1 00:00:02,320 --> 00:00:05,960 Speaker 1: Happy Saturday, everybody. We have some heavier topics coming up 2 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:08,039 Speaker 1: on the show over the next couple of weeks, so 3 00:00:08,080 --> 00:00:11,000 Speaker 1: we thought we would take today's Saturday Classic back to 4 00:00:11,119 --> 00:00:13,640 Speaker 1: something that's a little bit more on the lighter side, 5 00:00:13,720 --> 00:00:16,720 Speaker 1: and that is the Klondike Big inch Land promotion, which 6 00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:19,960 Speaker 1: was a serial promotion back in the fifties. So enjoy. 7 00:00:23,720 --> 00:00:26,480 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 8 00:00:26,600 --> 00:00:35,120 Speaker 1: of I Heart Radios How Stuff Works. Hello, and welcome 9 00:00:35,159 --> 00:00:38,400 Speaker 1: to the podcast. I'm and I'm Tracy V. Wilson. And 10 00:00:38,440 --> 00:00:41,120 Speaker 1: Tracy have a question for you. Sure when you were 11 00:00:41,120 --> 00:00:45,680 Speaker 1: a kid, did you love the freebees that came in cereal? Well, 12 00:00:45,920 --> 00:00:49,920 Speaker 1: my mother had very strong opinions on which cereals were appropriate, 13 00:00:52,680 --> 00:00:55,760 Speaker 1: so many of the cereals that were sold with toys 14 00:00:55,840 --> 00:00:59,040 Speaker 1: in them were not. Also serials we were allowed to eat. 15 00:00:59,440 --> 00:01:03,360 Speaker 1: Oh makes me so sad. So uh. In case some 16 00:01:03,480 --> 00:01:07,199 Speaker 1: of our listeners do not know, sometimes serial particularly serial 17 00:01:07,280 --> 00:01:09,959 Speaker 1: aimed at kids, will sometimes come with a toy or 18 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:12,200 Speaker 1: another novelty item in the box as part of like 19 00:01:12,240 --> 00:01:15,880 Speaker 1: a marketing promotion to boost sales. And I live for 20 00:01:15,920 --> 00:01:18,960 Speaker 1: that stuff as a kid, and I might still live 21 00:01:19,040 --> 00:01:22,000 Speaker 1: for that stuff as an adult. Uh, my husband and 22 00:01:22,040 --> 00:01:24,800 Speaker 1: I collect a lot of crazy things and toys, and like, 23 00:01:25,240 --> 00:01:27,000 Speaker 1: you put a Star Wars pen in a box and 24 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:29,440 Speaker 1: we'll be eating that cereal for however long it takes 25 00:01:29,520 --> 00:01:31,679 Speaker 1: to get all the pens. But this is not a 26 00:01:31,720 --> 00:01:35,080 Speaker 1: new concept. Pretty early, from about the middle of the 27 00:01:35,080 --> 00:01:39,080 Speaker 1: twentieth century onward, the serial wars sort of really started 28 00:01:39,120 --> 00:01:41,760 Speaker 1: to heat up in different promotions were tried to outdo 29 00:01:41,800 --> 00:01:45,000 Speaker 1: one another, and at one point in the mid twentieth century, 30 00:01:45,200 --> 00:01:48,840 Speaker 1: one very famous company had a very wacky plan to 31 00:01:48,960 --> 00:01:53,040 Speaker 1: actually doll out land deeds as part of a serial promotion. 32 00:01:53,200 --> 00:01:56,040 Speaker 1: And that's what we're going to talk about today. Sergeant 33 00:01:56,080 --> 00:01:59,000 Speaker 1: Preston of the Yukon was a radio show from the 34 00:01:59,040 --> 00:02:02,680 Speaker 1: fifties and that it made this transition into television. It 35 00:02:02,800 --> 00:02:05,840 Speaker 1: started actor Dick Simmons as the sergeant, and the radio 36 00:02:05,960 --> 00:02:09,360 Speaker 1: version had featured voice actor Paul Sutton. There was also 37 00:02:09,400 --> 00:02:12,320 Speaker 1: a husky dog named Yukon King and a trusty horse 38 00:02:12,400 --> 00:02:16,799 Speaker 1: named Rex, and the show's exploits were usually about exciting adventures, 39 00:02:17,240 --> 00:02:20,639 Speaker 1: most commonly with the sergeant of the Royal Canadian Mounted 40 00:02:20,680 --> 00:02:23,160 Speaker 1: Police taking his team of sled dogs through the Yukon 41 00:02:23,320 --> 00:02:27,320 Speaker 1: in pursuit of some bad guys. This TV series ran 42 00:02:27,400 --> 00:02:31,240 Speaker 1: on CBS TV from nineteen fifty five to night and 43 00:02:31,280 --> 00:02:36,000 Speaker 1: it was sponsored by Kuwaker Oats. So the actual attribution 44 00:02:36,240 --> 00:02:40,360 Speaker 1: of who had this idea for this extremely novel promotion 45 00:02:41,000 --> 00:02:43,600 Speaker 1: is a little bit fuzzy because different versions of the 46 00:02:43,639 --> 00:02:47,520 Speaker 1: story credit different people. In some versions, AD executive Bobby 47 00:02:47,560 --> 00:02:50,519 Speaker 1: Smith came up with the idea. For example, his biography 48 00:02:50,600 --> 00:02:54,119 Speaker 1: credits him, uh sometimes it said that it's actually Smith's 49 00:02:54,120 --> 00:02:57,639 Speaker 1: son who gave him the idea, and then yet other 50 00:02:57,680 --> 00:02:59,800 Speaker 1: tellings of the tale it was a last minute bolt 51 00:02:59,800 --> 00:03:02,880 Speaker 1: of inspiration to admin Bruce Baker, who was a partner 52 00:03:02,919 --> 00:03:05,960 Speaker 1: at AD firm Werry, Baker and Tilden, which is where 53 00:03:05,960 --> 00:03:08,200 Speaker 1: Bobby Smith works. So they're all kind of linked together, 54 00:03:08,280 --> 00:03:12,720 Speaker 1: but it's not. There's not entirely um one version of 55 00:03:12,720 --> 00:03:15,600 Speaker 1: the story that's consistently told. There's always a little bit 56 00:03:15,600 --> 00:03:18,200 Speaker 1: of wiggle in them. We do know that one of 57 00:03:18,200 --> 00:03:21,880 Speaker 1: these Chicago admin came up with the brainchild of offering 58 00:03:22,120 --> 00:03:26,920 Speaker 1: land deeds in cereal boxes. The previous ad campaign, which 59 00:03:27,000 --> 00:03:30,160 Speaker 1: they stated that the grains had been fired from guns, 60 00:03:30,720 --> 00:03:33,600 Speaker 1: was really no longer doing it. For people, the idea 61 00:03:33,720 --> 00:03:39,320 Speaker 1: of guns firing the cereal was no longer appealing. Yeah, 62 00:03:39,360 --> 00:03:42,240 Speaker 1: and that that is actually uh, that ad campaign is 63 00:03:42,280 --> 00:03:44,600 Speaker 1: kind of based in the chemistry of how the the 64 00:03:44,680 --> 00:03:47,520 Speaker 1: puffed wheat and puffed rice came to be made in 65 00:03:47,560 --> 00:03:50,320 Speaker 1: their puffed form. But uh, the other thing that Quaker 66 00:03:50,400 --> 00:03:52,800 Speaker 1: was really having to deal with was that other cereal 67 00:03:52,880 --> 00:03:56,480 Speaker 1: companies were cranking up their own ad campaigns and they 68 00:03:56,480 --> 00:03:59,080 Speaker 1: were adding sugar to the cereal, which is something that 69 00:03:59,080 --> 00:04:02,600 Speaker 1: the Quaker company is not in favor of. And they 70 00:04:02,640 --> 00:04:06,920 Speaker 1: had these bounty cartoony mascots to try to appeal to kids. So, 71 00:04:06,960 --> 00:04:10,120 Speaker 1: for example, Tony the Tiger, which lives on today and 72 00:04:10,160 --> 00:04:13,640 Speaker 1: we all recognize, had debuted in the early nineteen fifties, 73 00:04:13,760 --> 00:04:18,279 Speaker 1: and Kellogg's frosted flakes had become increasingly popular with kid consumers. 74 00:04:18,520 --> 00:04:20,560 Speaker 1: That part is really funny to me because if you've 75 00:04:20,560 --> 00:04:23,440 Speaker 1: heard our episode about John Harvey Kellogg, you know he 76 00:04:23,600 --> 00:04:28,119 Speaker 1: was also not in favor of the sugar in the cereals. Yeah, 77 00:04:28,760 --> 00:04:31,440 Speaker 1: he'd lost control of that one. They have this in 78 00:04:31,480 --> 00:04:34,640 Speaker 1: common with my mom and a piece written for Canadian 79 00:04:34,680 --> 00:04:38,320 Speaker 1: Magazine in the nineteen seventies by Jack McIvor. Baker is 80 00:04:38,360 --> 00:04:41,400 Speaker 1: the hero of this piece, racking his brain in a 81 00:04:41,440 --> 00:04:43,599 Speaker 1: bathroom at three o'clock in the morning to try to 82 00:04:43,600 --> 00:04:47,120 Speaker 1: come up with some way to salvage the Quaker account. Yeah, 83 00:04:47,200 --> 00:04:49,400 Speaker 1: I feel compelled to mention that I could not put 84 00:04:49,440 --> 00:04:53,120 Speaker 1: my hands on an official full text copy of this article. UH. 85 00:04:53,160 --> 00:04:57,080 Speaker 1: It's reprinted sometimes an edited form by multiple tourism groups 86 00:04:57,080 --> 00:04:59,719 Speaker 1: in Canada. And I did find a citation for it. 87 00:05:00,080 --> 00:05:03,839 Speaker 1: We know it existed, UH, but I never actually got 88 00:05:03,880 --> 00:05:07,440 Speaker 1: the full text document from the official UH magazine. So 89 00:05:07,680 --> 00:05:10,360 Speaker 1: just know that going forward. I just wanted to acknowledge 90 00:05:10,400 --> 00:05:12,200 Speaker 1: if you go looking at the show notes and you go, hey, 91 00:05:12,200 --> 00:05:15,440 Speaker 1: I never found this real article. That's why Baker was 92 00:05:15,520 --> 00:05:17,680 Speaker 1: interviewed for the piece, and he said that he had 93 00:05:17,680 --> 00:05:20,440 Speaker 1: the idea for the giveaway while he was under pressure 94 00:05:20,480 --> 00:05:24,080 Speaker 1: to come up with something that was cheap and moved cereal. 95 00:05:25,000 --> 00:05:27,640 Speaker 1: Once he had the idea, he took the five am 96 00:05:27,680 --> 00:05:30,440 Speaker 1: train to Chicago, grabbed his art director, and whipped up 97 00:05:30,440 --> 00:05:33,799 Speaker 1: a presentation which he said to have delivered to Quaker 98 00:05:33,839 --> 00:05:38,000 Speaker 1: at eleven a m that same morning. And the Quaker 99 00:05:38,040 --> 00:05:43,760 Speaker 1: company had some trepidation about this whole wacky scheme. They 100 00:05:43,839 --> 00:05:47,840 Speaker 1: envisioned the whole campaign becoming this nightmare of paperwork and 101 00:05:47,960 --> 00:05:51,320 Speaker 1: expense as they tried to parcel out millions of tiny 102 00:05:51,320 --> 00:05:54,960 Speaker 1: pieces of land, particularly to children, and sort of the 103 00:05:55,080 --> 00:05:58,000 Speaker 1: legal issues surrounding all of that. They really were just 104 00:06:00,200 --> 00:06:03,440 Speaker 1: very hard to sell on this idea. It's pretty much 105 00:06:03,480 --> 00:06:06,159 Speaker 1: the only idea on the table though. So to complete 106 00:06:06,240 --> 00:06:09,520 Speaker 1: with all the sugar and all the cartoon characters, Bruce 107 00:06:09,560 --> 00:06:12,839 Speaker 1: Baker and one of Quakers executives flew to Yukon to 108 00:06:12,960 --> 00:06:16,839 Speaker 1: scout out the possibility of actually bringing this wild idea 109 00:06:16,920 --> 00:06:20,720 Speaker 1: to reality. Yeah, they were going to tie in that 110 00:06:20,760 --> 00:06:25,080 Speaker 1: whole Canadian Mounty story into this, this idea of giving 111 00:06:25,120 --> 00:06:28,960 Speaker 1: away land. Uh. And so once Baker and the Quaker 112 00:06:28,960 --> 00:06:32,119 Speaker 1: executive landed in Canada, UH, they met with a lawyer 113 00:06:32,160 --> 00:06:34,560 Speaker 1: in white Horse, and things got a little bit smoothed 114 00:06:34,560 --> 00:06:37,200 Speaker 1: over at this point because the Canadian lawyer, whose name 115 00:06:37,200 --> 00:06:39,960 Speaker 1: was George Van Rogen, who incidentally went on to become 116 00:06:39,960 --> 00:06:42,960 Speaker 1: a senator in Canada. He advised that it was not 117 00:06:43,040 --> 00:06:46,760 Speaker 1: actually going to be necessary to register each individual square 118 00:06:46,760 --> 00:06:49,520 Speaker 1: inch that they intended to give away in this promotion, 119 00:06:49,600 --> 00:06:52,279 Speaker 1: that they could just sell it in one large parcel 120 00:06:52,320 --> 00:06:54,880 Speaker 1: and then they're just such tiny increments you didn't even 121 00:06:54,920 --> 00:06:58,000 Speaker 1: have to bother with all of that. Ben Rogen was 122 00:06:58,160 --> 00:07:01,479 Speaker 1: delighted to be working on a novel project instead of 123 00:07:01,520 --> 00:07:04,719 Speaker 1: his drawing up people's wills and whatnot, So he helped 124 00:07:04,760 --> 00:07:07,240 Speaker 1: find a lot for the visiting Americans to look at 125 00:07:07,320 --> 00:07:11,280 Speaker 1: and to consider purchasing. So the men headed to Dawson City, 126 00:07:11,320 --> 00:07:13,480 Speaker 1: which was a gold rush town, and then they traveled 127 00:07:13,520 --> 00:07:17,840 Speaker 1: by boat up river to inspect property in Klondike. And 128 00:07:17,920 --> 00:07:20,120 Speaker 1: the plot of land that they specifically looked at was 129 00:07:20,200 --> 00:07:23,280 Speaker 1: Lot forty to forty three, Group two, and it was 130 00:07:23,360 --> 00:07:26,840 Speaker 1: nineteen point one one acres uh. It featured six hundred 131 00:07:26,880 --> 00:07:29,080 Speaker 1: and forty feet of riverfront on the west bank of 132 00:07:29,120 --> 00:07:32,600 Speaker 1: the Yukon River, and it was one thousand, three hundred 133 00:07:32,600 --> 00:07:36,000 Speaker 1: and one feet deep. And the Klondike Big Inch Land 134 00:07:36,040 --> 00:07:40,840 Speaker 1: Company Incorporated was eventually established for the purposes of this promotion. 135 00:07:41,200 --> 00:07:43,320 Speaker 1: And it is that company that paid a whopping and 136 00:07:43,400 --> 00:07:48,280 Speaker 1: one thousand dollars for this tract of land. So once 137 00:07:48,320 --> 00:07:51,800 Speaker 1: the land had been acquired, deeds were printed in each 138 00:07:51,840 --> 00:07:55,120 Speaker 1: deed was on a seven by five inch piece of paper, 139 00:07:55,240 --> 00:07:57,320 Speaker 1: and that made it thirty five times larger than the 140 00:07:57,320 --> 00:08:00,960 Speaker 1: actual land pieces that they represented, and the wording on 141 00:08:01,040 --> 00:08:04,080 Speaker 1: these deeds was really carefully written to be entirely legal. 142 00:08:04,480 --> 00:08:08,040 Speaker 1: I believe um van van Rogen did continue to help 143 00:08:08,080 --> 00:08:10,400 Speaker 1: them with this since they were working on, you know, 144 00:08:10,480 --> 00:08:13,480 Speaker 1: legal issues, both in Canada and in the States where 145 00:08:13,480 --> 00:08:16,440 Speaker 1: the promotion was going to happen. And this was the 146 00:08:16,800 --> 00:08:18,920 Speaker 1: reason that they put so much effort into making sure 147 00:08:19,040 --> 00:08:22,720 Speaker 1: every word on this piece of paper was accurate and 148 00:08:23,120 --> 00:08:26,720 Speaker 1: legally sound. Was allegedly because the serial industry at this 149 00:08:26,760 --> 00:08:30,280 Speaker 1: point had become really rather cutthroat, and they were really 150 00:08:30,320 --> 00:08:32,840 Speaker 1: concerned that a competing company was going to try to 151 00:08:32,920 --> 00:08:37,440 Speaker 1: like just comb through all of this uh copy that 152 00:08:37,520 --> 00:08:40,600 Speaker 1: was on the document to find any incongruity or any 153 00:08:40,600 --> 00:08:44,440 Speaker 1: way to call foul on this Quaker Klondike project and 154 00:08:44,480 --> 00:08:47,960 Speaker 1: consequently shut it down. The deeds also made it clear 155 00:08:48,120 --> 00:08:51,080 Speaker 1: that they did not come with mineral rights to the land. 156 00:08:51,280 --> 00:08:54,360 Speaker 1: Nobody wanted anybody to be showing up looking to mind 157 00:08:54,480 --> 00:08:58,000 Speaker 1: their one square into the land for gold. The owners 158 00:08:58,040 --> 00:09:00,800 Speaker 1: of these tiny parcels also had to allow out for easement, 159 00:09:00,960 --> 00:09:03,480 Speaker 1: which is accessed by other people who might need to 160 00:09:03,559 --> 00:09:05,920 Speaker 1: find their one inch plot. So basically it made it 161 00:09:05,960 --> 00:09:08,600 Speaker 1: so that the deed holders property could be stepped on 162 00:09:08,800 --> 00:09:23,480 Speaker 1: without legal recourse. On January nine, this promotion began, and 163 00:09:23,520 --> 00:09:26,440 Speaker 1: they ran ads, of course on the television show, but 164 00:09:26,559 --> 00:09:30,160 Speaker 1: papers across the United States also ran ads touting that 165 00:09:30,240 --> 00:09:33,240 Speaker 1: purchases of Quaker puffed wheat or Quaker puffed rights could 166 00:09:33,280 --> 00:09:37,360 Speaker 1: lead to the ownership of actual Yukon land. And these 167 00:09:37,480 --> 00:09:39,960 Speaker 1: tiny land grabbers could fill out a form and they 168 00:09:39,960 --> 00:09:42,160 Speaker 1: could send it in with a box top, and in 169 00:09:42,240 --> 00:09:44,360 Speaker 1: return they would receive one of these deeds that have 170 00:09:44,440 --> 00:09:48,920 Speaker 1: been so carefully uh compiled, issued by the Klondike Big 171 00:09:48,920 --> 00:09:51,880 Speaker 1: Inch Land Company, and that entitled the holder to one 172 00:09:51,960 --> 00:09:55,320 Speaker 1: square inch of Klondike land. There was a whole lot 173 00:09:55,440 --> 00:09:58,559 Speaker 1: of romance around the marketing of all of this. The 174 00:09:58,640 --> 00:10:02,520 Speaker 1: promotion copy touted in the gold Rush. Men fought the 175 00:10:02,559 --> 00:10:05,960 Speaker 1: wildest country on Earth and the most savage of climates 176 00:10:06,000 --> 00:10:09,560 Speaker 1: to get to the Klondike, where your land is. During 177 00:10:09,600 --> 00:10:12,960 Speaker 1: the winter, the only way to the gold fields was 178 00:10:13,000 --> 00:10:16,480 Speaker 1: by mushing for a week after week. The more fortunate 179 00:10:16,480 --> 00:10:20,600 Speaker 1: were aided by dog teams pulling sleds. No one knows 180 00:10:20,760 --> 00:10:25,000 Speaker 1: how many brave men died along the frozen Yukon river 181 00:10:25,160 --> 00:10:30,240 Speaker 1: that runs past your land. And there was also a 182 00:10:30,320 --> 00:10:32,920 Speaker 1: map of the Yukon territory in these ads, and it 183 00:10:33,000 --> 00:10:35,440 Speaker 1: had this arrow that pointed to a spot in the 184 00:10:35,480 --> 00:10:39,640 Speaker 1: words deep makes you owner of land right here, which 185 00:10:39,720 --> 00:10:41,839 Speaker 1: just delighted me and sent me into fits of laughter 186 00:10:41,920 --> 00:10:45,400 Speaker 1: when I saw it. Also included was a brief description 187 00:10:45,440 --> 00:10:48,080 Speaker 1: of how a lust for gold had driven men into 188 00:10:48,080 --> 00:10:51,000 Speaker 1: this wilderness hoping to strike it rich. And there were 189 00:10:51,040 --> 00:10:55,040 Speaker 1: heroic descriptions of the mounties that patrolled this land and 190 00:10:55,080 --> 00:10:57,280 Speaker 1: how they always get their man, so that also tied 191 00:10:57,320 --> 00:11:01,480 Speaker 1: in with the television show. Additional earning included talk of 192 00:11:01,520 --> 00:11:06,040 Speaker 1: the harsh cold, the dangerous grizzly bears and wolves, and 193 00:11:06,080 --> 00:11:09,880 Speaker 1: the moose and caribou that might trapes across your land. 194 00:11:10,040 --> 00:11:13,640 Speaker 1: The phrase your land was consistently used in all the 195 00:11:13,679 --> 00:11:17,280 Speaker 1: promotional materials, drawing kids into the sales push with this 196 00:11:17,440 --> 00:11:22,240 Speaker 1: empowering language that sparked their young imaginations, and it is 197 00:11:22,280 --> 00:11:27,080 Speaker 1: no surprise that this campaign worked. Like Gangbusters, stores were 198 00:11:27,080 --> 00:11:29,400 Speaker 1: actually having this problem where they would sell out of 199 00:11:29,440 --> 00:11:32,920 Speaker 1: their puffed cereal stock each day, and kids were begging 200 00:11:32,960 --> 00:11:35,640 Speaker 1: their parents to purchase multiple boxes so that they could 201 00:11:35,679 --> 00:11:38,600 Speaker 1: grow their land. Holdings, and I can't help but think 202 00:11:38,640 --> 00:11:41,160 Speaker 1: of like kids lying on their beds dreaming about the 203 00:11:41,240 --> 00:11:45,160 Speaker 1: huge plots of territory they were slowly amassing through these minuscule, 204 00:11:45,200 --> 00:11:48,920 Speaker 1: little one inch deeds. And the first month of the 205 00:11:48,960 --> 00:11:53,240 Speaker 1: campaign Quaker received tens of thousands of box top requests. 206 00:11:53,760 --> 00:11:57,120 Speaker 1: But then there was a snag. In February five, just 207 00:11:57,240 --> 00:12:00,520 Speaker 1: weeks after the campaign had kicked off, the Ohio Securities 208 00:12:00,600 --> 00:12:06,200 Speaker 1: division Quaker had a large operations center in Ohio, ruled 209 00:12:06,240 --> 00:12:09,200 Speaker 1: that the company could not legally trade a box top 210 00:12:09,240 --> 00:12:12,360 Speaker 1: for a deed to Yukon Land without a state license 211 00:12:12,440 --> 00:12:16,520 Speaker 1: to sell or in territory. And so at this point 212 00:12:16,559 --> 00:12:18,800 Speaker 1: the promotion was really in full swing and it was 213 00:12:18,880 --> 00:12:22,880 Speaker 1: already seeing incredible success, and so Quaker did not want 214 00:12:22,880 --> 00:12:27,079 Speaker 1: to shut this down. So instead of halting the promotion 215 00:12:27,360 --> 00:12:30,319 Speaker 1: and distribution so that they could wait for a license 216 00:12:30,360 --> 00:12:33,679 Speaker 1: to come, the company kind of managed a little loophole. 217 00:12:33,920 --> 00:12:36,960 Speaker 1: They opted instead to give away the deeds in the boxes. 218 00:12:37,520 --> 00:12:40,280 Speaker 1: And because this eliminated the exchange of the box top, 219 00:12:40,400 --> 00:12:43,920 Speaker 1: which could be perceived as a sales contract in when 220 00:12:43,960 --> 00:12:46,360 Speaker 1: it came along with the filled out coupon, this made 221 00:12:46,400 --> 00:12:48,600 Speaker 1: it perfectly legal it was a free giveaway. They weren't 222 00:12:48,600 --> 00:12:51,640 Speaker 1: selling land, and it meant that this promotion could just 223 00:12:51,720 --> 00:12:55,120 Speaker 1: keep right ongoing because it was so successful that they 224 00:12:55,160 --> 00:12:58,199 Speaker 1: really did not want to stop the momentum. All in all, 225 00:12:58,320 --> 00:13:02,720 Speaker 1: Quaker through the Klondike Against Land Company gave away twenty 226 00:13:02,760 --> 00:13:08,360 Speaker 1: one million deeds to Klondike property, and while the enthusiasm 227 00:13:08,440 --> 00:13:12,240 Speaker 1: for Quaker Puff cereals and their gateway to property ownership 228 00:13:12,640 --> 00:13:15,240 Speaker 1: was still fresh in the minds of kids, there was 229 00:13:15,240 --> 00:13:17,800 Speaker 1: actually a second tie in promotion that came up because 230 00:13:17,840 --> 00:13:20,080 Speaker 1: as they were running out of their land deeds, they 231 00:13:20,120 --> 00:13:23,000 Speaker 1: wanted to kind of keep things going. So kids could 232 00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:26,880 Speaker 1: then mail in twenty five cents to UH the Klondike 233 00:13:26,880 --> 00:13:29,240 Speaker 1: Big Inch Land Company and they would receive what was 234 00:13:29,280 --> 00:13:32,880 Speaker 1: called a small quote poke pouch of genuine Yukon dirt. 235 00:13:33,520 --> 00:13:37,040 Speaker 1: UH and Van Rogen was also involved in this as well. 236 00:13:37,080 --> 00:13:39,960 Speaker 1: He assisted in the acquisition of this dirt. He basically 237 00:13:40,000 --> 00:13:43,559 Speaker 1: had like a business acquaintance kind of sift up lands 238 00:13:43,640 --> 00:13:47,160 Speaker 1: um smooth sand from the bottom of the Yukon River, 239 00:13:47,240 --> 00:13:49,320 Speaker 1: and he made it clear like there couldn't be anything, 240 00:13:49,720 --> 00:13:53,040 Speaker 1: no pebbles in it, no um, nothing dangerous. It really 241 00:13:53,040 --> 00:13:56,360 Speaker 1: just had to be the cleanest possible sand, and then 242 00:13:56,400 --> 00:13:58,599 Speaker 1: they had to have this soil and sand truck to 243 00:13:58,960 --> 00:14:03,080 Speaker 1: Alaska because they couldn't mail it from Canada without a 244 00:14:03,080 --> 00:14:06,319 Speaker 1: lot of postal complications. So the postmark was actually from 245 00:14:06,320 --> 00:14:10,280 Speaker 1: Alaska and not from uh Yukon Territory, but no one 246 00:14:10,320 --> 00:14:12,880 Speaker 1: seemed to mind. And in one interview I noticed that 247 00:14:13,160 --> 00:14:15,400 Speaker 1: Van Rogen said, like, I think a lot of Americans 248 00:14:15,400 --> 00:14:18,560 Speaker 1: think Yukon as part of Alaska anyway, So nobody seemed 249 00:14:18,600 --> 00:14:21,400 Speaker 1: to notice that the postmark wasn't from the area where 250 00:14:21,400 --> 00:14:23,920 Speaker 1: they said that the dirt was coming from. Ten years 251 00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:27,520 Speaker 1: after the promotion, on January twenty second, nineteen sixty five, 252 00:14:27,640 --> 00:14:31,760 Speaker 1: the Klondike Big inch Land Company was dissolved. The Canadian 253 00:14:31,800 --> 00:14:34,480 Speaker 1: government took possession of the land due to non payment 254 00:14:34,600 --> 00:14:39,200 Speaker 1: of thirty seven dollars and twenty cents worth of back taxes. Yeah, 255 00:14:39,200 --> 00:14:41,320 Speaker 1: that figure shows up in a lot of various sources, 256 00:14:41,320 --> 00:14:43,760 Speaker 1: although it never says where it's whether it's Canadian or 257 00:14:43,840 --> 00:14:47,560 Speaker 1: u s currency, not that there's a huge issue at 258 00:14:47,600 --> 00:14:49,960 Speaker 1: that point anyway, It's such a small amount, and the 259 00:14:50,040 --> 00:14:52,720 Speaker 1: Klondike Big inch Land Company had really just been maintained 260 00:14:52,800 --> 00:14:55,880 Speaker 1: kind of to deal with these various queries that people 261 00:14:55,920 --> 00:14:59,680 Speaker 1: would send periodically about their land. But it really after 262 00:14:59,800 --> 00:15:03,320 Speaker 1: just a few months of this big promotion, it had 263 00:15:03,440 --> 00:15:05,440 Speaker 1: ended and it wasn't really they weren't continuing to give 264 00:15:05,440 --> 00:15:07,560 Speaker 1: away deeds after that point, which is why there's that 265 00:15:07,600 --> 00:15:10,280 Speaker 1: big gap between when they give away the dirt and 266 00:15:10,320 --> 00:15:14,320 Speaker 1: then when the Klondike Company is dissolved. And none of 267 00:15:14,320 --> 00:15:17,880 Speaker 1: those individual one inch plots were ever officially registered, so 268 00:15:18,000 --> 00:15:21,640 Speaker 1: those Cereal box deed holders were never really recognized as 269 00:15:21,680 --> 00:15:24,960 Speaker 1: having property in the eyes of the Canadian government. The 270 00:15:25,080 --> 00:15:28,480 Speaker 1: land that was once owned by Quakers Klondike Holding Company 271 00:15:28,640 --> 00:15:31,360 Speaker 1: has since been used for the Dawson City golf course. 272 00:15:32,120 --> 00:15:38,120 Speaker 1: So what's interesting is that, uh, these Klondike deeds continue 273 00:15:38,160 --> 00:15:41,280 Speaker 1: to sort of rear their heads. Uh. The land Title 274 00:15:41,320 --> 00:15:44,320 Speaker 1: office in white Horse, Yukon continues to get a handful 275 00:15:44,360 --> 00:15:48,040 Speaker 1: of inquiries each year from people who have held onto 276 00:15:48,080 --> 00:15:50,400 Speaker 1: their deeds or they found them in you know, a 277 00:15:50,480 --> 00:15:54,160 Speaker 1: family box. And there was an article in the Montreal 278 00:15:54,160 --> 00:15:58,920 Speaker 1: Gazette in that characterized these inquiries as pretty much come 279 00:15:59,160 --> 00:16:02,280 Speaker 1: being grouped into one of these four major types. There 280 00:16:02,280 --> 00:16:05,480 Speaker 1: are general inquiries wondering if the land has any value, 281 00:16:06,000 --> 00:16:08,480 Speaker 1: tax queries from people worried that they're not up to 282 00:16:08,560 --> 00:16:11,880 Speaker 1: date on any taxes owned on their square and land parcels, 283 00:16:12,680 --> 00:16:15,680 Speaker 1: lawyers who find deeds from the Klondike Big Inch Land 284 00:16:15,680 --> 00:16:18,080 Speaker 1: Company in the papers of the deceased and are trying 285 00:16:18,120 --> 00:16:21,600 Speaker 1: to settle estates, and hopeful types who are wanting to 286 00:16:21,600 --> 00:16:25,760 Speaker 1: know if they can rent the land for income. Yeah, 287 00:16:26,440 --> 00:16:30,360 Speaker 1: it's interesting, and I wonder how this whole thing would 288 00:16:30,360 --> 00:16:32,440 Speaker 1: play out if they attempted it today, where it's like 289 00:16:32,520 --> 00:16:35,120 Speaker 1: you have land, the one inch piece of land, No, 290 00:16:35,280 --> 00:16:37,960 Speaker 1: you don't, not really. I think it would maybe meet 291 00:16:38,000 --> 00:16:42,200 Speaker 1: with some some bigger resistance. But um, there have also 292 00:16:42,240 --> 00:16:46,160 Speaker 1: been these various wacky efforts made around these teeny parcels. 293 00:16:46,560 --> 00:16:49,240 Speaker 1: At one point there were a couple of men who 294 00:16:49,280 --> 00:16:52,960 Speaker 1: had a combined four square inches of land, and they 295 00:16:52,960 --> 00:16:56,200 Speaker 1: attempted to declare it as free and independent land under 296 00:16:56,240 --> 00:16:59,320 Speaker 1: the name the Republic of Zandado, which did not really 297 00:16:59,360 --> 00:17:03,600 Speaker 1: play out. Another person sent Quaker string and toothpicks so 298 00:17:03,640 --> 00:17:07,760 Speaker 1: they could build a fence around his property. Uh. One 299 00:17:07,840 --> 00:17:10,879 Speaker 1: man had three of these deeds and so he had 300 00:17:10,920 --> 00:17:14,119 Speaker 1: a three it's three square inch land parcel. And it 301 00:17:14,240 --> 00:17:17,439 Speaker 1: was really his intention that it should be donated and 302 00:17:17,520 --> 00:17:21,680 Speaker 1: used as a national park. According to Verne Thomas, a 303 00:17:21,720 --> 00:17:25,399 Speaker 1: representative from a Quakers legal department, in the early nineteen seventies, 304 00:17:25,920 --> 00:17:30,520 Speaker 1: one man collected deeds from all over, eventually amassing ten 305 00:17:30,600 --> 00:17:33,679 Speaker 1: thousand eighty of them, and this added up to about 306 00:17:33,680 --> 00:17:36,720 Speaker 1: seventy five square feet. He then tried to have the 307 00:17:36,760 --> 00:17:39,919 Speaker 1: square inches consolidated so he could take possession of his 308 00:17:40,000 --> 00:17:42,760 Speaker 1: tract of land, and he requested that his parcel be 309 00:17:42,840 --> 00:17:46,159 Speaker 1: carved out near the water. But these were all of 310 00:17:46,200 --> 00:17:48,400 Speaker 1: these various requests of what to do. We're pretty much 311 00:17:48,400 --> 00:17:51,240 Speaker 1: met with a form letter that said, hey, that was 312 00:17:51,280 --> 00:17:54,720 Speaker 1: a promotion. You're really paying for the excitement. Uh. And 313 00:17:54,760 --> 00:17:57,480 Speaker 1: in nineteen seventy one, Thomas, who we mentioned just a 314 00:17:57,480 --> 00:18:00,880 Speaker 1: moment ago, told a reporter quote, the deeds are worthless. 315 00:18:00,920 --> 00:18:03,199 Speaker 1: They have never been of any value except as a 316 00:18:03,240 --> 00:18:07,040 Speaker 1: promotional gimmick by our merchandising people. They really made a 317 00:18:07,160 --> 00:18:11,080 Speaker 1: very clear pr going forward that they were really selling 318 00:18:11,080 --> 00:18:14,320 Speaker 1: the romance and the excitement of this concept, not the 319 00:18:14,400 --> 00:18:26,640 Speaker 1: actual land. While the official statements made by Quaker indicate 320 00:18:26,680 --> 00:18:30,000 Speaker 1: that the deeds were never meant to have any intrinsic 321 00:18:30,119 --> 00:18:33,040 Speaker 1: value and We're really meant to just be a fun promotion. 322 00:18:33,320 --> 00:18:36,720 Speaker 1: If you do still have an original certificate, it does 323 00:18:36,800 --> 00:18:40,240 Speaker 1: have some value because nostalgia dealers and eBay purchasers will 324 00:18:40,240 --> 00:18:43,200 Speaker 1: take them off your hands. And the last several years 325 00:18:43,200 --> 00:18:45,919 Speaker 1: the certificates have gone for anywhere from ten dollars to 326 00:18:46,000 --> 00:18:49,040 Speaker 1: forty dollars on the secondary market. And in the early 327 00:18:49,119 --> 00:18:52,760 Speaker 1: two thousands, a man named David McDonald who had collected 328 00:18:52,800 --> 00:18:55,159 Speaker 1: several of the deeds on the Many Plots as a child, 329 00:18:55,200 --> 00:18:57,639 Speaker 1: and he held onto them into adulthood, and a lot 330 00:18:57,760 --> 00:18:59,960 Speaker 1: of people did. There were people that really squirreled the 331 00:19:00,080 --> 00:19:03,760 Speaker 1: is away, uh, you know, in their safe papers, thinking 332 00:19:03,760 --> 00:19:06,000 Speaker 1: that they were going to pay off one day. Uh. 333 00:19:06,040 --> 00:19:08,760 Speaker 1: But David McDonald set out to make a documentary about 334 00:19:08,760 --> 00:19:11,680 Speaker 1: the Klondike Land and the Quaker Company's ad campaign after 335 00:19:11,760 --> 00:19:16,200 Speaker 1: he had inquired with the Canadian government about the whole 336 00:19:16,240 --> 00:19:18,639 Speaker 1: thing and got the same form letter as everyone else. 337 00:19:19,280 --> 00:19:22,600 Speaker 1: When McDonald started researching his film, he discovered that many 338 00:19:22,680 --> 00:19:25,720 Speaker 1: kids just like him had grown up hanging onto their 339 00:19:25,720 --> 00:19:27,800 Speaker 1: deeds in the hopes that one day they would make 340 00:19:27,840 --> 00:19:30,960 Speaker 1: some money off of them. And those adult kids or 341 00:19:31,040 --> 00:19:33,800 Speaker 1: sometimes their families in the cases where the original deed 342 00:19:33,840 --> 00:19:37,160 Speaker 1: holders have died. We're told by Quaker that they had 343 00:19:37,240 --> 00:19:41,000 Speaker 1: no actual Yukon property. Yeah. I tried to hunt down 344 00:19:41,040 --> 00:19:43,760 Speaker 1: a chance to see McDonald's film, which is called Serial Thriller, 345 00:19:43,800 --> 00:19:46,240 Speaker 1: but I did not manage to um to get to 346 00:19:46,240 --> 00:19:47,840 Speaker 1: see it, which is a big foodie on my part 347 00:19:47,840 --> 00:19:50,520 Speaker 1: because it sounded so fun. I just love this idea 348 00:19:50,560 --> 00:19:54,040 Speaker 1: that there were there was such an odd little giveaway, 349 00:19:54,119 --> 00:19:58,160 Speaker 1: like here's some land for you, but not really. Uh. 350 00:19:58,480 --> 00:20:01,399 Speaker 1: You'll often hear it or it written up in the 351 00:20:01,480 --> 00:20:03,440 Speaker 1: various articles that have come up through the years, because 352 00:20:03,440 --> 00:20:06,600 Speaker 1: periodically they will sort of rise to the top. Someone 353 00:20:06,640 --> 00:20:09,240 Speaker 1: will make an inquiry and get very irritated and say 354 00:20:09,280 --> 00:20:11,800 Speaker 1: I was promised land, but they'll get the form letter 355 00:20:11,840 --> 00:20:14,320 Speaker 1: this is not really I think Quaker wishes this had 356 00:20:14,359 --> 00:20:19,240 Speaker 1: never happened, like it was very good for sales uh 357 00:20:19,440 --> 00:20:21,679 Speaker 1: at the time, But it really has been kind of 358 00:20:21,680 --> 00:20:24,320 Speaker 1: an ongoing pain and that took us for them. They, 359 00:20:24,600 --> 00:20:27,120 Speaker 1: like I said, they continue to get mail every year 360 00:20:27,160 --> 00:20:29,240 Speaker 1: from people thinking that it's time to cash in on 361 00:20:29,280 --> 00:20:31,720 Speaker 1: their land. It reminds me of I think it was 362 00:20:31,760 --> 00:20:34,919 Speaker 1: a soft drink promotion. Within the last decade or so 363 00:20:35,160 --> 00:20:38,760 Speaker 1: in which people were gonna send in bottle tops, and 364 00:20:39,000 --> 00:20:41,800 Speaker 1: you know, the more bottle tops they could get bigger prizes. 365 00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:46,040 Speaker 1: And as a joke in the ad, there was one 366 00:20:46,040 --> 00:20:48,560 Speaker 1: that was a like a fighter jet or something and 367 00:20:48,600 --> 00:20:52,840 Speaker 1: that cost fourteen million bottle tops or something, and people 368 00:20:52,840 --> 00:20:55,240 Speaker 1: actually took it seriously and tried to get that many 369 00:20:55,280 --> 00:20:59,520 Speaker 1: bottle tops to get their fighter get. Yeah, that's crazy 370 00:20:59,640 --> 00:21:01,560 Speaker 1: if it's the promotion I'm thinking of. I think they 371 00:21:01,600 --> 00:21:04,119 Speaker 1: capped the number of bottle top like you had to 372 00:21:04,320 --> 00:21:06,640 Speaker 1: digitally enter it, and they capped the number you can 373 00:21:06,800 --> 00:21:09,360 Speaker 1: enter each week so that you could really never get 374 00:21:09,400 --> 00:21:13,600 Speaker 1: to the magical number to cash in. Uh. But yeah, 375 00:21:13,640 --> 00:21:15,960 Speaker 1: it's it's one of those things people love a free giveaway. 376 00:21:16,040 --> 00:21:18,720 Speaker 1: I love freebees as much as anybody. I send away 377 00:21:18,720 --> 00:21:20,600 Speaker 1: for all the crazy stuff because it cracks me up 378 00:21:20,600 --> 00:21:23,639 Speaker 1: when it comes in the mail. But it's one of 379 00:21:23,640 --> 00:21:26,280 Speaker 1: those things where you most people kind of go into 380 00:21:26,280 --> 00:21:30,760 Speaker 1: it knowing this isn't really worth wild stuff, like it 381 00:21:30,800 --> 00:21:34,520 Speaker 1: has no actual value, it's just fun. Or like if 382 00:21:34,560 --> 00:21:37,440 Speaker 1: you if you adopt a wild animal at a wild 383 00:21:37,440 --> 00:21:43,360 Speaker 1: animal preserve that doesn't belong to you, you don't get 384 00:21:43,400 --> 00:21:46,320 Speaker 1: to go pet that animal. It will bite your face. 385 00:21:46,560 --> 00:21:49,280 Speaker 1: We don't want that. I'm just I'd laugh so hard 386 00:21:49,280 --> 00:21:51,600 Speaker 1: with people thinking about their one inch of land and 387 00:21:51,680 --> 00:21:54,199 Speaker 1: what they're gonna do with it. I actually kind of 388 00:21:54,240 --> 00:21:57,320 Speaker 1: like the guy who tried to make the seventy ft 389 00:21:57,320 --> 00:22:00,280 Speaker 1: of the land be a real thing, because you could 390 00:22:00,280 --> 00:22:03,119 Speaker 1: build a tiny house on that be pretty happy out 391 00:22:03,160 --> 00:22:07,560 Speaker 1: in the middle of nowhere. Yeah, there was allegedly. I 392 00:22:07,600 --> 00:22:09,679 Speaker 1: didn't research it deeply. I saw it in my research 393 00:22:09,720 --> 00:22:12,760 Speaker 1: and didn't look terribly hard at it. There was allegedly 394 00:22:12,800 --> 00:22:15,000 Speaker 1: a game show at one point that had people try 395 00:22:15,040 --> 00:22:19,680 Speaker 1: to find the square inches, like a specific square inch 396 00:22:19,720 --> 00:22:22,240 Speaker 1: of one of these deeds, like is like the challenge 397 00:22:22,320 --> 00:22:25,040 Speaker 1: of the game show, Like this wasn't the regular thing. 398 00:22:25,040 --> 00:22:27,360 Speaker 1: It was a random challenge as part of their regular 399 00:22:27,400 --> 00:22:30,679 Speaker 1: series of challenges. But uh, they had laid out the 400 00:22:30,720 --> 00:22:32,960 Speaker 1: parcel of land where basically they just did like a 401 00:22:33,000 --> 00:22:35,240 Speaker 1: simple numbering scheme where they started at like the top 402 00:22:35,320 --> 00:22:36,959 Speaker 1: left corner of the land if you were looking at 403 00:22:36,960 --> 00:22:39,359 Speaker 1: it on a map, and went you know, one through 404 00:22:40,359 --> 00:22:43,879 Speaker 1: however far it could go by inches, and then started 405 00:22:43,920 --> 00:22:46,600 Speaker 1: a second row and just kind of went chronologically. So 406 00:22:46,640 --> 00:22:50,200 Speaker 1: theoretically people that went looking for their particular inch, because 407 00:22:50,240 --> 00:22:54,560 Speaker 1: each inch was numbered on these certificates, could theoretically find it, 408 00:22:54,600 --> 00:22:56,800 Speaker 1: but to the best of anyone's knowledge, no one ever 409 00:22:56,840 --> 00:22:59,440 Speaker 1: actually did that, Like no one ever pinpointed their one 410 00:22:59,520 --> 00:23:02,359 Speaker 1: square to land. It makes me almost want to go 411 00:23:02,400 --> 00:23:05,359 Speaker 1: looking for one of the the certificates just for my 412 00:23:05,440 --> 00:23:08,359 Speaker 1: own collection of weird things because it's so funny. But 413 00:23:08,440 --> 00:23:11,439 Speaker 1: you can see images of the certificates online, uh, and 414 00:23:11,480 --> 00:23:13,120 Speaker 1: we will link to some of those in the show notes. 415 00:23:13,200 --> 00:23:15,560 Speaker 1: And also one of the things I wanted to mention 416 00:23:15,560 --> 00:23:20,520 Speaker 1: that will be in the show notes is um um 417 00:23:20,560 --> 00:23:23,680 Speaker 1: the commercial for Quaker where they talk about the serial 418 00:23:23,760 --> 00:23:26,680 Speaker 1: being shot out of guns, because it's quite wacky cartoon 419 00:23:26,800 --> 00:23:31,639 Speaker 1: featuring a cannon and some kind of revolutionary style costuming, 420 00:23:31,880 --> 00:23:40,000 Speaker 1: and it's worth a look. Thank you so much for 421 00:23:40,119 --> 00:23:43,280 Speaker 1: joining us on this Saturday. If you have heard an 422 00:23:43,320 --> 00:23:45,520 Speaker 1: email address or a Facebook you are l or something 423 00:23:45,600 --> 00:23:48,399 Speaker 1: similar over the course of today's episode, since it is 424 00:23:48,440 --> 00:23:50,560 Speaker 1: from the archive that might be out of date now, 425 00:23:51,080 --> 00:23:54,119 Speaker 1: you can email us at History podcast at how stuff 426 00:23:54,160 --> 00:23:56,120 Speaker 1: Works dot com, and you can find us all over 427 00:23:56,200 --> 00:23:59,600 Speaker 1: social media at missed in History, and you can subscribe 428 00:23:59,640 --> 00:24:02,800 Speaker 1: to our show on Apple Podcasts. Google podcast, the i 429 00:24:02,880 --> 00:24:05,960 Speaker 1: heart Radio app, and wherever else you listen to podcasts. 430 00:24:10,080 --> 00:24:12,159 Speaker 1: Stuff you Missed in History Class is a production of 431 00:24:12,240 --> 00:24:15,280 Speaker 1: I heart Radio's How Stuff Works. For more podcasts for 432 00:24:15,359 --> 00:24:18,560 Speaker 1: my heart Radio, visit the i heart radio app, Apple podcasts, 433 00:24:18,680 --> 00:24:20,600 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.