town in Alabama, because it's similar. 92 00:05:45,520 --> 00:05:48,720 Speaker 1: It's like, you know, a town it was built on 93 00:05:48,720 --> 00:05:51,720 Speaker 1: one industry was caught in that case and their industry 94 00:05:51,720 --> 00:05:53,920 Speaker 1: got depressed. And it was actually a good thing enterprise 95 00:05:54,240 --> 00:05:57,560 Speaker 1: because yeah, enterprise Alabama, that's what it was. Yeah, and 96 00:05:57,839 --> 00:06:01,240 Speaker 1: um because it helped them expand their industry. And let's 97 00:06:01,240 --> 00:06:04,760 Speaker 1: just say Vernon took a very different direction. You gotta 98 00:06:04,800 --> 00:06:07,160 Speaker 1: do what you gotta do. And we also, as awkward 99 00:06:07,279 --> 00:06:09,800 Speaker 1: is is to shout out our other show that we do. 100 00:06:09,960 --> 00:06:11,560 Speaker 1: We do want to shout out stuff they want you 101 00:06:11,600 --> 00:06:15,480 Speaker 1: to knows Florida Man episode which solves the mystery about 102 00:06:15,520 --> 00:06:19,919 Speaker 1: why Florida Man became a thing, and it's actually it's 103 00:06:19,040 --> 00:06:23,599 Speaker 1: it's yeah, it's pretty sad story. Actually. But but even 104 00:06:23,640 --> 00:06:26,160 Speaker 1: if Florida Man laws did not apply and do check 105 00:06:26,200 --> 00:06:29,640 Speaker 1: out that episode, eventually people would have to learn about 106 00:06:29,640 --> 00:06:34,280 Speaker 1: the tragic and unusual events of Nub City. It's, like 107 00:06:34,320 --> 00:06:38,440 Speaker 1: you described notes on the panhandles, very small. If you 108 00:06:38,520 --> 00:06:43,760 Speaker 1: are reading through different parts of the town's history, you'll 109 00:06:43,800 --> 00:06:46,200 Speaker 1: see that it's in a very rural area. It's about 110 00:06:46,240 --> 00:06:50,359 Speaker 1: a hundred miles east of Pensacola, west of Tallahassee. It 111 00:06:50,720 --> 00:06:53,279 Speaker 1: used to be it had a sold mill like we're saying. 112 00:06:53,480 --> 00:06:56,599 Speaker 1: It also was once upon a time a shipping route 113 00:06:56,680 --> 00:07:03,160 Speaker 1: for gopher tortoises. Uh, this is you know, spoiler it is. 114 00:07:03,240 --> 00:07:05,520 Speaker 1: It is not a booming industry and hasn't been for 115 00:07:05,560 --> 00:07:08,599 Speaker 1: a long time. And these folks had it rough man. 116 00:07:09,240 --> 00:07:12,080 Speaker 1: Their industries were closing down. They were no longer on 117 00:07:12,160 --> 00:07:18,120 Speaker 1: a major shipping routes for steamboats, and the railroads passed 118 00:07:18,120 --> 00:07:22,320 Speaker 1: the town by. Voters moved the county seat somewhere else, 119 00:07:22,560 --> 00:07:25,760 Speaker 1: and people are leaving for college. They're never coming back. 120 00:07:25,800 --> 00:07:28,120 Speaker 1: There's a big brain drain. You can read all about 121 00:07:28,200 --> 00:07:31,040 Speaker 1: this an article on Tampa Bay dot Com. Not going 122 00:07:31,120 --> 00:07:34,760 Speaker 1: to give you the title just yet. Things were getting desperate. 123 00:07:35,720 --> 00:07:39,120 Speaker 1: We're right where you were describing. No. Mid nineteen fifties 124 00:07:39,160 --> 00:07:44,600 Speaker 1: into the nineteen sixties. Really when Vernon's residents said something 125 00:07:44,800 --> 00:07:48,200 Speaker 1: has to be done and they picked I would say 126 00:07:48,200 --> 00:07:51,800 Speaker 1: one of the most famous systemic bad guys in modern America. 127 00:07:52,120 --> 00:07:56,480 Speaker 1: They picked insurance companies as their victims, and they started 128 00:07:56,520 --> 00:08:00,440 Speaker 1: doing a scam, a scam that calls them in arm 129 00:08:00,480 --> 00:08:05,160 Speaker 1: in a leg heyo. Okay, first of all, I have 130 00:08:05,280 --> 00:08:08,640 Speaker 1: to say, there is a gentleman mowing my lawn. Um 131 00:08:08,640 --> 00:08:11,240 Speaker 1: it's I've let it, let it go too long. It's 132 00:08:11,280 --> 00:08:12,920 Speaker 1: the season when the leaves drop and you don't really 133 00:08:12,960 --> 00:08:14,560 Speaker 1: have to worry about keeping your lawn nice. But I'm 134 00:08:14,560 --> 00:08:17,040 Speaker 1: having some family over for Christmas and so having someone 135 00:08:17,080 --> 00:08:19,440 Speaker 1: blow off all the leaves and kind of make things nice. 136 00:08:19,440 --> 00:08:22,760 Speaker 1: So unfortunately we don't have the luxury to stop and 137 00:08:22,840 --> 00:08:25,720 Speaker 1: hold for the leafman. Um. So he's gonna he's gonna 138 00:08:25,720 --> 00:08:27,760 Speaker 1: be part of this episode two. But he has appears 139 00:08:27,760 --> 00:08:30,520 Speaker 1: to be moving away from my studio window. Can we 140 00:08:30,640 --> 00:08:32,840 Speaker 1: name the Leafman? I'm just gonna call him the leaf 141 00:08:32,840 --> 00:08:43,920 Speaker 1: the leafman. Come. Maybe it's like sir Leefman, earl of Blow. 142 00:08:48,520 --> 00:08:50,880 Speaker 1: I don't know. That could go a couple of different directions, 143 00:08:51,440 --> 00:08:55,439 Speaker 1: but but you know, no, we have had the same 144 00:08:55,480 --> 00:08:58,760 Speaker 1: situation on my end before. So we're just gonna welcome 145 00:08:58,840 --> 00:09:01,120 Speaker 1: him to the show the way we ware cats and 146 00:09:01,200 --> 00:09:05,360 Speaker 1: the various other side characters that that dropped by. Uh, 147 00:09:05,920 --> 00:09:11,760 Speaker 1: I had chainsaws last week. Chainsaw, Yeah, the chainsawman. So 148 00:09:11,760 --> 00:09:16,520 Speaker 1: so they will join us on this journey. Okay. By 149 00:09:16,559 --> 00:09:21,040 Speaker 1: the end of the fifties, people notice something weird. Nineties 150 00:09:21,840 --> 00:09:26,400 Speaker 1: insurance like policy walks and underwriters and analysts and everybody 151 00:09:26,480 --> 00:09:30,240 Speaker 1: was looking around. They said, hey, the Florida Panhandle is 152 00:09:30,320 --> 00:09:35,439 Speaker 1: responsible for not half, but two thirds of all of 153 00:09:35,480 --> 00:09:39,480 Speaker 1: these particular accident claims. This particular kind of accident claim 154 00:09:39,520 --> 00:09:42,360 Speaker 1: in the entirety of the U s. What was this 155 00:09:42,480 --> 00:09:47,280 Speaker 1: very particular accident, Uh, dismemberment. I guess for that, I mean, 156 00:09:48,320 --> 00:09:51,000 Speaker 1: what's the word. Yeah, that's the right word, right, or 157 00:09:51,240 --> 00:09:54,440 Speaker 1: is it more specific than that dismemberment? Loss of limb? 158 00:09:54,480 --> 00:09:56,800 Speaker 1: You nailed it. Loss of limb. Yeah. When I think 159 00:09:56,800 --> 00:09:59,040 Speaker 1: of this rememberment, I think of, like I guess, because 160 00:09:59,040 --> 00:10:01,360 Speaker 1: I have a six six sad mind, I think of 161 00:10:01,400 --> 00:10:04,319 Speaker 1: a full taking a part of a human person piece 162 00:10:04,360 --> 00:10:06,840 Speaker 1: by piece. Right, But it can just be a single 163 00:10:07,120 --> 00:10:10,000 Speaker 1: dismemberment of of of our arm or a hand or 164 00:10:10,040 --> 00:10:13,240 Speaker 1: a foot, right, and that's the deal, right. The people, 165 00:10:13,559 --> 00:10:17,480 Speaker 1: we don't know exactly how it happened. One person came 166 00:10:17,559 --> 00:10:20,640 Speaker 1: up with this idea and realized that it paid to ching. 167 00:10:21,200 --> 00:10:24,080 Speaker 1: The insurance company paid out for the loss of limb, 168 00:10:24,320 --> 00:10:27,640 Speaker 1: and then others appeared to follow suit. At this point, 169 00:10:27,720 --> 00:10:29,800 Speaker 1: we're not sure, at least by we, I mean the 170 00:10:29,840 --> 00:10:32,640 Speaker 1: insurance company, whether or not this is a scam, because 171 00:10:33,200 --> 00:10:35,640 Speaker 1: you know, Florida even then probably already had a bit 172 00:10:35,679 --> 00:10:38,160 Speaker 1: of a reputation as being a little bit wild and 173 00:10:38,200 --> 00:10:41,080 Speaker 1: wooly and rugged. You know, a lot of potentials for 174 00:10:41,160 --> 00:10:44,000 Speaker 1: hunting accidents and things like that. So you would get 175 00:10:44,440 --> 00:10:49,480 Speaker 1: reports of people having hands shot off, for example, people 176 00:10:49,600 --> 00:10:52,800 Speaker 1: getting in farming accidents perhaps what else, Whether kind of 177 00:10:52,840 --> 00:10:55,880 Speaker 1: reports were we seeing, Yeah, there were. There were a 178 00:10:55,960 --> 00:10:59,920 Speaker 1: number of ways this would happen. Their official reasons became 179 00:11:00,320 --> 00:11:04,199 Speaker 1: it became difficult to pars whether these were truly accidents 180 00:11:04,400 --> 00:11:07,040 Speaker 1: or where they or whether it was calculated acts of 181 00:11:07,160 --> 00:11:10,720 Speaker 1: self injury. Um, maybe there was an accident in a factory, 182 00:11:10,880 --> 00:11:14,600 Speaker 1: like you said, maybe someone did it on purpose. In 183 00:11:14,640 --> 00:11:17,760 Speaker 1: a In a mental Pluss article by Brooks Hayes called 184 00:11:17,840 --> 00:11:22,120 Speaker 1: Nub City, Vernon, Florida's decade long insurance scam, we learned 185 00:11:22,160 --> 00:11:25,800 Speaker 1: the phrase nub club, which is the unofficial name for 186 00:11:26,040 --> 00:11:31,920 Speaker 1: people who started receiving these injuries and started receiving checks 187 00:11:31,960 --> 00:11:35,439 Speaker 1: for it. We also see that a few Vernon residents 188 00:11:35,800 --> 00:11:40,320 Speaker 1: actually sawed off their own limbs, but it seemed most 189 00:11:40,880 --> 00:11:44,520 Speaker 1: most of the people were point blank firing at their 190 00:11:44,559 --> 00:11:49,880 Speaker 1: limbs with a shotgun. And insurance agents in the region 191 00:11:50,320 --> 00:11:53,400 Speaker 1: we're going wild. Dad's stories about a guy who said 192 00:11:53,440 --> 00:11:56,200 Speaker 1: he was aiming to shoot a hawk and he took 193 00:11:56,200 --> 00:12:00,199 Speaker 1: off his own hands somehow with his gun farmer who 194 00:12:00,240 --> 00:12:04,040 Speaker 1: saw his foot and thought it was a squirrel. Sorry, 195 00:12:04,240 --> 00:12:07,000 Speaker 1: I know, I feel bad for laughing, but yeah, it's 196 00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:11,160 Speaker 1: like that one's not true, right, he gotta have the 197 00:12:11,200 --> 00:12:14,439 Speaker 1: cover story, right, And I mean, who are we, as 198 00:12:14,559 --> 00:12:19,600 Speaker 1: meager insurance adjusters to question the veracity of this tale? 199 00:12:20,880 --> 00:12:24,760 Speaker 1: Confirm It's like, I gotta ask about the guy shooting 200 00:12:24,840 --> 00:12:28,000 Speaker 1: the hawk though, because we're talking about a shotgun, not 201 00:12:28,120 --> 00:12:31,640 Speaker 1: a small gun. Is he firing with one hand? How 202 00:12:31,640 --> 00:12:33,480 Speaker 1: does he shoot his own a hand off? Like it 203 00:12:33,520 --> 00:12:36,800 Speaker 1: wasn't a misfire on his hand to frame the shot right, 204 00:12:36,960 --> 00:12:39,160 Speaker 1: It was like doing it like a director where he 205 00:12:39,280 --> 00:12:40,760 Speaker 1: kind of had it out the teacher of the little 206 00:12:40,880 --> 00:12:42,600 Speaker 1: l shape, you know, and he was using it as 207 00:12:42,640 --> 00:12:45,080 Speaker 1: sort of a makeshift site, and then he put it 208 00:12:45,120 --> 00:12:46,960 Speaker 1: right in front of the barrel and blasted is probably 209 00:12:47,000 --> 00:12:49,280 Speaker 1: thumb and four finger off. First of all, you know 210 00:12:49,400 --> 00:12:51,920 Speaker 1: shoot hawks with a shotgun? Do you that's a bit 211 00:12:51,920 --> 00:12:54,520 Speaker 1: more of a precision tool. Maybe I'm mistaken, but I 212 00:12:54,679 --> 00:12:57,360 Speaker 1: would think you would. That would require a longer range weapon. 213 00:12:57,559 --> 00:12:59,839 Speaker 1: I think of a shotgun is more of a close 214 00:13:00,080 --> 00:13:02,760 Speaker 1: range weapon. It stuff. It depends on what kind of 215 00:13:02,800 --> 00:13:07,040 Speaker 1: shot you're putting in it, you know. But also also, yeah, 216 00:13:07,280 --> 00:13:11,520 Speaker 1: this here's the other factor that makes these stories sketchy 217 00:13:11,559 --> 00:13:14,640 Speaker 1: and suss to insurance agents. It turns out that many 218 00:13:14,679 --> 00:13:17,040 Speaker 1: of the people who are reporting these things had also 219 00:13:17,120 --> 00:13:23,240 Speaker 1: taken out multiple specific types of insurance policies, sometimes just 220 00:13:23,360 --> 00:13:28,120 Speaker 1: days or get this, hours before the injury occurred. So 221 00:13:29,000 --> 00:13:33,840 Speaker 1: I have had a long day filing my insurance claims 222 00:13:33,920 --> 00:13:36,160 Speaker 1: and I was tired, and I thought my foot was 223 00:13:36,200 --> 00:13:40,000 Speaker 1: a squirrel. So well, I mean that that's like, that's 224 00:13:40,000 --> 00:13:42,840 Speaker 1: the biggest red flag in the insurance industry. And this 225 00:13:42,920 --> 00:13:46,760 Speaker 1: is me complete insurance, you know, outsider. But you know, 226 00:13:46,800 --> 00:13:50,400 Speaker 1: if someone takes out a policy on their wife and 227 00:13:50,440 --> 00:13:53,160 Speaker 1: then the wife turns up dead, that is going to 228 00:13:53,240 --> 00:13:55,959 Speaker 1: be the suspect, the first person that is looked at 229 00:13:56,080 --> 00:14:00,960 Speaker 1: for committing this crime. If someone takes out kind of policy, 230 00:14:01,200 --> 00:14:03,560 Speaker 1: you know, like a like a particular I mean, you know, 231 00:14:03,600 --> 00:14:06,720 Speaker 1: you you we We just recently had to re up 232 00:14:06,760 --> 00:14:09,400 Speaker 1: our work insurance plan and there are a lot of 233 00:14:09,440 --> 00:14:12,800 Speaker 1: pages in those e documents that talk about things like 234 00:14:12,960 --> 00:14:16,040 Speaker 1: limb and like very specifics that a lot of us 235 00:14:16,040 --> 00:14:18,679 Speaker 1: just kind of gloss over. But the fine people of 236 00:14:18,760 --> 00:14:20,920 Speaker 1: Vernon would not have glossed over those pages. They would 237 00:14:20,920 --> 00:14:23,240 Speaker 1: have zeroed in on those pages and taken out as 238 00:14:23,320 --> 00:14:25,640 Speaker 1: much as they could. Because if you pay in US 239 00:14:25,760 --> 00:14:28,440 Speaker 1: or you check that box, you can ensure your if 240 00:14:28,440 --> 00:14:30,920 Speaker 1: they're like your livelihood right, you can ensure your limbs 241 00:14:30,960 --> 00:14:33,920 Speaker 1: for more than just a standard policy. Isn't that right, guys, 242 00:14:33,960 --> 00:14:36,480 Speaker 1: It is absolutely right. You can also, I mean there's 243 00:14:36,520 --> 00:14:39,760 Speaker 1: any number of like long term disability things you can do, 244 00:14:40,480 --> 00:14:45,400 Speaker 1: unintentional death or accidental like injuries that make you unable 245 00:14:45,440 --> 00:14:48,920 Speaker 1: to work. Uh, it's a business for sure, you know. 246 00:14:49,080 --> 00:14:52,320 Speaker 1: And they you're right, they did read these things carefully. 247 00:14:53,400 --> 00:14:57,400 Speaker 1: The way that privatized insurance works. For anybody who lives 248 00:14:57,440 --> 00:15:00,760 Speaker 1: in a in a first world country with first world healthcare, 249 00:15:00,800 --> 00:15:04,400 Speaker 1: you might need to understand how US healthcare works. It's 250 00:15:04,520 --> 00:15:07,400 Speaker 1: it's a business that has calculated for profit, not for 251 00:15:07,440 --> 00:15:10,600 Speaker 1: the health of the customers. It's a product that becomes 252 00:15:10,600 --> 00:15:13,120 Speaker 1: more expensive when you use it. So the first thing 253 00:15:13,160 --> 00:15:17,320 Speaker 1: that happens. We see this everywhere in the US for 254 00:15:17,400 --> 00:15:21,000 Speaker 1: other kinds of insurance, like your zip code will affect 255 00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:23,520 Speaker 1: how much your car insurance is, for example, because they'll 256 00:15:23,520 --> 00:15:26,360 Speaker 1: look at how many accidents occur in that zip code. 257 00:15:26,760 --> 00:15:31,240 Speaker 1: And these folks were facing mounting insurance premiums, which is 258 00:15:31,280 --> 00:15:33,400 Speaker 1: the money you have to pay for insurance. Because they 259 00:15:33,440 --> 00:15:37,280 Speaker 1: were like, hey, thanks for you know, working with United 260 00:15:37,640 --> 00:15:42,480 Speaker 1: Blue of Florida or whatever your monthly cost for this 261 00:15:42,840 --> 00:15:46,160 Speaker 1: long term disability, dismemberment insurance or whatever. It's gonna be 262 00:15:46,200 --> 00:15:48,640 Speaker 1: a little higher because a lot of people in your 263 00:15:48,680 --> 00:15:52,040 Speaker 1: neck in the woods are losing stuff. Yeah, it's the 264 00:15:52,080 --> 00:15:54,360 Speaker 1: same reason that, like, if you moved to a big 265 00:15:54,400 --> 00:15:57,360 Speaker 1: city from like a more rural area or a smaller town, 266 00:15:57,680 --> 00:16:00,200 Speaker 1: your car insurance will go up. Why because you're in 267 00:16:00,200 --> 00:16:02,400 Speaker 1: a situation where you're much more likely to get into 268 00:16:02,440 --> 00:16:05,040 Speaker 1: a car accident or be hits, you know, because there's 269 00:16:05,320 --> 00:16:08,400 Speaker 1: just the odds go up when there's more cars in play, 270 00:16:08,560 --> 00:16:11,760 Speaker 1: and when you know you're driving in narrower streets and 271 00:16:11,840 --> 00:16:14,640 Speaker 1: like more kind of tricky conditions. Right, it's the same 272 00:16:14,640 --> 00:16:17,400 Speaker 1: exact deal. Your insurance premium goes up by virtue of 273 00:16:17,440 --> 00:16:21,000 Speaker 1: where you are, based on the likelihood of a particular 274 00:16:21,040 --> 00:16:23,600 Speaker 1: event to happen there. And since Vernon at this point 275 00:16:23,640 --> 00:16:26,960 Speaker 1: I believe was reporting what has it been, something insane 276 00:16:27,000 --> 00:16:31,080 Speaker 1: like two thirds of the dismemberment reports or insurance claims 277 00:16:31,120 --> 00:16:34,960 Speaker 1: in the whole United States. Yeah, I do have. That 278 00:16:35,000 --> 00:16:39,320 Speaker 1: was the Panhandle, Hanhandle. That's that's even that's even crazier. 279 00:16:39,360 --> 00:16:41,480 Speaker 1: I mean, that's just one little sliver of Florida, which 280 00:16:41,480 --> 00:16:43,360 Speaker 1: is quite a large state that makes up a big 281 00:16:43,440 --> 00:16:45,920 Speaker 1: chunk of the of the East Coast. So yeah, these 282 00:16:45,920 --> 00:16:50,680 Speaker 1: insurance companies were understandably losing their ship and starting to 283 00:16:50,720 --> 00:16:52,960 Speaker 1: be like, you know what, I don't think we're gonna 284 00:16:52,960 --> 00:16:54,680 Speaker 1: start inste I don't think we're gonna ensure people that 285 00:16:54,720 --> 00:17:03,600 Speaker 1: live in this part of the country anymore. Yeah, And 286 00:17:03,640 --> 00:17:05,600 Speaker 1: there were there were other things that were kind of 287 00:17:06,119 --> 00:17:10,240 Speaker 1: messing with that average. One guy, a guy named Murray 288 00:17:10,400 --> 00:17:14,120 Speaker 1: Armstrong who was working for Liberty National. He said that 289 00:17:14,200 --> 00:17:18,280 Speaker 1: he found a customer who took out insurance with twenty 290 00:17:18,320 --> 00:17:22,840 Speaker 1: eight to thirty eight different companies before he lost his 291 00:17:22,960 --> 00:17:25,359 Speaker 1: left foot. Yeah. There was a point made in a 292 00:17:25,440 --> 00:17:28,520 Speaker 1: fabulous article from our pals at Mental Flaw Snub City Vernon, 293 00:17:28,560 --> 00:17:32,400 Speaker 1: Florida's decade long insurance scam by Brooks Hayes that said, 294 00:17:32,720 --> 00:17:35,840 Speaker 1: at the height of this, uh, this grift, it was 295 00:17:35,880 --> 00:17:40,080 Speaker 1: making some people millionaires. Yeah. Yeah, at least we know 296 00:17:40,160 --> 00:17:44,119 Speaker 1: that by the nineteen sixties, at least fifty residents had 297 00:17:44,520 --> 00:17:48,120 Speaker 1: gotten in on this strategy and they were getting payments 298 00:17:48,119 --> 00:17:52,040 Speaker 1: of anything from five thousand to three hundred thousand dollars. 299 00:17:52,080 --> 00:17:54,640 Speaker 1: And even though five thousand was a lot more back 300 00:17:54,680 --> 00:17:59,680 Speaker 1: then and purchasing power, that still seems like not enough 301 00:17:59,800 --> 00:18:04,040 Speaker 1: my me to lose a body part permanently, because you 302 00:18:04,080 --> 00:18:06,480 Speaker 1: think about what would you how you would handle the 303 00:18:06,480 --> 00:18:11,840 Speaker 1: rest of your life, prosthetics, walking, manipulating tools. These people 304 00:18:11,840 --> 00:18:15,280 Speaker 1: were desperate, and we're talking about it with some levity 305 00:18:15,400 --> 00:18:18,600 Speaker 1: just because the stories, the cover stories in particular, sounds 306 00:18:18,600 --> 00:18:23,439 Speaker 1: so hilarious. But these were very serious times, and you know, 307 00:18:23,720 --> 00:18:28,120 Speaker 1: like you said no, The insurance companies quickly rocked the trend, 308 00:18:28,320 --> 00:18:33,520 Speaker 1: and before long they started being much more skeptical. I 309 00:18:33,600 --> 00:18:37,639 Speaker 1: believe they they took some of these folks to court 310 00:18:37,760 --> 00:18:40,639 Speaker 1: for their claims. They would say, Okay, we don't believe you, right, 311 00:18:40,800 --> 00:18:43,600 Speaker 1: we saw a picture of a squirrel next to a 312 00:18:43,600 --> 00:18:46,399 Speaker 1: picture of a foot shoe on and shoe off, and 313 00:18:46,400 --> 00:18:49,000 Speaker 1: they look different, So we'll see you in court. But 314 00:18:49,080 --> 00:18:52,320 Speaker 1: the problem was, now, if you're going to a jury trial, 315 00:18:52,760 --> 00:18:56,840 Speaker 1: you have to convince a jury, not that the cover 316 00:18:56,920 --> 00:18:59,520 Speaker 1: story is ridiculous, but you have to convince the jury 317 00:18:59,560 --> 00:19:04,640 Speaker 1: that some one would knowingly take a firearm true themselves 318 00:19:05,040 --> 00:19:08,600 Speaker 1: for a couple grands. Yeah, I mean, what what naive 319 00:19:08,800 --> 00:19:11,280 Speaker 1: summer children we were back in those days, you know, 320 00:19:11,760 --> 00:19:14,120 Speaker 1: I mean, I think now this would not be hard 321 00:19:14,200 --> 00:19:16,600 Speaker 1: to convince just about anybody of you know, we know 322 00:19:16,640 --> 00:19:21,320 Speaker 1: people are capable of really insane, depraved acts, you know, 323 00:19:21,480 --> 00:19:24,200 Speaker 1: but even as as recently as the fifties and sixties, 324 00:19:24,359 --> 00:19:27,200 Speaker 1: we were like, oh no, you couldn't convince the jury 325 00:19:27,240 --> 00:19:29,119 Speaker 1: of of their peers. And this was you know, in 326 00:19:29,680 --> 00:19:32,800 Speaker 1: presumably in the same region that anyone would would do 327 00:19:32,840 --> 00:19:36,520 Speaker 1: this on purpose. No one could be that desperate, uh, people, 328 00:19:37,160 --> 00:19:39,000 Speaker 1: I mean, we know that like a rabbit or like 329 00:19:39,000 --> 00:19:41,640 Speaker 1: like an animal in a trap will gnaw off its 330 00:19:41,720 --> 00:19:44,840 Speaker 1: own leg to get out of the trap. What more 331 00:19:44,880 --> 00:19:48,240 Speaker 1: of a trap is there than financial destitution. That's a 332 00:19:48,320 --> 00:19:52,199 Speaker 1: very good point. Yeah, And this is like, unless you 333 00:19:52,240 --> 00:19:55,960 Speaker 1: are experiencing that kind of hardship, it can be difficult 334 00:19:56,040 --> 00:19:59,840 Speaker 1: for people to put themselves emotionally mentally in that situation. 335 00:20:00,480 --> 00:20:04,399 Speaker 1: Of all the people who went to court, not one, 336 00:20:04,760 --> 00:20:09,280 Speaker 1: not one amputee in Vernon, Florida or the surrounding area 337 00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:13,679 Speaker 1: ever got convicted of fraud. Like every time they went 338 00:20:13,720 --> 00:20:17,360 Speaker 1: to a jury trial. The insurance companies lost, and so 339 00:20:18,320 --> 00:20:22,239 Speaker 1: they changed their strategy as well. They got together and 340 00:20:22,359 --> 00:20:25,800 Speaker 1: they hired a guy named John Joseph Jingles kidding. His 341 00:20:25,880 --> 00:20:29,000 Speaker 1: name is John Joseph Heally, and he goes to Vernon, 342 00:20:30,040 --> 00:20:34,080 Speaker 1: I love this kind insurance Colombo type figures, he's like 343 00:20:34,119 --> 00:20:37,200 Speaker 1: our hero coming into kind of like crack the case. Yeah, 344 00:20:37,240 --> 00:20:40,040 Speaker 1: like Edward Norton's character in a Fight Club. Right, he 345 00:20:40,119 --> 00:20:43,920 Speaker 1: was an insurance investigator. That's right. So here's our fight 346 00:20:43,960 --> 00:20:49,000 Speaker 1: club guy Colombo in Fight Club. That's John Joseph Healely. 347 00:20:49,359 --> 00:20:52,199 Speaker 1: He goes to town, he's their man on the ground 348 00:20:52,600 --> 00:20:55,960 Speaker 1: and he says, yeah, I am Well, we'll give you 349 00:20:56,000 --> 00:20:58,120 Speaker 1: the actual quote. It was the way he reports back 350 00:20:58,119 --> 00:21:00,680 Speaker 1: to the companies. He says, to sit in your car 351 00:21:00,760 --> 00:21:03,320 Speaker 1: on a sweltering summer evening on the main street of 352 00:21:03,400 --> 00:21:06,280 Speaker 1: nub City. He called it this in the official report, 353 00:21:06,520 --> 00:21:09,880 Speaker 1: watching anywhere from eight to a dozen. This is his word, 354 00:21:09,960 --> 00:21:13,560 Speaker 1: not ours. Cripples walking along the street gives the place 355 00:21:13,600 --> 00:21:18,240 Speaker 1: a ghoulish, eerie atmosphere. Yeah, it sure does. And this 356 00:21:18,320 --> 00:21:24,240 Speaker 1: investigation is laid out pretty extensively and accidentally on purpose, 357 00:21:24,480 --> 00:21:29,200 Speaker 1: making of a personal injury. Underworld in America, Uh Mouthful 358 00:21:29,240 --> 00:21:32,639 Speaker 1: of a title booked by Ken Dornstein, came out in 359 00:21:32,680 --> 00:21:36,800 Speaker 1: nine and Dornstein says that Healy did not appear to 360 00:21:36,880 --> 00:21:40,119 Speaker 1: think very highly of the town of Vernon. First of all, 361 00:21:40,160 --> 00:21:42,720 Speaker 1: he's coming in there being pretty much convinced that there's 362 00:21:42,760 --> 00:21:45,000 Speaker 1: a scam going on. He just has to find proof. 363 00:21:45,520 --> 00:21:48,040 Speaker 1: He refers to these people pretty derisively in that quote 364 00:21:48,040 --> 00:21:50,320 Speaker 1: that you just did for us Ben with the term 365 00:21:50,359 --> 00:21:54,479 Speaker 1: now that would be considered pretty off. Uh. And he 366 00:21:54,680 --> 00:21:57,960 Speaker 1: remarked um that he he believed that one of the 367 00:21:58,040 --> 00:21:59,879 Speaker 1: and this could well be true, but he's saying it 368 00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:02,200 Speaker 1: obviously with a bit of a there's an inherent sneer 369 00:22:02,200 --> 00:22:04,639 Speaker 1: in this. To me that one of the most popular 370 00:22:04,680 --> 00:22:06,800 Speaker 1: pastimes in Vernon was for folks to gather in the 371 00:22:06,800 --> 00:22:13,800 Speaker 1: town square to quote watch the local stray Mutt's mate. Wow. Okay, 372 00:22:13,840 --> 00:22:17,919 Speaker 1: so there's there's a prejudice here, right, and let's not 373 00:22:17,960 --> 00:22:20,239 Speaker 1: forget what he said was the number one That's right, 374 00:22:20,280 --> 00:22:22,520 Speaker 1: that would have been the second most popular pastime, the 375 00:22:22,600 --> 00:22:27,720 Speaker 1: number one being quote self mutilation for cash. So maybe 376 00:22:27,800 --> 00:22:31,240 Speaker 1: not our hero of the story, No, No, he's definitely. 377 00:22:32,119 --> 00:22:38,119 Speaker 1: He's definitely like a hard nosed antagonist right at best, 378 00:22:38,119 --> 00:22:41,640 Speaker 1: and anti hero. But there's a story with very few heroes. Yeah, 379 00:22:41,640 --> 00:22:43,399 Speaker 1: I mean, I feel for the plight of the people 380 00:22:43,400 --> 00:22:48,080 Speaker 1: of Vernon, but also like, wow, this is Cormac McCarthy production. 381 00:22:48,320 --> 00:22:50,840 Speaker 1: Almost you know what I mean like the guy who 382 00:22:50,840 --> 00:22:53,520 Speaker 1: wrote the road would write this kind of story. So 383 00:22:54,240 --> 00:22:57,240 Speaker 1: he he says furthermore, you can also tell that these 384 00:22:57,280 --> 00:23:02,520 Speaker 1: injuries are premeditated because Healy and his opinion, believes that 385 00:23:02,600 --> 00:23:06,919 Speaker 1: people are removing the limb they need least, so he 386 00:23:07,000 --> 00:23:09,320 Speaker 1: doesn't see a lot of cases of right handed people 387 00:23:09,400 --> 00:23:12,159 Speaker 1: removing their right hand. A lot of left hands go missing, 388 00:23:12,359 --> 00:23:14,600 Speaker 1: and there are more left hands and right hands because 389 00:23:14,720 --> 00:23:17,359 Speaker 1: more people are going to be right handed in a 390 00:23:17,440 --> 00:23:20,560 Speaker 1: random population. And you can certainly argue that again, I'm 391 00:23:20,560 --> 00:23:24,000 Speaker 1: no limb lawyer here with that's circumstantial, right like that 392 00:23:24,080 --> 00:23:26,639 Speaker 1: there's no inherent calculus involved in that would be hard 393 00:23:26,720 --> 00:23:29,760 Speaker 1: to prove that intense on a one on one case. Yeah, 394 00:23:29,840 --> 00:23:32,720 Speaker 1: exactly exactly could prove it as a trend, but again 395 00:23:32,720 --> 00:23:35,720 Speaker 1: it's not a huge population, so it might be hard 396 00:23:35,800 --> 00:23:38,439 Speaker 1: to to do or maybe not. Anyway, point is, they 397 00:23:38,480 --> 00:23:42,480 Speaker 1: would oftentimes remove a left limb up top and a 398 00:23:42,600 --> 00:23:46,440 Speaker 1: right limb down low, because people would be doing multiple amputations, 399 00:23:46,480 --> 00:23:49,680 Speaker 1: taking out multiple policies. That way, the person could walk 400 00:23:49,720 --> 00:23:51,960 Speaker 1: with a crutch, you know, because they would be like 401 00:23:52,040 --> 00:23:53,840 Speaker 1: they would have the opposite. They would put the crutch 402 00:23:53,920 --> 00:23:56,919 Speaker 1: under the one arm that wasn't amputated and then have 403 00:23:57,080 --> 00:24:00,760 Speaker 1: the good leg on the opposite side yep. Yeah. Or 404 00:24:00,800 --> 00:24:05,640 Speaker 1: as he also found, you could maybe learn about someone's 405 00:24:05,680 --> 00:24:09,160 Speaker 1: injury in relation to their livelihood. He said, if someone 406 00:24:09,240 --> 00:24:11,679 Speaker 1: had like an office job, they'll be more likely to 407 00:24:11,720 --> 00:24:14,080 Speaker 1: take off a leg or a foot because they'll sit 408 00:24:14,119 --> 00:24:18,120 Speaker 1: down for work. And he pointed out that a lot 409 00:24:18,160 --> 00:24:20,720 Speaker 1: of white collar folks were doing this as well. A 410 00:24:20,760 --> 00:24:23,879 Speaker 1: guy who owned a car dealership, so a pretty successful 411 00:24:23,920 --> 00:24:26,399 Speaker 1: guy was found to have taken out one of his 412 00:24:26,440 --> 00:24:30,720 Speaker 1: own eyes because he could use the four hundred thousand 413 00:24:30,760 --> 00:24:33,960 Speaker 1: dollar insurance payment to buy a ranch. Now, all of 414 00:24:34,000 --> 00:24:37,280 Speaker 1: this stuff is super grizzly. Obviously, sawing off your own 415 00:24:37,359 --> 00:24:41,399 Speaker 1: limb is gnarly. But to me, I stuff, especially self 416 00:24:41,400 --> 00:24:44,800 Speaker 1: inflicted I stuff, is one of the gnarliest things in 417 00:24:44,920 --> 00:24:47,120 Speaker 1: light horror movies, like I remember the scene and uh, 418 00:24:47,600 --> 00:24:49,800 Speaker 1: then those spoilers. You can't really spoil a twenty year 419 00:24:49,840 --> 00:24:53,920 Speaker 1: old movie. But in Event Horizon, you know, remember the 420 00:24:53,960 --> 00:24:58,679 Speaker 1: part I'm talking about the spaceship and as the spaceship 421 00:24:59,040 --> 00:25:01,880 Speaker 1: goes into goes to hell, and you see these videos 422 00:25:01,920 --> 00:25:04,880 Speaker 1: that are like blurry, crazy good videos of like the 423 00:25:04,920 --> 00:25:09,240 Speaker 1: previous crew like clawing their own eyes out. That always 424 00:25:09,280 --> 00:25:13,399 Speaker 1: gives me the heebie g. I love it. It is 425 00:25:13,440 --> 00:25:16,159 Speaker 1: a slept on film because also I remember not to 426 00:25:16,200 --> 00:25:18,040 Speaker 1: get too far off the rail here, But when that 427 00:25:18,080 --> 00:25:21,120 Speaker 1: movie came out, the way it was promoted just made 428 00:25:21,160 --> 00:25:23,040 Speaker 1: it seem like a run of the mill kind of 429 00:25:23,080 --> 00:25:29,600 Speaker 1: sci fi adventure thriller maybe, And it was pure hell raiser. Man. 430 00:25:29,680 --> 00:25:32,600 Speaker 1: It was like way above my pay grade at the 431 00:25:32,600 --> 00:25:34,480 Speaker 1: age that I was when I saw that in the theater. 432 00:25:34,680 --> 00:25:39,240 Speaker 1: It's got surgery stuff, it's gotten nasty stuff. Yeah, it's 433 00:25:39,280 --> 00:25:44,399 Speaker 1: one of my favorite, like my favorite unofficial HP Lovecraft movies. 434 00:25:44,800 --> 00:25:47,280 Speaker 1: This is around the same era that actor was it, 435 00:25:47,440 --> 00:25:52,000 Speaker 1: Sam Neil says, Sam Neil did some weird madness. Yeah, 436 00:25:52,600 --> 00:25:55,960 Speaker 1: he did those around the same era. Yes, so event 437 00:25:56,040 --> 00:26:00,000 Speaker 1: Horizon great. I stuff weird. I actually I can't remember 438 00:26:00,119 --> 00:26:03,520 Speaker 1: if I told you this. I um, I went through 439 00:26:03,600 --> 00:26:06,000 Speaker 1: a period where I was trying to see if I 440 00:26:06,000 --> 00:26:10,800 Speaker 1: could just voluntarily donate one of my eyes. Uh oh, 441 00:26:10,880 --> 00:26:13,120 Speaker 1: well it's a weird ben. Well, it's a thing that 442 00:26:13,960 --> 00:26:17,520 Speaker 1: it's a thing that I is like thought experiment kind 443 00:26:17,520 --> 00:26:21,639 Speaker 1: of like people you were really wanting to do this, 444 00:26:21,760 --> 00:26:24,760 Speaker 1: you just wanted to find out if it was possible. Conceptually, 445 00:26:24,800 --> 00:26:27,359 Speaker 1: I was on the fence. I would I think that 446 00:26:27,520 --> 00:26:31,159 Speaker 1: like giving somebody the gift of site would be really cool. Also, 447 00:26:31,400 --> 00:26:33,520 Speaker 1: I think I would look cool with an eyepatch. So 448 00:26:33,560 --> 00:26:36,959 Speaker 1: it's not entirely well thinks I've seen you with an 449 00:26:36,960 --> 00:26:38,719 Speaker 1: eyepatch before. Ben, there was a time where you were 450 00:26:38,760 --> 00:26:40,919 Speaker 1: just going out with an eyepatch for fun. I'm not 451 00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:43,520 Speaker 1: talking about it and just seeing if people would bring 452 00:26:43,520 --> 00:26:46,000 Speaker 1: it up. But also, Ben, they've made leaps and bounds 453 00:26:46,000 --> 00:26:48,119 Speaker 1: and glass eye technology. I'm sure you could get a 454 00:26:48,119 --> 00:26:51,439 Speaker 1: convincing you know, prosthetics. Also, Ben, didn't you just have 455 00:26:51,480 --> 00:26:54,479 Speaker 1: surgery on your eyes? Yeah? Yeah, yeah, I don't want 456 00:26:55,080 --> 00:26:58,320 Speaker 1: a premium dude. That was I mean, they can have 457 00:26:58,400 --> 00:27:01,160 Speaker 1: my eyes, they can't take your. No, No, just one 458 00:27:01,440 --> 00:27:03,040 Speaker 1: you know and you it's like how you cleaned up 459 00:27:03,080 --> 00:27:08,879 Speaker 1: a car yourself. That's the point. Um, I totally forget folks. 460 00:27:08,880 --> 00:27:11,400 Speaker 1: That is a true story, Noel, blast from the past. 461 00:27:11,440 --> 00:27:14,480 Speaker 1: That was one of the one of my social experiments. 462 00:27:14,600 --> 00:27:18,040 Speaker 1: I remember, that's the reason you good friends. Nolan is 463 00:27:18,040 --> 00:27:20,960 Speaker 1: one of the only people who asked me about it. No, 464 00:27:21,280 --> 00:27:24,160 Speaker 1: No was like, well, I think I think people mostly 465 00:27:24,160 --> 00:27:27,040 Speaker 1: would assume that you'd had some sort of procedure or 466 00:27:27,040 --> 00:27:29,120 Speaker 1: maybe the shingles or something like that, and they didn't 467 00:27:29,160 --> 00:27:31,640 Speaker 1: want to be rude. But I knew you well enough 468 00:27:31,680 --> 00:27:35,240 Speaker 1: to be like, what's up, man, I was so excited 469 00:27:35,760 --> 00:27:38,119 Speaker 1: I leaned in, Max, you would have enjoyed this. I 470 00:27:38,200 --> 00:27:40,680 Speaker 1: was so excited because I leaned in, and I remember, like, 471 00:27:41,600 --> 00:27:43,080 Speaker 1: I don't think I messed with it quite at that 472 00:27:43,119 --> 00:27:45,639 Speaker 1: point where I leaned in and told Noel. Uh, I 473 00:27:45,760 --> 00:27:48,399 Speaker 1: was like, dude, you can just start wearing these. No 474 00:27:48,440 --> 00:27:51,480 Speaker 1: one will ask you about it. It's amazing. And uh no, 475 00:27:51,640 --> 00:27:58,120 Speaker 1: if I recalled correctly, your spots was okay, but why yeah, 476 00:27:58,119 --> 00:28:00,520 Speaker 1: And I just envisioned Ben turns and his bumps into 477 00:28:00,560 --> 00:28:03,359 Speaker 1: a wall if he has no depth reception, that's all 478 00:28:03,400 --> 00:28:04,840 Speaker 1: part of the bit, that's all part of the all 479 00:28:04,840 --> 00:28:07,960 Speaker 1: part of the thing. But in that case, that social 480 00:28:08,000 --> 00:28:11,320 Speaker 1: experiment aside. And this is, by the way, uh, this 481 00:28:11,440 --> 00:28:16,760 Speaker 1: was an exercise in persona changes or disguises. This was 482 00:28:16,840 --> 00:28:19,880 Speaker 1: not meant in any way to mock site or lack 483 00:28:19,920 --> 00:28:22,160 Speaker 1: of sightedness. And I think we need to we need 484 00:28:22,200 --> 00:28:24,840 Speaker 1: to say that. But I was interested in, um seeing 485 00:28:24,840 --> 00:28:27,919 Speaker 1: if I can voluntarily donate a cornea. Uh, it is 486 00:28:28,320 --> 00:28:32,480 Speaker 1: I think a gray area unless you know somebody, right, 487 00:28:32,560 --> 00:28:35,080 Speaker 1: unless it's like you're doing this for your sibling or something. 488 00:28:35,359 --> 00:28:38,000 Speaker 1: You're just randomly giving away an eye. People look at 489 00:28:38,000 --> 00:28:41,440 Speaker 1: you a scans the same way that insurance agents, oh 490 00:28:41,560 --> 00:28:45,760 Speaker 1: we got there, looked askance at these people in the city, 491 00:28:46,000 --> 00:28:51,600 Speaker 1: because this is if you're purposely injuring yourself. It turns 492 00:28:51,640 --> 00:28:55,320 Speaker 1: out that is a fairly common type of insurance fraud. 493 00:28:55,800 --> 00:29:00,920 Speaker 1: And heally in in the book you had mentioned earlier, No, 494 00:29:01,240 --> 00:29:05,960 Speaker 1: he is saying that rings of these people can occur, 495 00:29:06,080 --> 00:29:09,600 Speaker 1: like people will collaborate. Sometimes it's a close knit family 496 00:29:09,680 --> 00:29:14,200 Speaker 1: or community, and then other times there is just a 497 00:29:14,320 --> 00:29:17,640 Speaker 1: region where people catch on to this idea, and that 498 00:29:17,680 --> 00:29:20,240 Speaker 1: seemed to be the case with nub City. And he 499 00:29:20,360 --> 00:29:22,720 Speaker 1: was like, look, there are a lot of accidents occurring 500 00:29:22,760 --> 00:29:25,600 Speaker 1: in the same place in a short period of time. 501 00:29:27,120 --> 00:29:30,000 Speaker 1: He says, here's what happens. One guy gets away with it, 502 00:29:30,120 --> 00:29:33,280 Speaker 1: meaning self injury fraud. He tells a friend about it 503 00:29:33,320 --> 00:29:36,440 Speaker 1: after he collects and his friend says, that's a cool idea, 504 00:29:36,800 --> 00:29:39,160 Speaker 1: But his friend tries to kind of one up it 505 00:29:39,360 --> 00:29:43,800 Speaker 1: and takes out even even bigger insurance policy right up there, Annie, 506 00:29:43,840 --> 00:29:46,280 Speaker 1: as as they say, and let's not forget there's only 507 00:29:46,280 --> 00:29:48,600 Speaker 1: about five residents of this town at the time, and 508 00:29:48,680 --> 00:29:52,120 Speaker 1: only about a dozen or so were involved in this, 509 00:29:52,280 --> 00:29:55,680 Speaker 1: but many of them did it multiple times again, causing 510 00:29:55,720 --> 00:29:59,320 Speaker 1: these insurance premiums just go through the roof. And as 511 00:29:59,360 --> 00:30:03,120 Speaker 1: Heale say, I solved it pretty quickly this quote. Everyone 512 00:30:03,160 --> 00:30:05,320 Speaker 1: already knew about the town, and the witness to the 513 00:30:05,360 --> 00:30:08,680 Speaker 1: injury was a guy who had witnessed another phony accident. 514 00:30:08,920 --> 00:30:12,960 Speaker 1: There were lots of holes in his story, so essentially 515 00:30:13,240 --> 00:30:17,320 Speaker 1: this came crashing to a halt. Nothing lasts forever, even 516 00:30:17,360 --> 00:30:20,040 Speaker 1: something is incredible as what The New York Times described 517 00:30:21,120 --> 00:30:26,440 Speaker 1: a three year orgy of self maiming. Yes, I love Yeah, 518 00:30:26,680 --> 00:30:31,280 Speaker 1: that's the event Horizon right there of self maiming. Yeah, 519 00:30:31,480 --> 00:30:34,960 Speaker 1: we have to watch of the Horizon. Uh. Yes, great 520 00:30:35,040 --> 00:30:40,480 Speaker 1: Christmas movie, Yeah, which is insane, Sam Neil, If you're okay, 521 00:30:40,520 --> 00:30:42,720 Speaker 1: I think and it's got a cult status for sure, 522 00:30:42,760 --> 00:30:44,440 Speaker 1: but I think it even did okay in the theater. 523 00:30:44,480 --> 00:30:47,360 Speaker 1: It's got a cliffhanger, it's got it's got everything I 524 00:30:47,440 --> 00:30:50,120 Speaker 1: want in his story, weird power, super Okay. I'm not 525 00:30:50,200 --> 00:30:55,800 Speaker 1: turning this into it and it is round tomatoes right, absurd, 526 00:30:55,360 --> 00:30:59,240 Speaker 1: absolutely blasphemy. That doesn't make any sense. People just didn't 527 00:30:59,280 --> 00:31:02,200 Speaker 1: get it. You know's got Hulu Premium. We can watch 528 00:31:02,240 --> 00:31:04,760 Speaker 1: it right now. I've got Hulu Premium and the episode 529 00:31:04,840 --> 00:31:06,480 Speaker 1: right now. Max. We don't have time. We've got to 530 00:31:06,520 --> 00:31:08,560 Speaker 1: get to the stunning conclusion of this, because, like we said, 531 00:31:08,600 --> 00:31:12,720 Speaker 1: nothing lasts forever. This, uh, the proverbial Aquimini curtain was 532 00:31:12,760 --> 00:31:23,920 Speaker 1: closed on this chapter in Vernon's history, but not before 533 00:31:24,040 --> 00:31:27,560 Speaker 1: it became so notorious because to to the the investigator's point, 534 00:31:28,080 --> 00:31:30,480 Speaker 1: this is like an open secret. At this point right 535 00:31:30,480 --> 00:31:32,920 Speaker 1: in the region everybody knew was called nub City. You 536 00:31:32,920 --> 00:31:36,040 Speaker 1: don't get a nickname like that for nothing. Um and 537 00:31:36,160 --> 00:31:39,800 Speaker 1: words spread to one of my favorite I think, probably 538 00:31:39,800 --> 00:31:43,200 Speaker 1: one of the most famous documentary filmmakers in the world, 539 00:31:43,520 --> 00:31:46,800 Speaker 1: a guy named Errol Morris, who at this point was 540 00:31:47,040 --> 00:31:49,920 Speaker 1: early in his career, in his twenties. I think he 541 00:31:50,000 --> 00:31:52,480 Speaker 1: was really just getting started as a documentary filmmaker. He's 542 00:31:52,520 --> 00:31:55,440 Speaker 1: known for films like The Thin Blue Line, Um The 543 00:31:55,480 --> 00:32:00,240 Speaker 1: Fog of War. Also, his son Hamilton Morris, has that show, 544 00:32:00,240 --> 00:32:03,880 Speaker 1: Hamilton's Pharmacopeia. Yeah, iceory. He like takes all the weird 545 00:32:03,960 --> 00:32:06,600 Speaker 1: drugs and stuff. He's a He's an odd character, but 546 00:32:06,920 --> 00:32:10,040 Speaker 1: anyway comes from a neat line of creative of folks 547 00:32:10,160 --> 00:32:13,760 Speaker 1: and um. Errol Morris caught wind of what was going 548 00:32:13,800 --> 00:32:16,480 Speaker 1: on down in Vernon, down in nub City. He saw 549 00:32:17,160 --> 00:32:20,320 Speaker 1: a little blurb in a newspaper about a place called 550 00:32:20,440 --> 00:32:22,920 Speaker 1: nub City and it it made him raise his eyebrows. 551 00:32:23,000 --> 00:32:26,760 Speaker 1: Want to check it out? Yeah? Yeah. He was about 552 00:32:27,000 --> 00:32:30,520 Speaker 1: twenty years old. Sorry, he was in his twenties at 553 00:32:30,600 --> 00:32:33,840 Speaker 1: the time. And he had heard about this in the 554 00:32:33,880 --> 00:32:37,840 Speaker 1: fall of nineteen seventy six when he came across a 555 00:32:37,840 --> 00:32:41,920 Speaker 1: newspaper clipping that caught his interests just like you said, 556 00:32:42,000 --> 00:32:45,160 Speaker 1: so he said, you know what, I'm gonna go down. 557 00:32:45,160 --> 00:32:50,040 Speaker 1: I'm gonna make a film about what's happening in nub City. 558 00:32:50,200 --> 00:32:52,880 Speaker 1: He's read this piece in the New York Times Sunday 559 00:32:52,920 --> 00:32:56,720 Speaker 1: magazine and it's the Heally piece where Heally is talking 560 00:32:56,760 --> 00:33:01,320 Speaker 1: about the worst cases in his career and he says, Wow, 561 00:33:01,440 --> 00:33:05,640 Speaker 1: there's this self mutilation in this small town in northwest Florida. 562 00:33:06,400 --> 00:33:09,840 Speaker 1: And he says, I've got to find out more. He 563 00:33:10,000 --> 00:33:15,840 Speaker 1: visits and speaks with John J. Healy, who doesn't, by 564 00:33:15,880 --> 00:33:18,280 Speaker 1: the way, say the specific name of the town in 565 00:33:18,280 --> 00:33:23,280 Speaker 1: the article. He uses the nickname nub City. And eventually 566 00:33:24,120 --> 00:33:28,080 Speaker 1: this guy heally tells Errol Morris, all right, the real 567 00:33:28,200 --> 00:33:32,480 Speaker 1: name of this place, if you must know, is Vernon, Florida. 568 00:33:32,680 --> 00:33:36,040 Speaker 1: But you can't go don't go there. It's not the 569 00:33:36,120 --> 00:33:38,800 Speaker 1: kind of place you want to be snooping around. It's 570 00:33:39,000 --> 00:33:43,480 Speaker 1: it's got a bad vibe. And so the director promptly 571 00:33:43,640 --> 00:33:49,640 Speaker 1: ignores everything heally says and travels down to Vernon. He lives, 572 00:33:49,680 --> 00:33:51,960 Speaker 1: He lives in the area, and he spends a year 573 00:33:52,440 --> 00:33:56,280 Speaker 1: making this film. Um well, the focus of his film 574 00:33:56,320 --> 00:33:59,000 Speaker 1: shifted right, like he was initially going to make a 575 00:33:59,040 --> 00:34:03,000 Speaker 1: film specifically about this town where folks blow or saw 576 00:34:03,240 --> 00:34:06,720 Speaker 1: or hack or maame their limbs off to collect insurance money. 577 00:34:07,120 --> 00:34:09,560 Speaker 1: So this would have been in the late seventies, early eighties, 578 00:34:09,920 --> 00:34:11,640 Speaker 1: So this would have been, you know, a couple of 579 00:34:11,640 --> 00:34:15,279 Speaker 1: generations removed from like the peak of this practice, you know, 580 00:34:15,320 --> 00:34:17,799 Speaker 1: which was taking place in the fifties and sixties. So 581 00:34:17,840 --> 00:34:20,879 Speaker 1: we would have had anyone that was still around who 582 00:34:20,960 --> 00:34:23,319 Speaker 1: was one of the nub clubbers would have been quite 583 00:34:23,320 --> 00:34:24,920 Speaker 1: old at this time, or it would have been like 584 00:34:25,000 --> 00:34:27,600 Speaker 1: their descendants, you know. And obviously this is not a 585 00:34:27,680 --> 00:34:29,680 Speaker 1: cam that was running anymore. This is a part of 586 00:34:29,719 --> 00:34:32,600 Speaker 1: the history of the town that probably some folks you know, 587 00:34:32,680 --> 00:34:37,040 Speaker 1: who were part of that history wouldn't really want out there, 588 00:34:37,120 --> 00:34:42,640 Speaker 1: especially by some outside or New York City socialized intellectual 589 00:34:42,880 --> 00:34:48,719 Speaker 1: filmmaker documentarian. What you're doing with that camera. We can 590 00:34:48,719 --> 00:34:52,080 Speaker 1: say that because we're from the South, but can but 591 00:34:52,239 --> 00:34:55,120 Speaker 1: we live or we live here at least, But so Yeah, 592 00:34:55,320 --> 00:35:01,560 Speaker 1: he maintains that he loved, loved, loved the people of Verdon, 593 00:35:01,920 --> 00:35:07,160 Speaker 1: But then he also points out these strange quotes. Uh. 594 00:35:07,280 --> 00:35:10,480 Speaker 1: One sheriff told him. This is from Errol himself, when 595 00:35:10,480 --> 00:35:14,120 Speaker 1: sheriff said, down here, we don't have motors, we have 596 00:35:14,239 --> 00:35:21,319 Speaker 1: disappearances and these people this is great. Yeah. And then 597 00:35:21,360 --> 00:35:27,239 Speaker 1: like I said, um he uh, he initially pursued that angle. Um, 598 00:35:27,320 --> 00:35:29,560 Speaker 1: And he tells it himself that you can read in 599 00:35:29,560 --> 00:35:33,120 Speaker 1: this mental Flass article that we cited earlier. He knocks 600 00:35:33,120 --> 00:35:35,560 Speaker 1: on the door of a double amputeam man who was 601 00:35:35,640 --> 00:35:38,279 Speaker 1: missing an arm and a lay on opposite sides of 602 00:35:38,280 --> 00:35:40,719 Speaker 1: the body minds you, which he refers to as the 603 00:35:40,760 --> 00:35:43,000 Speaker 1: preferred technique so that you could use a crutch like 604 00:35:43,040 --> 00:35:45,360 Speaker 1: we were saying. And then he goes quote his buff 605 00:35:45,480 --> 00:35:49,080 Speaker 1: son in law, a marine beat me up. I decided 606 00:35:49,120 --> 00:35:52,880 Speaker 1: whatever I was doing was really really stupid and dangerous. 607 00:35:53,360 --> 00:35:56,120 Speaker 1: He wasn't sent to the hospital, thankfully, but he did 608 00:35:56,200 --> 00:35:57,920 Speaker 1: change the folks of the film. And you can now 609 00:35:58,280 --> 00:36:01,120 Speaker 1: check this out. It's a documentary from ninety any one 610 00:36:01,200 --> 00:36:03,880 Speaker 1: called Vernon, Florida, and it focuses more because you know, 611 00:36:03,920 --> 00:36:06,440 Speaker 1: you've got to imagine a town where people are compelled 612 00:36:06,480 --> 00:36:08,879 Speaker 1: to like blow their limbs off or hack their limbs off. 613 00:36:09,000 --> 00:36:11,960 Speaker 1: A gotta be some characters in there. And what Errol 614 00:36:12,040 --> 00:36:14,520 Speaker 1: Morris does in the film Vernon Florida's highlights some of 615 00:36:14,600 --> 00:36:19,279 Speaker 1: those characters, uh, including like uh one guy who's like 616 00:36:19,320 --> 00:36:23,080 Speaker 1: a really avid turkey hunter to doing all these like 617 00:36:23,120 --> 00:36:25,799 Speaker 1: turkey calls and stuff. And there's like another guy who's 618 00:36:25,840 --> 00:36:28,239 Speaker 1: like a weird kind of tap dancer or something that 619 00:36:28,440 --> 00:36:31,080 Speaker 1: they're they're all it's very gummo, kind of like the 620 00:36:31,239 --> 00:36:35,640 Speaker 1: Harmony Kouran movie Gummo, but like a real documentary. Yeah yeah, 621 00:36:35,719 --> 00:36:41,759 Speaker 1: And this refocus is move of self preservation, right, and 622 00:36:41,960 --> 00:36:45,160 Speaker 1: it's still is a very strong film. It premiers at 623 00:36:45,160 --> 00:36:48,080 Speaker 1: the New York Film Festival, and people are over the 624 00:36:48,120 --> 00:36:53,200 Speaker 1: moon for it, and Morris himself, well, I think was 625 00:36:53,400 --> 00:36:57,279 Speaker 1: was very affected by the poverty he saw and very 626 00:36:57,320 --> 00:37:02,000 Speaker 1: inspired by this self reliance he saw, and he is 627 00:37:02,080 --> 00:37:05,600 Speaker 1: still like as we record now, he's still apparently is 628 00:37:05,640 --> 00:37:10,560 Speaker 1: thinking about returning to the original story, the story of 629 00:37:10,560 --> 00:37:16,560 Speaker 1: what Healy called nub City. And with this we we 630 00:37:16,640 --> 00:37:19,760 Speaker 1: kind of we kind of leave it there. The question 631 00:37:19,880 --> 00:37:24,280 Speaker 1: becomes something for everybody listening in the audience today. Obviously 632 00:37:24,320 --> 00:37:29,640 Speaker 1: we mean no disrespect to the people of Florida, but 633 00:37:30,120 --> 00:37:33,520 Speaker 1: this is like an ethical question of quandary, what would 634 00:37:33,560 --> 00:37:36,400 Speaker 1: you do? And we can't assume, you know that every 635 00:37:36,480 --> 00:37:40,520 Speaker 1: person who did this committed this kind of fraud, was 636 00:37:40,600 --> 00:37:43,720 Speaker 1: doing it because they wanted extra fun money. Some people 637 00:37:43,760 --> 00:37:46,239 Speaker 1: may have been doing it entirely because they couldn't get 638 00:37:46,239 --> 00:37:48,800 Speaker 1: a job and they had to feed their family. You know. 639 00:37:48,840 --> 00:37:50,680 Speaker 1: I mean we talked, I made the analogy of an 640 00:37:50,680 --> 00:37:53,640 Speaker 1: animal caught in a trap knowing it's you know, limb off. 641 00:37:53,920 --> 00:37:57,760 Speaker 1: I mean, these these these towns, when they're economically depressed 642 00:37:57,760 --> 00:38:00,719 Speaker 1: in that way, and your your choices to uproot your 643 00:38:00,719 --> 00:38:04,040 Speaker 1: whole family maybe been living there for generations or to 644 00:38:04,200 --> 00:38:06,960 Speaker 1: get clever, you know, or do something desperate. Um. There 645 00:38:07,040 --> 00:38:09,680 Speaker 1: is a really interesting coda to this story. There is 646 00:38:09,840 --> 00:38:13,480 Speaker 1: a an incident that happened in Vernon that actually made 647 00:38:13,520 --> 00:38:16,120 Speaker 1: the national news way way separated from this whole nub 648 00:38:16,160 --> 00:38:21,080 Speaker 1: city business. In ninety four, there was a bloody, really 649 00:38:21,600 --> 00:38:24,520 Speaker 1: gnarly brawl that broke out at a very run of 650 00:38:24,560 --> 00:38:27,360 Speaker 1: the Mills City council meeting where they were discussing the 651 00:38:27,400 --> 00:38:31,400 Speaker 1: possibility of firing the town's only policeman. And it's caught 652 00:38:31,440 --> 00:38:34,280 Speaker 1: on film. You can see this reporter from Panama City 653 00:38:34,360 --> 00:38:37,319 Speaker 1: from the network w m b B was there and 654 00:38:37,719 --> 00:38:41,359 Speaker 1: like there's screaming and punching and bloody noses and like 655 00:38:41,680 --> 00:38:44,680 Speaker 1: men beating up women and like it's it's a real melee. 656 00:38:44,760 --> 00:38:47,680 Speaker 1: But there's a very interesting detail that is almost like 657 00:38:48,520 --> 00:38:52,000 Speaker 1: the creepy closing of a movie where you see this 658 00:38:52,120 --> 00:38:54,840 Speaker 1: detail and like it's like kind of the like cherry 659 00:38:54,880 --> 00:38:59,319 Speaker 1: on top. Yeah, this is a dust up, it's an altercation. 660 00:38:59,520 --> 00:39:03,000 Speaker 1: It was filmed by a reporter out of Panama City. 661 00:39:03,200 --> 00:39:06,640 Speaker 1: In the video, you see a city councilwoman Marvel Armstrong 662 00:39:06,760 --> 00:39:10,879 Speaker 1: and her son Coleman fighting and you see a man 663 00:39:11,120 --> 00:39:17,600 Speaker 1: who is missing one hand. That is uh Marvelle's husband J. C. Armstrong. 664 00:39:18,120 --> 00:39:23,279 Speaker 1: And there's there's a thing where a reporter asked councilwoman 665 00:39:23,400 --> 00:39:26,600 Speaker 1: Armstrong how her husband lost his hand, and she says, 666 00:39:27,800 --> 00:39:31,719 Speaker 1: I think you know, so that's that is. That's not 667 00:39:31,800 --> 00:39:36,920 Speaker 1: the end of the movie, pad role credits because we 668 00:39:37,120 --> 00:39:42,160 Speaker 1: are extremely positive people, and we we always try to 669 00:39:42,320 --> 00:39:47,160 Speaker 1: end on like a less heavy note. So we can 670 00:39:47,280 --> 00:39:50,600 Speaker 1: at least no, in a positive note, we can say 671 00:39:50,680 --> 00:39:56,359 Speaker 1: that Vernon, Florida, does have a specialty hamburger as an 672 00:39:56,400 --> 00:39:59,719 Speaker 1: official town burger. There's that Maybe that's what we had 673 00:40:00,040 --> 00:40:05,000 Speaker 1: it good? What's what's special? You like spicy? Do you? Okay? 674 00:40:05,360 --> 00:40:10,239 Speaker 1: It is covered in Cajun seasoning and fried halapenos, and 675 00:40:10,400 --> 00:40:14,439 Speaker 1: it's apparently it's very very hot, and it has its 676 00:40:14,520 --> 00:40:18,600 Speaker 1: own theme song, slash, rhyme or jingle. This is according 677 00:40:18,640 --> 00:40:21,560 Speaker 1: to Tampa Bay dot Com. Oh they should know if 678 00:40:21,560 --> 00:40:25,040 Speaker 1: anyone burn and Vernon, Oh what a treat with its 679 00:40:25,120 --> 00:40:30,120 Speaker 1: onions and peppers stacked up so neat Okay, yeah, you 680 00:40:30,200 --> 00:40:33,520 Speaker 1: know kinking. No better way to end an episode of 681 00:40:33,600 --> 00:40:36,279 Speaker 1: ridiculous history than with a ridiculous rhyme about a burd 682 00:40:36,640 --> 00:40:39,440 Speaker 1: that's true. I know, I feel like we could freestyle 683 00:40:39,520 --> 00:40:44,320 Speaker 1: off that one. Stacked up so neat Max dropped the beat, right, Uh, 684 00:40:44,560 --> 00:40:47,520 Speaker 1: don't saw off your hands and feet? Yeah? Yeah? Yeah? 685 00:40:47,920 --> 00:40:51,080 Speaker 1: Or do yeah, It's entirely up to you. Even though 686 00:40:51,080 --> 00:40:54,000 Speaker 1: the money feels so sweet, don't saw off your hands 687 00:40:54,040 --> 00:40:57,520 Speaker 1: and feet. Wait beep? The beep is part of the rhyme. Okay, 688 00:40:58,800 --> 00:41:01,600 Speaker 1: And you gotta wonder too, has it been enough time? 689 00:41:01,960 --> 00:41:04,360 Speaker 1: Has enough time passed that in this kind of grift 690 00:41:04,400 --> 00:41:06,799 Speaker 1: could pop up in some other rural pocket of the 691 00:41:06,840 --> 00:41:11,600 Speaker 1: United States? Let us know? Yeah, yeah, I think. Let 692 00:41:11,680 --> 00:41:14,560 Speaker 1: us know. You can find us on our community page, 693 00:41:14,640 --> 00:41:18,120 Speaker 1: Ridiculous Historians. We love it. We love the questions, We 694 00:41:18,200 --> 00:41:21,680 Speaker 1: love the conversations that we see there. You can also 695 00:41:21,800 --> 00:41:24,359 Speaker 1: find us on social media, not just as a show 696 00:41:24,440 --> 00:41:27,160 Speaker 1: but as individuals. If you wish, you may find me. 697 00:41:27,200 --> 00:41:30,080 Speaker 1: I am on Instagram pretty much exclusively at how now 698 00:41:30,200 --> 00:41:32,080 Speaker 1: Noel Brown. If you want to tweet at me, I 699 00:41:32,120 --> 00:41:33,920 Speaker 1: don't really look at it very often, but I am 700 00:41:33,960 --> 00:41:37,520 Speaker 1: at embryonical on the twitters. How bet you've been bowling? Well, 701 00:41:37,560 --> 00:41:39,799 Speaker 1: thank you for asking, Mr Biel Brown. You can get 702 00:41:39,800 --> 00:41:42,080 Speaker 1: a behind the scenes look at the research I'm doing 703 00:41:42,120 --> 00:41:45,400 Speaker 1: my various misadventures at Ben Bolan on Instagram, bo w 704 00:41:45,680 --> 00:41:47,920 Speaker 1: l I n or at Ben Bowland h s W 705 00:41:48,239 --> 00:41:53,759 Speaker 1: on Twitter, and Word on the Street is our very 706 00:41:53,760 --> 00:41:57,520 Speaker 1: own super producer. Mr. Max Williams is also to be 707 00:41:57,600 --> 00:42:00,680 Speaker 1: found on the tubes of the Internet. Yes, I am 708 00:42:00,760 --> 00:42:03,160 Speaker 1: hiding out on Twitter. I don't say much, but I 709 00:42:03,160 --> 00:42:06,560 Speaker 1: am always around and I'm at at L underscore Max 710 00:42:06,600 --> 00:42:10,320 Speaker 1: Williams about a hot sports takes on their huh yeah, 711 00:42:10,840 --> 00:42:12,799 Speaker 1: and a couple of star trek ones. No, actually, Ben, 712 00:42:12,800 --> 00:42:16,239 Speaker 1: I changed that handle. Oh in the World Series, Michigan's 713 00:42:16,360 --> 00:42:19,480 Speaker 1: in the college football Playoff. Okay, I'm a passionate sports 714 00:42:19,520 --> 00:42:23,040 Speaker 1: fan again. All right, Oh well that's awesome, man, I'm glad. 715 00:42:23,080 --> 00:42:25,040 Speaker 1: Oh it's gonna break my heart to be miserable. I'm 716 00:42:25,080 --> 00:42:27,600 Speaker 1: gonna be terrible in the New year. Probably ah. Yes, 717 00:42:28,000 --> 00:42:34,200 Speaker 1: speaking speaking of terrible, terrible things. You can also you 718 00:42:34,239 --> 00:42:38,360 Speaker 1: can also find our good pal slash Nemessies the Quister 719 00:42:38,520 --> 00:42:41,439 Speaker 1: a k. H. Jonathan Strickland on the Internet, and if 720 00:42:41,480 --> 00:42:43,680 Speaker 1: you do find him, ask him when he's gonna be 721 00:42:43,719 --> 00:42:46,560 Speaker 1: on Ridiculous History again. Is that too much or we 722 00:42:46,680 --> 00:42:48,600 Speaker 1: like pranking? Him at this point. I don't know. I 723 00:42:48,640 --> 00:42:51,200 Speaker 1: think we just haven't really followed up. Yeah, it's totally 724 00:42:51,880 --> 00:42:55,959 Speaker 1: it is. These things do actually go peak behind the curtain. 725 00:42:56,000 --> 00:42:58,000 Speaker 1: These things do typically go to the proper channels. He 726 00:42:58,040 --> 00:43:01,879 Speaker 1: doesn't just a zoom, mom, Sorry to demystify the whole 727 00:43:01,960 --> 00:43:04,759 Speaker 1: quister bit. Wow, I mean I could, I could saw 728 00:43:04,800 --> 00:43:08,919 Speaker 1: in him right now. I me to say it's the same. No, no, okay, yeah, no, thanks, 729 00:43:09,000 --> 00:43:11,960 Speaker 1: thanks of course to him, the quister. Thanks also at 730 00:43:11,960 --> 00:43:16,200 Speaker 1: Alex Williams, who composed our amazing soundtrack. Thanks to you, 731 00:43:16,440 --> 00:43:21,200 Speaker 1: Max Williams, son of Alex, no, brother of Alex, blood 732 00:43:21,200 --> 00:43:23,840 Speaker 1: of Alex. How about that? Um Eve's Jeff Code and 733 00:43:23,880 --> 00:43:29,080 Speaker 1: Christophrastiot is here in spirit? Who else, my mom? Yeah, 734 00:43:29,080 --> 00:43:31,520 Speaker 1: the people of Vernon, Florida. I hope they're doing okay 735 00:43:31,600 --> 00:43:35,479 Speaker 1: gay bluesier. And I'll say it, the people who work 736 00:43:35,600 --> 00:43:38,160 Speaker 1: in those levels of the insurance industry. It can be 737 00:43:38,239 --> 00:43:41,799 Speaker 1: often a thankless job. So don't let your work to 738 00:43:41,800 --> 00:43:45,560 Speaker 1: find you. Uh, probably really erodes your trust and humanity. 739 00:43:45,800 --> 00:43:49,440 Speaker 1: But it's also a very despicable profession. So maybe I 740 00:43:49,440 --> 00:43:52,960 Speaker 1: don't no, no, no, not despicable profession in industry it's 741 00:43:52,960 --> 00:43:55,000 Speaker 1: got a certain amount of hick to it, and I 742 00:43:55,000 --> 00:43:57,319 Speaker 1: think even people that work within it probably are aware 743 00:43:57,360 --> 00:44:00,480 Speaker 1: of that. So no offense meant to anyone working in insurance, 744 00:44:00,640 --> 00:44:05,120 Speaker 1: and stay tuned for our next episode on something called 745 00:44:05,480 --> 00:44:08,120 Speaker 1: a Little Ice Age. We hope you're having a wonderful 746 00:44:08,200 --> 00:44:10,960 Speaker 1: last week of the year from We'll see you next Stempbooks. 747 00:44:18,239 --> 00:44:20,319 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from My Heart Radio, visit the I 748 00:44:20,360 --> 00:44:23,279 Speaker 1: Heart Radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you listen to 749 00:44:23,360 --> 00:44:24,240 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.